V!VA Travel Guides

(Dream) job: travel writer- busting the myth (part 1)

paula — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 15:44:06 +0000

by Andrea Davoust

Simple job description, isn’t it? Go to a place. Write about it. Ha! That, and a million obstacles to trip you on the way. If, Indiana Jones-like, you live through the soul-crushingly grim hotels, artery-crackingly greasy street food, bone-jarring bus rides, and encounters with every shade of humanity, then you get to hang up your hat and whip, and like Professor Jones in his academic suit and glasses, offer the fruit of your exotic experiences to the public. In other words, you sit bleary-eyed in a cybercafé typing up bus schedules and museum opening hours, while regular travelers kick back with a sundown beer, and envy you. Little do they know! Let’s bust the myth.

Camping again!

Myth number one: your “dream” job awes everyone.

Sure, fellow Western travelers sigh after your luck, getting paid – actual money! – to write about places. But an astonishing number of local people, those whose brains you need to pick in order to get that writing done, i.e. hotel clerks, tourism office employees, etc. don’t know, don’t care, or are simply annoyed at you for interrupting their boyfriend-text-messaging sessions. Often, I have openly explained that I am gathering information for a “guía de viaje” and asked about jungle tours, or just to see a hotel room, or another seemingly simple query. “Oh you are a guía, where is your group?” No, no, it is just lil’ ol’ me and I’m writing a book to inform tourists about you. “So how many people in your group?” they ask, hopefully peeking over my shoulder. Or they throw brochures at me, hoping it will make me go away. But every so often, I come across a good soul (= someone whose brain is switched on) who will go out of their way to help me in my quest. Bless them.

Myth number two: you get a whole bunch of freebies.

A glamorous free shot of aguardiente

Let me recount the grand total of goodies I got for free in nearly six weeks through Central America: 1 glass of orange juice, 1 cup of coffee, 1 lunch (at a deserted jungle resort where I supposed the owner was bored, but he cleaned his plate in about five minutes, abruptly stood up and left me chewing alone), and after I had corrected a tour operator’s contact details by logging into our site in front of him and thus proved that I was not a fake like so many he had seen, 1 free tour of historical Leon, Nicaragua. The 3 beers that random drunken strangers have tried to buy me while I was quietly eating my lunch do not count. Regarding invitations to stay in fancy resorts or sip sophisticated cocktails in expensive restaurants or test the new skydiving tour, well, I am still waiting to be deluged with them. Not really Even if I were able to, V!VA, like many other guidebook companies, does not allow its staff to take freebies.

Want the dream job of a travel writer? Sign up for V!VA Boot Camps and get critiqued by the pros, with a chance to stay on for freelance assignments for V!VA.

Vote for V!VA!

Nick — Fri, 20 Nov 2009 17:07:35 +0000

V!VA is one of five finalists for Mashable’s Open Web Award for Best Travel Site or App! It’s a huge honor, but our work isn’t over; we want to win this thing, and we need your help to do it! The competition runs until December 13th and you can vote every day using both your Facebook and Twitter accounts. The voting page is here, and don’t forget to bookmark it. Make voting for V!VA your good deed of the day, every day, until the 13th!

Free!

lorraine — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 22:05:00 +0000

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!

VIVA Cover Photo Contests for Ecuador and Peru

LiLlama — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 19:00:11 +0000

Congratulations to Luciano Stabel, winner of our Flickr Cover Photo Contest for Chile! His beautiful photo of Puerto Varas will appear on our premier guidebook to Chile, due out later this year!

Want your photo to appear on the cover of our upcoming guidebooks?

VIVA Travel Guides is happy to announce FOUR upcoming Flickr Cover Photo Contests!! Whether you’re a professional photojournalist, amateur photographer or simply a wanderlusting backpacker with a good eye (and camera), we invite all travelers to submit their photos. Entering is free, and you can submit as many photos as you want!

Winner gets $100 and the coveted cover of the upcoming guidebook!

If your photos doesn’t win, don’t fret: Runners up get their name and photo inside the guidebook itself.

You already show off your amazing travel photos to your friends and family — why not gain a little exposure and help travel guide readers see the beauty of this world? Visit our Flickr Contest Pages below to read contest guidelines.

Ready, Set, Snap!

Upcoming Contests

Cusco and Machu Picchu (Deadline: December 1, 2009)
Ecuador (Deadline: January 1, 2010)
Quito (Deadline: January 1, 2010)
Galapagos Islands (Deadline: January 1, 2010)

V!VA Boot Camps in Ecuador and Peru! Travel. Write. Get Paid.

paula — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 18:35:17 +0000

Travel. Write. Get Paid.

