Yesterday, Portillo was cold and windy- the temperature never rose above freezing and went as low as 19 ( F) -8 ( C). Many of the upper slopes remained closed. As of this posting it is snowing again.

Just after sunset – about 6:30 PM.

ArcticTropic is now on location in Portillo, Chile !We arrived yesterday after a great overnight flight on LAN Airlines. Action shots and videos will be posted later today.

This morning, July 21,2010 , ArcticTropic will be featured on the Today Show at 9:36 AM EDT, replaying hourly across the US Time Zones.  Valarie d”Elia,  the Today Show’s Travel Expert will be speaking about “Cool Summer Getaways”. This summer’s record heat in the Northeast has many people thinking about skiing already. Thanks to overnight flights to Santiago, Chile , and a quick ride to Portillo – the premier Ski Resort in South America – there’s no need to wait for the next Northern Hemisphere winter.

Four and a half million people will be watching at that hour. Many thousands of interested, qualified leads will visit ArcticTropic for the first time.

Valarie is an expert travel commentator who appears on national and local media outlets including NBC’s Today Show, CNBC, Fox News and The Early Show on CBS. She is also a featured speaker at the New York Times Travel Show and makes numerous other public appearances. Every weekend, Valarie is heard fielding listeners’ questions as the host of The Travel Show on the WOR Radio Network.

On television, she is also   seen as the travel correspondent for NY1 News with her featured segments, Travel with Val.

Editor’s NOTE : Due to time constraints the segment did not air.

From September 5 th to 14th , the Paris based Dakar Rally will stage a 4500 km off road race from Kazan to Ashkabat.

The world famous Paris -Dakar Rally – which began every New Year’s Eve from 1978 to 2008 in the Place Concorde, finishing in Dakar ,Senegal about three weeks later, was discontinued this year because of terrorist threats. It relocated to Chile and Argentina during Southern Summer and the Silk Way Rally will be the adventure for Northern Summer. ArcticTropic will have periodic updates and perhaps will particpate in the race in 2010.

2008 saw several trips to the Far South. Above, a forest road in Southern Chile. In March.

Surf in Pichelemu, Chile. March.

Western Argentina highway – March.

Mexico – June.

El Popo Volcano – Mexico , June.

Pie de la Cuesta , Mexico – June.

Pie de la Cuesta , Mexico – June.

Jalapão, Tocantins,Brazil – August.

Jalapão, Tocantins,Brazil – August.

Rafting, Rio Novo ,Brazil – September.

Night forest fire,Jalapão, Tocantins,Brazil – September.

São Paulo,Brazil – September.

Andes crossing – Chile to Argentina – November.

Mendoza, Argentina – November.

Springtime – Mendoza, Argentina – November.

Cafayate, Argentina – November.

Salta, Argentina – November.

Buenos Aires, Argentina – November.

2009 plans include Asia and the Middle East.

I have just arrived in Santiago,Chile, enroute to Mendoza, Argentina. There is not enough time to leave the airport to catch the subway into the city. It is a bright spring morning and there should be some great views of the snowy Andes as I cross them. SCL is one of the more pleasant airports in South America and very economical due to the peso being 649 to the dollar. When I was here 8 months ago it was 390 to one dollar.

More [osts later today from Argentina.

Adventure Travel in Latin America has just gotten 30 % cheaper in the last two weeks. Worldwide economic volatility has has caused flight to the US Dollar from many fearful investors in Latin America. As a result :

The Chilean Peso is now 622 to the Dollar. This compares to 390 earlier this year.

The Argentina Peso is pegged to the US Dollar, but has still slipped from 3 to 3.22 and probably will go lower.

The Mexican Peso was 10 to the Dollar a few weeks ago and is now 13.2 !

Most dramatically – the Brazilian Real was 1.5 to the dollar in August – and is now 2.2 – in effect – 50% more spending power for the US Dollar.

As a long dark and financially dreary winter takes hold in the North – now is the time to enjoy the incredible Nature, Sunshine and Adventure of Latin America. Book now on ArcticTropic Direct Booking.

Three days after crossing by bus in 8 hours, I fly over the same route in 45 minutes. There is a longer version coming from blip.tv as YouTube does not accept video over 10 MB.

For over 50 Argentine Adventure destinations on Arctic Tropic click here

After getting off the flight from Mendoza, I boarded the Santiago Metro to go off to a few meetings before heading back to Miami that night. The subway comes about every 45 seconds – much better than New York.Cost is 350 pesos – about 75 cents.

For over 70 Chilean Adventure destinations on Arctic Tropic click here.