This is every shoestring traveler’s favorite word. With much of one’s daily budget going for the necessities of hostel, food and transportation, it can be hard to find a way to enjoy the sights. Many have to choose: Iguazú Falls or hiking the Inca Trail? Rafting on Chile’s Futaleufú or scuba diving lessons in the Bay Islands? While many journeying to the Americas have enough savings to cover many of these activities and more, those on a budget can boast about being able to see this world through a different lens. Whether in relaxing in small towns or checking out the sounds of Latin America’s cities, there are plenty of places to visit, things to do that don’t cost a centavito.

Soaking at Balneario Hurtado. Photo by Lorraine Caputo

Near many small towns are wonderful natural beauties to walk to. Waterfalls drape the countryside in most countries. Be sure to check out the ones near Baños, Ecuador, Coroico, Bolivia, and Nebaj, Guatemala. All over are free swimming holes and hot springs to laze in. While in Colombia, hit the cool waters of Balneario Hurtado near Valledupar and El Chorrerón hot springs near Güicán. Beaches provide not only free swimming, but also observing sea life in tidal pools, birdwatching and beachcombing. Shells found washed upon the sands make perfect necklaces, earrings or other gifts.

Low tide reveals the creatures of the briny depths. Photo by Lorraine Caputo

Latin American national parks charge high entry fees to foreigners. Some, though, are free. Parque Nacional Puracé in Southern Colombia has waterfalls, hot springs and condors. The north sector of Argentina’s Parque Nacional Los Glaciares, near El Chaltén, is gratis and has a hike for every day of the week.

Whereas Machu Picchu takes a big bite out of the ol’ money belt, Peru has a surprising number of free archaeological sites. Many can be reached on day hikes and often do not require a guide. On the jungle side of the northern Andes are Macro, Ollape and other Chachapoya ruins. Huancabamba is the base for visiting Templo de los Jaguares. From Huamachuco, inland from Trujillo, you can walk to the pre-Incan sites Wiaracochapampa and Marcahuamachuco. Near Huaraz is Tumshukaiko.

The living culture of Latin America’s many nations can be experienced at the markets. These spaces resound with squawking chickens, the clicks and sshes of native languages. The morning air is scented with the aromas of hot tortillas and coffee. Guatemalan villages have their weekly mercados, as do many highland Ecuadorean and Peruvian pueblos. Northern Peru’s largest barter market occurs in Yerbabuena every Sunday. Southern Colombia’s indigenous roots are on full display in Cumbal, near Ipiales.

The Sunday market in Cumbal. Photo by Lorraine Caputo

So, you may not have a lot of money – but much of Latin America’s uniqueness is available for free. The natural beauty and culture richness are often just a walk or cheap bus ride away. And they aren’t just limited to the pueblos and backcountry. The cities also have their gifts to the shoestring traveler – which will be revealed in the future. Until then, Happy Adventures and Safe Journeys!

Attention all travelers and photographers: VIVA Travel Guides has extended its Argentina Cover Photo Contest to November 1st!

You already show off your photos to friends and family - now you can help other travelers experience the allure of Argentina by submitting your photos for our premier guidebook to Argentina! Whether it’s a dramatic tango shot from Buenos Aires, a quaint capture of a winery around Mendoza, or a serene snapshot of the Lake District, we crave all photos authentic and aesthetic.

Winner gets $100 and the coveted cover of the travel guide! Runners up get their photo and name credited inside the travel guide.

Visit our Flickr Contest Page to read contest details and submit photos. Entering is simple and free!

Are you a well-seasoned traveler? Be sure to check out our Photography Contest Page for upcoming contests for future guidebooks

NEXT COVER CONTEST DEADLINE

December 1: Cusco and Machu Picchu

While Munich nurses a hangover from its Oktoberfest, which came to a close yesterday, kegs are being rolled out all over the world this month in order to celebrate the planet’s third most popular beverage. A number of beer festivals take place in South America. Some cities have been putting on lederhosen and dirndls in October for quite some time, while others are only just beginning to tap Germany’s premium party export.

In Brazil, Brahma, local and craft beers flow at Oktoberfest Blumenau from the 1st to the 18th. Last year nearly 600,000 people drank 374,000 liters of beer at what has become the biggest beer festival in the Americas. Most everything that you’d find in the Bavarian version can be found in Blumenau, from traditional food-Kassler and Eisbein-to oompah (blasmusik) bands. There are also nightly drinking contests and even a bierwagen that distributes free beer.

Every year the small alpine-esque Villa General Belgrano, in Argentina’s Cordoba province, swells with beer drinkers and orchestras. It kicked off its 46th annual Fiesta Nacional de la Cerveza on the 2nd with a traditional ceremonial keg tap, and the party will play out in Parque Cervecero until the 12th, featuring dances, a parade, and the election of a beer queen.

More than 25,000 people are expected in Malloco, Chile, when it celebrates its fifth Oktoberfest Fiesta de la Cerveza from the 29th to November 8th. Revellers congregate in a German restaurant, Der Müncher de Malloco, as well as in the city center to guzzle more than 100 different types of beer. There is also a home brew contest, where you can sample the competing blonde, amber, dark and specialty beers from hobby brewers. *January is also a hopping month in Chile, with a two-day beer festival taking place in Llanquihue, and a Kuntsmann Cervecería-sponsored bierfest in Valdivia.

