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

Surf Panama

by Erik Olsen on

Just a little while ago, we did a podcast with the travel guide writer Joshua Berman. Joshua told us all about his experiences living in Nicaragua and how he came to write the Moon Guide Book “Living Abroad in Nicaragua”, which just came out. One of the things we discussed was surfing down there, which has really taken off lately. That got me to thinking about other places in Central America where the surf is up and so I thought I’d do a little Googling to see what I could find.

Probably the best piece I found is this one in the Washington Post, that is all about surfing in Panama. There, just a short distance from the canal, you can ride tasty waves all day long and then settle yourself down in one of Panama City’s fine drinking establishments. Body boarder and would-be surfer John Briley headed down there to take surfing lessons, and his story not only discusses the destination as a fine new surf spot, but is also a soul searching tale of an old dog learning new tricks.

Volunteer Vacation Reviewed

by Adrienne Wilson on

Now that I’ve given you a week of blow-by-blow insider detail and a look at how fun volunteering while on vacation can be, let’s do a quick review. First question people always ask, “How can I do something like this or volunteer with Habitat for Humanity?” Joining a GV Team with Habitat for Humanity is usually the easiest part I find. Before signing up for the first plane to Uganda to help build homes start by learning about the organization. Habitat for Humanity International is a non-profit, ecumenical Christian housing ministry. Their mission is to eliminate poverty housing and homelessness from the world, and to make decent shelter a matter of conscience and action. I was introduced long ago when I read an article in TeenPeople Magazine about Sarah Michelle Gellar doing GV builds in Dominican Republic. I was so inspired I immediately looked Habitat up and followed homeowner, volunteers and other participant stories on their website until taking off for my first build.

There are many ways to get involved with Habitat. Check out their Get Involved page to find an opportunity for you. Global Village builds often leave people wishing they had done more. AmeriCorps/VISTA has several long term programs (up to one year) with Habitat located in many different locations throughout the U.S. If travel to foreign lands to lend your hand is what you are after, head right to the Global Village Program. Search the list of available trips and then apply online or download the application to submit via post. From this point there are two roads you can take, possibly more if you are a sharp thinker. One road is to raise the money for your trip expenses by fundraising and other activities. The second road is to raise the money from your very own paycheck or savings. I’ve taken both roads and I’ll say the first is much better if you have the time and can be a great way to spread the word and get others involved with Habitat and their mission.

Once you’ve taken care of all of the above, you’re pretty much on your way to fun times and doing great things. Beyond all it’s one of the most rewarding ways to spend your time, energy and did I mention work hard!

If you missed the Volunteer Vacation installments you can catch up on them all here:

Space Tourist Anousheh Ansari Blogs

by Erik Olsen on

What does space smell like? That is a question that Einstein himself may have pondered. His equation is one of the lesser known, but certainly important ones of all time: S=fb2, where Smell (S) equals a universal funk constant (f) minus one’s body odor (b) squared. It is a brilliant piece of Einsteininan mathematics that has been used in the development of high energy particle physics and odor eaters.

OK, I took some scientific/poetic license there. It wasn’t Einstein who came up with the Universal Funk Quotient, it was Enrico Fermi. He was Italian. So what’s this got to do with anything? Well, here I was perusing the Web today, wondering what in the world…or out of it…would interest gadling readers, and then I came across the blog of the first woman space tourist.

Anousheh Ansari just got back from her most amazing trip to outer space aboard the Soyuz TMA-9, and boy is she happy. And why wouldn’t she be? For a mere $20 million, she was able to float around planet earth with little or no work to do (she was a tourist, remember) and then returned on Friday after 11-days aboard the international space station. She said, finishing up my thought from above, that space smelled like burnt-almonds. Of course, that may have just been the burnt-almond flavored air freshener that hangs in the windshield.

No matter. There are videos and photos and written words on her site ,and, of course if you Google her, there are a gazillion stories about the trip she made. But most of all, I suggest you take a look at the video and make note that she issues a personal thank you to YouTube. If that isn’t the most 21st century thing you’ve heard this year, I don’t know what is.

Wallpaper* City Guides

by Adrienne Wilson on

Just when you start to sleep on Wallpaper* they go and make their debut in the publishing world with these nice little City Guides. Their reason being, after 10 years in the game uncovering the best new design and urban travel spots globally, packaging that decade of experience into well-thought out yet simple guide books was only obviously. They make it clear that the traveler’s time is as important as their own and they don’t waste it chucking in massive quantities. It’s about quality and they very best. The first 20 were published this past September and another 20 will be published every six months after that. Current titles include Mexico City, Los Angeles, NYC, Madrid, Bangkok and Stockholm to name only a few.

The books can be purchased at Phaidon. Don’t see what you’re looking for? Stay tuned for the rest in 2007!

Shrink is Located in Terminal A

by Iva Skoch on

Fear of flying on an airplane is one of those things: you understand it is completely irrational–and all those helpful statistics tell you that it is bazillion times safer than driving–but you just can’t help it. According to Harris Poll, 35% of all adults Americans are somewhat afraid of flying, while 14% are very afraid. The number has been going up, especially rapidly since 9/11.

According to Friday’s USA Today, Buenos Aires responded to the trend by opening a psychiatric clinic called “Poder Volar” (Able to Fly) right at the airport. It is almost too brilliant, a textbook example of demand and supply. Psychiatrist Claudio Pla has 11 years of experience treating aviophobia and charges $70/hour or $200 for an eight-hour therapy.

Is this the end of Xanax?