South America Archives - Page 2 of 3

April 3, 2013 by Nancy Mueller 8 Comments

C is for Catching Carnival Fever in Rio

RioCarnival

Souvenir Postcard

Simply put, there’s no adequate way to prepare for the over-the-top spectacle of Rio’s famous 5-day bacchanal celebration.

Leading up to the beginning of Lent on Ash Wednesday, Brazil’s most famous festival celebrates life on a grand scale, compensating for the Christian faithful’s fasting in the days ahead.

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WanderBoomer, before Carnival

I had arrived in Rio de Janeiro a few days before the start of Carnival, eager to meet up with Brazilian friends I had met on their visit to the States. Everywhere I turned in the city, newspaper headlines, billboards and TV announcers screamed in Portuguese, “Carnaval! Carnaval!” accompanied by photos of smiling dancers in elaborate costumes partying on top of lavishly decorated parade floats. Samba music filled the airwaves. And all that happened before the festival started.

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Once Carnival began, all-night neighborhood street parties sprang out throughout Ipanema and Copacabana. Many Cariocas (locals) had already fled the city, businesses shut down and traffic came to a halt.

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Cross-dressers took to the streets, teasing passerby’s with their come-hither looks and invitations to embrace the spirit and mischief of Carnival. The fun spilled over into the nightclub scene where the music never stopped, allowing individual musicians to slip off stage for only a short break while the rest of us danced on and on.

So, go ahead, add Rio’s Carnival to your travel bucket list, but only if you’re ready to accept that life as you know it today will never – ever – be the same again.

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WanderBoomer, after Carnival

What about you, wanderboomers? Ready to blame your new persona on Rio?

December 4, 2012 by Nancy Mueller Leave a Comment

Passports with Purpose 2012 Needs You!

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Photo courtesy of USAID_IMAGES – flickr

A year ago I introduced wanderboomers to Passports with Purpose, a fundraising organization started by four members of the travel blogging community: Debbie Dubrow, Michelle Duffy, Pam Mandel and Beth Whitman.

The four were motivated by a desire to bring the travel blogging community together and as Pam explains, “to make the places we’ve been better.” Since its inception in 2008, the organization has exceeded its goals every year, raising a total of over $150,000. so far to fund such projects as two libraries in Zambia (2011), housing for 25 families in southern India (2010), a school in rural Cambodia (2009), and Heifer International (2008).

If you have ever travelled to a developing country, no doubt you, too, have wondered what you could do to help improve the lives of people who live there. The good news is that Passports with Purpose has made it easy for the rest of us by doing in-depth research on causes that help people in poverty, especially women and children.

This year, the organization is supporting Water.org with a goal of raising $100,000. to fund 5 wells for two rural communities in Haiti where half the population lack access to clean water and only 1 in 5 residents have access to a sanitary toilet.

Here’s how you can help. Donate a gift of only $10.00 (or more, if you’d like!) between now and December 11th to give hope, health and a brighter future to the people of Haiti. Plus, each $10.00 donation gives you the chance to win a prize of your choice, ranging from clothing, electronics, gift certificates and hotel stays!

** All photos courtesy of Passports with Purpose.org.

Led by Expedia, the 2012 sponsors for this year’s fundraiser also include Tripit, TBEX, HomeAway, Travellerspoint, Hostelbookers and GoWithOh.

Please consider donating to Passports with Purpose 2012, wanderboomers. Help us spread the good word by sharing with your friends and social media communities! Many thanks!

Have you ever traveled to Haiti, wanderboomers? Please share your story with us here.

June 26, 2012 by Nancy Mueller 10 Comments

R.I.P. Lonesome George

I’m feeling a little blue, a little out of sorts today. All because of a 200-pound tortoise, estimated to be between 80 – 100 years old, who passed away in the Galapágos Islands on Sunday.

At first glance, you might wonder at the world’s affection for such a slow-moving, plant-chomping, independent-minded creature. But Lonesome George was the last of his kind, a member of the Chelonoidis nigra abingdoni subspecies. Sadly, much of the tortoise population dwindled in the 19th century as they became easy prey for whalers, sailors and fisherman who prized their fresh meat.

I had the good fortune to “meet” George on my trip to the Galapágos last summer. In a previous post, I wrote that he had been living in his enclosure on Santa Cruz Island since the 1970’s, after being discovered alone on Pinta Island. Over the years, park officials had introduced potential female mates in the hopes that George would be able to procreate, saving his subspecies from extinction. But it was not to be.

Never mind, Lonesome George. We loved you all the same. While you don’t leave a biological legacy, your passing does serve as a poignant reminder of other endangered animals on our planet, such as the Sumatran Tiger, Giant Pandas and Polar Bears. Will we also witness their demise in our lifetime?

What are your memories of Lonesome George, Wanderboomers? Share with us here.

March 6, 2012 by Nancy Mueller 8 Comments

Making a Difference: Destination Haiti

Wanderboomers love to travel for a host of reasons: to see the world, meet new people, visit far-flung places, learn about other cultures, and/or to make a difference in the lives of others.

Two years after the cataclysmic 2010 earthquake in Haiti, the work to bring medical care, food, clothing and shelter to the country’s inhabitants continues. For one Seattle woman, Sarah Pierre-Louis, and her Haitian husband Adrien, caring for the children who survived the disaster has become a personal mission with the loss of their niece who died in the quake.

