COMPASS
Latin America
COMPILED BY BOB ROUSE
Hook, line and South American sinker
Jorge Cazenave, general manager of Buenos Aires-based
Cazenave Argentina, is the perfect person to have nearby
when a member of your group wants to catch a big fish. He
knows where the fish are—and he always has a camera.
Cazenave holds a brown
trout from Argentina’s
Futaleufu River.
“Having some of the largest rivers in the world, South
America stands out as a favorite for fishermen,” Cazenave
says. “The Amazon, Paraná, Paraguay and Uruguay rivers
offer a variety of huge catfish, dorado and pacu.” (The latter,
known as the vegetarian piranha, resembles its sharp-toothed
relative, but the pacu feeds on fruit.)
In most South American countries, fishing season starts
the first Saturday of November and ends on the first Sunday
of May. The exceptions are the lakes located between
Argentina and Chile, where fishing is permitted all year.
Cazenave also recommends fishing at the southern tip
of South America, famous for its sea-run trout. “Trout and
salmon are exotic species to the area, but they have adapted
wonderfully to the glacial lakes and rivers,” he says.
“Patagonia has some of the best fly fishing areas in the
world, and the Rio Grande, in Tierra del Fuego, offers exclu-
sive lodges and the chance for a record catch.”
For more information on fishing trips to South America,
email Cazenave at [email protected] or go to
cazenaveargentina.com.
A trio of exotic spots
S & S Tours, based in Arizona, specializes in small group tours to
Latin American destinations, providing in-depth interpretations
of each area’s culture and natural history. Owner Sue Stilwell
spotlights three of them:
Incan agricultural terraces at
Moray, an archaeological site
close to Cuzco, Peru
Costa Rica
Galapagos Islands
“The animal kingdom does not get any closer or better than in
the Galapagos Islands,” Stilwell says.
When visitors arrive on a double catamaran, they’ll see colonies
of marine iguanas and sea lions that will mostly go about their
business. “There is no fear of humans in this protected archipelago
of volcanic islands,” she says. “You’ll point your camera to blue-
footed boobies, sea turtles, giant tortoises and penguins. No zoom
is required, though—the animals are only inches away.”
The Galapagos archipelago lies in equatorial waters some 600
miles off the coast of South America and is reached via a short flight
from Quito, Ecuador. S & S Tours rotates in a Galapagos program
every two or three years. The next one is April 30–May 6, 2018.
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June 2017
TOURS
One third of Costa Rica is in reserves or national parks, and Stilwell
says any visit should include an expert naturalist guide. “This
Central American country is the most ecologically diverse Eden in
the hemisphere—full of volcanoes, tropical forests, coffee farms,
butterfly gardens, waterfall gardens, hanging bridge