Paige
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Paige
I'm a freelance travel writer specializing in Central America and Southern Mexico.
Nicaragua
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Paige's reviews and photos on Viator.com
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May252012
Day Trips from Rio de Janeiro
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
It can be tough to leave the marvelous city, as its seemingly endless attractions—beaches, rainforests, nightlife, and so much more—conspire to keep the traveler here long past his or her plans.
May232012
Things to Do in the Atacama Desert in Chile
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
The driest spot in the world is Chile’s Atacama Desert, which receives less than a single millimeter of rainfall per year.
May222012
Great Day Trips from Buenos Aires, Argentina
Travel Recommendation
Location: Buenos Aires
My Recommendation Tip:
While beautiful Buenos Aires, with its boulevards, fine museums, and fantastic tango spots has plenty to keep the average traveler entertained for a week, it also makes a great base for visiting the surrounding sites.
May212012
Great Day Trips from Buenos Aires, Argentina
Travel Recommendation
Location: Buenos Aires
My Recommendation Tip:
While beautiful Buenos Aires, with its boulevards, fine museums, and fantastic tango spots has plenty to keep the average traveler entertained for a week, it also makes a great base for visiting the surrounding sites.
May172012
Getting Around in Cancun
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
Mexico’s premier travel destination is quite easy to navigate, thanks to an excellent public transportation system geared to tourists who speak little or no Spanish.
May172012
Exploring Costa Rica’s Osa Peninsula
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
At the far southwestern corner of Costa Rica is the Osa Peninsula, dangling lush and tempting from the mainland.
May152012
San Telmo Sunday Market in Buenos Aires
Travel Recommendation
Location: Buenos Aires
My Recommendation Tip:
The cobbled streets of San Telmo, the Argentine capital’s old city, are a delight to wander at any time. Renowned for its shady sidewalk cafes, sultry milongas (tango clubs), and antique stores, it is an appealing destination throughout the week.
May152012
The Best Beaches in Lima, Peru
Travel Recommendation
Location: Lima
My Recommendation Tip:
The capital of Peru is famous for many things: Its magnificent Spanish colonial city center, amazing cuisine, and outrageous museums, among others.
May142012
Best Surf Spots in Brazil
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
With some 7491km (4644mi) of fabulous Atlantic coastline, it’s no surprise that Brazil has dozens of spectacular surf spots to explore.
May112012
Exploring Tijuca National Park in Rio de Janeiro
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
While Rio de Janeiro is growing rapidly—the metropolitan area now clocks in at some 6.3 million inhabitants—it has preserved, at its heart, one of the largest and loveliest urban greenspaces in the world.
May032012
Intoxicating Wine Tours from Santiago, Chile
Travel Recommendation
Location: Santiago
My Recommendation Tip:
The wines of Chile rate among the slender nation’s most popular exports and attractions.
May032012
Things to Do in Recife
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
The largest city on Brazil’s Northern Coast is Recife, so called for the coral reefs just offshore its almost equatorial islands and bays
May032012
What to Do in San Jose, Costa Rica
Travel Recommendation
Location: San Jose
My Recommendation Tip:
There’s a joke, in tourism circles at least, that says, “San Jose: It’s only 45 minutes from Costa Rica!”
May032012
Fresh Fish at Santiago’s Fabulous Mercado Central
Travel Recommendation
Location: Santiago
My Recommendation Tip:
The classic spot in Santiago for fish fresh from the sea is the Mercado Central, a most traditional setting for the bounty caught off Chile‘s 6,435km (3,990mi) coastline.
May012012
Live Music and More for Lima, Peru’s 477th Birthday
Travel Recommendation
Location: Lima
My Recommendation Tip:
Semana de la Fundacion de Lima (Week of the Foundation of Lima) occurred back in January, with Peru’s Spanish Colonial capital celebrating the 477th year since conquistador Francisco Pizzaro first proclaimed the seaside enclave the “City of Kings.”
Apr272012
Bicycling in Rio de Janiero
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Though Rio is one of Latin America’s largest cities, with some 6.3 million people in the city proper, and (in)famous for its security problems, it also happens to be outstandingly bicycle friendly.
Apr232012
Take Time to Tango in Buenos Aires
Travel Recommendation
Location: Buenos Aires
My Recommendation Tip:
The sensuous signature dance of the Rio de la Plata—both Buenos Aires and Montevideo, Uruguay, have a legitimate claim to its ardent excess—is the tango.
Apr202012
Paragliding in Rio de Janeiro
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Rio’s world-famous landscape is a vision to fly above, though most of us will see it only from the famous cable car up to Sugar Loaf Mountain and the iconic statue of Christ the Redeemer.
Apr192012
Hot Springs of Arenal Volcano
Travel Recommendation
Location: Arenal Volcano National Park
My Recommendation Tip:
When an active volcano like Arenal, erupting almost continuously since 1968, meets a moist and well-watered rainforest, things can get a little steamy.
Apr162012
Miraflores District of Lima, Peru
Travel Recommendation
Location: Lima
My Recommendation Tip:
While you should certainly take time to see the historic center of Lima, with its monumental Spanish architecture and remarkable museums, you may find (like many limenos) that you love Miraflores even more.
Apr042012
Buzios Day Trip from Rio de Janiero
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Even locals can’t agree on how many beaches there are here in Armacao dos Buzios (or just Buzios, among friends) though most put the number somewhere between 20 and 25. It’s a matter of interpretation along the dramatically carved coastline of this gorgeous peninsula, reaching with rocky headlands, smoothly hewn sea caves and gently scalloped stretches of sand from the Costa del Sol. The name, Buzios, is that of an iridescent spiral of seashell, cast up upon the lovely shore. Seers say that these shells, well thrown, will reveal to curious seekers their fortune. No matter what you’re looking for in this sophisticated spot, your desires will almost certainly be fulfilled.
Apr032012
Peru Gears Up for the 17th Bolivarian Games
Travel Recommendation
Location: Peru
My Recommendation Tip:
While the bulk of international visitors travel Peru’s southern loop—usually taking in Lima, Cuzco and Machu Picchu, Arequipa, the Nazca Lines and/or Colca Canyon—the north beckons with its own amazing ruins, rainforests, beaches, and culinary delights.
