My Travels in South America Trivia Quiz

Answer: Miraflores

Miraflores is the seat of the government of Venezuela. The palace was built between 1884 and 1897, although it has numerous additions and alterations in the 20th century. It has effectively been the presidential palace since 1945, with the administration of Rómulo Betancourt.

The picture, taken in June 2010, is from the rear of the palace. I was able to get about one block away from the front of the palace before very serious looking guards stopped me.

La Moneda (The Mint) is the presidential palace in Santiago, Chile. The Casa Rosada (Pink House) is the executive mansion of Argentina, where Evita Peron gave speeches.

Los Pinos was the presidential residence of Mexico from 1934 until 2018. The first resident was Lazaro Cardenas (1934-1940). Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador, elected President of Mexico in 2018, announced he would not live in the mansion, and opened it to the public on December 1, 2018.

Answer: Hugo Chavez

Hugo Chavez was president of Venezuela from February 1999 until his death in March 2013. Chavez survived a coup attempt in 2002, when the people of Venezuela rose up and forced out the plotters of a coup d'etat. Chavez won four elections for president. He was a Socialist, who used Venezuela's oil wealth to provide health care, schools and other social welfare programs for the people of Venezuela.

When Chavez died, Vice President Maduro took over. Maduro won the 2013 election, and claims to have won the 2018 election. Maduro's term ended in January 2019. and there is dispute over the validity of the 2018 election.

Evo Morales has been President of Bolivia since 2006. The first indigenous person to be elected president, Morales was re-elected in 2009 and 2014, and became Bolivia's longest serving president as of October 2015. The country has seen remarkable economic growth under Morales.

Rafael Correa was the president of Ecuador from 2007 to 2017. He won election three times as a Democratic Socialist, who took on international bankers and won. Correa received his PhD in economics from the University of Illinois and used it to become Minister for the Economy in Ecuador.

Answer: petroleum

In 2010, roughly 94 percent of Venezuela's exports were oil related. Crude petroleum made up 75 percent of exports, and refined petroleum another 19 percent. Venezuela was one of the five founding members of OPEC in 1960. The socialist government has used its oil wealth to finance social welfare programs such as education, health care and land reform.

I visited several gas stations in Caracas, and gas was at 38 cents per gallon (9.7 cents per liter). One of the reasons Caracas has some of the worst traffic in the world.

While Venezuela does export iron, aluminum and gold, they are a very small part of the country's export economy.

Answer: San Agustin

San Agustin barrio lies at the top of the hills surrounding Caracas. The cable car system has huge stations which are designed as community centers for the barrio region; they are supposed to house amenities such as clinics and libraries.

Rocinha is the second largest favela (slum) in Latin America, located in Rio de Janeiro. Ciudad Bolivar is home to the largest slum in Bogota, Colombia. Miguel Pena is located in the Venezuelan city of Valencia, which is 170 kilometers west of Caracas.

Answer: Bogota, Colombia

Bogota, Colombia has El Dorado (BOG). At 8,361 feet, it is one of the highest airports in the world. It is the home base for Avianca Airlines (Colombia's national airline) and is one of the busiest airports in Latin America. I traveled through on my way to Ecuador. The newspaper had a report on homicides in the Bogota area during the first half of 2010 -- there were over 600 murders in under six months.

Quito's airport is Marsical Sucre International (UIO). It is elevated at 7,874 feet. I landed at the old airport; the new one opened in 2013. The altitude really hits you in Quito, which is at 9200 feet; you walk a few blocks and wonder "why am I so tired?"

La Paz's airport is known appropriately as El Alto (Heights) since at 13,325 feet, it is the world's highest international airport. Asuncion airport is Silvio Pettirossi International (ASU) at a remarkably low 291 feet.

Answer: France

The monument, which was constructed between 1979 and 1982, honors the expedition by Louis Godin, Pierre Bouguer and Charles Marie de La Condamine, members of the French Geodesic Mission. The expedition had a major impact on future science, as their research helped create the standard for the meter in 1799.

The monument has a museum inside, which covers the geography and ethnic history of Ecuador. If you like statues of llamas, it is worth a look. There were real llamas on the grounds of the Mitad del Mundo monument. You could also get Equator certificates along with a whole host of equator trinkets.

Ironically, the French were off in their measurements by around 200 meters. The real equator is actually north of the monument. That being said, many tourists still get their picture taken straddling the line at the monument (including me).

Answer: Red

The line is red. It is popular with tourists, who walk a few feet with their eyes closed and start wavering -- I tried it and got around five feet. You can also balance an egg on a nail (it works) and see the corolius effect (water going down the drain).

The Inti Nan museum has fun exhibits about life in Ecuador, and very good guides. It is worth the visit. Especially if you want to stand on the actual equator.

Answer: Simon Bolivar

Simon Bolivar (full name Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar Palacios Ponte y Blanco) was born in Caracas on July 24, 1783. The home is a shrine to Bolivar, with personal effects in display cases, and furniture from when he grew up in the house. The home is very similar to Mount Vernon or Casa Hidalgo in Mexico, as a shrine to a military leader who was central in his nation's creation.

San Martin (1778-1850) was born in Corrientes, Argentina. He played a major role in the revolution against Spain in Argentina, Chile and Peru. Bernardo O'Higgins (1778-1842) was born in Chilan, Chile. He was a major figure in the early days of Chile, and also in the liberation of Peru. Manuel Belgrano (1770-1820) was born in Buenos Aires, and is a central figure in the founding of Argentina.

Answer: Pico Espejo

Pico Espejo rises to a height of 4,880 meters. It is the fifth and final stop on the cable car system, which stretches 12.5 kilometers through the Venezuelan Andes. The cable car opened in 1960 and was shut down in 2008. It was completely rebuilt and reopened for business in 2016.

Pico Bolivar, which is also in Merida, is the highest mountain in Venezuela at 5,007 meters. Pico Humboldt is located only a few miles away; at 4,942 meters it is the second highest peak in Venezuela. Cerro Pintado is much smaller, at only 3,660 meters; it is on the border between Venezuela and Colombia.

Answer: Caribbean

Venezuela lies along the Caribbean coast. Caracas lies inland from the coast, but the primary airport for Caracas is very close to the Caribbean. I stayed in Catia to catch a flight early the next morning.

The Caribbean is part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is just over 2.7 million square kilometers, making it one of the world's larger seas. It encompasses numerous islands and much of the coast of Central America, and is one of the world's more popular tourist destinations.