Expand your horizons by touring an entire continent via one of Abercrombie and Kent’s private jet trips.

Page 1 of 2 » Next

Imagine you are very good friends with a couple who consider themselves aficionados of the art of the dance, and they are flying to South America on their 757 private jet. “Bring all your friends, Dahling,” she text-messages. “Come chacha- cha at the Copa, tango in Buenos Aires and sway with the dancers on Easter Island. Let the party begin!”

If your friends’ 757 is in for annual maintenance but you still want to make the trip, consider doing what we did during our recent three weeks of travel on Abercrombie and Kent’s (A&K) private jet trip circumnavigating South America. We’ve traveled to glamorous and culture-rich destinations before, but what we had not anticipated on this trip—and were actually stunned by—were the outstanding dancing performances we saw everywhere we stopped.

The biggest travel bonus of our A&K tour turned out to be gaining insights into the wide variety of South American cultures. We learned that all the people—from the Kuna and Embera Indian tribes in Panama, our single stop in Central America, to the Lake Country dancers in Chile—have preserved their ancient traditions of storytelling through dance.

Spirit-Filled Dancing in Panama

During our two days in Panama, the southernmost country in Central America, we took pleasure in watching three stirring dance performances. Members of the Embera tribe performed for us in their village in the highlands of the Darien jungle; a group of girls of the Kuna tribe danced for us on Wilidup Island in the San Blas Archipelago, a collection of tropical islands in the Caribbean Sea; and the Dirty Devils gave a performance at the Gamboa Rainforest Resort near the midway point of the 50-mile Panama Canal, which connects the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans.

The Kunas, who usually don’t perform for visitors, welcomedus with a traditional dance as our small boats pulled up. A halfdozen girls told a tale in their dance movements about a boy who left his village to go fishing and got lost. Years later he returned home to his rejoicing family.

The spirited dancing and singing troupe called the Dirty Devils offered quite a different performance at Gamboa. The women held out the edges of the full skirts of their colorful dresses as they twirled and two-stepped across the floor. Many of the dancers wore lavish costumes with head ornaments and the occasional devil mask.

Celebrating Carnival with a Conga Line in Rio

Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach is one of the most famous beaches in the world. And the Copacabana Palace, right across the street, is one of the world’s most famous hotels. Is it any surprise, then, that we were enchanted with the Copa’s Carnival show, since the annual Carnival extravaganza just prior to Lent doesn’t get any better than it is in Rio.

The Carnival show came complete with musicians, singers, dancers, clever lighting and opulent costumes. Wave after wave of gorgeous dancers swaying and swinging to the cha-cha and samba was followed by conga lines.

The conga is a Rio Carnival march where dancers line up behind each other holding on to the person in front of them, all the while taking three shuffling steps followed by a kick.

Fueled by Caipirinhas, that refreshing cocktail that is Brazil’s national drink, many in our group were happy to join the conga lines, especially behind the statuesque dancers.

The Seductive Tango Thrives in Buenos Aires

The stunning city of Buenos Aires, which is often called the Paris of South America, boasts a mild year-round climate with temperatures in the sunny 80s when snow is covering much of North America and Europe.

But all I really need to tell you about Buenos Aires is the exotic word “tango”—the dance was invented here, and it’s thriving now more than ever. The tango began to appear in the 1880s with the music and the steps provided by a combination of brothels, African slaves, and Italian immigrants.

In the 1920s Carlos Gardel, one of the tango’s heroes, took his singing and a famous tango song abroad and became a hit in Europe. After his success there the upper classes in Argentina began to embrace this up-close and personal dance.

Page 1 of 2 » Next

Next article » A Piece of Horological Heaven in Sin City

Previous article « Resdiscovering California's Ranch-Style Luxury Resorts