Celebrate the achievement of each year of marriage with our adventurous take on traditional wedding gifts, sure to make you very popular with your other half. Whether it's to celebrate your paper anniversary or a love that's as long-lasting as a diamond, read on and find a great excuse for your next amazing holiday!
1st Anniversary: Paper
Every year, the city of Cartagena in Colombia plays host to the Hay Literary Festival with a series of readings, Q&As and events to celebrate the best of world literature in the home of Colombia's greatest literary luminary, Gabriel García Márquez.
Cartagena is one of the most beautiful cities in Latin America, with cobbled streets, flower-filled balconies, ornate colonial facades and forts dating back to when pirates were the scourge of the Caribbean. To visit, book a tailor-made
holiday to Colombia to coincide with the festival, which takes place between 26-29 January 2012.
2nd Anniversary: Cotton
Fancy a bit of luxury? Why not slip between Egyptian cotton sheets in one of the many
first-class hotels we have on offer, for example the sumptuous
Maroma hotel situated in the Mayan Riviera, Mexico.
Brazil also boasts an array of lavish and luxurious hotels such as
Ponta dos Ganchos in Florianópolis and the remote and exclusive
Kiaroa resort (right) nestled on the Maraú Peninsula – or for more ideas take a look at our
Top 5 luxury hotels.
3rd Anniversary: Leather
Get in touch with your inner cowboy! Our
estancias in Argentina cater for beginners, expert riders, polo aficionados and everything in between. The fine food and wine offered at estancias such as
Los Potreros and
Huechahue, coupled with excellent accommodation and hospitality, means a horse riding holiday is the ideal combination of luxury and the great outdoors.
4th Anniversary: Flowers
Latin America is home to five of the ten most biodiverse countries in the world -
Brazil,
Colombia,
Ecuador,
Mexico and
Peru. Orchid devotees would be hard pressed to surpass the vast array of orchids in the Mindo cloud forest of Ecuador and the jungles of
Panama, while the
Ruta de las Flores (Route of Flowers) in the emerging destination of
El Salvador boasts a colourful explosion of wildflowers between October and February.
5th Anniversary: Wood
Half of Latin America is swathed in jungle and rainforest, accounting for about one-quarter of the forest area of the world. The astonishing and humbling scale of Latin America's dense jungles make them perfect for nature lovers, while the opportunities to spot exotic flora and fauna add to the appeal. Why not
travel to the Amazon and stay in one of the upmarket and unique eco-lodges of Peru or Ecuador or, jump aboard one of our favourite cruises, the
Tucano which departs from Manaus.
10th anniversary: Tin
The
tin mining town of Pulacayo in Bolivia is infamous, not just for once being the largest and most productive mining towns in the country, but for reputedly being the place where a payroll train was robbed by the notorious thieves Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. Nearby Potosí, another tin mining town, was once one of the richest settlements in the Americas, and is visited on our
Highlights of Bolivia and Peru trip.
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5th anniversary: Crystal
Take a
cruise to Antarctica, where towering icebergs glow like gems reflecting the dramatic colours of sunset. Here, penguins breed in their thousands and the seas are host to a number of whales: orca, blue, fin, humpback, minke, sei, and southern right whales, which swim to the relative warmth of Antarctica during the austral summer.
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5th anniversary: Silver
A visit to Isla de la Plata, which translates as 'Silver Island', is certainly a precious one for any birdwatcher. Situated just over 25 miles off the coast of Ecuador, this small island is referred to as the 'poor man's Galápagos' because it has many of the incredible species found in the Galápagos and offers top bird watching without the cost associated with taking a cruise. Visit on our fascinating
Remote Ecuador holiday.
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35th Anniversary: Jade
Lord Pakal's emotive jade funeral mask is now located in the world-class National Museum of Anthropology,
Mexico City. This mask, wrought from more than 200 pieces of semi-precious stone, shell and obsidian, covered the face of Lord Pakal whose remains were found in a sarcophagus in his pyramid-tomb in the jungle-shrouded ruins of Palenque, Chiapas. Our
Aztecs and Mayas group tour visits both the Museum of Anthropology and the mask's stunning original home.
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45th anniversary: Sapphire
The Southern Patagonian icefield is the world's third largest reserve of fresh water and the 60m high wall of sapphire blue ice that is Perito Moreno glacier is one of its most impressive facades. Not only can you get up close in a catamaran and watch the calving of vast chunks of ice, you can also glacier-trek across some of its crevasses and peaks.
Los Notros is the only hotel within sight of the glacier. This exclusive and intimate lodge is situated just 7km from the iceface, allowing you the ultimate round-the-clock audio-visual show.
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0th Anniversary: Gold
Colombia has rich resources of precious metals: the indigenous people that the conquistadors met were described as being decked out in gold jewellery, and it is thought that this inspired Spanish stories of the mythical civilization of El Dorado (which literally translates as 'the golden man'). The biggest collection of pre-Hispanic goldwork in the world can be found in the Museo de Oro (Gold Museum) in
Bogotá. See the gold museum on our
Colombian Jewels holiday, which also visits the amazing
cathedral in Zipaquirá, built inside a salt mine, and the beautiful Rosario Islands.
55th anniversary: Emerald
Visit Brazil's Emerald Coast, so-called for its hills cloaked in lush
mata atlântica coastal rainforest that tumbles down to pure white beaches below. Our
Brazil's Emerald Coast holiday comes in below £1,000 per person for a nine-day holiday that visits
Rio; the beautiful town of Paratí, crammed with whitewashed Portuguese colonial-style buildings and then finally on to the tropical island of Ilha Grande where you can discover your own private waterfalls and sandy coves or trek along jungle paths with hummingbirds and marmosets for company.
60th Anniversary: Diamond
The lost world of waterfalls and table-top mountains of the
Chapada Diamantina in Brazil (a region characterised by steep escarpments and plateaux), is so called due to the diamonds that were plentiful here in the mid-1800s. Nowadays, it's the landscape that is the real gem waiting to be discovered. Just a couple of hundred miles inland from the bustling town of Salvador, explore this area by vehicle or on foot before taking a dip in one of the numerous waterfalls and crystal clear cavern lakes. Visit on our
Best of Bahia holiday from £1,474 per person.
80th Anniversary: Oak
If you have reached your 80th anniversary as a married couple, then congratulations are clearly in order. Visit the rolling vineyards and atmospheric wine cellars of Chile and Argentina, where wine matures in oak barrels, and toast each other's good health with the finest wine that Latin America has to offer.
Cavas Wine Lodge in the Mendoza wine growing region of Argentina, offers delicious vintages, fantastic food and great hospitality. Ideal for those in search of some unashamed luxury and decadence. Browse through our
vineyard holidays in Argentina or read our travel article,
Grape Expectations, for more inspiration.