Mar122012
Epic Four-Year Calving Cycle Begins at Argentina’s Perito Moreno Glacier
Travel Recommendation
Location: El Calafate
My Recommendation Tip:
The glittering star of Argentina’s remarkable Los Glaciares National Park is the crystalline, 30km (18mi) river of ice called Perito Moreno Glacier. It is the planet’s third-largest reserve of fresh water and one of the continent’s only advancing glaciers. This photogenic natural wonder is also one of the most easily accessible glaciers in Latin America, and perhaps the most popular destination in Patagonia for visitors both mild and wild.
Mar092012
Big Beer Flavor at Costa Rica’s Tiny Microbrews
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
When people think about Costa Rican beer—not an altogether unusual sentiment, particularly when presented with the perfect palm-shaded beach hammock—it is usually Imperial that comes to mind. The light, bright, clean-tasting lager rarely earns international acclaim, but it goes back smoothly on a hot, sunny day. And this is, after all, the tropics.
Mar082012
Peru’s Bahuaja Sonene National Park a Haven for Undiscovered Species
Travel Recommendation
Location: Peru
My Recommendation Tip:
On the Bolivian border, not far from Puno and famed Lake Titicaca, the “highest navigable body of water in the world,” is a unique conservation zone clinging with lush abandon to the Andes, as they plunge toward the thickly jungled Amazon Basin. The star attraction is Peru’s Bahuaja Sonene National Park, connected by a network of public and private lands to Tambopata Natural Reserve, Peru’s most visited wildlife preserve. Madidi National Park and Pilon-Lajas Biosphere Reserve are both on the Bolivian side of the border. Together, they protect one of the most biodiverse hotspots on Earth, home to more than 1000 bird species, including the rare military macaw, blue-headed macaw, and Amazonian parakeet.
Feb292012
Chile: The Lone Star
Travel Recommendation
Location: North Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
Chile is sometimes called La Estrella Solitaria, “The Lone Star,” for the single celestial body on its tricolor flag. When the bandera was first adopted in 1912, however, its designers probably had no idea that Chile would one day boast the finest skies for stargazing in the world. The high deserts of Northern Chile, are the driest on the planet; parts of the Atacama haven’t had a drop of rain in the four centuries since records have been kept. There’s very little moisture between you and the deep blue, and at altitudes ranging to 4400m (14,400ft) and peaks of 6885m (22,589ft), you aren’t that far from outer space to begin with.
Feb272012
The Modest Malbec and Rise of Argentine Wines
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mendoza
My Recommendation Tip:
The long, luxuriant days of the Argentine summer are upon us. Even in the cooler Mendoza highlands, verdant rows of ripening grapes glow in the afternoon sunlight, as if in anticipation of the early March harvest. This is Argentina’s wine country – most famously home of the increasingly popular Malbec. The roots of Argentina’s winemaking industry are primarily Spanish, with a few other European vintages aging in the arid Andean foothills of western Argentina, which produces about two-thirds of this nation’s wine. Cabernet Sauvignon, Chardonnay, Criolla Grande, Tempranillo, and Cereza grapes are all pressed into export-quality bottles that get plenty of international press. But it is a modest French grape, back home usually mixed with better vintages into hearty table wines, that is making a fuss.
Feb232012
Costa Rica’s Sloths on the Move, to Monteverde and Around the World
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
The subject and site of almost all the sloth videos in existence, including Cooke’s, is the Sloth Sanctuary of Costa Rica, also known as Aviarios del Caribe. Located just north of the mellow, reggae-infused Caribbean beach town of Cahuita, the world’s first sloth rescue operation has been providing refuge and rehabilitation for two-and three-toed sloths for almost two decades.
Feb212012
Skateboarding along the Spine of South America, from Peru to Chile
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cusco
My Recommendation Tip:
The barren altitudes of the Andes and shifting dunes of South America’s Pacific deserts are known well as a place to test oneself. From the Inca engineers responsible for South America’s first real road system, to competitors in the Dakar Rally, going where no road can be made, this is just the sort of harsh and beautiful environment that attracts natural adventurers. The perfectly paved highways that have replaced steep Inca trails, winding through the pinnacles and chasms of this rare world, appeal to a very mobile group you might not expect to find on the tourist trail. This month, three New Zealanders (Alan Carnaby, Troy Bilbrough and Guy Parsons) completed a five-week, 1600km (992mi) trek from Arequipa, Peru, to La Serena, Chile.
Feb172012
Discover the Hidden Beauty of Rio's Favelas
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Rio de Janiero, like most of Brazil, is riding a wave of economic prosperity that makes more developed nations sigh with envy. Last month, Brazil eclipsed the UK to become the world’s sixth largest economy—larger than the rest of South America combined. The favelas, or urban slums, that famously cling to the hillsides overlooking Rio proper, have historically been home to the poorest of the poor. But as this city rises to international star status, even these neighborhoods are being integrated into the festivities.
Feb152012
Tulum Hopes To Be Named One of Mexico's "Pueblos Magicos"
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
Few would argue that Tulum is a magical place. It’s been an enchanting Caribbean escape for Mayans since at least 564 AD (the date inscribed on the oldest known stone stele), and is the oldest resort town in the Americas for many reasons.
Feb152012
Santiago Named a Top Destination
Travel Recommendation
Location: Santiago
My Recommendation Tip:
It’s been a rough year for tourism professionals trying to promote Chile’s Patagonia. Last winter’s ash-cloud eruption of Puyehue Volcano tangled flight schedules and undercut the ski season, starting things off with a fizzle. Then, the unusually hot, dry southern summer exploded into wildfires, temporarily closing Torres del Paine National Park.
Feb132012
Buenos Aires Subway
Travel Recommendation
Location: Buenos Aires
My Recommendation Tip:
The Buenos Aires Subte, or subway, used to be the best deal in Argentina, offering what may have been the cheapest underground mass transit in the world. Last month, however, backpackers and budget travelers (not to mention Buenos Aires’ working poor) were saddened to learn that fares were rising from AR$1.10 (US$ 0.26) to AR$2.50 (US$0.58). Fare prices had been frozen for decades, despite Argentina’s infamous inflation, thanks to massive subsidies doled out to the “private” company that runs Buenos Aires mass transit system, Metrovias. The Kirchner government is cutting off federal money in 2013, when responsibility for the Subte is handed over entirely to the city.
