http://elsur.org Mon, 06 Aug 2007 23:18:15 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en 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. http://elsur.org/archives/an-afternoon-in-santa-cruz-de-la-sierra-bolivia/ 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 ... http://elsur.org/archives/spanish-one-word-a-day/ 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." http://elsur.org/archives/learning-about-the-food-in-peru/ 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. http://elsur.org/archives/driving-from-cuzco-to-the-urubama-river-valley/ 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 ... http://elsur.org/archives/best-wishes-for-a-couple-struck-ill-in-south-america/ 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 ... http://elsur.org/archives/taking-the-bus-to-puerto-madryn-and-an-ipod-warning-in-bolivia/ 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 ... http://elsur.org/archives/5-months-trek-thru-south-america/ 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. http://elsur.org/archives/a-year-in-uruguay/ 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 ... http://elsur.org/archives/inflation-in-cusco/ 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 ... http://elsur.org/archives/hiking-roraima/