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

Shaking It In Rio

by Erik Olsen on

I wish I had a dollar for every “I’m a hopelessly square white guy who went to Brazil to learn how to dance” story I’ve read over the years. Honestly, from John Krich’s “Why Is This Country Dancing” to well, some other stories I know are out there to, um my own piece on the topic….hey, that’d be three bucks so far. But you get the point. Even if my Googling skills aren’t up to snuff this morning (it’s not even 6:30 yet!) I know I’ve read a gazillion stories just like this. They guy heads out into the pulsing streets, he feels insecure and clumsy, but after a few still caprinas and confrontations with the opposite sex, the guy learns how to feel the beat and the next thing you know he’s swiveling his hips like a newly minted uranium-enriching centrifuge.

And so it goes in this story from Slate. Not that it’s bad, mind you. It’s not. The guy, Mathew Polly, learns how to Samba and kind of gets the idea of Capoeira, and he certainly has a lot of fun, but the cliches fly around like moths in the light on a boat gong up the amazon (trust me, I know what I’m talking about), and it has a certain predictability to it. Still, I would never be one to dis a guy who wants to travel to Brazil and write about it. So why don’t you read the piece and decide for yourself if you like it.

Airbus 380 Delayed

by Iva Skoch on

Gadling blogged about Airbus’ flagship plane A380 before. Looks like we are going to have to wait six more months before Airbus deliverers their first A380. The first plane was supposed to have been delivered to Qantas in October 2006, but Airbus pushed it back to April 2007. Qantas is “disappointed.”

Interestingly enough, none of the American airlines have expressed real interest in the A380. According to BBC, among the biggest customers so far are Emirates (43 planes ordered), Lufthansa (15) and Qantas (12).

Timing aside, does Qantas honestly need planes that fit 800 people? Will they be flying the entire population of Australia back and forth every time they fly this thing? Does anyone need a plane to fit that many people? The prospect of boarding 800 people in a timely fashion scares me. I can just imagine it now: “Now boarding passengers in rows 120-140…”

Wasn’t this plane supposed to make flying easier?

The Payphone Project

by Adrienne Wilson on

I once took a very spectacular photo of a friend of mine at a payphone in Barcelona and as gorgeous as she is, it was the payphone that surprisingly stood out. Thinking back on that particular shot I could see how one could develop a habit of photographing phone booths across the world. It was so foreign, so exotic and so un-American and I captured it all by accident. But that’s just Barcelona and surely there are more striking, alluring, photo-worthy booths around the globe in places like Sri Lanka, Oman and maybe even Estonia.

Well thanks to Jim Benning over at WorldHum, I’ve recently learned of the Payphone Project. He notes that the site began as a way to promote “random contacts among complete strangers” by publishing the numbers of payphones around the United States and encouraging people to call them. Today the website has grown into something bigger and is the virtual home or gallery of payphone photos from Peru, Senegal and Antarctica!

I’d say it’s a wonderfully unique project, but you decide for yourself and tell us what you think. Waste of travel planning time or mini world travel masterpieces?

Miss Tourism World 2006

by Adrienne Wilson on

Um, yeah. Someone please explain Miss Tourism World to me because I do not quite comprehend. Call me slow if you like, but what exactly are the qualifications? Is this another pageant dedicated to nothing other than beauty or does Miss Tourism World have some type of hospitality background as well? Are they roving vagabonds, tour guides, or translators in everyday life? I wonder if any of the contestants are travel bloggers, hmm?

Anyhow, if you’re interested in seeing a slew of exotic beauties duke it out for the title of Miss Tourism World 2006, mark October 5th on your calendars and tune in. World finals will be held in South Africa, but should one not be fortunate enough to root their favorite on in person, you can do so by watching the live web stream. Check out all the pretty contestants here.

Last year’s winner was Zuzana Putnarova from the Czech Republic.

via meniki.com

Word for the Travel Wise (09/22/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Although this particular Zouk Nights dance group is located in Australia and not the birthplace of the sound, it would be still be pretty cool to learn the movements of the French Caribbean inspired dance. According to the Zouk Nights, Brazilian dancers started dancing to Zouk when Lambada music stopped being produced. So this is what I’m thinking – whether you are in Australia, Brazil or Martinique somewhere your body should be moving to the music. No excuses.

Today’s word is a Portuguese word used in Brazil:

noite – (noy-te) night

Easy Portuguese online offers a small dictionary of useful words, useful phrases, and a couple of short lessons to get you started. Most have audio clips including our word for the day found here. Portuguese Language dot net has excellent historical info on the language and numerous tools to help you get motivated and be successful at learning the 6th most spoken language. For Portuguese heard in Portugal you can download mp3 audio from BBC, which I’m sure there are several similarities between the two countries. Those interested in classroom study abroad can click here for more info at Franco Americano.

Past Portuguese words: xixi, bronzeador, lanchonete, esquerda, crianças