South America, named according to its so-called discovery by Amerigo Vespucci in the 15th Century, has been lived on for thousands of years, first inhabited by people who travelled across Bering Strait from Asia.
The continent has been physically separated from the “Old World” for so long that the two landmasses ecosystems developed in completely different ways. Plants and animals evolved there which, when the first Europeans arrived on the continent, resembled nothing they were used to. This leads to a rich experience for any traveller wishing to discover this not-so-new world for themselves!
