South American Treasures with Latin America Delights

At Chile’s northernmost end, the dizzying railway from high Bolivia comes down to the sea. Arica, the City of Eternal Spring, has a population of 169,000. and is located in the Atacama Desert. See San Marcos Cathedral, designed by Gustave Eiffel, and marvel at Pre-Incan relics in the City Museum. Or leave the city to venutre to the White City of Arequipa, the Incan capital of Cuzco and Machu Picchu and the ancient Inca city in the clouds.

Guayaquil, (gwä-yä-kêl´) city (1990 pop. 1,531,229), capital of Guayas prov., W Ecuador, on the Guayas R. near its mouth on the Gulf of Guayaquil, an inlet of the Pacific Ocean. It is Ecuador’s largest city and its chief port and manufacturing center. Founded by Sebastián de Benalcázar in 1535, it was liberated from Spain by Antonio José de Sucre in 1821, and in 1822 was the site of a meeting between Simón Bolívar and José de San Martín that determined the course of South American independence. The climate is hot and humid.

Lima is on the Pacific coast and was founded in 1535 by Francisco Pizarro of Spain. It was considered the most important Spanish city in the Americas. Today the downtown area is a bustle of activity, the streets crowded with vendors and peasants who have moved in from the countryside. Lima has many treasures in its historical buildings and museums, especially the Gold Museum.