Line up, aspiring travel writers: V!VA Travel Guides is hosting its next Travel Writing Boot Camps in:

Quito, Ecuador: January 4 -8
Cusco, Peru: January 18 - 22

V!VA’s camps offer a crash course on all you need to know to become a successful travel writer. We’re looking for an army of talented and adventurous writers to train out on the field. Now’s your chance to travel, write and get paid!

Gain on-location, hands-on experience from professional travel writers and editors
Find out what editors want, how to deliver, and how to get paid and published for your work
Attend an introductory course on producing digital photography for the internet
Get the inside scoop on today’s travel writing market and how to work with multimedia outlets
Improve writing skills through daily critiques by peers and pros
Stay “on assignment” in the host country after the camp and be a contributing author in our upcoming guidebook!

Emily is a former Boot Camp graduate, and is now a paid travel writer in Mexico. Here’s what she had to say about V!VA’s Travel Writing Boot Camps:

“I attended V!VA’s Boot Camp in September of 2008 in Oaxaca, Mexico. I met some cool people and learned a lot. It is a very intensive course that helps you focus on writing skills. I stayed on assignment and earned some extra cash afterwards, and have done other assignments as well. Writing for V!VA is a great way to earn cash to cut down on travel expenses while exploring a new city.”

Ready to hit the ground running as a real travel writer? Enlist here: V!VA’s Travel Writing Boot Camp.

On Getting Drunk at Festivals

tomt — Tue, 17 Nov 2009 17:40:12 +0000

Let’s face it - Latin American festivals, such as Carnival, Dia de Los Muertos or the numerous local celebrations that pepper the region are great parties. There’s dancing in the streets, wild costumes and partying for as long as you can still stand. (And it is amazing how those locals seem to manage to stand for so much longer than you.)

The snowmen of Peru's Festival of the Snows. They bring crosses up to the mountains and return with sacred blocks of ice.

Inevitably, there will be some guy who will try to convince you that you are missing the point. That these festivals have deep spiritual and societal meaning that you, in your drunken stupor, are missing. For certain festivals, he may well be right. The drunken gringo dancing and partying to all hours of Easter morning probably doesn’t get it.

However, for many festivals, the idea is, well…to get drunk and party. The question to be asked is why do so many cultures have wild, public celebrations. Do they serve a purpose? One common thread, aside from the drunken revelries, is that many festivals are associated with dates on the religious calendar. Carnival happens before Lent, and the Day of the Dead is associated with All Saints and All Souls Day. Of course, most places have festivals associated with local patron saints.

People assume that revelers are just binging before the more substantial matters. 40 days of Lent is, if you are not a tea-totalling vegetarian, a long time to go without meat or alcohol. So, you might as well have a last binge. However, anthropologists have long debated the substance of these parties. A consensus has emerged; these festivals are of greater significance than just people of limited piety getting one last good blast in before more serious matters are attended to.

Indeed, these revelries are a vital part of the religious observances. Aside from simply getting drunk (as opposed to the normal state of soberness), there is a broad array of social changes that take place. The rich are treated like they are poor while ordinary people are made kings. Cross dressing is common. Eroticism is made public and, in various symbolic ways (usually costumes), otherworldly creatures mingle with real people.

Carnival costumes in Trinidad

While this social inversion might seem rebellious, in fact, it points out the social norms. Seeing something out of place reminds people of what the proper place is. Once that reminder is established, the more serious religious and spiritual ceremonies reestablish the proper order.

A less dry explanation might simply be that it is fun. Having fun and enjoying yourself matters. Indeed, in countries where poverty is much more widespread, fun takes on great importance.

These festivals are public for a reason. You are, in a de-facto sort of way, invited to participate and join in the fun. The presence of foreigners joining in the party helps to solidify the social inversion. For a brief period, you are welcomed into the fold—you become a part of the family. You get to to both join in the culture, while helping to preserve it by cementing your role as outsider. More than that, however, it is a chance to have some fun, enjoy a great experience and bring home some great stories (even if you are sure never to tell anyone).

As for that guy who is insisting that you are missing the point… I recommend you smile, nod and buy him a drink. He needs it.

Become a Travel Writer — Bootcamps in Peru and Ecuador

Abigail — Sun, 15 Nov 2009 18:15:35 +0000

Travel. Write. Get Paid.

Line up, aspiring travel writers: V!VA Travel Guides is hosting its next Travel Writing Boot Camps in:

Quito, Ecuador: January 4 -8
Cusco, Peru: January 18 - 22

Gain on-location, hands-on experience from professional travel writers and editors
Find out what editors want, how to deliver, and how to get paid and published for your work
Attend an introductory course on producing digital photography for the internet
Get the inside scoop on today’s travel writing market and how to work with multimedia outlets
Improve writing skills through daily critiques by peers and pros
Stay “on assignment” in the host country after the camp and be a contributing author in our upcoming guidebook!

