South America

Travel through South America by country:

Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Paraguay, Peru, Suriname, Uruguay, Venezuela

Travel through South America by popular city:

Bogota, Buenos Aires, Sao Paulo, Rio de Janeiro

Travel through South America by popular things to do:

Adventures in the Amazon, Falkland Islands, Iguazu Falls, Tierra del Fuego

Head to Rio de Janeiro for the 2016 Olympics!

by Brenda Yun on

It’s official: Rio de Janeiro will host the 2016 Olympics! This will be the first Olympics held in South America, so it’s about time!

Check out the gorgeous and sporty city of Rio de Janeiro in its official candidate commercial.

A few sport and travel-related facts about Rio and Brazil:

  • Beach culture: Locals and visitors alike enjoy the sun and the sand. Chill out on Copacabana Beach, or check out the waves at Ipanema, Leblon, Sao Conrado and Barra da Tijuca.
  • Leading an active lifestyle: Although Rio is first and foremost a beach culture, plenty runners and bikers exercise on the city’s pathways. Hikers and climbers also take pride in the Tijuca National Forest, located on the outskirts of the city.
  • It’s football, not soccer: Football reigns supreme all over Brazil, where its stars go by one name only (like “Pele” or “Ronaldo”), and the stadiums — particularly the famous Maracana Stadium — are packed with painted faces and screaming fans.
  • Famous landmarks: Rio lies in southeastern Brazil between the sea and the mountains, giving it a riverside city appearance. You certainly have seen photos of the the large Christ the Redeemer that sits atop Corcovado Mountain. The statue, built to commemorate Brazil’s first 100 years of independence from Portugal, gazes over the city toward Sugar Loaf Mountain, another city favorite that rises from Guanabara Bay.
  • Nightlife: …and talk about a city that never sleeps! Rio has plenty of great bars and clubs, most of which are located beachside at Copacabana and Ipanema.

Although Rio’s Olympics won’t be held for another 6.5 years, the wild celebration that ensued today after the host city was announced tells us just how ready Rio is to throw a party like the the Games have never seen. I don’t know about you guys, but I can’t wait ’til the summer of 2016!

Get out and go: Events around the world (September 30-October 1)

by Brenda Yun on

Happy Hump Day, Gadling’ers! It’s time to look at the festivals and events happening around the world, and this week has a particularly international selection of happenings. If you’re close and have time, then you have no excuse to get out and go!

  • Victoria (Australia) – Spring Racing Carnival: The Spring Racing Carnival will take place today at various race courses in Victoria. The carnival is a series of racing and fashion events which will continue until November 18, so if you missed the first event, you still have 6 more weeks to take part!
  • Shanghai – Shanghai International Music Fireworks Festival: One of Shanghai’s most lively festivals will begin today in Century Park, Pudong. The event will continue until November 6, so you have plenty of time to catch some music or other festivities.
  • Belgrade – Belgrade Jazz Festival: This international festival begins October 1 and lasts the whole month. A series of concerts by domestic and foreign performers is held at the Belgrade Youth Centre, the hall of the Belgrade Trade Union House, Kolarac Foundation and other venues.
  • Colombia – Hip Hop in the Park: Bogotá’s “Hip-Hop al Parque”, a festival of beats and rhymes that begins tomorrow, has taken place annually since 1968, providing two days of bass and hip-hop.
  • Paris – Spring Summer 2010 Ready to Wear show: If you’re into high fashion, head to Paris this week! Its Ready to Wear show presents the latest fashion. The show begins tomorrow and will continue until October 8.
  • Cuba – Celebration of The Cubania: The celebration of Cuban art and culture begins today in Bayamo, Cuba.

If you make it to one of these events, let us know how it was, or if you know of an even that’s coming up, please let us here at Gadling know and we’ll be sure to include it in the next “Get out and go” round-up.

‘Til next week, have a great weekend — the first of October!

Gadlinks for Monday 9.28.09

by Brenda Yun on


Happy Monday! There’s a whole slew of great travel reads to jump start your week, so let’s get going!

  • Heading to the Dominican Republic? Here are a few things you can do that don’t involve the beach. [via CNN Travel]
  • Are you interested in heading somewhere that will lift your spirits? Check out these happy places. [via Brave New Traveler]
  • Summer may be coming to an end, but that doesn’t mean you can’t be outside. These rooftop bars hit the sweet spot all year ’round. [via Sherman’s Travel]
  • If you’ve traveled to Argentina or other parts of South America you’ve likely discovered mate, an amazingly potent tea. This article gives you the historical points of how mate came to be and provide tips on how to best enjoy it. [via BootsNAll]
  • I just returned from a long trip and, fortunately, I haven’t yet experience the post-travel blues. But if you are sad that your travels have come to an end, these creative tips might help! [via Tripbase]

‘Til Monday, have a great weekend!

More Gadlinks HERE.

South America’s first W Hotel opens!

by Annie Scott on


The W is in South America, and it’s lookin’ good. This good. Check out that view of Santiago.

The W Santiago is South America’s first W Hotel and the building itself was designed with Chile in mind. NYC designer Tony Chi and native Chilean designer Sergio Echeverria gave the building its rockin’ look — “shaped by Santiago’s vibrant culture,” complete with local copper and themes of wine, fruits and vegetables — which you can see in the gallery below.

“When designing, you have to start with the location and its people, and what I noticed here is that friends and family congregate frequently and in large groups,” says Tony Chi. “Chilean culture is about crossing generations and bridging differences, and as a collective sentiment, it is what ultimately inspired W Santiago.”

The hotel features a 90 foot wide private, gated garden entrance filled with music and 50 foot Chilean trees. If you’re into music, you can also “play” the Drum Wall, located in the hotel living room.

The dining options include Whiskey Blue, Red2 One (rooftop bar by that heated pool there), Peruvian-Asian cuisine at Osaka, two French restaurants by Jean-Paul Bondoux and a Tea Library (aw).

If you really like it, you can even purchase a residence there. If you do, please invite me over. Thanks.
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Family Guy cartoon banned in Venezuela

by Alison Brick on

I think we’d all agree that there are some bad TV re-runs out there that deserve to be taken off the air. But I’m not sure that Family Guy is one of them.

Venezuelan authorities have banned the cartoon from future broadcast. Any TV station that doesn’t drop the show will be fined.

What prompted this reaction? The recent episode in which Brian, the talking dog, started a campaign to legalize marijuana.

Watch out future cartoons, so you don’t offend the Venezuelan government! It has happened before, and it will surely happen again. The Simpsons was banned there last year because of its “messages that go against the whole education of boys, girl, and adolescents.”

Televen was one station threatened with a fine for showing The Simpsons in the morning hours. What did they do to avoid the fine? They were forced to show public service films as an apology. And they replaced The Simpsons with Baywatch.

Really, now. Baywatch is better?

It seems as though the government and TV in Venezuela are closely linked. President Hugo Chavez hosts his own talk show. And if new regulations go into effect, cable stations would be forced to broadcast all of Chavez’s speeches.

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