Chronicles of On The Road Travel

Free Foreign Cinema on Your Laptop

The other day I discovered Jaman, an online community pioneering 'social cinema'. The site claims to have curated and assembled one of the world's largest online libraries of feature films and documentaries. It is also a forum for movie buffs to watch and discuss films of the world.

What I love about it is that they've categorized the films by region, so you can select movies from Latin America, Europe, Asia, etc. It's great for those who prefer foreign films over hollywood and bollywood blockbusters. Another nice feature is that you don't need your own video player - Jaman has a nice, easy to use, proprietary system that you can download, providing a hi-def experience.

Last night I downloaded 'Bar El Chino' a wonderful Argentine movie following the making of a documentary about Buenos Aires' famous Tango Bar. Not only does it provide some great shots of the real Argentina, it also offers a great story depicting the Argentine passion and mind set during the 2001 financial crisis.

If you sign up now you can recieve 3 free downloads.

São Paulo Cleans Up Visual Pollution

Just imagine your city, wherever you may live, without any billboards, posters or any other type of outdoor advertisement.  Think of how used you are now to seeing signs on the street trying to sell you something.  We either take notice or ignore them but for better or worse they influence us consciously and subconsciously.  How would our cities look if we had none of the media pollution we are so used to being surrounded by? 

This clean, maybe even sterile scene sounds almost futuristic.  For a glimpse into what this future may look like you can now head to São Paulo, Brazil, as this Business Week article points out.  Last fall the government implemented a ban on outdoor advertisement in an effort to clean out visual pollution.  The Clean City laws banned all outdoor advertising “including ads on taxis, on buses—even shopfronts were to be restricted, their signs limited to 1.5 metres for every 10 metres of frontage.” 

Naturally the measures have brought mixed feelings from the media and general population.  Advertisers are up in arms about all the lost revenue and the loss in jobs this will lead to, a contentious issue in a country with a close to 10% unemployment rate.  Some people think removing advertising will make the city a duller place, while others point to the underlying architecture that will be visible once the obstructing advertising is removed as a source of pride of the city.

The Clean City laws don't have to be seen as anti-capitalist policy that is trying to get rid of advertising revenue, as some may claim.  It will encourage advertisers to adapt their strategies to this change in culture and, if successful, São Paulo may be seen as a model for how other cities should clean up their act.

Visit our travel advice for Brazil for tips on visiting this country.

This article was posted by Veronica Montero

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Rio de Janeiro's Surf Bus

Of course there’s plenty of sun, sand and sea right in the city of Rio de Janeiro, but if you’re looking for a mini-getaway, a dose of nature, and some surf, a day trip to Prainha (little beach) is for you. Grab your surfboard, a kanga (beach towel) and some sunscreen and set off on a mini tropical vacation.

Much like Rio’s urban beaches, you won’t even have to leave your beach blanket if you’re hungry: vendors — though fewer than on Copa and Ipanema — will bring the grub right to you. You can get sandwiches, açai (sweet, deep purple rainforest berry slushy), the famous Biscoito Globo (airy manioc crackers, available in savory and sweet though the crunch is more pronounced than the flavor) and more. A few stands on the beach rent umbrellas and sell coconuts, beer and soft drinks while kiosks by the road offer baked goodies, drinks and sandwiches.

Read more and find out details of the Surf Bus...

Watch the slideshow below of the adventure Lee Weingast, our editor in Rio de Janeiro, had on the Surf Bus.

Prainha - Rio de Janeiro

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Mendoza's Malbecs On The Rise

Friday's Wall Street Journal featured an article on Argentina's Malbec wines and their explosion on the international market. The reviewers did a blind tasting of 60 Malbecs and had glowing reviews for the varietal. Notable favorites were:

Felipe Rutini 2004
Nieto Senetiner 'Reserva' 2004
Bodegas Caro (Domaines Barons de Rothschild-Lafite and Nicolas Catena) 2002
El Felino (Vina Cobos) 2004 
Bodega Terrazas de los Andes 2006

More interesting is the fact that in the first four months of this year, the U.S. imported almost 50% more wine from Argentina than from longstanding favorite, Chile. This compares to 2000, when Chile exported almost five times as much wine to the U.S. as Argentina did.

Find out more about Argentina's Malbec Producers in our Guide to Visiting the Wineries of Mendoza. If you plan to visit Mendoza, Aventura & Wine offers wonderful personalized itineraries. For those who can't visit Argentina, but want to try some of these up and coming wines, Vines of Mendoza exports Argentine wines to many of the US states as well as several European countries. They are offering 20% off their entire collection of premium wines between now and June 30th.

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Princess Fiona Visits the Lost City of the Incas

This past weekend, Cameron Diaz, who plays Princess Fiona in Shrek, among many other movies and characters, visited Machu Picchu as part of a Canadian TV production titled '4 Real'. The idea of the show is to focus on young community leaders around the world. This particular episode was to celebrate Peru's culture.

Unfortunately, Cameron made a serious fashion faux-pas. She happened to be sporting a souvenir from a tourist trip to China - an olive green shoulder bag with a big red star and the words 'Serve The People' written across it. I highly doubt that she had any idea what it meant when she bought the bag, and it is more unlikely that she realized the slogan's relation to Peru, whose citizen's were terrorized by the Maoist Shining Path movement in the 80's. Nonetheless, you would hope that someone on the crew of 4 Real might have picked up on the issue, given that the nature of the show was to promote cultural awareness.

It's not something we had previously considered, but maybe we'll add it under the 'What not to do' in our Guide to Visiting Machu Picchu.

Canada's 7 Wonders - eh?