Emily is a former Boot Camp graduate, and is now a paid travel writer in Mexico. Here’s what she had to say about V!VA’s Travel Writing Boot Camps:

“I attended V!VA’s Boot Camp in September of 2008 in Oaxaca, Mexico. I met some cool people and learned a lot. It is a very intensive course that helps you focus on writing skills. I stayed on assignment and earned some extra cash afterwards, and have done other assignments as well. Writing for V!VA is a great way to earn cash to cut down on travel expenses while exploring a new city.”

Ready to hit the ground running as a real travel writer? Enlist here: V!VA’s Travel Writing Boot Camp.

Nightlife: Chivas

MarkS — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 19:41:19 +0000

Have you ever been in a bar or club and said, “Man, I wish this place was on wheels?” No? Well, let’s pretend that you have, because mobile nightclubs do exist. They’re called chivas. Hop on!

Typically found in Colombia and Ecuador (and more recently in New York!), chivas resemble open-sided school buses, brightly painted (often in patriotic yellow, blue and red), with rows of wooden bench seating inside; a ladder on the back leads to rooftop seating and storage. In rural areas, chivas are a popular way of transporting people and their belongings (chickens, pets, and fruits and vegetables) between villages.

The use of chivas has grown from being a mode of public transportation to a unique way of touring cities and the countryside. Chivas ferry tourists around on guided city tours in Colombian and Ecuadorian cities like Cali, Barranquilla, and Guayaquil (which has open-top versions of the traditional chiva).

If you’re looking to combine partying with a little sightseeing, or just feel like livening up your drinking, climb on a party chiva. These traveling discos cruise the streets serving alcohol, usually aguardiente (anise-flavored alcohol made from sugar cane), to you and up to 40 of your soon-to-be best chiva friends, while a rooftop brass band blasts Vallenato or oom-pah music. Chivatecas up the nightclub aesthetic: raising the roof and ditching the seating. Get tight at the open bar and dance to a mix of salsa, cumbia, reggaeton and electronica. You can chiva-hop from bar to bar or roam the streets for a couple hours before getting dropped off and left to stagger into a nightclub.

photo by L.Marcio_Ramalho

In Colombia, nighttime rumba rides are a great way to cover the many neighborhoods in Bogotá, Cartagena, and Medellín. In Quito, trumpets, drums and cymbals raise hell atop chivas crawling through the city’s nightlife district, La Mariscal, on their way to the old town for canelazo-blurred views of the churches and plazas. If you’re in Baños, you can ride a chiva at night up to the Bellavista viewpoint to enjoy a cup of canelazo while taking in a fire show and erupting volcano Tungurahua (so long as it isn’t obscured by clouds). Chiva activity peaks in Ecuador in December during the Fiestas de Quito, when chivas clog the streets and everyone wants in on the fun.

My phantom husband, Buddhist brochures and other self-defense answers

paula — Thu, 12 Nov 2009 18:24:38 +0000

By Andrea Davoust

Travel is about the new, the exotic and the unexpected. Or should be. But as a single female wandering Latin America, I find that conversations, depressingly, tend to revolve around the exact same utterly predictable topics. Here are the top offenders, and my catalogue of (real and imaginary) responses crafted from many an annoying question from random Latino locals.

Photo by Phil Wood

1/ Are you married? (bet on that one)

A: What I wish I could answer: No, I am free as a bird. I can do whatever I please, whenever I please, dress sexy or raggedly, read all night or tuck in at 9, feed on ice cream and veggies, flirt with cute boys, and nobody can say a thing about it, bwah ha ha!

B: what I really answer: Yes, I am married. (Engaged can work too)

2/ So, where is your husband?

A(imaginary) : I left him at home where he belongs, to clean the house, wash the laundry and cook for the kids.

B (actual) : He is waiting for me in (insert name of convenient city) and I am meeting him on (insert convenient date).

3/ So you are apart from your husband for X weeks/months? We in Honduras (or alternate country) would not accept that.

A: Yes, and that is why I am not married to a Honduran fisherman/taxi driver/security guard.

Photo by Silvio Tanaka

B: Oh, but it’s temporary. And exceptional. After that we will be together forever. (Insert sweet, enamored smile)

4/ How come you don’t have children at your age?

A: Because I have been too busy having a whale of a time traveling, seeing the world, getting wasted in the nightclubs of every town on the way, while you dealt with fights over teddy bears.

