South America

In a music-filled square in Cartagena, Colombia, travelers and refugees drink beer, swap stories, and attempt to bridge a cultural chasm. The air was heavy with water, sweat, and music.…

A scuba diver-in-training finds herself facing her fear more than 100 feet underwater off the coast of Colombia. The water ahead is so dark that it seems to be actively…

While lounging in the hot springs of Baños, Ecuador, a traveler encounters a stranger who attempts to predict her romantic future. Grey nose hair is the first thing I see…

Trinidad and Tobago’s annual J’ouvert festival wakes a traveler and pulls her into the traditional madness and revelry of the day. In the early hours of a February Monday, I…

A writer researching the Kolla peoples of Argentina’s Yunga region learns of their fight for freedom from an elderly nurse and former slave. The first time I met Saturnino Vargas,…

In the mystifying tango salons of Buenos Aires, a traveling writer attempts to mend a broken heart. A woman dressed in black is sitting alone inside a café, and I…

Traveling the Amazon by cargo ship entails waking up at 5.30AM daily and mingling with people from another world. Tiny white birds fly framed against the dense greens of the…

While hiking in the Peruvian Andes, an American traveler gets some help from the local deity. “First, we give to Pachamama,” Chachi said, opening his bottle of orange soda and…

Spanish language and stars make for a heady moment on Lake Titicaca, on the border of Peru and Bolivia. “Here,” my teacher said, handing me a cup of mate de…