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

The Expat Expert

by Adrienne Wilson on

When the time comes to relocate to
far away lands and toss in everything you know about your country from the national anthem to your passport to embrace
that of another wouldn’t you want to consult the very best on your new lifestyle?
Really? I mean I would. Wouldn’t you want to know everything from how to uproot your children and beloved pets to
finding work in these new and uncharted worlds?

Let me back track for a second. How many of you have ever
been on that fantastic vacation to (insert exotic tropical island here) and thought I could live here for the
rest of my life? You probably even threw in some remark like screw the U.S., yada yada, Bush, and blah, blah, while
sipping some cool margaritas on the soft white sandy beaches thinking you’d trade it all in and bartend at the local
discoteca in the evenings. Maybe you could even spend your days cashiering at the neighborhood
mercado, taking life a bit slower and easier than your days spent in the old world. Sounds fabulous to some,
but without the appropriate research life in this new world could become challenging.

Know before you go
and consult the Expat Expert, Robin Pascoe. I’m pretty impulsive and I’ve had to
catch myself a number of times from high-tailing it to St. Lucia or Switzerland for a new life. Okay, so it may have
been monetary restraints that kept me from proceeding, but when the time is right I’ll want to know the A-Z on how to
settle in as an expat. Pascoe is known internationally and has spoken on topics such as moving your marriage, children,
culture shock and so on. If you can’t find what you’re looking for through her very own experiences or in her books
you’ll definitely want to check out her extensive link
sections with info for expats all over.

RoadJunky Friends Network

by Adrienne Wilson on

Chances are in the
process of some of your wildest trip planning schemes one of your close, conservative family members or friends
probably frowned upon your wacky notion of running that marathon in Cameroon or biking the entire length of the U.S.,
but deep in your heart you knew better than to think your idea was too far-fetched to be achieved. You knew 
thousands of people felt the way you do and it was only a matter of finding them. Rallying up your couch-potato pals
back home in Montana should no longer be one of your headaches in adventure planning with friends. Heck, let them stay
home. Bring them an oversized pencil souvenir back. Now you can rely on the assistance of another networking engine to find like minded individuals,
your better map-toting half, and even someone to practice the local tongue with you (language folks, language) at RoadJunky.
Use it if you’re bored, procrastinating on
some grueling corporate project, or in dire need of a buddy to accompany you on your crusade through the Congo to
protect say, the chimps. You’re not alone.

Cerro Torre Photos

by Erik Olsen on

Gadling fans know that I have long extolled the
virtues of Patagonia. The region on the southern tip of South America is probably the most beautiful, pristine
wonderland for adventurers on the planet. I thin it is better and more beautiful than Yosemite, especially if you have
ever dared to go to Yosemite during the high tourist season in summer. If you have ever experienced the traffic,
pollution and the gazillions of families in the valley with their RVs, you know what I’m talking about. Well, to show
you what I mean, take a
look at this wonderful series of photos taken by the ballsy team that recently climbed Patagonia’s Cerro Torre.
These are stunning images that very much back up what I’m talking about.

Word for the Travel Wise (03/10/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

Looks like my three vacation abroad is officially over and as I take a short break away from emptying my suitcase to step back into dreamlands where exploring the world never ends here on Gadling I’d like to point out a unique site in Paraguay and Spanish word.

Today’s word is a Spanish word used in Paraguay:

realidad – reality

My reality – I’ve returned home only to sort through a heap of mail, email, and have billions of phone calls to return in the very near future. (Yes, billions – really.) In addition to the basics worse part about this whole reality thing is I’ve got to head right back into work first thing tomorrow. On the brighter side it’ll help fill my empty pockets and travel piggy bank back up for the next great escape which could be this Jesuit Missions of La Santísima Trinidad de Paraná site found in Paraguay. Listed as a UNESCO World Heritage site, Lonely Planet notes you can camp outside of the ruins for free.  Free sounds great right about now.

As you begin to plan your first or next trip to Mexico, Central America or South America think more about making the lingo part of one of your pastimes to better bring the trip planning into reality. Amerispan, Cactus Language and IMAC are all good starting points to learning abroad. A free membership at Spanish Unlimited gives you the opportunity to learn a new word everyday by email, gain pen pals and hear audio of the words. Their website is actually a good resource tool for many different Spanish related topics. I won’t even begin to list some of the texts out there that could further your studies because there are entirely too many. If you know of some language books that would be useful please feel free to list them.

Past Spanish words: escalar, cercano

Word for the Travel Wise (02/15/06)

by Adrienne Wilson on

With Brazil being a somewhat close neighbor to Trinidad and preparing for their big Carnaval celebrations as well I figured I’d revisit the country and their language for a short moment. Last time I pointed out a rather silly word which could be useful, but was suggested by one of the readers that adults not use the word. Today our lesson plan includes something you’ll all want to know and use during your stay on the warm sunny beaches in the South American country.

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

bronzeador or protector solar – sunscreen

In your last minute shuffle to get everything into your beach bag for a quick sun-session with your best gal pals you mistakenly forgot the most important item on the hotel bed. The sunscreen. Forgetting the obvious has happened to us all at one point or another and instead of turning all the way around to fetch your ‘bronzeador’ or sunscreen you can easily replace the item at any beach side shop. The packaging shouldn’t be to hard to decipher, but if you’re looking for a way to strike up some convo with the hottie behind the register you could ask for the store location of the bottle. If you’re bold and brave you could even invite him along on his break to help get those hard to reach areas.

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. Those interested in classroom study abroad can click here for more info at Franco Americano.

Past Portuguese words: xixi