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At the end of September I was a Tour Manager on our South America Coast to Coast tour… a superb journey which commences in Santiago, the capital of Chile and nestled at the foot of the Andes. You cannot come to this part of the world without visiting a local vineyard and sampling the wine. The colourful houses and historic ambience of the port city of Valparaiso was memorable, together with beautiful pacific beaches of Vina del Mar.

A true highlight of this tour was the stunning journey through the Andes from Santiago to Mendoza, wine capital of Argentina. There was still snow on the mountains and where it was starting to melt it created spontaneous waterfalls, this is an ever changing vista depending on time of year. From Mendoza we journeyed to the bustling city of Buenos Aires, and on to visit the Casa Rosada (Pink House) where Eva Peron stood on the balconies and addressed her people below.

The area of La Boca is one of the most colourful and vibrant, where you can buy goods from local artisans whilst watching a spontaneous tango show. If you didn’t think things could get any better, well read on. Next stop was the amazing Iguassu falls and I was lucky enough to view these from both the Argentine and Brazilian side. I also emerged very wet from a raft trip along the river which is probably as close as I’ll get to white water rafting. Rio de Janeiro was the final port of call and what better place to finish such a diverse journey. Our hotel faced the beach at Copacabana and the Atlantic Ocean. However the highlight for me here was the visit to Corcovado mountain and the statue of Christ Redeemer, this was truly a sharp intake of breath moment and the view of Rio was outstanding.

This was a journey full of highlights, enhanced by the company of my fellow travellers and the guides who shared their exceptional knowledge.