South America: Buenos Aires, José Ignacio, Rio

Argentina: Buenos Aires. A very clean and green city.
Hotel Faena, Stark designed. we are  big fans, he always mixes his particular style whilst keeping the atmosphere of the local place. Set in a completly new developpement in the city
Drink: Maté, herbal tea found in Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay, South Brazil. They drink it all day long, carrying they maté cup and thermos of hot water everywhere
Food: Dulce de Leche
Restaurant: Cabanas las Lilas, good Argentinan steakhouse with a nice outside terrace on the riverbank. Olsen for lunch, located in Palermo a very nice shopping district with a nice garden terrace.
Shopping: Dolphino, Etiquetta Negra (local brand)
What to do: take aTango lesson of course! Visit the museum of modern art, the best Andy Warhol exhibition I have ever seen.


Uruguay: José Ignacio
Amazing place, just love it. Great beaches, amazing houses, ultra safe, pretty and nice people, fantastic food. Nice landscape enormous Estancias with cows and horses. Overall very very cool. Make sure you go end of December beginning of January it is the high season.

Hotel: Casa Suaya. Great setting, lovely view, great room. The place to stay for the moment.

Drink : Maté

Food: Dulce de leche...also available in ice cream!
Shopping: La manaus del Uruguay in Punbta del Este, love their Ponchos!
What to do : rent a car. Running on the beach, horse back riding, Polo, kite surf, windsurf, surf or just watch them play . Birding (watching birds). Shopping in Punta del Este and Barra.
Where to eat: you have a lot of choice the place is just amazing , when it comes to food.
The master of all is Pueblo Garzon, own by the chef Francis Mallmann who has been the inspiration to the whole region. All the chefs around have been educated at this school.
The service is always great and people very friendly.
Best Restaurant: Pueblo Garzon, located in a small village Garzon 40mm from José Ignacio. To get there you will have to drive on a dirt road throught a fabulous landscape of pampas and wild horses. Nice road trip. There is two other restaurants in the village that we have not tried but suppose to be good also. The food is the best of the region.
La Huella, a beach restaurant always busy , from breakfast to late at night. it is what Club 55 in St Tropez should be .....great food excellent service overall very professional. Need to book if you want a table.Really one of the best beach clubs on the planet
Isla Fleura,Namm, Butia, Sarava and more are all great restaurants...

What to bring back: Dulce de leche of course, Maté and the maté cup and some Poncho  from la Manos del Uruguay in Punta del Este

Brazil: Rio
Hotel : Fasano (check last post on Rio)

What to do: shopping  in Ipanema and Leblon, look for Olsken and the local brands.
Visit the Botanic Gardens,
Bay watch helicopter rescue are like theatre. About 20 people are rescued per day by heli on Ipanema , quite amazing to watch them, they are excellent.
Exercise on the beach, run, walk , bike...everybody is there. Best time to go 7 am before its gets to hot (34°) midday. On Sunday they close one way of the  front beach road , so people can take over, great idea! They run , skate and bike or just walk 
Take a private car and do a tour of the city, visit a couple of the amazing churches and the famous oldest bakery in the city.
Where to eat: Rio is not a foodie city however you can find some good restaurants: Gero, Fasano El Mare...
What to drink: Aica berry juice (a berry coming from Amazonia), excellent. Coconut water. Caipirinha , Caipirinha , Caipirinha!

Dakar Rally 2010

This year's 31st running of the Dakar Rally is being held in South America for the second year, instead of the traditional African route. The reason is - growing issecurity and possible terrorist attack concerns. This year's race began and will end in Buenos Aires, covering a looping 9,000 kilometers between Argentina and Chile over 14 stages. 362 Teams began the race with 176 motorcycles and quad bikes, 134 cars, and 52 trucks. The race is just over halfway completed now, the winners expected to cross the finish line on January 16th.
Below - several photographs from the first half of the rally.