Lima, Peru’s Oktoberfest Cusqueña runs from the 15th to the 18th,  serving up plenty of sausage, pretzels and massive mugs of Cervecería Backus’ exclusive festival edition of Cusqueña. Peruvian beer festivals also take place in Chiclayo, Huancayo, and Cusco.

Prost!

Got a great shot of a spectacular mountain or a cute toddler? Enter our contest and you might win $100 getting it published on the cover of our upcoming Argentina guidebook! Hurry though, the contest ends on Thursday 1st October.

How do I enter?

The contest runs on Flickr and it’s simple to sign up for a free account if you haven’t already got one.

To enter using Flickr:

• If you don’t have a free Flickr account, create one.

• Upload your photos to your account, and then to the relative Flickr contest group.

• For each cover contest you want to enter, join the appropriate group and upload your photos to that group’s pool.

• Photos must be saved as portrait layout, and croppable to 1650×2250 pixels.

• Enter the following information in the photo’s description:

o Where the photo was taken.

o What year the photo was taken (please, no photos taken over three years ago).

o Up to three sentences describing your photo.

• Please tag according to the Argentina group. For example: “VIVATravelGuides Argentina” (be sure to include the quotation marks).

By putting the photos up in your own Flickr account, you control them and the comments they receive. If you are unable to create a Flickr account, please email us at photocontests@vivatravelguides.com. Please enter your color photos only as described above. Unfortunately, we can only accept digital files, not prints, CDs, etc.

What can I enter?

Feel free to…

• enter photos taken anywhere in Argentina.

• enter color photos (black and white will be considered for inside the book, however not the cover).

• enter photos taken within the last three years.

• enter photos that may have been published or used elsewhere, as long as you hold the copyright, its okay with us!

•Minor burning, dodging, and color correction are acceptable. Hand tinting is acceptable, as is cropping. Fish-eye lenses are acceptable.

Please don’t enter photos that …

• you didn’t take, or for which someone else owns the copyright.

• serve mainly to advertise a product.

• show nudity, drugs, violence, or symbols or acts of hatred.

• are illegal or prohibited.

• violate Flickr’s community guidelines.

Note: We reserve the right to disqualify photos for any reason.

How many photos can I enter?

As many as you want!

How will you choose the winners?

The V!VA editorial team will choose among the best photos. You will be notified via your Flickr account.

Don’t have pictures of Argentina?

Don’t worry, we’re also running the following cover competitions with closing dates below:

November 1: Galápagos

November 1: Ecuador and the Galápagos

November 1: Quito

December 1: Cusco and Machu Picchu

January 1: Guatemala

V!VA are also accepting photo submissions for Mexico, Honduras and Costa Rica. There is no set end date for these competitions at this time.

Global warming may be claiming a lot of things, but there’s one ice queen (well, king) who’s not going down without a frigid fight: Perito Moreno.

Located in Los Glaciers National Park, this Argentine glacier is named after the Patagonian pioneer Francisco Peritoi Moreno, and like the explorer after whom it’s named, this glacier is an expert — on evading global warming’s grasp, that is. Advancing an average two meters (6.6 feet) per day, Perito Moreno is one of only a handful of Patagonian glaciers not retreating. Actually, amazingly enough, this glacier has stayed virtually the same for over a century. In a strange sort of antarctic exchange, Perito Moreno loses building-sized chunks of icebergs at nearly the same rate of its very growth of new ones, thus enabling equilibrium.

Every so often the glacier, nearly 30 km (19 miles) in length, intrudes upon and halves Lago Argentino, causing a dam to form. The water from the Brazo Rico side surges over 30 meters (100 feet) above the lake before its pressure finally shatters the glacier holding it back, resulting in a radical rupture. These ruptures occur at irregular intervals, with the last occurring in 2008, but this only encourages curious travelers to try plotting their Patagonian peek of the dynamic glacier. Occurring much more often, as often as every few minutes, is the spectacular cracking-off of massive chunks of iceberg, emitting an eery yet amazing roar as they slowly sink and melt into the lake. There are observation platforms and tours to visit this exciting daily event.

Intrigued? Check out our page on Perito Moreno to plan your glacial getaway to Argentina’s Patagonia.

In a typical year, about 600 people climb Argentina’s Mt. Aconcagua, the highest mountain in the Americas. Of those, an average of two to three die trying to reach the summit. This climbing season (it’s summer in Argentina, remember) has been particularly perilous, as the mountain claimed its fifth victim, an American who was injured by falling rocks. He later died while en route to medical care. The others include an Italiam woman and her Argentine guide (killed during a fierce blizzard), an Englishman (heart attack mere steps from the summit) and a German climber who fell into a crevasse. It may still get worse: rangers are still searching for a French climber who has been missing for two weeks.

The quasi-farcical Church of Maradona, a group of like-minded Argentines who believe in Diego Maradona as the saviour of Argentine football (soccer) held a dual celebration recently: their idol turned 48 and was named head coach of the Argentina national team last week. The tongue-ín-cheek church celebrates thier idol’s birthday every year as well as June 22, the anniversary of the legendary 1986 “hand of God” goal against England. Maradona himself even phoned his “followers” during their festivities  - about 300 turned out - to promise that the national team would shine under his direction.