North and South America

I’ve chosen to write about Chile and Argentina for my project because I believe they have a very interesting history. Both countries won their independence from Spain in the 1800’s and both have populations that are mainly from European descendent.  Their terrains are very similar in that they are both oriented along a North to South axis with the Andes mountains dividing both countries.  Each county enjoys the miles of long shorelines along their opposite border. Both countries are famous for their agriculture, vineyards and ranching. But regardless of so many historic and geographic similarities both countries have evolved differently. One example could be how Chile has found a way to prosper economically while Argentina is struggling to stay afloat and what toll that has had on the current population.

Topographic Map

One of the common misconceptions of both of these countries, and of South America for that matter, is that food is all about a combination of rice and beans. The reality is that the rich diversity of European and Asian immigrants to these regions has created a sophisticated cuisine of recipes that have been blended  with ingredients used by the Mayan and Incan civilizations.

Chilean Sea Food

My hope is to bring a little light to the diversity of each of these countries and hopefully convince my wife of taking a trip to see it for ourselves and indulge in this wonderful food.