A Traveler's Guide To South America

Sports: Rio has 16 extraordinary beaches, and there is plenty of skin diving in Guanabara Bay and nearby Angra dos Reis and Cabo Frio. The Gavea Golf and Country Club (card can be arranged) has one of the most beautiful courses in the world. There are good fishing and hunting in the highlands near Rio (boar, duck, water hen, even alligator). West Virginian Charles A. Cabell, Brazil Safaris Ltd., Caixa Postal 390, Copacabana, Rio de Janeiro, can arrange hunting and fishing trips and also safaris. This is a good time of year to hunt the black buffalo on Maraj� Island, near Bel�m in northern Brazil. Bel�m, at the mouth of the Amazon, offers the Hotel Grande ($5 double, European plan). There is a good restaurant, the Malocca, which serves regional dishes (try the pato no tucup�, a duck specialty). In the Bel�m market there are snakeskins, alligator skulls and teeth, curious pottery, tropical fruit, dried Amazonian fish. To see the jungle at close quarters one can take a boat trip to Manaus in an old wood-burner without creature comforts. The passenger eats his feijoada (black beans, dried meat and rice) with captain and crew. Brazil, outside of Bras�lia, Rio, S�o Paulo and Salvador, is a rugged country, and tourists who want to see everything shouldn't be too delicate, either.

CHILE

The best hotel in Santiago is the Carrera-Hilton ($9.50-$11.50 double, plus 21% tax, no meals), with a swimming pool and a solarium on the roof. Tennis, golf and swimming are all available in and around Santiago. There are two racetracks.

Restaurants: The best are Chiaranda, a garden restaurant with Italian food; Sarao, a colonial farmhouse serving Chilean dishes outdoors; Escorial, which specializes in paella (about $10 for two, with wine, at all three). Chilean seafood is excellent, and so are the wines. Two good red wines are Concha y Toro's Santa Emiliana and Carmen's Margaux; a recommended white is Santa Carolina 3 Estrellas. Santiago is a formal city, and restaurants and bars do not serve men in shirtsleeves or sport shirts. Women should remember not to wear slacks or shorts in town (this applies to all South American cities except beach resorts).

Shopping: Chilean Arts for native rugs, half-ponchos, pottery; a good place for copper-ware is Fortunato Riveros.

Sports: Chile's great beach resort is Vi�a del Mar, about 90 miles from Santiago. The Miramar ($9.50-$11.50 double, plus 21% tax, no meals) is open all year, has private beaches and swimming pool (the sea is often quite cold). The Casino is world-famous. There is racing every Sunday at the Sporting Club, and the Chilean Derby will be run on Jan. 27. There is good golf. The ski season is June through September in Chile, and the great summer sport is freshwater fishing. This is reached by overnight train from Santiago (very punctual and comfortable) or by DC-3 (Lan-Chile). Near Puc�n, one can fish Lake Villarrica and the Trancura and Liucura rivers. The Hotel Antumalal has 18 double rooms, each with its own pine-log fire, and quite good food ($36.30 per day, double, with meals, tax included). Try for a room facing north. Going south, the new Rainbow Fly Fishing Club (same auspices as Peru's Cabo Blanco Club) is located near Panguipulli, fishes the Enco and Fui rivers. Rates are $16 a day with meals, and nonmembers are welcome. For further information write Room 1616, 247 Park Avenue, New York 17, N.Y.

COLOMBIA

Bogot�'s newest and best hotel is the Tequendama ($13.25-$16.25 double, European plan).

Restaurants: The Monserrate Room in the Tequendama usually has one native dish on its menu. A typical example: ajiaco de pollo a la Colombiana, a chicken stew spiced with oregano. La Pampa is an Argentine restaurant serving steak. Dinner for two with guitar music at La Zambra costs about $15.

Shopping: Emeralds are the great thing, and it is best to buy them at the federal bank, where they are cheaper. U.S. duty on unset emeralds is only 4%.