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

My journey to the middle of the world

by Aaron Hotfelder on

In 1736, a team of French explorers traveling through Ecuador attempted to mark the exact location of the Equator– that imaginary line separating the Northern hemisphere from the Southern. Well, their GPS devices must have been on the fritz, because they marked it about 250 meters from its actual location. Still, the Mitad del Mundo (“Middle of the World,”) monument was built on that erroneous location, surrounded by a park and shops that sell more Equator-related memorabilia than you can shake a stick at. (Side note: Everyone who visits the Mitad del Mundo is not actually required by law to take that same dorky photograph that I am seen in here, but it sure seems that way.)

My visit to the very touristy Mitad del Mundo may have been a bit disappointing, but my trip to the “real” Equator, the Museo Solar Inti Ñan, was surprisingly enjoyable. Though it’s less visited and marked by only a small road sign, it was one of the highlights of my trip to Ecuador, partly because of some truly mind-blowing tricks that can only be done exactly on the Equator.

We’ve all heard that water going down a drain rotates in a different direction in different hemispheres. But what happens when the drain is directly on top of the Equator? Check out this short Youtube video to find out, and compare it to these two. Cool, huh?

Here’s another neat trick. We were just a couple steps away from the Equator, and our guide told us to put one of our hands on top of the other. Then he said, “Now don’t let me push your hands down.” He pushed down on our hands as hard as he could while we resisted. Our hands didn’t move. Next, we stood directly on the Equator and did the same thing, and he pushed our hands down easily.

My friend and I repeated the experiment without the guide and the result was the same– we really were weaker on the Equator. Now, I have no idea why this is the case (I was sick the day they taught physics in high school), and I’m not in a hurry to find out. Without an explanation, it will always seem like magic, and I want it to stay that way.

And now for the bad news…

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Soaring gas prices, a weak dollar, passport delays, hurricanes– these were just some of the hassles that travelers had to deal with in 2007. In the Chicago Tribune, James Gilden says all these problems– and more– will be back in 2008.

On gas prices: “With increased global demand, instability in the Middle East and hurricanes in the Gulf of Mexico, we might look back fondly on $3.03.”

On the weak dollar: “2008 may be the year to stick around the U.S. or visit a country with a more favorable exchange rate unless $5 for a cup of coffee in London doesn’t faze you.” My take: As long as you avoid the Euro and the pound, travel shouldn’t be prohibitively expensive. And perhaps U.S. travelers can take the poor exchange rate as an excuse to visit a part of the world they wouldn’t ordinarily– Asia, North Africa, Eastern Europe, South America– all of which remain relatively affordable.

On frequent flier programs: “Most major airlines this year adopted rules allowing frequent-flier miles to expire if there is no account activity, usually within a three-year (or shorter) period… Redeeming miles for seats is tougher than ever.”

Whole thing here.

Enough pessimism, Chicago Tribune! Now for the good news…

Flights are, generally speaking, getting cheaper every year. The world is more accessible to us than at any time in history. Traveling in most parts of Asia and South America is still ridiculously cheap, and I’ve got a year-long trip planned starting in July. Now that’s good news!

Climbing Ecuador’s Mt. Cotopaxi– the world’s tallest active volcano

by Aaron Hotfelder on

Several months ago, a friend named Justin and I decided that, after months of playing in Ecuador, we wanted a real physical challenge. We visited a tour company in Quito to find out what they could offer, and we were intrigued by their ad for a grueling hike up Mt. Cotopaxi, the world’s tallest active volcano at 19,347 ft. After ironing out some details, and confident in our physical fitness levels, Justin and I were assigned a guide, and we were on our way.

The bus and jeep rides to the base of the mountain were breathtakingly beautiful, and once we arrived, we hiked up to the “base camp” refuge by about 3:00 pm. Our guide, Carlos, prepared enormous plates of food for us, and insisted that we eat as much as possible. Justin and I did as much carbo-loading as we could, and we had already slumped back in our chairs when we saw Carlos bringing in two more giant plates of food. He laid the plates in front of us as if to say, “And now, for the main course.” After some protest, we nibbled dutifully.

At midnight, after getting no sleep due to an altitude-induced headache, I got up, along with 20 or so other climbers, to begin the cold, dark ascent. As this short article about the hike up Cotopaxi puts it, “After you add illness, inexperience and altitude, we had the makings of a great adventure.”

We practiced using crampons and ice axes for the first time, roped ourselves to our trusty guide, and began our slow, plodding ascent. After about five hours of trudging up the mountain, Justin’s asthma had him in a bad way. I didn’t feel so great either. Justin made the tough decision to turn around, and because we were all roped together, that meant I had to come down too. Frigid and exhausted, I feigned great disappointment.

Though we didn’t quite make the summit, and even though the climb was bone-chillingly cold, I’d still do it again. It can be easy to lounge on the beaches, or go out drinking every night, or just generally turn into a waste of space when on a long trip. My advice, though I don’t always follow it, is to challenge yourself not to fall into those easy traps. Pick an activity you think you probably can’t do– and give it a shot. If you succeed, great. If you fail, well, sometimes it’s not the worst thing for us to be knocked right on our asses.

More on Cotopaxi here and some scenic photos of it here.

Spain celebrates April Fool’s Day today

by Abha Malpani on

If you live in Spain or any South American country, watch your back today as, other than getting a paper cut out of what looks like the shadow of the gingerbread man stuck on your back (see image), you might be the victim of many other pranks as these countries celebrate the Dia De Los Santos Innocentes (literally Day of the Innocent Saints).

Even news channels are known to give false information that will only be revealed as a joke tomorrow, but apparently they are pretty obvious: UFO lands in the Royal Palace, President runs off with daughter of the opposition, are some examples rumored to have been announced on television. I’m going to try to watch every news bulletin today :)

On this day in history, Christians believe that when King Herod found out that Jesus was born, he ordered all children under the age of two in Bethlehem to be slain in order to protect his authority as King. How did such a sad day become one of jokes and laughter?

A bit of probing and there seem to be two possible explanations:1) kids play innocent pranks all the time, so playing pranks today is actually an ode to the children that were killed, or 2) jokes on this day have a pagan origin from the Middle Ages when the day was a joyous carnival and no one was held responsible for his actions; one thing blended into another and voila, prank day in Spain and Latin America was born.

I’m going with the second explanation. Joke away!

Traveling for Christmas

by Catherine Bodry on

When I was a kid, Christmas at my house was a stereotypically American affair. There was the build-up — Christmas lists, calendars with chocolate that helped you count down the days, tree-cutting and decorating, and, best of all, piles and piles of presents. It was always magical and fun.

But a friend of mine had parents who wanted her to experience Christmas away from the commericalism of the US, so one year they took her to Bolivia for the holidays. There, she witnessed poverty on a massive scale and left the country with a better sense of how much of the rest of world celebrates Christmas — simply.

Maybe I’m idealizing her experience a bit, but I do love the idea of enjoying the holidays away from the US consumer mania. And I think that introducing children to other cultures during Christmas is a great idea. I’m sure they’d get a lot more out of the experience than they would working at a soup kitchen — although I’m all for working at a soup kitchen. And hopefully they’d come to appreicate their iPods and Nikes in a way they wouldn’t have before the trip. What do you think?