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An afternoon in Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia
There really isn’t much to do in the town of Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia. But the main plaza, which seems to have recently undergone a very nice renovation, is an enjoyable place to visit for a while. The old church facing the plaza is also quite interesting.
Source : elsur.org | 07-Aug-2007 01:18

Spanish one word-a-day
dictionary.com has a neat feature to build your vocabulary not just in English but also in Spanish. Spanish Word of the Day gives you a different word everyday. You can visit dictionary.com to see each day’s new word or, better yet, sign-up to get a new word everyday either by e-mail or in your news [...]
Source : elsur.org | 05-Aug-2007 01:52

Learning about the food in Peru
If you’re a foodie the blog Peru Food will be of interest. It’s tag line, “Peruvian cuisine is still relatively unknown to the English-speaking world. This blog is one attempt to remedy that situation.”
Source : elsur.org | 03-Aug-2007 23:31

Driving from Cuzco to the Urubama River Valley
After some flight problems caused by the collapse of LAB, Liz relates her trip from Cuzco to the guesthouse Kuchi Rumi in the town of Urubama, taking photos along the way of the beautiful mountain scenery.
Source : elsur.org | 31-May-2007 17:08

Best wishes for a couple struck ill in South America
Today I came across a very good blog South American Explorations about a recently married couple traveling through the South America. There are some very good postings such as this one about Peninsula Valdes. Sadly, the blog ends abruptly with a posting about one of the pair, Alli, being hospitalized in Santiago, Chile, with a [...]
Source : elsur.org | 25-May-2007 16:01

Taking the bus to Puerto Madryn and an iPod warning in Bolivia
Here’s a trio who are on the first leg of an around the world trip. They describe the 16 hour bus trip to Puerto Madryn. (You know, once you’ve done these long distances buses a few time, then 16 hours really doesn’t sound all that bad). From their blog, we learn about a 1 peso [...]
Source : elsur.org | 25-May-2007 15:39

5 months trek thru South America
Kate and Scott get the award for the best named blog about trekking through South America: Save the Drama for Your Llama. They recommend using the Rough Guides for travel through South America and I must agree that Rough Guides provide the best guidebooks to South America. Read about Kate and Scott’s adventures in the [...]
Source : elsur.org | 25-May-2007 15:29

A Year in Uruguay
While most Americans are flocking to Buenos Aires, it’s nice to see someone spending a year in Uruguay. Chuck Stull teaches economics at Kalamazoo College and has brought his family to Uruguay for the academic year. Compare recycling in theory with recycling in practice.
Source : elsur.org | 25-May-2007 15:18

Inflation in Cusco
Cusco, Peru is one of my favorite places in South America but it seems that the charm and popularity of Cusco is taking a toll on the wallet. Karen and Kevin are a couple traveling around the world and report from Cusco that their 4 year old guidebook is out-of-date regarding the prices of food [...]
Source : elsur.org | 25-May-2007 14:26

Hiking Roraima
My favorite new blog of the week is besthike.com, which has just published a post about the similarity of the buttes & mesas of the Colorado Plateau to the tepuis of South America. But, most interesting to anyone thinking about trekking Roraima is their detailed page on hiking Roraima with some great links.
Source : elsur.org | 24-May-2007 03:50

Angel Falls wallpaper
A 1600 x 1200 image of Angel Falls, suitable for your desktop.
Source : elsur.org | 20-May-2007 13:00

Weekly Links, 9 May 2007 - Traveling around South America
Here’s a list of some of the interesting people and their blogs traveling around South America: Travel to Ecuador: The Jewels Of EcuadorAnd those jewels would be birds, on this site which is a guide to all about birds. Dancing with Death - An Ayahuashca Spiritual Adventure in the Amazon A long, interesting post about a [...]
Source : elsur.org | 10-May-2007 00:37

Visiting the Vineyards of Montes winery
Deborah From the Test Kitchen had a posting about an online wine tasting seminar conducted by Montes Winery in Chile. That’s a unique concept which certainly got my attention. So, I thought I would check out Montes Wines. They certainly have a very good Web site. One of the many things I like about their [...]
Source : elsur.org | 10-May-2007 00:20

Contents of the Essential Backpack
In an extremely practical post that anyone traveling by backpack will find very useful, Craig of the great Travelvice blog has specified the contents of what he carried in his backpack in his recent 16 month journey: Latin America Backpack Equipment Essentials. While Craig is now preparing for a trip to Asia, his site [...]
Source : elsur.org | 08-May-2007 19:56

Safety & Security in the Valle del Cocora near Salento
One of my favorite places in all of Colombia is the Valle del Cocora near Salento. (Why for some reason do I always want to misspell Cocora as Corcora? I don’t know). Someone contemplating a hike in the Valle del Cocora recently asked about the guerrilla situation in the area. Is it safe to go [...]
Source : elsur.org | 04-May-2007 22:19

Traveling around South America - Weekly Links, 2 May 2007
Here’s a list of some of the interesting people and their blogs traveling around South America: Brazil 101: Almost like Spanish? Takes a look at Brazil from Sao Paulo to Fortaleza. Kuelap, the Fortress of the Clouds An article written by Laurel Thompson provides insight into this lesser known historical site in Peru. Ecuador: Perhaps the Perfect Family [...]
Source : elsur.org | 03-May-2007 01:22

Ecotourism along the Amazon
Jonathan Rockoff writes about his trip to the Amazon for the South African Sunday Tribune: “There are several ways to see the enormous expanse of the tropical rain forest: from the comfort of a luxury hotel to a rugged river cruise. We aimed for the ecotourism middle ground, with a lodge providing three meals a day [...]
Source : elsur.org | 22-Apr-2007 11:44

Budget Airlines in Latin America
Anyone traveling by air within the US is familiar with the low-cost budget airlines such as Southwest and AirTran or the very high quality, yet cheap, JetBlue. The Seattle Times informs its readers via a recent article about low-cost airlines in Latin America.
Source : elsur.org | 02-Apr-2007 06:04

Colombia, safer than you imagine
So, I woke up today and checked CNN online to find this ridiuculous headline: “Bush makes quick stop in violence-plagued Colombia”. Has anyone at CNN been to Colombia recently? Tourists in Colombia will encounter a surprisingly safe place to travel. Yes, there is a massive security presence and military checkpoints along the roads. But Colombia is [...]
Source : elsur.org | 11-Mar-2007 20:25

Political & Social Awareness
I’m adding a new category to the blog today: Political & Social Awareness. This blog is primarily aimed at travelers to South America from North America and Europe. Generally, I feel that travelers from these parts of the world to South America are usually well-educated and, most often, upper middle-class and above. (The latter [...]
Source : elsur.org | 25-Feb-2007 07:38

Planning a Trip to Iguazú Falls?
A very well-designed and informative site about Iguazú Falls is www.iguazuargentina.com, complete with panoramic 360 degrees photos and online video. Prepare yourself for Iguazú Falls by using the excellent virtual tour on this site. (It even points out where the ice cream stand is located!). The tour also includes nicely colored graphics of the trails [...]
Source : elsur.org | 06-Feb-2007 06:24