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Argentina Featured Articles

Iguazu Falls

Iguazu Falls is one of the most famous and spectacular waterfall in the world. It is located on the Iguazu River, on the border of Brazil and Argentina.

Legend

Legend has it that a god planned to marry a beautiful native girl but she fled with her mortal lover in a canoe. Furious, the god sliced the river, hence creating the waterfall.

How to get to the falls from the Argentine side

The waterfall can be access via two roads, on both sides. If you want to visit it from the Argentine side, the town near Iguazu Falls is Puerto Iguazú, in the province of Misiones. The falls are part of the Iguazú National Park, shared between Argentina and Brazil.

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Featured Articles Panama

James Bond: New movie will showcase Panama

Are you excited for the newest installment of the classic James Bond action series? Pumped to watch the suave Englishman dodge bullets, uncover truth and seduce a beautiful woman? If you are a fan of both James Bond and Panama, you’ll be in luck this coming November. The newest installment of the high octane adventure movie, Quantum of Solace, starring Daniel Craig as Bond takes place in Austria, Italy and South America. However, the “South America” scenes in the movie were actually shot in Panama. Rumor has it the streets of Panama City will double for a city in Bolivia in the film.

Shooting for the film started in Panama last February. Main filming locations were scattered around Panama City, serving as backdrops for Bond escaping assassination attempts, dodging bullets, and romancing a beautiful, and maybe dangerous, woman.

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Featured Articles Panama

Cocktails: What will you be drinking in Panama?

With its breezy beaches, clear turquoise water and lush green hillsides, Panama is the idyllic location to celebrate life with a cocktail. From the national drink of seco con leche to tropical creations and Caribbean inspired drinks, there are plenty of ways to drink up in honor of the isthmus nation. If you can’t actually make it to Panama, you can always mix-up a Panamanian inspired cocktail at home and drink enough to at least pretend you’re relaxing on a Caribbean beach. Or, impress your friends with your worldliness at your next party and offer a Panamanian inspired bar menu.

    Pina Colada: If you like dancing in the rain, you’ll probably enjoy this fruity, tropical drink. It can be found all over Panama and when made with fresh pineapple is truly delicious. The cocktail mixes ice, rum, coconut cream and pineapple juice. If this drink alone doesn’t transport you to the tropics, jazz up the glass with little umbrella and put on your bikini.

    Seco Con Leche: Seco is a traditional distilled liquor made from sugar cane juice. The cheap 80 proof liqueur is the national drink. The most traditional (though admittedly not most delicious) way to drink is seco is mixed con leche, or with milk.

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Argentina Featured Articles

Martial Glacier and other trekking trails

Located really close to Ushuaia, Martial Glacier provides the views of a lifetime. You need a bit of stamina to tackle the hike, but in the end, it’s surely worth it.

How to get to Martial Glacier

Follow the national route 3 about 7 km out of the town of Ushuaia. The road is paved and signaled. Once arrived at the base of the mountain, there’s a ski slope. Take the ski lift up the slope and now you can see the glacier on one side and the Beagle Channel on the other. If you want to get closer to the glacier, you need to hike for another 2 km.

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Featured Articles Panama

Hiking Volcan Baru

Volcan BaruWhen my oldest childhood friend and I decided to go to Panama, we knew that we had to hike its tallest mountain. Being from Colorado, where 14,000 foot peaks seem to be everywhere, we felt pretty confident that we could conquer Panama’s highest mountain, which stands at just over 11,000 feet. However, as we set out in the dark on our trek up the volcano that early morning, we did not fully anticipate the difficulty of actually reaching the top and coming back down in one day.