Spain's Gerard Farres Guell kicks up sand with his Aprilia during the 4th stage of the Dakar 2010 between Fiambala, Argentina, and Copiapo, Chile on January 5, 2010. Spain's Marc Coma won the stage, France's David Casteu took the second place and France's Cyril Despres the third. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images) 





The Volkswagen Touareg of South African driver Giniel De Villers and co-driver Dirk Von Zitzewitz of Germany attends the symbolic start of the Dakar 2010 in Buenos Aires on January 1, 2010. (ALEJANDRO PAGNI/AFP/Getty Images)


Poland's Krzysztof Holowczyc in his Nissan passes race fans on a hillside during the Dakar 2010 between Colon and Cordoba, Argentina, on January 2, 2010. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)


Chile's Francisco Lopez Contardo guides his Aprilia through water during Stage 1 of the Dakar 2010 between Colon and Cordoba, Argentina, on January 2, 2010. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)


People watch Nissan's Jean-Pierre Strugo and co-driver Yves Ferri, of France, splash their car through a river crossing during stage one of the Argentina-Chile Dakar Rally 2010 in Rio Cuarto, Argentina, Saturday, Jan. 2, 2010. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)


France's Jean Claude Mazet falls from his KTM during the 2nd stage of the Dakar 2010 between Cordoba and La Rioja, Argentina, on January 3, 2010. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)
 

Manuel Jamett of Chile climbs a rocky road on his Yamaha motorcycle during the sixth stage of the Dakar Rally 2010 from Antofagasta to Iquique January 7, 2010. (REUTERS/Jacky Naegelen)


 BMW's driver France's Stephane Peterhansel and co-driver Jean-Paul Cottret cross a valley during the seventh stage of the Argentina-Chile Dakar Rally 2010 between Iquique and Antofagasta, Chile, Friday, Jan. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Russia's Leonid Novitskiy crosses dunes in his BMW during the 7th stage of the Dakar 2010, between Iquique and Antofagasta, Chile, on January 8, 2010. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)


Volkswagen's Carlos Sainz and co-driver Lucas Cruz, of Spain, compete during stage six of the Argentina-Chile Dakar Rally 2010 between Antofagasta and Iquique, Chile, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2010. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)


Helder Rodriguez of Portugal rides his Yamaha motorcycle during the eighth stage of the Dakar Rally from Antofasgasta to Copiapo, January 10, 2010. (REUTERS/Stringer/Pool)


  An aerial view shows the site where a Robinson 44 helicopter crashed in Fiambala, Catamarca province, January 4, 2010. The pilot, co-pilot and two reporters who were following the Dakar Rally sustained injuries when their helicopter crashed, local media reported. (REUTERS/Gendarmeria/Handout)


China's Wenmin Su rides his Jincheng past cheering onlookers during the 4th stage of the Dakar 2010 between Fiambala, Argentina, and Copiapo, Chile on January 5, 2010. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)

The Dakar encampment is seen during stage five of the Argentina-Chile Dakar Rally 2010 in Antofagasta, Chile, Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2010. (AP Photo/Frederic Le Floc'h)


Foggy clouds cover part of the area where the 5th stage of the Dakar 2010 between Copiapo and Antofagasta, Chile, is taking place on January 6, 2010. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)


Yamaha's rider Argentina's Alejandro Patronelli climbs a dune on his quad bike during the seventh stage of the Argentina-Chile Dakar Rally 2010 between Iquique and Antofagasta, Chile, Friday, Jan. 8, 2010. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

South African Giniel De Villiers drives his Volkswagen during the 8th stage of the Dakar 2010, between Antofagasta and Copiapo, Chile, on January 10, 2010. (NATACHA PISARENKO/AFP/Getty Images)


Italy's Silvia Giannetti falls from her KTM during the 5th stage of the Dakar 2010 between Copiapo and Antofagasta, Chile, on January 6, 2010. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)
 


France's Cyril Despres crosses a wide plain his KTM during the 8th stage of the Dakar 2010, between Antofagasta and Copiapo, Chile, on January 10, 2010. (GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP/Getty Images)


SOURCE:
The Dakar Rally Official Website
Dakar 2010 at Wikipedia

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