18/03/2026
Tourplan initiates integration with Roombeast Chile 3
Membership benefits
- Profile on the LATA website
- Events and networking
- Marketing and communications
- Media exposure
- LATA Safety Scheme
Small Earthquakes: A Journey Through Lost British History in South America Shafik Meghji
Published on 24 July. You can pre-order a copy here.
Small Earthquakes uncovers the fascinating story of Britain’s forgotten connections with South America, from the Atacama Desert to Tierra del Fuego, Easter Island to South Georgia.
Blending travel writing, history and reportage, award-winning journalist and author Shafik Meghji tells a tale of footballers and pirates, nitrate kings and wool barons, polar explorers and cowboys, missionaries and radical MPs. From a ghost town in one of the world’s driest deserts to a far-flung ranch in the sub-polar tundra; rusting whaling stations in the South Atlantic to an isolated railway built by convicts; the southernmost city on the planet to a crumbling port known as the ‘Jewel of the Pacific’, he brings to life the past, present and future of this remarkable continent. He sheds light on Britain’s impact on Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, from sparking wars, forging national identities and redrawing borders to its tangled role in their colonisation and decolonisation. But it also reveals how these countries, in turn, have shaped Britain in profound and unexpected ways, from Fray Bentos to the Falklands.
LATA asked Shafik for two of the most unusual places he discovered when researching the book:
Fray Bentos, Uruguay: The former meatpacking plant of one of the most famous British food brands of the 20th century is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an unlikely tourist attraction. Alongside the vast, atmospheric industrial plant – which revolutionised the way the world eats – there is a quaint British-style suburb originally built for the senior managers.
Estancia Harberton, Argentina: The oldest sheep ranch in Tierra del Fuego, Estancia Harberton was founded in 1886 by Anglican missionary Thomas Bridges and is now owned by his descendants. On the shores of the Beagle Channel, it offers accommodation, guided tours and trips to its own offshore penguin colony.
Small Earthquakes: A Journey Through Lost British History in South America Shafik Meghji
Published on 24 July. You can pre-order a copy here.
Small Earthquakes uncovers the fascinating story of Britain’s forgotten connections with South America, from the Atacama Desert to Tierra del Fuego, Easter Island to South Georgia.
Blending travel writing, history and reportage, award-winning journalist and author Shafik Meghji tells a tale of footballers and pirates, nitrate kings and wool barons, polar explorers and cowboys, missionaries and radical MPs. From a ghost town in one of the world’s driest deserts to a far-flung ranch in the sub-polar tundra; rusting whaling stations in the South Atlantic to an isolated railway built by convicts; the southernmost city on the planet to a crumbling port known as the ‘Jewel of the Pacific’, he brings to life the past, present and future of this remarkable continent. He sheds light on Britain’s impact on Argentina, Chile and Uruguay, from sparking wars, forging national identities and redrawing borders to its tangled role in their colonisation and decolonisation. But it also reveals how these countries, in turn, have shaped Britain in profound and unexpected ways, from Fray Bentos to the Falklands.
LATA asked Shafik for two of the most unusual places he discovered when researching the book:
Fray Bentos, Uruguay: The former meatpacking plant of one of the most famous British food brands of the 20th century is now a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an unlikely tourist attraction. Alongside the vast, atmospheric industrial plant – which revolutionised the way the world eats – there is a quaint British-style suburb originally built for the senior managers.
Estancia Harberton, Argentina: The oldest sheep ranch in Tierra del Fuego, Estancia Harberton was founded in 1886 by Anglican missionary Thomas Bridges and is now owned by his descendants. On the shores of the Beagle Channel, it offers accommodation, guided tours and trips to its own offshore penguin colony.
Membership benefits
- Profile on the LATA website
- Events and networking
- Marketing and communications
- Media exposure
- LATA Safety Scheme