Baru Facts

  • The hike is 30 km round trip from the trailhead outside of Boquete.
  • It should take 5-7 hours to reach the top and approximately the same amount of time to descend
  • Volcán Barú is the tallest mountain in Panama at 3,474 meters (11,398 ft) high.
  • It is a dormant, but potentially still active, volcano that is located in the Chiriqui highlands just south of the Continental Divide.
  • Volcan and Cerro Punta are on its western side and on its eastern side is Boquete.
  • Rising from a fertile area of cooler highlands, Volcan Baru stands out above the other peaks nearby, though the top is often shrouded in clouds, especially during the rainy season.
  • The volcano can be hiked from either side (leaving from Cerro Punta or Boquete), but a guide is needed to do the technical and ill-marked trail from its western side.
  • The most common, and easier way, to get to the top is hiking up a 4×4 jeep trail from the mountain’s eastern side near Boquete (though I am not sure if its possible for any vehicle to navigate this rough road/trail).
  • Volcan Baru either be hiked in one or two days. Some prefer to hike up with packs and camp somewhere near the summit to break up the 30km round trip venture. During the rainy season (May-December) clouds often move in on Baru in the afternoon, so camping can also help you avoid doing much hiking in the rain.
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Argentina Featured Articles

Argentine Tango

The Argentine Tango is a social dance which originated in Argentina and was later adopted in Uruguay and the rest of the world. Many people confuse the Argentine Tango with Ballroom Tango.

Origin and history

The beginnings of Argentine Tango can be traced to the working class port neighborhoods of Buenos Aires. For this reason, tango is also referred to as the music of the immigrants to Argentina. One of the most popular “origin stories” has it that tango came from the Niger Congo languages of Africa.

The dance itself derives from the Spanish habanera, the Uruguayan milonga and candombe and also contains elements from the African dances practiced by the community in Buenos Aires. The music is a fusion of styles from Europe.

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Edinburgh

3 Day tour of the Isle of Skye with Macbackpackers

The tour busCarry the lad that’s born to be King
Over the sea to Skye

— Skye Boat Song —

Shrouded in mystery and myth, the Isle of Skye is a magical place with enough history to fill more than one text book. Join Macbackpackers, an independent Scottish owned tour company, on their 3 day exploration of legends and history, faeries and warriors, love and war as you journey from Edinburgh through the highlands and up to Skye.

Day 1

HermitageLeaving on a Friday morning we are met by our kilted guide, Neil Mclennan. After picking up the rest of the troops we head out of the city on our faithful steed, the Macbackpacker bus. Neil is a fantastic story teller and is soon entertaining us with legends and stories. Our first stop is “The Hermitage” (see photo left) , where, Neil reveals, he was possibly once approached by faeries who hoped to lure him to their kingdom. There is certainly a strange magical feel about the place for sure.Killicrankie is our picnic spot where Neil enthusiastically recreates the highland charge that scared the shite out of the British troops. A brief stop at Culloden Battle Field to pay homage to the many men who lost their lives in this historic battle, a battle that was surely a turning point in Scottish history. Nearing the end of a long day of traveling we search for Nessie at Loch Ness and dip our feet in the frigid water. Finally pulling into Kyleakin Town on the Isle of Skye in the early evening.

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Featured Articles Honduras

Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve

Over the last decade or so, Honduras has been focusing its efforts one eco tourism. Maybe they are just jumping on the bandwagon that made Costa Rica so popular, or maybe they just trying to make a buck. Either way, a number of extremely beautiful preserves and parks have been popping up all over the country. One such park is the Rio Platano Biosphere Reserve.

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Featured Articles Honduras

Finca El Cisne

There are plenty of cheap places to stay in Honduras and just as many tours and activities to do. But, for less than the cost of mid-priced hotel, you can get a truly amazing experience and the accommodations for it! A small farm by the name of Finca El Cisne offers a glimpse into life of a not so distant Honduras.

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Featured Articles

Taxis on the Bay Islands

Taxis very all over the country very in shape, style, and sheer number depending on where you are. In the Bay Islands for example, you wont find taxis on every island, only the big ones. Rotan, of course being the only big one. Places like Guanaja on the other hand, don’t have many cars, let alone a taxi system. Below are some tips for catching a taxi on the island of Rotan.