Feb092012
Costa Rica and the Space Age
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
When most people think about visiting Costa Rica, their daydreams include wildlife conservation, national parks, luxury ecotourism, zip-line canopy tours, pristine beaches, epic surfing, and perhaps the nation’s long-standing commitment to peace. They may not even realize that Costa Rica is also on the cutting edge of space exploration. The Ad Astra Rocket Company, located just outside Liberia, Guanacaste, is currently developing a plasma engine set to revolutionize interplanetary travel. Current US and Russian technologies can get human beings to Mars, theoretically, but the voyage would take at least nine months, exposing astronauts to potentially deadly doses of radiation, not to mention years of their lives. Costa Rica’s Variable Specific Impulse Magnetoplasma Rocket (VASIMR) will be able to take us to the Red Planet in just 39 days.
Feb082012
Oaxaca’s Ceramic Traditions Live On
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mexico
My Recommendation Tip:
People come to Mexico’s mountainous southern state of Oaxaca for many reasons: the architecture, the culture, the food, and often the handicrafts. Oaxaca has a long tradition of creating beautiful ceramics and pottery, as visitors will surely notice once they arrive. Recently, archaeologists have speculated that these Zapotec ceramic traditions date back even farther than they had originally thought, and yet this art form still thrives in the region.
Feb072012
Cajamarca Protests Over New Mines
Travel Recommendation
Location: Peru
My Recommendation Tip:
Organizers Promise that Upcoming Protests and Marches Won’t Interrupt Transport or Business in Peru. Big protests are afoot in some of northern Peru’s tourism destinations, and for the next few weeks, savvy travelers in the region will want to stay aware of events as they unfold. Since late 2011, protests of up to 10,000 people have rocked the beautiful mountain town of Cajamarca, normally better known for its hot springs, ice cream, and historical significance; this is where Conquistador Francisco Pizarro and his scruffy band of some 200 feverish Spaniards somehow defeated the overconfident Inca Emperor Atahualpa.
Feb062012
Technology and Social Networking in Brazil
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
At the outset of the Google+ vs. Facebook wars of 2011, Brazil—South America’s economic powerhouse—was often held up as proof positive that Google would one day reign over all social media. The Google-based network, Orkut (pronounced “Or-koo-chi”), created by Google’s Turkish offices in 2004, became wildly popular Brazil (and briefly India), even as Facebook cornered the rest of the global market for candid party photos and clever status updates.
Feb032012
Carnival in Rio
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
It’s almost that time of year again in Rio de Janeiro, home to the planet’s most spectacular party: Carnival. Though the main event doesn’t officially kick off until Friday, February 17, energy is already crackling through the streets.
Feb012012
Isla Salas y Gomes
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
Not far from enigmatic Easter Island is another, lesser known island paradise, long uninhabited and a safe haven for the wildlife that has been all but exhausted around its more famous neighbor. Just 390km (242mi) northeast of Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Isla Salas y Gomez rises above the water, the apex of a volcanic undersea range off the coast of Chile.
Jan302012
Tension over Falkland Islands
Travel Recommendation
Location: Argentina
My Recommendation Tip:
It’s been almost thirty years since Argentina and the United Kingdom went to war over the Falklands Islands (or Islas Malvinas, as Argentina continues to call them). Despite decades of peace, history sadly seems on the verge of repeating itself.
Jan262012
Elton John Coming to Costa Rica
Travel Recommendation
Location: San Jose
My Recommendation Tip:
On February 3, superstar Elton John will be performing in San Jose, Costa Rica, with a very special opening act: Minister of Culture and Youth Manuel Obregon. Appointed to the position by President Laura Chinchilla in 2010, Obregon is arguably Costa Rica’s most accomplished musician.
Jan192012
The Dakar Rally's Path through Chile
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
The world’s wildest motorsport race just finished and announced its winners! Racers crossed the Andes into Chile on January 6th beneath the watchful cone of the world’s highest volcano, Nevado Ojos del Salado (6879m/22,563ft) in the Parque Nacional Nevado.
Jan172012
Coffee Break in Buenos Aires - Now Smoke Free
Travel Recommendation
Location: Buenos Aires
My Recommendation Tip:
The Argentine capital has long been known for its Mediterranean-style café culture, providing fine places where Porteños can linger with good friends over a jarrito of coffee or carafe of good wine—and perhaps a cigarette. But as of January 5, 2012, all enclosed areas in the capital are entirely smoke free.
Jan112012
Coffee Harvest in Costa Rica
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
The coffee harvest is in full swing in Costa Rica, with much of the country taking time out to pick the sweet, red fruits that were once the foundation of the nation’s economy. Although you can take a coffee plantation tour year round, now is the perfect time to appreciate the time and care that goes into producing the perfect cup.
Jan102012
Top 5 Archaeological Sites in Peru Beyond Machu Picchu
Travel Recommendation
Location: Peru
My Recommendation Tip:
While the ancient city of Cusco is considered the Archaeological Capital of the Americas, Peru offers much more for serious history buffs. Here are 5 more sites worth seeing.
Dec212011
Visiting Antarctica from Chile
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
http://thingstodo.viator.com/chile/visiting-antarctica-from-chile/
Dec152011
Fiestas de Zapote
Travel Recommendation
Location: San Jose
My Recommendation Tip:
This isn’t say, however, that the Costa Rican capital doesn’t celebrate the season in style. The second-largest party in the country begins the day after Christmas in San Jose, Las Fiestas de Zapote. The Fiestas de Zapote run through January 2, bringing in party people from around Costa Rica, as well as a few interested travelers.
Dec092011
Monarch Butterflies in Michoacan, Mexico
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mexico
My Recommendation Tip:
The monarch butterflies have begun to arrive to Michoacan State’s UNESCO Butterfly Biosphere Reserve, as they do every November, reaching peak butterfly density—perhaps a billion individuals flitting about the trees—by mid-January. Visitors from all over the world come to see the magnificent creatures in the mountainous pine forests just north of Mexico City (though they are often so tuckered out after their 3000km (1800mi) trip, that they just hang there quietly in the trees).
Dec012011
Top Beaches in Costa Rica
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
Dry season, or verano (summer) has almost arrived in Costa Rica, which means it’s time to choose the perfect beach for your upcoming vacation. From December through May, the sun shines gloriously across this tropical slice of heaven (well, the Pacific side, anyway; Caribbean beaches have their own weather patterns, with plenty of rain year-round), welcoming surfers, sunbathers, family, and friends.
