Focus on Travel, Volunteer, Work, Study and Living in South America

South America is not only home to the world's largest rain forest and one of the tallest mountain ranges, but also to mega-cities that are among the world's largest metropolitan areas. While most visitors come to South America to see Inca ruins, the Amazon rain forest and some of the continent's many natural wonders, few visitors can avoid a stopover in one of South America's largest cities. From my own experience it can be quite a challenge to get your bearings in these large urban areas and spend a few enjoyable days, especially when you are planning to hike in the Andes or explore the rain forest and are not well-prepared for a city visit. Still, I have found that with a little bit of planning and research, you can have an enjoyable time in South America's mega-cities, even if they are not the main destination of your trip...

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My last afternoon at home before departing on a much anticipated, year-long solo journey through South America, I had a meltdown over duct tape, or rather, the lack thereof. A staple in my backpack for quick repairs of ripped rain pants or threadbare boots, I had forgotten this item in one final, blurry blaze of frantic preparation. But it wasn't the missing tape that caused my waterworks. I knew what lurked behind the tears...

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I have always been fascinated by the idea of crossing South America by road. Long before my first visit to this vast continent, I enjoyed following the Pan-American highway with my finger on the map, until I reached its end at the southern tip of Chile. I followed with equal interest the course of the Transamazonian highway, as it dissected the Brazilian Amazon from east to west. However, during my first yearlong stay in South America I discovered that road travel on this vast continent is not as easy as the maps suggest. This article is for those travelers in South America who plan to see the continent mainly by overland travel, and will build upon my own experiences to help you plan an enjoyable and safe trip...

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Hardly had Luis Carlos stopped rubbing the damp denim cloth along the wooden spindle inside the hollowed-out palm stump, when our collective hearts leapt.

From down river, distant yet unmistakable, came a live version of the drawn-out grunt-growl he had just skillfully coaxed from the jaguar caller...

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Portuguese is certainly not among the most popular foreign languages in Europe and North America, but there are many reasons why it might be a good idea to consider studying the language. Portuguese is only spoken in Portugal, Brazil, and several former Portuguese colonies in Africa and East Asia. For many language students Portuguese ranks behind Spanish, French, Mandarin or Japanese in importance. However, over the past decade Brazil has risen as a new economic powerhouse in the Western hemisphere and has grown in importance for North America, not only in terms of trade, natural resources, and bio fuels, but also in regard to cooperation on environmental issues such as the protection of the Amazon rain forest and partnerships between universities and research facilities...

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Which city is "Paris of the Southern Hemisphere," the birth place of sultry, sensual Tango and Latin America's Polo capital? The center of non-stop action, beautiful people, and European architecture is none other than Buenos Aires. A city that seduces in so many ways, Buenos Aires is now a hotspot for those looking to live abroad...

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February in Buenos Aires is sultry and humid, perfect tango weather. But I arrive in no shape for dancing. I am wearing a winter coat after more than thirty hours traveling. A blizzard in New York had delayed my flight from JFK, re-routing it north through Toronto, then through Miami for a six hour layover, and finally to Buenos Aires. To add insult to injury, I am nursing broken ribs and lingering whiplash from a recent accident. What possessed me to torture myself so? Tango. The Eighth Annual Buenos Aires Tango Festival is due to commence in three days, and I have come to see the city strut its stuff. I want to know how one dance could stir so much imagination around the world...

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Imagine living at the base of towering mountains, amongst vineyards, in a place that puts community first. Mendoza, Argentina — both the city and the province — offers many advantages for those choosing to live abroad. The natural environment is spectacular and it offers a rainbow of leisure activities. The economic conditions provide an opportunity for adventurous entrepreneurs and those that have good business sense. And the infrastructure is well established, providing excellent health care, European architecture, and metropolitan adventure...

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The mystique and beauty of Patagonia is calling you. It is time to venture to the far reaches of South America. But what area is the easiest to live in, find a job, and enjoy life in the great expanse that is Patagonia?

Bariloche, the bustling, enchanting city of 150,000, offers opportunity, work possibilities, and once-in-a-lifetime experiences within its landscape of national parks... Read more...

It was time to get away. I wanted an exciting adventure overseas, but one where which did not involve staying in tourist accommodations with other tourists. WWOOFing (World Wide Opportunities on Organic Farms) was appealing since I had heard of it several years before as an organization that helps links people to organic farms around the world. Simply contact the host on the farm that is appealing and then work an agreed upon amount of hours per day in exchange for simple bed and board... Read more...

I am sitting with Erika, my practice teacher, in a plaza surrounded by historic buildings in the center of Cusco, Peru. We are talking about high school. She is correcting my verb endings. In the morning I had two hours of grammar lessons with Camucha, my grammar teacher. The strong emphasis on practicing Spanish as well as learning the grammar was what initially attracted me to FairPlay. As a former language teacher, I'm a fussy student, reprimanding teachers who waste my time with drills rather than conversation. Whenever I take a language class I worry about having to train my teachers. With FairPlay, I was pleasantly surprised. The classes were entirely in Spanish, focusing on communication and compelling lots of practice speaking through total language immersion... Read more...

Moving to a different continent with a job promise and a desire to practice Spanish.

Oh, how unprepared we were when my 27-year-old, self-employed Web developer boyfriend and I, a 24 year old engineering geologist, decided to move from the U.K. to Peru! When asked "why?" we mumbled that we wanted to practice our Spanish, learned long ago and seldom used, that Spain didn't attract us, and that we wanted to see Machu Picchu. We were still child-free, we were young, adventurous, looking for some fresh air and I was looking for a new company to work for...

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My wife and I were slow travelers over 15 years ago before we moved to Ecuador and built the Black Sheep Inn. We began exploring South America in Venezuela, arriving with an open airline ticket and no itinerary. Our goal was to travel for six months to a year or until the money ran out. Using the South American Handbook (the bible of travel back then) as a guide, we chose destinations. If we liked where we ended up, we stayed. By studying detailed maps, we deliberately chose villages that were not included in the guidebook. We enjoyed going one step further to insure that we were truly off-the-beaten-path...

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I never planned to live in Rio de Janeiro. Originally it was just the last stop of a round-the-world jaunt before returning home to Australia. Travel-weary and down to my last couple hundred dollars, I had no idea I was about to create a new life, meet my future wife and embark on a new career. Rio de Janeiro, meaning the river of January, is an intoxicatingly beautiful city that the locals or Cariocas refer to as the A Cidade Maravilhosa - "The Marvellous City"

Nestled between dome-like mountains, shouldering platinum white beaches and blanketed with the Floresta da Tijuca, the world's largest forest inside an urban area, this city of nearly twelve million people has a way of seducing you. Once the capital of Brazil, and for a brief period the center of the Portuguese Empire, Rio's colonial heritage is reminiscent of a great European city. The many historical churches, such as the Candelaria Church, the Municipal Theatre, and the National Library of Cinelandia square are some of the Belle Epoque landmarks of Rio. All of this under the watchful gaze of O Cristo Redentor the statue of Jesus Christ, the iconic symbol of Brazil that is now listed as one of the Seven Wonders of the World. Rio is a place where samba, soccer, beach and barbeque are worshipped like a religion...

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