Tent City in Haiti

After leaving a successful sales career in corporate America, Pierre-Louis began researching and applying for grants to support their cause. The couple founded their charity, Children, the Future of Haiti, with the purpose of helping “one orphanage at a time to make sure kids have the basics,” says Pierre-Louis. “If the children don’t get the education and healthcare they need, they’ll be slaves in their own country.” Once the children’s basic needs are met, their next goal is to build schools to keep kids off the streets and prevent kid trafficking.

View of Port-au-Prince

Although Sarah and Adrien’s mission began immediately on the heels of the earthquake, their charity received legal status as an independent non-profit organization in March 2011 thanks to the efforts of their VP, Christina Barone. Since then they have partnered with Kettelyne Polinice, the director of an orphanage located in Petionville, Haiti near their family home. The 29 children living here range from 3 to 17 years of age. In some cases, the children have no parents. Others may only have one parent or two parents, neither of whom can afford to care for the child, because even if the parents survived, their businesses did not.

So far the foundation members have delivered appliances, clothing and medical supplies to the orphanage but are in need of bed linens and towels, shoes and more clothing for the children. Additional fundraising efforts are focused on raising money for toilets, school tuition and mandatory uniforms for the children to be able to attend school.

Sarah with Haitian Children

* All photo credits courtesy of Sarah Pierre-Louis.

What about you, Wanderboomers? How are you making a difference through your travels?

February 14, 2012 by Nancy Mueller 8 Comments

Shot on Location: 7 Movie Destinations for Valentine’s Day

Romantic Movies on Location

Travelers at heart can visit any one of several romantic destinations on Valentine’s Day in the click of an eye through the magic of movies. Cuddle up with or without your sweetie and pass the popcorn and kleenex . . .

An Affair to Remember

An Affair to Remember

An ocean liner headed for New York City sets the stage for this Hollywood classic starring Deborah Kerr (Terry McKay) and Cary Grant (Nicky Ferrante), with Fate and Destiny in key supporting roles. As an added bonus, you can enjoy gorgeous views from the villa on the French Riviera where Nicky’s wise and loving grandmother resides. Most famous line: “If you can paint, I can walk!”

Casablanca

Casablanca

Former lovers meet unexpectedly in French Morocco during World War II when “of all the gin joints in all the towns in all the world,” Ilsa (Ingrid Bergman) has to walk into his, Rick’s (Humphrey Bogart). The drama includes flashback scenes to happier times when they fell in love in Paris, together with a rousing rendition of the national anthem of France, “La Marseillaise.”

Dr. Zhivago

Omar Sharif (Yuri) and Julie Christie (Lara) are star-crossed lovers in this film set in Russia (though filmed in Canada, Finland and Spain) during the Bolshevik Revolution. Any movie that can romanticize an Ice Palace in the Russian countryside in the middle of winter is worth a viewing.

Lady and the Tramp

In case you think that only we humans hold the monopoly on romance, our canine counterparts will convince you otherwise in this Disney classic. Has there ever been a more heartwarming animated scene than when our main characters discover love at the end of a shared strand of spaghetti at Tony’s (Italian) Restaurant?

Roman Holiday

Audrey Hepburn won an oscar for her performance as Princess Anne who rebels against her royal duties by going undercover as a commoner in Rome for a day. After a memorable chance encounter, reporter Joe Bradley (Gregory Peck) soon realizes he has the scoop of the decade – and the love of a lifetime. Location shots include the Spanish Steps, Palazza Colonna, and Bocca della Verita (Mouth of Truth).

Notorious

Notorious

Rio de Janeiro takes center stage in Hitchcock’s brilliant tale of espionage, romance and betrayal. Cary Grant stars as Devlin, an American agent, who enlists the aid of Alicia (Ingrid Bergman) to track the Nazi ring operating in Rio after her father is convicted of treason. Love intervenes only to be pushed aside by the dutiful Devlin who throws her into marriage with Alex (Claude Rains), leader of the local Nazis group. Will Devlin find a way to save Alicia and himself by movie’s end? You’ll just have to watch the film to find out.

Sound of Music

“The hills are alive with the sound of music” while romance blooms between Maria, a young postulant at Austria’s Nonnberg Abbey, and Baron von Trapp, a widower engaged to be married. Cupid strikes when their eyes meet as the Baron leads Maria in a dance. Be still my heart . . .

Added Bonus!

I can’t help myself. I have to include one more travel film here:

The English Patient

The English Patient

Though this World War II drama is set in Tuscany and Egypt, several scenes were shot on location in Tunisia for a more realistic portrait of 1940’s Cairo. Viewing Ralph Fiennes in his role as Count Laszlo de Almasy carrying his beloved, white shrouded Katherine (Kristin Scott Thomas) across the windswept desert landscape leaves me mesmerized every time. When he recognizes that she’s wearing the thimble (You have to see the movie), her reply, “Of course, you idiot. I always wear it. I’ve always worn it. I’ve always loved you,” says it all. Sigh . . .

What about you, Wanderboomers? What travel movies would you add to my list for Valentine’s Day?

C is for Catching Carnival Fever in Rio

Passports with Purpose 2012 Needs You!

R.I.P. Lonesome George

Making a Difference: Destination Haiti

Shot on Location: 7 Movie Destinations for Valentine’s Day

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