Nov112011
Public Bike-Rental Program in Rio de Janeiro
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
With its remarkable weather, fantastic vistas, and more than 200km (124mi) of bicycle paths and lanes (plus many other roads closed to automobile traffic on Sundays and holidays), Rio de Janeiro is fast becoming one of the most bicycle-friendly metropolises in South America and the world.
Nov092011
Teatro del Lago
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
Frutilla’s top attraction is the Teatro del Lago (Theater of the Lake), which offers outstanding entertainment year-round, most famously Semanas Musicales (Musical Weeks), a ten-day classical music festival held in January and February, featuring some 40 performances by Chilean and international artists. Though the popular event dates to 1968, the new venue makes it that much more spectacular.
Nov072011
Finding the Right Fiesta Just Got Easier for Party People
Travel Recommendation
Location: Buenos Aires
My Recommendation Tip:
The nightlife scene in Buenos Aires is legendary, a party capital of Argentina and the world that pulls on its sky-high stiletto heels when most cities are getting ready for a nightcap. Some say that you haven’t even experienced this city until you’ve watched the sun rise after dancing the night away. But for those who want really up-to-date information, there’s only one place to go: social media. The GEOclubbing guide taken over Buenos Aires, which gathers all the independent Facebook pages and information into a one-stop shop of all clubbing and party info anyone could need.
Oct262011
Chilean Art on the Move: Traveling Light
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
Visitors to Santiago with a taste for more modern offerings have plenty to enjoy: MAVI, the Museum of Visual Arts, Museum of Contemporary Art, the free Museo Ralli, and finally, Sculpture Park, where you could enjoy a most inspiring picnic.
Oct242011
Cocktails on Ice: Carved Glacial Bar in Patagonia
Travel Recommendation
Location: Argentina
My Recommendation Tip:
While it is well worth drinking deeply of the scientific knowledge at the glacier museum, you may also want to check out the Glaciarium’s newest “exhibit,” the GlacioBar. A dozen craftspeople worked for nine months on the bar, which is entirely—tables, chairs, walls, glasses, everything—hewn from Perito Moreno Glacier.
Oct182011
Mistura Gastronomic Festival Highlights Peruvian Cuisine
Travel Recommendation
Location: Lima
My Recommendation Tip:
While many travelers first come to Peru for Machu Picchu, they return—again and again—for the food. Widely revered in foodie countries like France, Mexico, and Italy, Peruvian cuisine is considered one of the world’s finest.
Oct132011
Six More Mayan Sites to See on the Yucatán Peninsula
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
Splendid Chichén Itzá (600AD–1000AD), one of the Seven Wonders of the World, is quite rightly the most famous of Mexico’s pre-Columbian cities.
Oct072011
Commemorating Irish Involvement in Mexico's War
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mexico
My Recommendation Tip:
One of the little known episodes in the Mexican-American War (1846–1848), the creation of the San Patricios Battalion. Hundreds of Irish soldiers who had joined the US military, many to escape the Irish Potato Famine, were so horrified by the war that they abruptly changed sides, and began fighting for the Mexico.
Oct062011
October Means Carnival in Limón
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
While the heaviest rains of the season fall on the Pacific side of Costa Rica, keeping crowds small, prices low, and adventurous tourists a bit damp, the Caribbean Coast is gearing up for the biggest party in Costa Rica: Carnival. Thousands show up to the gritty port city of Puerto Limón to partake in a week of live music, dancing, beauty contests, cultural events, and much, much more.
Oct042011
Peru’s New President Creates a New Ministry of Tourism
Travel Recommendation
Location: Peru
My Recommendation Tip:
Tourism is already a priority for Peru’s brand-new President Ollanta Humala, sworn in on July 28. The nation’s third-largest industry (after fishing and mining), tourism is also Peru’s fastest growing. Classic destinations such as Cuzco, Machu Picchu, and the Nazca Lines are enjoying record crowds, to the point that the government has been limiting visitors to the most popular spots.
Oct032011
Rio Implementing High-Speed Wireless for All
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Development in Rio de Janiero, and throughout Brazil, continues apace for the 2014 World Cup and 2016 Olympics. Sometimes it seems like President Rousseff is announcing a fabulous new national advance with every address, and this past month was no exception.
Oct032011
New Monkey Species Found in the Brazilian Amazon
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
Though it sometimes seems as if our world were entirely tamed, this is emphatically not the truth. Nowhere is this more clear than the depths of the Amazon rainforest, a region—though increasingly crisscrossed with roads, razed by loggers, and devastated by dams—considered the world’s most biodiverse, and the pride of Brazil.
Sep292011
Cozumel Hosts the First Annual Lionfish Hunting Safari
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
Off the Yucatán Coast are some of the world’s most beautiful denizens of the deep, the colorfully “maned” lionfish. Its showy fans of brilliantly hued spines and quiet, fearless demeanor make it prized by collectors and beloved by divers, who once had to swim the Indian Ocean to enjoy resplendent specimens in the wild.
Sep282011
Patagon Journal, A New Bilingual Magazine Covering the Chilean Patagonia
Travel Recommendation
Location: Patagonia
My Recommendation Tip:
International tourism to Chile’s spectacular slice of Patagonia is on the rise, and there’s a brand-new bilingual magazine covering the region. It’s operated by respected travel writer and journalist Jimmy Langman, who has written for dozens of established publications, including Newsweek, National Geographic, the Miami Herald, and The Nation.
Sep272011
Argentina Begins Implementing Glacier Protection Law
Travel Recommendation
Location: Argentina
My Recommendation Tip:
Last October, Argentina passed a conservation law unique in the world, protecting the nation’s glaciers. Although the law, which primarily effects mining operations, suffered considerable resistance in this era of record gold prices, the government has finally began implementing the Glacier Law.
Sep222011
Forbes Names Manuel Antonio as One of the World��s Most Beautiful Parks
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
Forbes magazine, the respected business biweekly, recently selected Costa Rica‘s Manuel Antonio National Park as one of the world’s most beautiful protected areas. With 7000 of the planet’s prettiest spots to choose from, it must have been tough to whittle the list down to only a dozen.
