In the footsteps of Darwin

The route of the second voyage of HMS Beagle (1831-1836)

On this day 175 years ago HMS Beagle anchored in Simons Bay, Cape of Good Hope, South Africa. It was on a momentous five year voyage and on board was a man who would become the world’s most famous naturalist – Charles Darwin.

Following in Darwin’s footsteps (or perhaps wake might be more appropriate) nowadays is a little tricky unless you have lots of money and around five years to spare, but with Audley you can visit many of the places he visited. To this end I have listed some of these and accompanied each with a quote from his journal in which he describes what he finds in these places.

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Rio carnival hits the streets in Brazil

The Rio carnival in Brazil

Brazil’s capital city has been a hive of activity over the last couple of days as the annual Rio carnival takes place.

Playing host to street parties, bands, samba parades and balls, the carnival, which this year runs from 5th to 8th March, attracts over 1 million tourists who join locals on the streets for the country’s biggest party.

The carnival is most famous for its samba parade, where samba schools are judged on their costumes, flow and spirit, percussion band, samba song and float amongst other categories in the carnival’s fierce and colourful competition.

To find out more about visiting Brazil on a tailor-made holiday, or to experience the carnival next year, visit the Brazil section of our website.

South America’s ‘Wild Coast’ – volunteering abroad

BBC Radio 4 show discusses the pleasures and pitfalls of volunteering in and travelling to Guyana and South America's Wild Coast

I’ve just been told about a radio show that aired on BBC Radio 4 over the weekend. Part of the ‘Excess Baggage’ series, which looks at topical travel subjects and recounts travellers’ tales, this latest episode focuses on Guyana, Suriname and French Guiana, known as South America’s ‘Wild Coast’ region.

The 30-minute show includes stories from John Gimlette, travel writer and author, about the pleasures and pitfalls of volunteering abroad and travelling to this fascinating part of South America. The show is available to listen to on BBC iPlayer – click here to find out more.

Audley launches an updated South America brochure

Some of the pages from Audley's new South America brochure.

It’s been a few years since we updated our South America brochure but the new one has been worth the wait.

With 124 pages packed full of information and fantastic images, this is one of our most comprehensive brochures ever.

Every single country in mainland South America is featured, plus the Galapagos Islands and Antarctica get a look in too (although we also have dedicated brochures to these destinations).

Take a look at the brochure now!

• Here’s the online version (you will need Adobe Flash Player). 
• If you want to see online versions of all our brochures, or if you want to request a free physical copy of any of them, simply go to our brochures page.

Audley raises £2,885 for charity in 2010

Some of Audley's fundraising efforts in 2010.

Throughout this year many staff here at Audley have been busy raising money for the various charities we support.
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Shoe shine event raises money for Bolivian charity

Shoe shine charity event at our offices in Witney

The Atrium of our New Mill offices was transformed into a typical South American street scene on Wednesday, as members of our Latin America team took part in a charity fund-raising event. Continue reading »

Historic Naval Journal on display at British Library

Historic naval journal goes on display at the British Library

A rare and historic naval journal charting the explorations of a British sailor and navigator has gone on display in the British Library in London.

The journal, which includes hand-drawn charts, diaries and detailed maps of South America, was written by Sir John Narbrough, who sailed to Latin America in search of gold at the request of James, Duke of York  (who later became King James II) between 1669 and 1671.

The journal was finally secured by the British Library following a large fund-raising effort from a number of organisations and charities.  The acquisition means that this valuable and important piece of British naval history will be kept on home soil and available for all to see.

As a history fan, this sort of news is always of interest to me, and it’s great to hear when an ancient treasure such as this has been saved from private buyers and kept on public display.

You can see Sir John Narbrough’s Naval Journal at the British Library’s permanent exhibition called “Treasures of The British Library“, which is located in the Sir John Ritblat Gallery and open to everyone seven days a week.

Abseiling into a volcano

Due to the tailor-made nature of our trips we often send clients off on mini excursions to see nearby volcanoes, but nothing quite as exciting as this yet.

The volcano in question is Marum, which is in Vanuatu in the South Pacific. 

Don’t forget to look at our 10 Volcanoes Worth Seeing magazine article. These are all volcanoes which you can see as part of an Audley tailor-made trip.

Rio announces re-opening of Christ the Redeemer statue

Christ the Redeemer statue re-opens in Rio de Janeiro

Following a four-month facelift and £2.7 million in public and private donations, Rio de Janeiro’s famous Christ the Redeemer statue has re-opened to the world. Continue reading »

Meet the sloths

Back in April I produced an Audley magazine article titled Unusual Animals. In this article I included the sloth, surely one of the most unusual animals you are likely to see. However, as the following video clip of the world’s only sloth orphanage in Costa Rica shows, they can also be surprisingly cute.