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

Two Men. Two Bikes. 19,500 Miles From Alaska to Argentina.

by Willy Volk on

As a Peace Corps Volunteer, my primary method of transportation was a bicycle. I cycled among villages for work; to the district capital to collect my mail; and to nearby villages to drink beer made from millet. One time, to prove to myself that I was tough, I cycled 110 miles in a single day to the provincial capital. Truthfully, I was exhausted upon arriving — and I don’t know if I’m tough enough to cycle 100 miles in a day again. I think that’s why the story of Brooks Allen and Gregg Bleakney is so inspiring.

On July 26, 2005, Brooks and Gregg began their 19,500 mile adventure. Rolling out of Prudhoe Bay (the most northern accessible point in Alaska), they’re headed to Tierra del Fuego, the southernmost tip of Argentina. Following a continuous road network that traverses Arctic tundra, urban megalopolises, tropical rain forests, mountain passes, and seemingly endless stretches of arid desert, the pair is cycling to raise $50,001 to help fight Diabetes.

Riding on 27-pound bikes that weigh 100 pounds when fully loaded, the pair is currently between La Paz, Bolivia and Salta, Argentina. Take a minute to check out their irregularly updated trip journal, and be sure to visit their absolutely stunning gallery of images. Maybe it’ll inspire you to donate a little something to their cause — or to undertake an adventure like this.

Flying Through Iguazu Falls

by Willy Volk on

Iguazu Falls is actually a series of 270 waterfalls flowing out of the Iguazu River, which serves as a de facto border between Brazil and Argentina. A World Heritage Site, some of the individual falls reach 269 feet in height, though the majority are only 210 feet. The most impressive of the waterfalls is the Devil’s Throat, a 2300-foot-long cliff that discharges as much as 45,000 gallons of water per second.

Aerial still shots of Iguazu are enchanting, and panos are mesmerizing, but nothing equals flying through the falls.

Towering over Niagra, the only waterfall in the world that rivals Iguazu is Zambia’s Vic Falls. Whereas Iguazu is wider — because it’s composed of many falls — Vic Falls is the largest single curtain of falling water in the world.

Worldmapper

by Erik Olsen on

A very cool use of technology, geography and demographics can be found over at the site Worldmapper. They have developed a really amazing algorithm that allows you to see the world and the various sizes of the country therein, through various statistics. Countries look skinny or fat according to their share of wealth or trade or population or education or whatever gets plugged in, but they maintain their familiar boundaries and shapes. Some of the results make the countries look silly (i.e. a Chile-shaped USA), but they are scientifically precise.

For example, the map here shows the break down for tourism. Now this is fascinating, right? It seems that Western Europe is the most popular destination for international tourists, receiving 46% of world tourist trips, while on the other end 0.1% of world tourist trips are made to Central African territories. Hmmm, I guess that’s not too surprising, though. More interesting perhaps is the map here that shows countries that receive more international tourist visits than international visits are made by their residents. Anyway, that’s just a sampling. There are a lot more fascinating maps to see at the site.

Worldmapper was created by geographers from the University of Sheffield’s Social and Spatial Inequalities Research Group (There’s an innovative college major!) and by Mark Newman, a physicist at the University of Michigan. Really neat.

Heading to Rio? Try The City’s Newest — And Most Dangerous — Art Gallery!

by Willy Volk on

Vila Cruzeiro is a dangerous shanty town (or favela) in the heart Rio. How dangerous is it? Recently, military policemen launched an assault on the favela, killing at least 6 “suspects” and wounding several civilians. Teens roam the area with grenades hanging from their shorts. In 2002, the favela saw a Brazilian journalist get dismembered and incinerated by local drug traffickers. The area isn’t nice.

However, the area is getting prettier, thanks to Jeroen Koolhaas — a Dutch illustrator — and Dre Urhahn — an art director from Amsterdam. Together with several local residents, they’ve recently completed the first “installation” associated with their Favela Painting Project. Ultimately, Koolhaas and Urhahn (who hope to attract other muralists from around the world) will design and implement what promises to be one of the world’s largest, and most unique, outdoor “organic museums.” The best part: free admission!

According to Koolhaus, “By making huge paintings in the favelas we hope to inspire the kids … to pursue a career in a creative field… Our final goal is to paint a whole hillside favela depicting one single image.” Imagine: rather than a hillside of dull corrugated aluminum, there will be a hillside of vivid colors and never-ending possibilities. If you want to learn more about Rio’s favelas, check out the Koolhaas- and Urhahn-produced video after the jump.

The Most Romantic Places on Earth

by Willy Volk on

Of course, Valentine’s Day is largely about romance. In my opinion, the most romantic place I’ve ever been was on top of Table Mountain. After riding the aerial cableway car to the top, my wife and I found a secluded spot, whipped out a bottle of South African wine, and watched the sun set. It was beautiful. However, many people might not think of a mountaintop as particularly romantic. To that end, here are some other places that might be more “classically” romantic:

  1. The Samode Palace in amber-soaked Rajasthan, India.
  2. Chaa Creek’s Treetop Suites high above Belize.
  3. Mfuwe Lodge’s chalets, overlooking animal-packed South Luangwa Park.
  4. Bavaria’s Schloss Neuschwanstein, nestled among so many mountains.
  5. Chile’s Hacienda Los Lingues is for the horse lovers.
  6. California’s Muir Woods, which conservationist John Muir claimed was “best tree-lovers monument that could possibly be found in all the forests of the world.”
  7. The Daintree Cape Tribulation coast is where the Great Barrier Reef and the Daintree rainforest meet, and the only place on earth where two World Heritage areas exist side by side.
  8. Zanzibar’s gently-sloping Paradise Beaches.
  9. The Sheraton Moorea is guaranteed to make you melt.

What should we list as #10?