Sep202011
The Peruvian Amazon: Rich in Wildlife, Rich in Gold
Travel Recommendation
Location: Peru
My Recommendation Tip:
The Peruvian Amazon is one of the most best kept secrets for travelers interested in visiting the rainforest. The melodies of Peru‘s Madre de Dios wilderness are sung by scores of frogs and more than 1000 species of birds, a symphonic soundtrack perfect for the world’s most biologically diverse region.
Sep192011
Brazil Gets Its First - Of Several - Solar Stadiums
Travel Recommendation
Location: Salvador da Bahia
My Recommendation Tip:
The deal has been sealed on Brazil’s first solar stadium, just one of twelve set to go green in time for the 2014 Olympics. The flagship for this ambitious initiative is Estádio de Pituaçu (more formally known as Estádio Metropolitano Roberto Santos), in the beautiful beachfront city of Salvador da Bahia.
Sep162011
Copacabana Glitters Once Again
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Copacabana
Sep152011
President Calderon Takes Us on a Guided Tour of the Yucatan and Beyond
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
One doesn’t usually think of Felipe Calderón, the tough-as-nails president of Mexico best known for his encyclopedic policy knowledge and unflinching crackdown on borderland narcotrafficking gangs, smiling and scuba diving through the clear blue waters of the Yucatán. This month, however, he does just that, descending into the peninsula’s famous cenotes, or freshwater-filled sinkholes, considered sacred by the Mayans and spectacularly beautiful to everyone else. Calderón took time out earlier this year to show popular travel journalist Peter Greenberg the wonders of Mexico, which include some of the Yucatán’s brilliant blue gems.
Sep142011
Rodeo Season Kicks Off in Chile
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
The 18th of September is Chilean Independence Day, merely one highlight of a month-long celebration known as Mes de la Patria, Month of the Fatherland. Visitors will enjoy parades, flag-waving, kite-flying, traditional cueca dances, and delicious asados, or pit barbecues, beneath the woven-branch roofs of temporary fondas set up all over Chile for the occasion. While El Dieciocho, as Independence Day is often called, is sure to be a party, it kicks off an even older and perhaps more important national tradition: the Chilean Rodeo. Though first recognized as a national sport in 1948, going fully professional in 1962, Chilean Rodeo dates back to the 1500s.
Sep092011
Chiapas, Mexico Gears Up For Adventure Travel Summit
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mexico
My Recommendation Tip:
The Adventure Travel Trade Association, perhaps the most important business organization in adventure tourism, will be having its annual conference in Chiapas, Mexico, this coming October. Speakers will include founder of GAP Adventure and Planeterra; Tensie Whelan, president of the Rainforest Alliance; and Bill Richardson, former Governor of New Mexico: “Throughout my travels in the effort of diplomacy worldwide, it has become clear that connecting on a basis of a sense of place can be a lynchpin for creating peace,” explains Richardson. “Understanding of local cultural heritage and possessing a sense of adventure is paramount.”
Sep082011
Taking in Costa Rica’s Volcanic Views
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
The delicate land bridge that links the Americas was born of volcanoes, thrust up above the ocean’s surface only 30 million years ago—the flick of a hummingbird’s wing in geological time. Costa Rica itself was merely a fiery archipelago of smoking islands until the sediments settled and Central America formed 27 million years later.
Sep062011
Peru’s Place of Memory Set to Unveil History
Travel Recommendation
Location: Peru
My Recommendation Tip:
The upscale Lima neighborhood of Miraflores is today known for its fine cuisine, trendy nightlife, eye-catching architecture, and appealingly rocky coastline. In July 1992, however, the posh hotspot made international headlines because of the Tarata bombing, when truck bombs detonated by the Shining Path—Maoist guerrillas or simply terrorists, depending on your source—killed 24 people, seriously wounded 200, and gutted the neighborhood. The bombing ushered in a federal crackdown on left-wing activity across Peru, spearheaded by former President Alberto Fujimori. Today, though lauded in some circles for his successful efforts, he is serving time for human rights violations committed during that period—including massacres perpetrated by his notorious anti-communist paramilitary force, the Grupo Colina.
Aug312011
The Chilean Miners Go Hollywood
Travel Recommendation
Location: North Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
On August 5, 2010, deep in the Atacama Desert, the San José copper mine in Copiapó collapsed. It was assumed that all those trapped inside had perished, until a drill bit sent Quixotically into the deep came back up emblazoned with the now famous note, "We are well in the refuge, The 33."
Aug302011
Rock in Rio Comes Home
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
The biggest music festival in the world, Rock in Rio, Cidade do Rock is returning home. The past four incarnations of this mega festa have been held in Lisbon, Portugal and Madrid, Spain, but this year, for the first time since 2001, the festival comes back to Rio de Janeiro. More than 150 artists will appear over the course of the concert, which runs from September 23 to October 2 (an extra day was added due to popular demand—by both fans and musicians).
Aug292011
Beaver Problems in Tierra del Fuego
Travel Recommendation
Location: Argentina
My Recommendation Tip:
The chill, windswept tip of South America must have seemed, to a Canadian, the perfect place for a profitable beaver colony. It took some convincing, but in 1946, Argentine President Perón authorized the introduction of 25 breeding beaver couples from Manitoba, Canada, to the island of Tierra del Fuego in Argentina. He even paid pilot Tom Lamb US$650 per animal, much coveted for their fur. Such a deal. Today, an estimated 250,000 of their descendants have spread far beyond Lake Fagnano, in the middle of Tierra del Fuego, where they were originally introduced. They’ve even swum the Beagle Channel, establishing colonies on several islands and the Brunswick Peninsula, part of continental Chile.
Aug262011
TEDx Returns to San Miguel de Allende
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mexico
My Recommendation Tip:
Following its successful 2010 turn as host of the most popular TEDx conference in the organization’s history, the graceful Spanish colonial city and UNESCO World Heritage Site of San Miguel de Allende in Mexico has once again brought together some of Mexico’s, and the world’s, finest minds.
Aug252011
Sea Turtles in Costa Rica
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
As Costa Rica‘s rainy season (“green season” in tourism terminology) intensifies, peaking in September and October, tourism slows to a crawl. Though the warm and jungled beaches may not be packed with sun lovers, however, the huge tropical moon shines over a far older migration.
