Extreme temperatures, intense desert sun and high altitudes give grapes grown in Chile's Atacama Desert a thick skin, which indigenous farmers from the world's driest desert says leads to an intensely colored wine with bold flavors. Up at 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) above sea level, in between highland peaks with scarce vegetation, the grapes from Caracoles vineyard withstand extreme temperature fluctuations and harsh weather. Despite that, Cecilia Cruz, who has managed the vineyard for the last six years, says she is used to the desert's rough conditions. Farmer Cecilia Cruz, 67, poses at the grape plot of her vineyerd, Caracoles, which is at more than 3,000 meters of altitude, in the commune of Socaire, in San Pedro de Atacama, Chile May 17, 2022. REUTERS/Rodrigo Gutierrez "For ...
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travel articles and news about countries and destinations in South America or Latin America
Argentine scientists discovered a new species of a huge flying reptile dubbed "The Dragon of Death" that lived 86 millions of years ago alongside dinosaurs, in a find shedding fresh insight on a predator whose body was as long as a yellow school bus. The new specimen of ancient flying reptile, or pterosaur, measured around 30 feet (9 meters) long and researchers say it predated birds as among the first creatures on Earth to use wings to hunt its prey from prehistoric skies. A palaeontologist works on excavation of bones and fossils that belonged to a newly discovered species of pterosaurs, Thanatosdrakon Amaru, in Aguada del Padrillo, Mendoza, Argentina August 9, 2012. Leonardo Ortiz David - Universidad de Cuyo/Handout via REUTERS The team of paleontologists discovered the fossil...
Read MoreEaster Island, one of Chile's biggest tourist attractions, will reopen to visitors starting Aug. 1 after access was restricted at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chile's government said on Friday. Easter Island, over 2,000 miles (3,219 km) from the coast of Chile, has over a thousand stone statues, giant heads that were carved centuries ago by the island's inhabitants, which have brought it fame and UNESCO World Heritage Site status. "As of August 1, an increase in flights (two or three weekly flights, according to the epidemiological situation) and the opening of tourism, in conditions which will be communicated in a timely manner, will be allowed," the economy ministry said in a statement. The government said it will improve health infrastructure to handle eventual ...
Read MoreOn the white plains of Chile's lithium-rich Atacama desert, bright pink flamingos enliven the sprawling salt flats where sporadic blue pools provide much needed hydration. But flamingo numbers are falling, with a new study linking this to the water extracted by mining firms to pump up brine filled with lithium, the metal used to make batteries for mobile phones, laptop computers and electric vehicles. Miners contend their operations do not affect flamingo herds and say the studies are based on unreliable data. The stand-off underscores growing tensions in the Andean nation over water use and mining's impact on local communities and the environment. Tougher regulation is a risk for firms in the world's No. 2 lithium producer and No. 1 for copper. FILE PHOTOS: Flamingos fly over...
Read MoreA beautiful non-venomous snake, previously unknown to science, was discovered in Paraguay and described by researchers of the Paraguayan NGO Para La Tierra with the collaboration of Guyra Paraguay and the Instituto de Investigación Biológica del Paraguay. It belongs to the genus Phalotris, which features 15 semi-subterranean species distributed in central South America. This group of snakes is noted for its striking colouration with red, black, and yellow patterns. Jean-Paul Brouard, one of the involved researchers, came across an individual of the new species by chance while digging a hole at Rancho Laguna Blanca in 2014. Together with his colleagues Paul Smith and Pier Cacciali, he described the discovery in the open-access scientific journal Zoosystematics and Evolution. The authors...
Read MoreChilean scientists successfully recovered one of the world's most complete ichthyosaur fossils with intact embryos from the Tyndall Glacier in Chile's Patagonia region. The preserved and pregnant ancient marine reptile was dubbed "Fiona" by scientists. The 4-meter-long fossil will help scientists study embryonic development in ichtyosaurs, which roamed the seas between 90 and 250 million years ago. Paleontologists of the GAIA Antarctic Research Center of the University of Magallanes recover the first fossil of a four-meter Ichthyosaur at Tyndall Glacier area in the Chilean Patagonia, Magallanes, Chile April 16, 2022. GAIA Antarctic Research Center University of Magallanes/Handout via REUTERS The fossil "is the only pregnant ichthyosaur that's been found on the planet from the era...
Read MoreDeforestation in Brazil’s Amazon surged to record levels for the month of April, nearly doubling the area of forest removed in that month last year -- the previous April record -- preliminary government data showed on Friday, alarming environmental campaigners. In the first 29 days of April, deforestation in the region totaled 1,012.5 sq km (390 sq miles), according to data from national space research agency Inpe. The agency, which has compiled the monthly DETER-B data series since 2015/2016, will report data for the final day of April next week. April is the third monthly record this year, after new highs were also observed in January and February. FILE PHOTO: Billows of smoke rise over a deforested plot of the Amazon jungle next to the Transamazonica national highway, in Labre...
Read MoreRio de Janeiro's famous Christ the Redeemer has competition. The small town of Encantado in southern Brazil has built a taller Christ to attract tourism. A new Brazilian statue, taller than Rio's, named "Protective Christ", is seen in the Morro das Antenas hill in the city of Encantado in Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil April 29, 2022. REUTERS/Diego Vara Christ the Protector is 43 meters (141 feet meters) high, compared to Rio's statue, which is 38 meters (125 feet), including in both cases their pedestals. Built with concrete over a metal structure, it has already been erected on a hill above the town, but the venue will only open to the public sometime next year, said Robison Gonzatti, vice president of the association that sponsored the statue. "It is the largest Christ in the...
Read MoreBolivian boy turns photographer on iconic salt flats – with help from a dinosaur
On the otherworldly white salt flats of Bolivia's Salar de Uyuni, an 11-year-old boy has become a photography success taking quirky and creative pictures of tourists - with a little help from a blue plastic dinosaur toy. Piter Condori makes use of an unusual trick of perspective on the iconic salt flats, where the even white ground stretches to the horizon, allowing skillful snappers to make small objects close to the camera appear to be much larger and further away. Piter Condori, 11, takes pictures of tourists behind toy figures to earn money for his family, at the Uyuni Salt Flat in Bolivia March 27, 2022. REUTERS/Claudia Morales In his free time on the weekend, he takes photos of the Spinosaurus appearing to chase and attack tourists across the white plains. In others he uses...
Read MoreIn the Andean mountains of Bolivia's high western plains where snow lies powdered over dark rocks that rise into a hard gray sky, scientists and climbers are fighting for the future of a dying glacier that has become a controversial lure for tourists. The Charquini glacier, some 20 kilometers (12.43 miles) from the highland administrative capital La Paz, sits in the Cordillera Real, a mountain range that divides the Amazon lowlands from the high Andean plateau. Government officials and others attend the inauguration of tourist season at the Charquini glacier, as scientists and climbers battle over the future of the controversial lure for tourists, outside of El Alto, Bolivia April 8, 2022. REUTERS/Claudia Morales It has been retreating fast, losing some 1.5 meters in thickness ea...
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