Evening star., 1940-12-08
Travel Turns
Southwark to
The Americas
Rios Carnival
Helps Dramatic
Charming Lands

etepchlld.
In the past when people wanted to
go places they thought Of Europe
Southern resorts, world cruises, the
Riviera. South America was usually
dismissed as sort of never-never
land, interesting but far away and
unrelated to our lives.
That trend, however, began to
change even before the present war
Two, three and four large liners
started making winter cruises to the
lands of the Southern Cross. Then
a new fleet of liners, the Argentina,
Uruguay and Brazil, went into op-
Grafton to South Americas east
coast. the good neigh5or policy got
talked about, Carmen Miranda came
north and sang herself and Brazil
Into new renoWn.
Instead of thinking in vague, gen.
eral terms of South America" "
North Americans as a result became
interested in Rio de Janeiro, Monte
video, Buenos Aires-in Brazil with
its orchids and coffee, Uruguay with
It's beaches, Argentina with its
gauchos and great cattle ranches.
Rios Carnival Becomes
High Light of Travel.
Today this new aWareness shows
itself in the wish of travellers not
only to visit specific places in South
America, but also to visit them at
specific times. Take carnival, the
worldfamous festival in Rio de
Janeiro, for instance. In the past,
cruise ships to South America either
stayed for only a few hours of the
three-day festivities.
But those travellers who saw a lit
tie of it wished they had seen more.
They created a demand. and the
travel companies today are catering
to that demand. This winter. for
example, Moore-McCormack Lines,
which operate regular passenger
service to the east coast of South
America, are sending not one, but
two, ships to Rio for carnival. And
the ships will stay not just day or
a day and night, but for the entire
celebration, for travellers have awak-
ened to the fact that this is unique
experience. and they are not to be
put off with only glimpse of it.
Always staged the three days be-
fore the opening of Lent, the carni-
val falls this year February 90. "a
and 25. Streets are specially lighted
and decorated at night, dances are
held in clubs. hotels and private
homes and the whole city gives it
self over to merrymaking.
Most of the festivities are out
In the open air. for carnival comes
in the midst of the South American
summer. Thousands appear both
day and night on the streets in
costume, dance to the best of tom
toms and parade along the ave-
nues, throwing confetti and squirt
ing ice-cold perfumes at passers-
by. On the last day the celebra-
ton comes to climax with a great
parade of floats and a final night
of carefree revelry.
Nature and Man Cola borate
In Making Beautiful City.
Many sophisticated travellers rank
Rio as the worlds most beau
tiful city. The harbor is magnifi-
cent, but is only one feature of
this beauty. Rising dramatically
from the water edge are scores and
scores OF huge mountains; the city
has had to wedge itself into val
leys wherever it could. Finally there
is the conscious planning of Rio
itself, for the fine curving drives
along its bays and beaches, its wide
central Avenida Rio Branco, and
Its large parks with statues and
fountains have been laid out to en-
nance rather than detract from the
beauty Of the natural surroundings.
American travellers marvel at Rios
peaches. The most famous of these
Is Copacabana, less than half an
hour from the heart of the city.
Bordering its white sands and blue
surf are the great hotels for trav-
elers, so that one has only to cross
the street for a dip in the ocean,
then return to ones room to change
into street clothes.
Rios two best known sights are
Sugarloaf Mountain, rising 1890
1eet above the waters of the bay,
and Corcovado (the Hunchback a
peak about 1900 feet high. Sugar
loaf is reached by aerial railway,
Corcovado by streetcar or high
way. From Corcovado rises a crcat
130-foot statue of Christ the Re-
deemer, and although this mountain
is less than 10 years old, it has al
ready gained widespread fame.
A trip not to be missed from Rio
Is that to Petropolis. about 40 miles
away in the mountains. This sum-
mer resort town is reached by a
splended winding highway, and the
trip over 1t is alone worth the fare
Three other places deserve men,
ton before Uruguay and Argentina
are brought into the South Ameri-
can travel picture. Santos, where
the liners call, is the worlds great
est coffee port: nearby Sac Paulo
Is famed for its Butantan Insti-
tute or snake farm, and Campinas,
two hours from Sac Paulo, lies in
the heart 0f tho coffpo holt