Aug232011
Peruvian Airlines Grounded for 90 Days
Travel Recommendation
Location: Peru
My Recommendation Tip:
Since 2009, Peruvian Airlines has offered low-cost flights between Lima‘s Jorge Chávez International Airport (LIM) to seven popular tourist destinations: Arequipa, Cusco, Iquitos, Ilo, Piura, Tacna, and Tumbes. This past August 18, however, the Peruvian government shut down the airline due to noncompliance with air safety regulations, including maintenance problems discovered after an emergency landing on August 2.
Aug222011
Getting Real (R$) about Stretching Your Budget in Brazil
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
The price of success can be steep, and Brazil has had a great run in recent years. It's one of the developing world's success stories, today ranked the seventh or eighth largest economy on Earth (depending on who you ask) and a global powerhouse by any estimation. Brazil has also become the most expensive country in South America.
Aug192011
Rio Hosts the Fifth Military World Games
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Rio de Janeiro is currently gearing up to host two of the biggest sporting events in the world, the 2014 Men’s World Cup and 2016 summer Olympics. This past July, the city also got an outstanding warm up, successfully hosting the Fifth CISM Military World Games, sponsored by the International Military Sports Council.
Aug182011
New Visitors Center in Easter Island
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
Though Rapa Nui (Easter Island), Chile in is the most remote inhabited island in the world, more than five hours by air from the nearest continent, some 50,000 tourists arrived in 2010—compared to around 5000 inhabitants. The government expects this number to increase to 200,000 by 2020, and is expanding the airport and improving infrastructure in anticipation. Though this is good news for those who rely on tourism, the island’s top earner, the unprecedented traffic on this fragile island has taken a severe environmental toll.
Aug182011
2012 Mundo Maya Tourism Campaign
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
If you’ve tried to research anything online about the Mayan Empire in recent years, you’ve had to wade through pages of apocalyptic prophecies, all promising the end of the world before Christmas 2012, for the price of a few page views. You aren’t the only one who has noticed that virtual snake oil sales were eclipsing actual information about Kukulkán, the Feathered Serpent and patron of the Mayan priesthood.
Aug152011
Tango World Championships in Argentina
Travel Recommendation
Location: Argentina
My Recommendation Tip:
With the turn of the 20th century, a new dance called the tango swirled out of Rio de la Plata's teeming urban underclasses. It combined Spanish, Italian, and French steps remembered by poor European immigrants; the candombe beats brought by former slaves from their native Africa; and sensual moves beloved by ladies of the evening, who gathered dancers together in their Buenos Aires and Montevideo brothels, and gave birth to the most fiercely passionate dance in the world. By the onset of WWI, the tango had gone global, thanks largely to singer Carlos Gardel, "El Zorzal Criollo," whose international hit Mi Noche Triste inspired a global tango revolution. The dance has gone on to become one of the world's most popular, reaching new artistic heights in Finland, Japan, the United States, and elsewhere.
Aug122011
Reflections on the Past, Written in Lights
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mexico City
My Recommendation Tip:
The Plaza of Three Cultures is weighted with history. It is fitting that the heart of Mexico City’s Tlatelolco neighborhood is now a place of artistic intent and understanding.
The plaza sits atop a particularly unsettling fault line through city’s history, marked by the architecture of transformative eras. The pyramids were built by the Aztecs of Tlatelolco, twin city of Tenochtitlán.
Aug092011
Protecting the Pristine Andean Peak of Nevado de Huaytapallana
Travel Recommendation
Location: Peru
My Recommendation Tip:
Though the most popular image of Peru is that of Machu Picchu, rising from the cool, arid Andes to an air-catching 2430m (7970ft), this is an incredibly diverse nation. From the steamy Amazon rainforests of Iquitos, to deserted Pacific beaches rolling in pristine dunes toward the crashing waves. Few, however, think of Peru, a country that just grazes the equator, as a land of ice and snow.
Aug082011
Seven New Mayan Archaeological Sites Discovered Close to Mérida
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
Once known as Ichcaanzihó, or “City of Five Hills,” the capital of Yucatán State is thought to be one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the hemisphere. The “five hills” were actually Mayan pyramids, though their stone extravagance was subsequently dismantled by Spanish settlers, and used to build the modern metropolis christened Mérida.
Aug082011
Ed Stafford's "Walking The Amazon" Hits the Shelves
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
The Amazon winds 6992 kilometers (4345 miles) through the South American rainforest, connecting Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Colombia, Venezuela, Guyana, and of course Brazil with its massive flow and endless network of tributaries. Though the length of the great river is contested—purists say it's only 6400km (3976mi), making it a bit shorter than the Nile—following it is a long hike indeed. Thanks to Ed Stafford, who completed the journey from Camana, Peru, to the mouth of the Brazilian Amazon, in August 2010, we know that it takes 860 days—almost 2-1/2 years—to walk the great river's banks 2000-mile detour thanks to illegal deforestation and resulting flooding.
Aug052011
Seamounts Marine Management Area
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
It’s not easy being green, and Costa Rica‘s protected areas—roughly 20% of the country are expensive to protect. Only the most popular national parks, and those with easily observed borders, have enough rangers to keep poachers and loggers at bay, and even then imperfectly.
Aug032011
Air Service At Last to Chile's Chiloé Island
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
As the Chilean coastline plunges south toward the Antarctic, it begins to fray into glacier-carved fjords and rain-forested islands, beginning with the Chiloé Archipelago. All but lost in the mists that mark the edge of human habitation, these forty isolated islets line the icy shipping lanes headed into the Straights of Magellan. They are a world unto themselves, long isolated from Santiago and the mainland, at least until Puerto Montt, 90km (56 miles) away, was founded in the mid-1800s.
Aug022011
Brazil’s ADAPTA Looks to Climate Change
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
Though the climate change debate remains contentious (in the USA, at least), there is at least one aspect of global warming that cannot be denied. Current conditions in the Brazilian rainforest are very similar to early predictions of a major drought in the Amazon, should atmospheric CO2 levels be allowed to rise.
