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

World Heritage Sights Rated

by Erik Olsen on

My wife and I are planning our upcoming trip to Norway and we’re trying to decide whether it’s worth the effort to take a boat called the Coastal Steamer up to the Western Fjords…places with pretty much unpronounceable (and unspellable) names like Geirangerfjord and Naroyfjord (names, several letters of which, do not seem displayable here because they are, well, weird-looking letters). Well, there I was contemplating whether these places would be worth seeing, and I discover that they are both top scorers in the World Heritage Site rating piece over at National Geographic.

The whole World Heritage Site system is wonderful. Think of it as the original 1000 Things to Do Before You Die…even though there are only 833 of them currently. The process of giving places around the planet World Heritage status began back in 1973 when UNESCO (the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization) was entrusted with administering the program in an effort to identify and protect places of “outstanding universal value.”

The list of sites ranges across a wide spectrum of both natural and man-made places from astonishing ruins like Angkor Wat to, well, as I pointed out here, the Norwegian fjords.

Anyway, these places are always worth pointing out and the nicely done ranking system here at Nat Geo is a helpful guide for anyone putting together their personal “life-lists”.

Cheap Travel During Shoulder Season

by Jamie Rhein on

It’s “shoulder season” time in some places. That means it is between high and low seasons. In April and May, crowds are not so big and not so small and temperatures are not too hot and not too cold, particularly if you are heading to the Caribbean, Europe or to ski resorts. I guess if you are going to a ski resort, you do need it cold enough for snow.

Considering that it snowed today in Columbus, Ohio (yes, the tulips do look pretty with their white dusting), it’s not so far-fetched to be thinking of hitting the slopes next week. Here is a link to OnTheSnow.com, a site that covers snow resorts and snow conditions.

If you’re interested in Europe, here’s a link to a web page of Transitions Abroad. It provides links to budget travel in Europe. While you’re looking, you can find other budget travel hotspots as well.

For Caribbean travel, here’s a website I came across called Cheap Caribbean. That sure gets right to the point. If you want to broaden your scope even further, here’s an article on shoulder season travel on away.com.

The Human Flower Project

by Adrienne Wilson on

Reading the title above has probably triggered some of you to conjure scenes from the film Little Shop of Horrors or some other dynamic piece of cinema where flowers and plants are seen quite often like in Pane e Tulipani or even American Beauty. However, this is one for those who truly love smelling the bed of roses be it through film or real-life experiences. I’ll describe the site in short as they have nicely done it on their own: The Human Flower Project is an international group, photo album and discussion on how people live through flowers. Live through flowers?

The blog, which I stumbled upon for the first time is really an experience offering a perspective of life in countries as far as Cuba and Uganda and focusing on issues such as art, medicine, society, politics, religion and commerce through flowers. For instance, did you know that the state flower of Texas, the Texas bluebonnet was altered about 25 years ago to bloom in maroon and white, an idea that came about from obsessed Texas A&M folk? Wonder how life is affected by those working in Uganda’s flower biz or why the Ladies in White from Cuba demonstrate holding gladiolus? Whether these things ever ran across your mind or not I’d have to say the Human Flower Project is something definitely worth a glance. Check out shots from Vietnam, Colombia and France in their photo gallery.

Heal the Earth Equinox Gatherings

by Jamie Rhein on

Now, if I lived in Southern California, here’s where I’d head on Wednesday, March 21. At the Big Bear Discovery Center in the San Bernadino National Forest in California, there’s an event my 5-year old (and I) would jump at the chance to go to. The Spring Equinox Celebration combines nature and Native American culture in a day long event of story-telling, crafts, animals from Moonridge Animal Park and two EarthHEALCeremonies. The ceremonies are in conjunction with Gathering of Elders in Titicaca, Peru, also with an aim to heal the earth, both spiritually and environmentally. The mix of nature and peace is appealing to me, particularly since it provides a thematic approach to activities geared to parents and their caregivers. The Big Bear Discovery Center is a prototype for an urban forest center operated in partnership between the U.S. Forest Service and volunteers of the San Bernadino National Forest Association. There are other urban forest service visitor’s centers around the U.S. This one was the beginning.

The Gathering of Elders, March 19- 23, is a convergence of indigenous tribal elders who will be taking advantage of the timing of the Spring Equinox of 2007 to bring healing and peace to the world. Somehow, 2007 is a significant year having something to do with 500 years of darkness and bringing the Eagle and Condor together. If this is true, I hope the elders are able to turn the tides. At any rate, it’s comforting to know that the various indigenous groups are watching the earth’s back. The event in Peru is also something non-indigenous folks can go to. Although these particular earth healing events are connected to the Spring Equinox, there are other events throughout the year. Here is a weekend I came across in Vermont that will be the end of July.