Spring Newsletter March 2012

Sue and I were in southern Brazil, where we drove from Porto Alegre (aided, or not, by a GPS) to Florianópolis. Our first stop was the wine region: when I lived in Brazil the wine was pretty undrinkable but things have certainly changed - several of the boutique wineries we visited had received well-deserved international awards. We discovered several new hotels in the Serra Geral (a temperate plateau that rears above the Atlantic coast, bisected by deep canyons and topped by monkey puzzle trees, ideal for riding and walking).

We then visited two stunning beach hotels: Ilha do Papagaio is the only hotel on a private island just south of Florianópolis, while Ponta dos Ganchos, just north of the city, can justly claim to be one of Latin America’s finest resorts - nothing is too much trouble and their breakfast tasting menu just has to be experienced.

Sue then continued to the hills inland from Rio where she discovered a real gem - the Reserva do Ibitipoca.

Read her full Ibitipoca report.

Claire visited Antigua (where she visited one of our LATA Foundation projects - As Green as it Gets), Tikal and Belize.

Do read her Guatemala/Belize report.

Oli writes: “Last September I was lucky enough to be invited to Panama to sample a few of the highlights of this spectacular country. I spent a few days in the historic Casco Antiguo, the old part of  Panama City, and discovered a couple of outstanding hotels: Casa del Horno [now sadly closed] and Las Clementinas as well as some excellent restaurants, galleries and salsa bars (the local rum, Abuelo is rather tasty). My highlights included snorkelling in the clear waters of Bocas del Toro, a partial transit of the Panama Canal and riding through the green conical mountains and rugged coastline on the Azuero peninsula. This is a fascinating country with plenty to offer in terms of history, culture, fine cuisine and an array of landscapes, but also places to escape the crowds and unwind.”

You may have heard that the Galapagos National Park authorities have changed the rules on yacht itineraries so that each visitor site receives a more controlled number of visitors. This has made our lives more complicated as all yachts now have a bewildering choice of itinerary, but we think it will be positive and actually opens up the possibility of combining both land and sea visits and gaining a more balanced view of the natural history and human story of these fascinating islands.

Sian Lloyd and her husband Jonathan travelled to Brazil with us last year and their article appeared in the Mail on Sunday a couple of weeks ago. Needless to say they had a wonderful time (and the private villa that they stayed in, Casa Paraty, has since been completely refurbished).

By the way, our old colleague Simon visited the office and reminded us that his stunning house (Casa Cairuçu) in Paraty is also available for rent - his young daughter is about to start school in Bristol so they will have less time to spend in Brazil.