Aug012011
The Razing of One of the World's Wildest Places
Travel Recommendation
Location: Argentina
My Recommendation Tip:
The vast and almost impenetrable plains of the Gran Chaco ("Big Hunting Ground") spread from Northern Argentina in a low, sweltering swath through parts of Paraguay, Bolivia, and Brazil. Though the admittedly more charismatic Amazon gets all the attention, the Chaco is the second-largest forest on the continent, and even more remote, covered with dry tropical forest thick with thorn trees, cactus, and dozens—perhaps hundreds—of endemic species as yet unknown to science.
Jul292011
The "Colossal Masterworks of the Olmeca World" Return Home to Mexico City
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mexico City
My Recommendation Tip:
Centuries before the Mayans erected their first stone pyramid, and millennia before the Aztecs arrived in what's now Mexico City, a far older civilization began laying the foundations for the rich Mesoamerican culture. Often called the "mother civilization of the Americas, the Olmec nation rose to power between 1400 and 400BCE, when Rome was still a provincial farming village.
Jul252011
Crowdsourcing the Amazon: Brazil Creates the World's First Botanical Wiki
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
It is an honor—but also a responsibility—for any nation to be entrusted with the care of one of the most the most biodiverse, ecologically sensitive, and globally important regions of the world. The challenges of preserving the massive Amazon Rainforest would be hard for even developed nations to meet, and Brazil, despite its recent growth is still struggling to eradicate basic poverty while defending Mother Nature.
Jul252011
Brazil Legalizes Same Sex Partnerships
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Brazil has long been one of the most popular destinations in Latin America for gays and lesbian travelers. Of course, its beautiful beaches, fantastic cities, and wild parties appeal to all sorts of travelers, but the nation's recent tradition of openness and equality has been accepted as an open invitation by the GLBT community, only recently beginning to enjoy full acceptance in the region.
My Photos:
Jul212011
Tequila Herradura Sensory Museum
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
Though Cancún is known for many things—fantastic beaches, outstanding dive sites, glorious Mayan ruins, and fantastic natural parks—perhaps the resort town’s main claim to fame involves that golden liquor so dear to Mexico’s heart: Tequila.
Jun292011
High-Speed Railway to Connect Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo and Campinas
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Soon, you will be able to sit back with your laptop and enjoy Brazil’s first sleek, gleaming, high-velocity train, as it leaves Rio de Janeiro for the 80-minute, 280kph (175mph) journey to São Paulo. The trip to South America’s most important city now takes at least six hours by car or bus; heck, the train may even beat air connections, once you consider check-in time. Enjoying the ride? Continue aboard another 35 minutes to visit Campinas, a fine city just off the average tourist’s radar...
Jun292011
Puerto Williams Opening Up to Increased Antarctic Travel
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
For decades, Puerto Williams, Chile, and Ushuaia, Argentina have vied for the title of “world’s southernmost city.” While Puerto Williams is slightly farther south, it has only 2000 residents (1700 of whom are in the Chilean Navy), and must call itself the southernmost town in the world. The popular resort town of Ushuaia, on the other hand, boasts a more respectably urban population of some 70,000, and can thereby claim the title of southernmost city...
Jun242011
New Transoceanic Highway Through the Amazon
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
In the works for almost 40 years, the Transoceanica will soon be completed, winding 5,500km (3,400mi), like a paved river, from the Brazilian Atlantic to the Peruvian Pacific. With a single bridge left to complete, this long-anticipated highway will shrink trips that once took days down to hours.
Jun242011
RIO Brings Brazil to the Big Screen
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Flying high on great reviews and an even better soundtrack featuring Brazilian bossanova legend Sergio Mendes, the animated film RIO is playing to packed theaters around the world...
Jun172011
Sea Turtle Nesting Season Arrives to Cancún and the Yucatán
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
The swirling currents of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico shift with the seasons, bringing female sea turtles, heavy with eggs, to the Yucatán Peninsula. The lovely ladies begin to arrive in late May, rolling in with the rising tide. Once they arrive on these storied shores, the haul their heavy bulk onto dry sand, where every evolutionary advantage they’ve developed over the past 130 million years is practically worthless...
Jun172011
Brazilian Air Passes Now Easily Available Online
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
Brazil is enormous: At 8,514,215 square kilometers (3,287,357 square miles), it occupies almost half of South America, an area just larger than the continental United States, and a bit smaller than all of Europe. If you’re planning to see the sites by bus or boat, be sure to budget your time accordingly...
Jun152011
Nature Air Now Connects Costa Rica and Nicaragua
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
Costa Rica’s northern neighbor, though not yet nearly as popular a destination, has been getting plenty of attention in recent years. Nicaragua boasts unique attractions, such as the architecturally stunning Spanish colonial cities of Granada and León, and the mysterious lake island of Ometepe, its hourglass figure formed from two towering volcanoes—one of them active—recently declared a UNESCO Biosphere Reserve...
Jun152011
Cancún International Airport Ranked Latin America’s Best
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
For the second year in a row, Cancún International Airport (CUN), Mexico’s second busiest, has been ranked the best airport in Latin America. Airports Council International (ACI), which presented the award on April 7 in Delhi, India, points to excellent service, a flawless layout, and a successful renovations among the criteria for the well-deserve accolades...
Jun152011
Camino Real de Tierra Adentro Declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mexico
My Recommendation Tip:
New Spain’s once all-important trade route, the Royal Road of the Interior Lands, today spans vast deserts, enormous mountains, broad rivers, and two nations, Mexico and the United States of America. They work in concert to protect what is sometimes called America’s First Superhighway, blazed in 1598 by Zacatecas-born and notoriously bloodthirsty conquistador Juan de Oñate, oftencredited with founding the first European city in the USA...
Jun142011
Surf’s Up in Costa Rica
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
Though perfect curls roll in on both of Costa Rica’s coasts throughout the year, April marks the beginning of the Central American Pacific’s big wave season. From the southernmost swells on the Panamanian border, where an endless left crashes into pristine Pavones; to epic Ollie’s Point in the far northwest—named for Oliver North, who handed off supplies to Nicaraguan Contras here during the 1980s—the options are endless...
Jun142011
UNESCO World Heritage Committee Recognizes São Francisco Square
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
The city is easily Sergipe State’s loveliest, boasting harmonious baroque buildings cast in gently settling stucco, softly lit in the warm tropical night. The beautifully arcaded Convent of San Francisco Church rises above a sea of terra cotta-tiled roofs, which gracefully protect centuries-old buildings, which line the old cobbled streets...
