Originally called Taxco de Alarcon, the silver capital of Mexico is located in Mexico’s southern region, 138 km (85 mi) north of Chilpancingo, the state capital of Guerrero, and 151 km (93 mi) south of Mexico City, off Highway 95. The climate is warm and humid, with an average year-round temperature of 19º C (66º F).
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St. Martin Caribbean
St. Maarten Caribbean
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Equatorial Guinea Africa
With the difficulties of getting a visa and the shakedown you receive as you walk in the door of this tiny tropical former Spanish colony, you might think that Equatorial Guinea would rather just not have you. The government collects plenty of American oil money, and the leaders fear foreign mercenaries plotting coups, so what, really, do they need with travellers?
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Cosquin Argentina
Cosquín is known countrywide for its Festival Nacional del Folklore (www.aquicosquin.org), a nine-day national folk-music festival which has been held in the last week of January since 1961. The town gets packed for the festival, stays busy all summer and goes pleasantly dead the rest of the year. The slightly more hard-core Cosquín Rock Festival used to be held here, until the neighbors decided that teenagers with wallet chains, studded wristbands and piercings weren’t really the tourist trade they were looking for. The festival relocated a few years ago to the banks of the nearby (and aptly named) Lago San Roque.
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The-Northeast Caraiva Brazil
Without electricity, cars, banks or even decent phone lines, the village of Caraíva is remote and beautiful, a combination that has attracted hippies and others looking for a quiet pace of life. The village is strung along the eastern bank of the mangrove-lined Rio Caraíva and a long deserted beach kissed by strong waves. Noisy generators light up the dozen-or-so shops and restaurants lining the sand streets, and most importantly keep the forró hopping on Friday night. In the low season, the town all but shuts down.
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Amazon-Basin Leticia Colombia
Despite its isolation and often oppressive heat, Leticia is a remarkably spruce little town, with brightly painted houses, pleasant outdoor cafés and restaurants, and a well-maintained grid of streets. It also has a complete infrastructure to support travelers, with hotels in all price categories, regu- larly scheduled flights between Leticia and Bogota, and a long-standing military presence that keeps the city and surrounding region safe. Note that all foreigners must pay US$5 tax upon arrival at Leticia’s airport.
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North-Coast Trujillo Peru
Stand in the right spot and the glamorously colonial streets of old Trujillo look like they’ve barely changed in hundreds of years. Well, OK, there are more honking taxis now – but the city still manages to put on a dashing show with its flamboyant buildings and profusion of churches. Pizarro founded Trujillo in 1534, and he thought so highly of this patch of desert he named it after his birthplace in Spain’s Estremadura. Spoiled by the fruits of the fertile Moche Valley, Trujillo never had to worry about money – wealth came easily. With life’s essentials taken care of, thoughts turned to politics and life’s grander schemes; the city has a reputation for being a hotbed of revolt. The town was besieged during the Inca rebellion of 1536, and in 1820 was the first Peruvian city to declare independence from Spain. The tradition continued into the 20th century as bohemians flocked, poets put pen to paper (including Peru’s best poet, César Vallejo), and rebels raised their fists defiantly in the air. It was here the Alianza Popular Revolution Americana (APRA) workers’ party was formed.
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Western-Uruguay Mercedes Uruguay
The shady, cobblestoned streets of Mercedes are enchanting (unless your taxi has no suspension, in which case they’re total kidney-crunchers). The riverfront is largely undeveloped, but there are plenty of grassy spots to laze around on between dips.
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Montevideo Uruguay
Uruguay’s capital and by far its largest city, Montevideo is a vibrant, eclectic place with a rich cultural life. Stretching nearly 20km from east to west, the city wears many faces, from its industrial port to the exclusive residential suburb of Carrasco near the airport. In the historic downtown business district, art deco and neoclassical buildings jostle for space alongside grimy, worn-out skyscrapersthat appear airlifted from Havana or Ceausescu’s Romania, while across town the shopping malls and modern high-rises of beach communities like Punta Carretas and Pocitos bear more resemblance to Miami or Copacabana.