B: We are planning to have some very soon, next year in fact. Lots of them. (more illuminated smiles)

5/ I want to marry a Frenchwoman and go live in Europe. How much does a flight to France cost?

A: Ha ha ha! Good luck to you.

B: Oh, who knows, maybe one day. A flight costs about a thousand dollars. (gentle smile, accompanied by sorry shrug).

6/ Are you a Catholic? Do you believe in God?

A: I have yet a long way to go on the path of transcendental questions, I don’t know what to believe, because Nietzsche…(good-day answer) / I worship the devil/trees/sun / I am a Buddhist/Jehovah’s witness and we happen to have a meeting tonight, can I leave you a brochure? (bad-day answer)

B: Yes.

7/ Have you got a phone number here in Nicaragua?

A: No.

B: No. Oh, thank you for your contact details. Bye now!

V!VA Interviews an SAE Volunteer

EmmaM — Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:22:25 +0000

By Emma Mueller

For those who don’t know, the South American Explorers Club—affectionately known as the SAE—is an organization that provides travelers in South America with extensive insider’s information and valuable trip planning advice. Ex-pats and travelers passing through South America should definitely stop by one of the clubhouses to meet fellow travelers and participate in organized events like weekend hikes, pub quizzes, parties and lectures given by local experts. Clubhouses can be found in Quito, Ecuador; Cuzco, Peru; Lima, Peru; and Buenos Aires Argentina. Sign up as a member and you’ll receive local discounts and access to helpful information online!

This week V!VA interviewed Marion Baier, who spent around two months volunteering at the SAE clubhouse in Quito, Ecuador. Prospective travelers looking to volunteer in South America should definitely read on to learn more about this unique and fun volunteer opportunity. For more information, visit the Volunteer and Work Page of the SAE website.

To start, tell us a little about yourself.

My name is Marion, I’m 23 and I’m from Cologne, Germany. I study translation in Hildsheim, a small town in the northern part of Germany with the languages English and Spanish. I really enjoy traveling throughout the world and whenever I’m on vacation from my clases, I try to do a trip somewhere. Besides that, I like to do sports, to read, I love music and to hang out with my friends.

What brought you to Ecuador? Who did you come with (if anyone), and was it your first time here?

The first time I came to Ecuador was in January 2009, because I wanted to visit my friend Gabriela who lives in Quito and who I met in the United Stated a few years ago. I fell in love with the city and the country right away, so I HAD to come back to explore more of Ecuador. I decided to do an internship here to improve my Spanish and I stayed seven weeks, which was definitely too short.

How did you hear about the SAE?

Because of my studies I need to do internships that have to do with languages. I looked on the internet and found a Spanish school in Quito that offered to help with internships. I wrote them and they offered me to work at the SAE. After I found out who they are and what they do, I accepted right away because it sounded really interesting and fun.

Why did you choose to volunteer at the SAE?

I chose to volunteer at the SAE because I really enjoy meeting new people and speaking different languages. It just sounded more fun then any other internship I have done before.

Describe a day in the life of an SAE volunteer. What exactly do you do?

I usually arrived at 9:30 in the morning and then started to write on the Quito package, which was started by another German volunteer who worked at the SAE before me. I had to collect information on Quito, on the museums, hotels, places of interests etc. and write small summaries about the different places in and around Quito. Whenever somebody entered the SAE clubhouse, I tried to help them with their questions, talked to them or showed them the house and where they can find what kind of information. There was always somebody around in the house to talk to.

What was your favorite part of being a volunteer? Were there any special perks?

I really enjoyed talking to people and finding out about their trips, where they had been before, where they were going next, etc.

And what would you say was the hardest part about being a volunteer?

The hardest part was probably the beginning. I came to Quito and didn’t really know the city. Because of that it was hard for me to answer peoples’ questions, because I didn’t really know a lot of things either, but they were expecting it from me. But at the end of my volunteering time, I knew more and also had been to some places, which made everything a lot easier.

While volunteering can certainly be a fun and rewarding experience, it can sometimes be difficult to make ends meet financially. How do you manage to get by living here in Quito without receiving a salary? Any tips/advice for the rest of us?

Before I came to Quito, I worked a lot Germany so I could finance my stay. I also received a scholarship, which was a great help. Because I only had a tourist visa, I wasn’t officially allowed to work, but if I had had a different visa, I would have worked in some place to get some extra money.

Would you recommend the SAE volunteer program to a friend?

Yes, definitely. Compared to other internships we have to do during our studies, it is a refreshing alternative.

What’s next for you?

Finish my studies and then come back to South America to explore all the other countries I haven’t been before. 