Jun102011
Artifacts from Machu Picchu To Be Displayed at New Cusco Museum
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cusco
My Recommendation Tip:
For decades, the government of Peru has asked museums and universities around the world to return ancient artifacts recovered during the chaotic early years of archaeological discovery. Most experts admit that these early adventurers operated more like Indiana Jones than responsible scientists, but convincing first-world facilities to relinquish their priceless collections has been a difficult proposition...
Jun072011
Costa Rica’s New National Stadium Set for Inauguration
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
Gracefully open to the capital’s crisp tropical highland climate is this remarkable new structure, the most modern (if not quite the largest) sports venue in Central America: Costa Rica’s magnificent new National Stadium. Built in just 20 months at an estimated cost of some US$105 million, the Estadio Nacional will host more than 35,000 fans during its first FIFA football (soccer) match on March 29, which pits the Costa Rica National Team against Argentina...
Jun072011
Argentina Legalizing Same-Sex Marriage A Big Boost for Tourism
Travel Recommendation
Location: Argentina
My Recommendation Tip:
Some were surprised in July 2010, when the overwhelmingly Roman Catholic country of Argentina became the tenth nation in the world—and first in Latin America—to fully recognize same-sex marriage. They may not have realized that when President Cristina Fernandez signed the law last year, she was merely building on the proud tradition of tolerance and openness that has made Buenos Aires a top destination for (often well-heeled) gay and lesbian travelers for years...
Jun022011
Celebrate a Cosmic Spring Equinox at Chichen Itza
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
Evocative and impressive at any time of year, the massive, well preserved ruins of Chichen Itza make for an unforgettable day trip into the world of the ancient Maya. The site upon which Chichen Itza stands has been occupied for millennia, thanks to the deep “cenotes,” or natural limestone wells, that provide a city's worth of water during the long, dry, Yucatán summer. By 600 AD, it was one of the most powerful cities, planned along astronomical lines, in the Mayan Empire...
May272011
Birders and Conservationists Enthusiastic about New Parks
Travel Recommendation
Location: Brazil
My Recommendation Tip:
Most visitors to Brazil’s lush, wealthy Brasilia State come to enjoy the fantastic beaches, such Praia de Forte, Costa de Sauipe, and Itaparica Island, as well as the rich cultural milieu, historic architecture, and wild festivals of the state capital, Salvador. Birders and other wilderness tourists eager to explore one of the world’s most biodiverse places, however, head inland, to the richly forested and, until recently, woefully unprotected, interior.
May252011
Chile Tops the Travel Charts
Travel Recommendation
Location: Chile
My Recommendation Tip:
Though 2011 is still young, it’s already been an excellent year for Chile’s rapidly expanding travel industry. This is awards season in tourism, and Chile has scored top spots on two of the world’s most influential travel lists...
May242011
UNESCO Recognizes Prehistoric Caves in Oaxaca
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mexico
My Recommendation Tip:
There is a reason why Mexico is home to more than 30 UNESCO World Heritage Sites, ranking sixth in the world for such an accumulation of honors. In addition to preserving some of the planet’s most fascinating natural heritage sites, Mexico is one of the great cradles of human civilization, marked by such monuments as Chichen Itza, Palenque, and many more...
My Photos:
May232011
Rio de Janeiro Gears Up for the World’s Biggest Party
Travel Recommendation
Location: Rio de Janeiro
My Recommendation Tip:
Have you been having an uncontrollable obsession for feathers, sequins, and sexy dance costumes just perfect for performing the samba, Brazil’s national dance? Don’t fight it—it’s Carnival time, and your symptoms indicate a serious need to head south for the biggest party of the year...
Mar102011
Telecom Tycoon Opens Fabulous, Free Art Museum in Mexico City
Travel Recommendation
Location: Mexico City
My Recommendation Tip:
Rising dramatically from Mexico City’s posh Polanco District is a gleaming, new, curvaceous structure unlike anything this architecturally innovative city has seen. It is a brand new art museum, poised to rank among Latin America’s best, a gift to the city from world renowned businessman Carlos Slim, who was until recently the world’s richest man. It is said that Slim controls about 5% of Mexico’s total GDP, including 85% of the nation’s telephones (through Telmex and Telcel), more than 50% of its Internet access, and other holdings that range from department stores and hotels to coffee and cigarettes...
Mar032011
Two Cool New Museums Open in Argentina
Travel Recommendation
Location: Argentina
My Recommendation Tip:
Travelers headed to the Southern Cone have two cool new attractions to enjoy in Argentina. The first is already inspiring Beatles fans from across the universe to make a special trip to beautiful Buenos Aires, where the world’s largest collection of Fab Four memorabilia opened as El Museo de los Beatles in January...
Mar012011
New Discoveries Tempt Visitors toward the Moche Trail
Travel Recommendation
Location: Peru
My Recommendation Tip:
Though most archaeologically inclined travelers headed to Peru plan their visit around magnificent Machu Picchu and other wonderful ruined cities surrounding the old Inca capital of Cuzco, Peru is the final resting place for a far older, and more exotic, indigenous legacies...
Feb232011
Collection of Pre-Columbian Treasures Headed Home to Costa Rica
Travel Recommendation
Location: Costa Rica
My Recommendation Tip:
Despite its wealth of remarkable pre-Columbian artifacts, including iconic polychrome pottery, enigmatic stone spheres, and priceless jade and gold pieces, Costa Rica once struggled proud to display the work of its ancient indigenous artisans. These unique styles, crafted where North and South American nations have long mingled, have only in recent decades been accorded the museums they deserve, such as the excellent Jade Museum, glittering Pre-Columbian Gold Museum, and the National Museum of Costa Rica...
Feb232011
Cancún’s Museum of Underwater Modern Art’s SILENT EVOLUTION Complete
Travel Recommendation
Location: Cancun
My Recommendation Tip:
Shimmering in the liquid blue light just off idyllic Isla Mujeres, Mexico, is a remarkable work of art unlike any you’ve ever seen: Jason deCaires Taylor's La Evolución Silenciosa. The marvelously detailed piece, hidden just beneath the Caribbean, includes more than 400 life-sized human figures, alive with lobsters, urchins, eels, and all kinds of colorful fish, for whom the underwater sculpture is truly intended...
My Photos:
