Going Loco on the Orinoco Trivia Quiz

Answer: Guyana and Brazil

On a cloudy day, Mount Roraima looks like an island floating in the clouds. It's surrounded by Venezuela, Guyana and Brazil, and is home to the highest peak in Guyana's Highland Range, though the highest point of the mountain itself, Maverick Rock, is in Venezuela. If you've seen the Pixar movie 'Up', it might look familiar - the fictional Paradise Falls is based on it.

It's also home to species of plants not found outside the tepui, as well as a rare breed of toad.

Answer: Cartagena

Cartagena is one of Colombia's busiest cities, and has a long and colourful history. The fortifications in the historic centre were built in the 16th century as a defence against pirate attacks, as the trade of Peruvian silver with Spain made it a target for foreign pirates.

As well as silver, Cartagena also played an integral part in the slave trade, and was used as a base for Spanish Inquisition investigations and punishments, with the building of the Palace of the Inquisition. The Spanish colonial influence still lives on in the style of many of the buildings.

Answer: Cotopaxi

That's Cotopaxi there in the painting, which is by Frederic Edwin Church. It's one of the world's more active volcanoes, having erupted over 50 times since 1738, and the mud flowing down the mountain has created several valleys. Today, the volcano is a popular climbing spot The first verse of 'Romance' runs as follows: 'When I was but thirteen or so / I went into a golden land / Chimborazo, Cotopaxi / Took me by the hand.' Chimborazo is also an Ecuadorian volcano, and is even higher than Cotopaxi, at around 6263m.

Answer: Sedimentation and various environmental conditions, such as exposure to rain

Also known as the Peruvian Painted Mountains, the Rainbow Mountains are not an easy place to get to, and you would need to hike through the Andes for several days to reach them. The colours themselves are the result of sedimentation - layers of minerals piling up on each other - and exposure to weather conditions causes reactions such as iron oxide rusting, which leads to the red colouring. Iron sulphide is a possible cause for the yellow colouring, likewise chlorite and the green colouring.

Answer: Rio de Janeiro

The Royal Portuguese Cabinet of Reading was originally founded in 1822 by a group of Portuguese immigrants who wanted to bring the Portuguese literary tradition to Brazil, and was opened in 1877. There are manuscripts, proofs and books here which cannot be found anywhere else, and it also houses paintings and other Portuguese works of art.

It receives around 6000 new titles a year, and is open to the public.

Answer: Palacio Salvo

The original specifications for the Palacio Salvo included a lighthouse on top, with a parabolic mirror that reached 100km. Sadly, it didn't work out and a set of antennae were placed there instead, until they were removed in 2012, knocking 5m off the height of the building. Although it was intended as a hotel, it was used both as an office space and a residential building instead.

Answer: Temperate

Los Glaciares has a temperate, cool and moist climate, and is divided into two halves. The northern half contains the Viedma Glacier, which is part of the Patagonian Ice Field, and the frankly terrifying-looking mountains, Cerro Tore and Mount Fitz Roy.

The southern half contains the Upsala Glacier and the beautiful Perito Moreno Glacier, a popular trekking site. As well as glaciers, the park is also home to a wide variety of wildlife; mountain lions, guanacos (they're related to llamas), eagles, and huemul deer.

Answer: Chile

The Paraguayan part of the Gran Chaco contains the departments of Presidente Hayes, Alto Paraguay and Boqueron, where several Mennonite colonies are based. In general, however, the Gran Chaco has a small population. Most of the indigenous peoples of Paraguay live in the area.

It's also home to a large and colourful variety of wildlife, from maned wolves and peccaries to howler monkeys, capybaras and piranha, and hardwood trees known as quebrachos. Sadly, both hunting and deforestation are a threat to both the fauna and flora of the area.

Answer: True

Yes, salt block hotels are a real thing! The first salt block hotel in Salar de Uyuni was the Palacio de Sal, built in 1993-1995. It had no shower and caused environmental and sanitary problems, as its location in the middle of a salt flat meant waste had to be collected manually, and it eventually closed down due to mismanagement. A new Palacio de Sal was built on the eastern edge of the flat in 2007, and this time was equipped with a sanitary system, whirlpool baths and a salt bath. Even the furniture is made out of salt blocks. Tourists are advised not to lick anything.

A local legend of the Aymara people tells of the creation of the salt flat, where the nearby mountains of Kusina, Kusku and Tunupa were once giants. Tunupa married Kusku, but he left her for Kusina. Tunupa cried while she breastfed her baby son, and her tears mixed with the breastmilk and formed the salt flat.

Answer: Pablo Neruda

Pablo Neruda owned three houses in Chile - La Sebastiana in Valparaíso, La Chascona in Santiago, and Isla Negra - all of which are now museums. According to the Neruda Foundation website, Neruda wanted a small house to write in in Valparaíso, as he found Santiago tiring, and wanted the house to be 'solitary, but not in excess', far from everything, but close to transport', and 'neither too big nor too small', amongst other things. He shared the house with the sculptor Marie Martner and her husband, who had the first two floors while Neruda had the top two.