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

When in Caruaru, Brazil: celebrating Festa de São João

by Alison Brick on

As a fan of summer, I think I’ve finally found a way that even I could be happy ringing in winter: Festa de São João. I’ve just taken part in the festivities in Caruaru, Brazil.

Like many festivals in Brazil, it combines a religious side and a pagan side. There’s the winter solstice side that celebrates the harvest (especially corn) throughout the month of June. And on top of that, three days are taken to honor saints: Anthony on the 13th, Peter and Paul on the 29th, and–most importantly for this region–John (São João) on the 24th.

How do you celebrate Festa de São João? With music and dancing, of course (it’s Brazil, after all)–especially the lively regional favorite of forró, which sets the mood of the festivities. You’re also likely to come across street fairs complete with food stalls, the marching of guarde civil bacamanteiros, and costumes that honor rural life (like women in pigtails and painted freckles).

And then there’s my favorite: the bonfires–not just found in the central square, but liberally throughout the streets of residential areas. It’s not uncommon to see the homeowner standing in the doorway mere feet away, gazing down at theirs. The bonfires start from waist-high stacks of logs, and end in ashes, smoldering as s’mores-worthy embers hours later. The reason for the bonfires? They’re a reminder of the birth of St. John the Baptist. To recap the Christian story: Isabelle burned a fire to tell her sister, Mary, when John was born–a kind of precursor to today’s phone call or text message.

Like February’s Carnaval, Festa de São João is celebrated across the country, but no place more than in Caruaru, and neighboring towns Gravatá and Arco Verde (about 1 hour west of Recife in northeastern Brazil). People flock there to be at the heart of the celebration–it’s not uncommon for more than 150,000 people to join the festivities every night in Caruaru.

Gadlinks for Friday 6.26.09

by Brenda Yun on


Aloha, Gadling readers! My apologies for the delayed Gadlinks for Friday. The surf here in Hawaii has been pretty swell (pun intended), so I’ve been in the water for the past few days. Really. Here’s a look at the latest travel-worthy links:

  • Matador’s given us 6 reasons to travel without a plan. I’m sure I could come up with at least four more — the first of which would be FREEDOM!
  • If you’re heading to Asia and need help planning your adventure, the New York Times has some helpful Southeast Asia budgeting tips.
  • I’ve long been a proponent of solo travel, so when I came across Beth Whitman’s perspective on solo travel, I found myself nodding and smiling.
  • Who said Latin Americans were carnivores? BootsNAll’s vegetarian tips for South America proves you can go there and eat to your vegetarian heart’s content.

‘Til Monday, have an epic weekend! I know I will!

More Gadlinks here.

Gay pride parades around the world

by Jamie Rhein on

June is the month of gay pride parades. Last Saturday, in Columbus, Ohio, High Street took on a festive vibration as a mixture of art groups, political organizations, churches and business made their way from the state house to Goodale Park in gay pride solidarity. Both people in the parade and those that lined the streets whooped it up in a joyous sound of shouts and applause.

Today that scene is being repeated in other parades in other cities. New York City is one of those where this weekend is filled with events. The parade is just one of them. It’s a grand happening for good reason. The first such parade in New York took place on June 28 in 1971, one year after the Stonewall riots in Greenwich Village in Manhattan. The riots were caused after police raided the Stonewall Inn and people resisted arrest. If you saw the movie “Milk” this year, there’s footage of both of the events.

In 1971, parades also happened in Chicago and San Francisco. Back then the message was mostly political, but over the years the tone has changed and the number of cities and countries that hold pride parades have increased.

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Political groups still participate, but these days, the tone and purpose is mostly celebratory. No matter what’s happening with gay rights, during the parade, life is a party.

Like all parades, there is a continuity among them that ties them together. There are also aspects that are quite unique and take on the character of the places where they are held. Years ago, I was at the gay pride parade in West Hollywood. It mirrored the flashiness that one might attribute to this part of California.

In Columbus, Midwest tastes and sensibilities factor into the line-up. Last year, there was a group of guys dressed up like the Brady Bunch singing the Brady Bunch-theme song and other Brady Bunch hits.

Browse through pictures of gay pride and you’ll see images that look like they’re from an earnest Mardi Gras parade with a heartfelt message. The variety of pictures are as varied as the countries where gay pride parades happen. The absence of some countries among the Flickr photos can also be noted. Also, important, anyone can be in a gay pride parade whether gay or straight, Republican or Democrat, or religious or not. You name a category and there will be someone who fits it–well, almost. Some people just aren’t that happy.

(The first picture was taken in France. The man with the rainbow on his cheek was in Mexico.) Click through the gallery to see which other countries are pride friendly.

18 unique travel experiences for the well traveled

by Kraig Becker on

So you think you’ve been everywhere and done everything? Is their something missing when you travel these days? Is the sense of adventure gone? Never fear, because the Times Online has compiled an interesting list of 18 unique travel experiences that are designed to give us a special experience on our getaways.

The suggestions on the list run the gamut from adventurous to decadent to down right surreal. For instance, if you’re headed to southern Africa, then you might want to stay with the bushmen of the Kalahari Desert, where you’ll have the opportunity to go on an initiation hunt and spend the night in their village. If that seems like you might be roughing it a bit too much, than perhaps you’d prefer to spend the night on a private island and go sailing off the coast of Croatia. How about taking an exclusive tour of Nefertari’s Tomb in Egypt, where you’ll be one of just 20 visitors in the soon to be closed monument. Or, how about the workout of a lifetime when you’ll be training with the the toughest rugby team on the planet, New Zealand’s All Blacks, , for one very intense week.

Each of the travel experiences comes with a good description of what you can expect on your unique adventure. A link is included to the travel company that is offering the trip, along with expected prices, in this case listed in pounds. But be warned, these one-of-a-kind experiences don’t come cheap, but how do you put a price tag on this kind of excitement?

The Disposable Memory Project

by Kraig Becker on

Disposable cameras have become a very popular way of capturing images in the digital age. They’re cheap, take relatively decent photos, and can be found in just about every discount store the world over. But one organization has taken the disposable camera off the guest tables at every wedding, and sent them out into the world to capture images from around the globe.

The concept behind the Disposable Memory Project is simple. Pass out disposable cameras to travelers, have them take a few photos and then pass the camera along to someone else. Eventually the disposable cameras get returned, at least in theory, and the photos are published online for everyone to share. So far, the project has placed 164 cameras in 42 countries around the world. To date, 42 of those 164 cameras have been found, and 11 have been returned, carrying a record of their journey with them.

The Disposable Memory Project website has a comprehensive list of each of the cameras and the places where they’ve been released into the wild. You can use the page to see if there is one close to where you are, and if you find it, you can claim it, snap a few photos, and pass it along. Eventually, once the memory on the camera is full, you simply contact the good folks at the Disposable Memory Project and they’ll arrange to have the camera picked up, and get the images developed and posted on the web, passing the link along so you can check out your photos.

What an interesting and fun project! There are still quite a few cameras that have been found and are still bouncing around the globe, and dozens more that have yet to be discovered at all. If you want to join the fun, go find a camera that has been released in your area, and if there isn’t one, perhaps you can release a camera of your own.