Category: South America

Mar

10

Chile’s Road Back

Posted by Larry Habegger

The powerful earthquake that struck near Concepcion Feb. 27 will affect Chile for years. While much of the country’s tourist infrastructure was undamaged and tourism officials are urging travelers not to cancel their plans to visit, the impact on Chile’s citizens could last a long time.

The New York Times reported that many buildings in Santiago appeared unscathed from the outside, but inside, they were heavily damaged. Other reports suggest that rebuilding will take three to four years. And the quake created little curiosities, such as moving Concepcion 10 feet closer to the sea, and Buenos Aires an inch closer. The temblor could even spike the cost of paper 5 percent and take a huge bite out of the supply of Chilean wine.

Triporati’s Chile expert Wayne Bernhardson, in nearby Uruguay at the time, cited reports from friends that many of the coastal towns in central Chile will never be the same. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Chile, Feature, South America, Travel

Feb

15

Parading in Rio’s Carnival

Posted by Larry Habegger

It’s that time again: Ash Wednesday is on the horizon, the season of Lent is calling for sacrifice, and Rio’s Carnival celebration is in full swing. Hundreds of thousands of spectators come to watch the dancers strut their stuff and take part in the world’s sexiest party, but most of them must stay on the sidelines during the parades, serious competitions for the 12 top samba schools vying for the crown each year.

But that didn’t deter Nicole Zimmerman, a Brazilian-born American who danced her way into a samba school to experience Carnival from the inside out. She tells her story in the LA Times.

If you can’t get to Rio for tonight’s “special groups” parade (the second of the big competition) you haven’t missed out. The top six samba clubs march again Feb. 20 in the Champions Parade.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Brazil, Feature, Rio de Janeiro, South America

Jan

5

A New Top 10 List? Ethical Destinations

Posted by Larry Habegger

Spud Hilton reported in the San Francisco Chronicle the other day a new spin on the top 10 lists we always see at this time of year. Not the best beaches or golf courses or hot cities for the new year, but the Developing World’s 10 Best Ethical Destinations.

The list was compiled by Jeff Greenwald and Christy Hoover at EthicalTraveler.org, a nonprofit organization (part of the Earth Island Institute) that urges travelers to spend their travel dollars in ways that protect human rights and minimize impacts on the environment. They acknowledge that no country on the list is perfect (what country off the list is?) but they found lots of hope and inspiration in many places. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Africa & Middle East, Argentina, Chile, Europe, Feature, Ghana, South America, Suriname

Jun

26

Governor Sanford Flunks Geography

Posted by Wayne Bernhardson

As almost everyone has heard over the past couple days, South Carolina’s Republican Governor Mark Sanford went AWOL several days last week, ostensibly hiking the Appalachian Trail, before being met at Atlanta’s Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport by an inquiring reporter from the Columbia daily The State. In reality, Sanford had just returned from a spontaneous trip to “exotic” Argentina where, he said, he drove the coastline alone.

Many observers have suggested, some with great hilarity, that to reach that coastline, the governor would first have had to drive at least four or five hours through hundreds of miles of pasturelands, on short mid-winter days, before reaching the scenic coast of southern Buenos Aires province. If not, his best alternative was the Avenida Costanera (pictured here), which runs past the Buenos Aires city airport Aeroparque before dead-ending a few miles north.

For more details please go to Southern Cone Travel.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Argentina, Buenos Aires

Jun

5

Trouble on Robinson Crusoe Island?

Posted by Larry Habegger

Triporati’s Chile and Argentina expert Wayne Bernhardson reports that the future is uncertain for the national park comprising the Juan Fernández Archipelago, which includes Robinson Crusoe Island. The report on his blog for Moon Guides says that the government is considering building a road from the airstrip to the village of San Juan Bautista.

Is a road from an airstrip to town such a transgression? Well, maybe if it’s through landscape Wayne describes as “one of the most scenic and solitary [walks] I’ve ever done.” Right now to go from the village to the airstrip requires a four-hour walk or a one-hour sail, but isn’t that what you’d expect on an island where castaway Alexander Selkirk lived alone for four years to become the inspiration for Daniel Defoe’s famous novel, Robinson Crusoe? Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Chile, Feature, Robinson Crusoe Island, San Juan Fernández Archipelago, Travel

Jan

30

Rainforest Renewal

Posted by Darya Mead

Trekking through the Brazilian Amazon Rain Forest, so much was made clear to me about the importance of these ecosystems: the interconnectedness of plants and animals, the habitat and the horror of the destruction of our planet.

Like many, I have tried to eat less meat, support legitimate ventures that protect the jungle environment and visit various rainforests to enjoy and learn more about them. Whether soaring above the canopy on a zip line, boating down the Amazon or hiking to an idyllic tropical waterfall in Fiji, rainforests are hot travel destinations. I nearly coughed up my granola this morning as I read a front page story in The New York Times entitled: New Jungles Prompt a Debate on Saving the Primeval Rainforests.

The key word is “debate” and controversy there will be about this article, I am sure, but it was a fascinating read. The premise of the article is that as fast as original rainforests are being decimated by farming, logging and industry (about 38 million acres a year), replacement forests are growing at a much faster rate. Continue reading »

1 Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Birdwatching, Brazil, Caribbean, Eco Friendly Travel, South Pacific

Jan

27

The Finest Walk in the World

Posted by Larry Habegger

Who wouldn’t want to hike a trail with such a reputation? Where might this place be? Favorite hikes of mine include Nepal’s Mt. Everest Base Camp and Kala Patthar trek via Namche Bazaar; the network of trails around Switzerland’s Lauterbrunnen Valley and Grindelwald; backpacking trails in California’s Marble Mountain Wilderness, the Sierra Nevada, and Yosemite.

Others might choose the Inca Trail in Peru; the pilgrimage route to Santiago de Compostela in Spain; pub-to-pub walking in the Cotswolds of England; the Appalachian Trail from Georgia to Maine.

I’ve been tempted by the Overland Track in Tasmania. But Robert D. Hershey Jr. extols the virtues of the Milford Track in New Zealand in a recent story in The New York Times. As far back as 1908 this 33.5-mile trail was called the finest walk in the world and many hikers feel it’s true today.

After reading Hershey’s story I’m ready to start planning a trip south. How about you?

1 Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Asia, Australia, California, Camping, England, Europe, Feature, France, Hike/Backpack, Nepal, New Zealand, Northern California, Peru, South America, Spain, Switzerland, Tasmania, United Kingdom, United States

Jan

20

Seascape Resort

Posted by Darya Mead

You have to rally when it is a good friend’s 40th birthday. I almost didn’t. I was feeling overwhelmed with work and family obligations, but I knew it would do me good to get away.

My friend’s birthday fell on Inauguration Day so she really wanted to celebrate this year for many reasons. The weather was so glorious and we were headed to this resort called Seascape in Aptos, California. Just a few minutes south of Santa Cruz, this lovely spot is a great respite from the frantic city life I call my existence.

Five moms were headed to this condo to celebrate our good friend’s momentous birthday. The trip started out like some AbFab meets Sex in the City moment with three of us in a Volvo in heels, driving down Highway 1 at 10 p.m. It was pitch black and we were jabbering away about the economy when I thought I heard a plane crashing (the USAIR flight crash landing on the Hudson River fresh in my mind). Turns out, the front tire blew. It was terrifying…. Continue reading »

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Books, California, Cruises, Family Travel, Feature, Northern California, Santa Cruz, South America, Spa/ Resort, United States, Yoga

Dec

15

The Deaths of Two Amazing Travelers

Posted by Larry Habegger

Many of us like to believe that we’re remarkable travelers, having visited dozens if not hundreds of countries and connected with people in many cultures, but a news story in today’s San Francisco Chronicle about the death in Venezuela of a husband-and-wife team of travelers brought home what one meaning of the phrase “world traveler” is: one who never stops traveling.

How many of us will continue fearlessly roaming the globe into our 90s? That’s right, our 90s? The odds are that few of us will even reach our 90s but the amazing Hugh and Elsie Chang of Walnut Creek, California did just that, and perhaps they would have continued into their 100s if their lives had not been cut short in a boating accident on the way to see Sapo Falls the day before heading to Angel Falls.

Hugh Chang was 92 and Elsie was 90. We should all be so lucky to live the way they lived, to see what they saw, and to keep going until only an accident can stop us.

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Adventure Travel, Venezuela

Dec

13

Out of the Closet and into the Wine Cellar?

Posted by Wayne Bernhardson

Anyone who’s been to Buenos Aires since the political and economic meltdown of 2002 is aware that the city has become the top gay travel destination in all of South America, and one of the most important in the world.

A recent issue of the Economist provides a good summary of BA’s gay appeal, with its vigorous nightlife (including a gay milonga or tango dance club), Latin America’s most liberal domestic partnership laws, the arrival of gay cruises, and even the five-star “hetero-friendly” Axel Hotel on the edge of San Telmo.

Another of Argentina’s attractions, for all sexual orientations, is the country’s wine. As far as I know, though, Buenos Aires is the only city in the world with an openly Gay Wine Store, near Plaza San Martin in the upscale barrio of Retiro. Personally, though, I’m bewildered as to what constitutes gay wine, and would appreciate it if anybody could clue me in. Red, white, or rosé?

Leave a Comment | Filed Under Argentina, Buenos Aires, Gay, South America

More dispatches »