As we anxiously await the upcoming unveiling of the 'New 7 Wonders of the World', Canada has gone and released its own Seven Wonders List. The criteria used to determine these 7 Wonders were:

1. Essential 'Canadian-ness' - historically significant,  character filled, valued (the 'eh factor)
                            
2. Originality/uniqueness of the pitch and place
    
3. Spectacular physical site or amazing human creation
    
4. Ability to inspire
    
5. Range within the final seven - diversity of location, type of wonder
         
6. Results of the online  vote

And the winners are: the canoe, the igloo, Niagra Falls, the prairie skies, old Quebec city, Pier 21 in Halifax, and the  Rockies.  A few of these are a bit broad, but you can hear some very Canadian judging decision by  clicking on each at the CBC website.

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San Francisco to Seattle: Highlights from a Road Trip

Anyone who has done some traveling is familiar with the realities of travel.  Things are never what you expect them to be, maybe a bit disappointing or more challenges await along the way than one foresaw, but in the end usually the good memories are the ones that stick.  When departing for a recent road trip where I would be traveling from San Francisco to Seattle by car with my husband, I thought there was no way this trip would ever live up to my expectations, I had heard and read so much about the beauty of this area.  We didn't even need to distance ourselves from the experience or allow the time lag after having come home to filter out the bad memories to realize this was a very unique place and one of the most perfect vacations we had had together. 

The trajectory took us through the coast of northern California, Sonoma, Mendocino, Redwoods National Park, then into the mountains of Oregon and Crater Lake National Park, back along the Oregon coast and, lastly, to Portland and Seattle.  Not only was it the perfect mix between city time and the outdoors but also, early May was the perfect time to visit this part of the US, as it's just on the cusp of the travel season so we had no problems finding last-minute accommodations and never had to deal with crowds. 

Top 10 Highlights:

1. Fresh Dungeness crab sandwiches and clam chowder on a shack at Monterra Beach, CA.  Freshest, largest pieces of crab eaten by the ocean is a taste that lingers for days.
2. Cinco de Mayo celebration at Dolores Park.  The whole Mission district seemed to come together at Dolores Park to celebrate Mexican heritage.  A mix of good music and the beginning of summer weather had everyone in a contagious good mood.  Some probably thought they were celebrating Mexican Independence Day (which is actually on September 16) or another Latin American festivity; it was a fun cultural experience, nevertheless. 
3. Mendocino, California.  The beautiful town of Mendocino has a special feel of its own.  Its location on a tip that juts out onto the ocean means you have immediate access to hikes with gorgeous views as well as easy access to beaches where you can just chill out and have a picnic or read a book for hours on end.  The town itself has a great selection of restaurants and B&Bs that are not easy on the pocket but all very picturesque and with lots of character.  The mix of high-end living and the hippie lifestyle of the locals gives this place its added charm.  We would have lingered here except we had another 725 miles to go to our end destination.
4. Friendly people everywhere we made a turn in both California and Oregon.  People were so ridiculously friendly everywhere we went we started making fun of this surreal experience.  Surely a combination of the contrast with big city attitudes and traveling outside of peak tourist season.
5. Crater Lake National Park, Oregon.  This pristine 1,943 feet-deep lake was formed thousands of   years ago when a volcano blew its top and collapsed.  America's deepest lake lies in a park that is covered in snow most of the year.  Only in August can one drive around the entire rim of the lake, as it is the only time of the year it's not partly or fully covered in snow.  We got there one week after the first paths had been cleared so there were barely any tourists to obstruct the view. 
6. Redwood National Forest, California.  Being surrounded by massive trees that have been around for centuries, more majestic than anything man could ever build, is humbling and awe-inspiring.
7. The freedom of walking right up to a B&B or hotel and find availability and being able to negotiate prices.  Note that AAA hotels give 10% off to members, even if you don't have your card on you.  Our top lucky find was Carter House B&B in Eureka, a Victorian inn with luxurious rooms and a phenomenal restaurant.  Full buffet breakfast is included in the room price as well as happy hour with hors d'oeuvres.   
8. Oregon Dunes National Recreation Area, between Florence and Coos Bay.  Going from forest to  sand dunes to ocean reminded us a bit of the Dunes de Pyla, in Bordeaux, France.  These dunes aren't quite as high and dramatic but the scenery is still beautiful and definitely worth a stop when in the area.
9. Desolate beaches that extend for 80 miles in the Lost Coast.  Backed by the Kings Range Mountains on one side and the Pacific Ocean on the other, the Lost Coast is a strip of untouched coast north of Mendocino, south of Eureka that has been completely preserved for the enjoyment of nature.  You can find accommodations on Shelter Cove and from there you are on your own to camp if you want to spend the week hiking the California Coastal Trail. Getting out there is a bit of an adventure, as you head westbound from Garberville on US101, through Shelter Cover Rd., you hit some very windy roads until the deep forest eventually opens up to dramatic views of tall, green mountains blending into the beach by the rough ocean.  It's easy to get lost (no pun intended!) and locals appear to take some pleasure in keeping this their best kept secret but do persist, as you will be rewarded with an unforgettable experience. Words simply don't do justice to this place.
10. Seeing Seattle without rain.

This article was posted by Veronica Montero

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Great Local Tour Guides

I'm typically not a fan of overly structured travel, but one thing I always appreciate is a great, personalized, guided tour. Sophia Dembling's recent article, Guidebooks Get You Going, But a Guide Helps You Learn, couldn't have been more spot on. As Sophia writes: Guidebooks can introduce you to the big stuff while walking tours not only provide peeks between the lines, but also are chances to hang with a local and ask questions you've wondered in your wandering.

Local guides are very important to us at On The Road Travel. In each of our cities we have tried to highlight a local, personal guide who we feel does a great job explaining the less obvious highlights of their city, town or country.

Daniel Concha, in Cusco, grew up in the Peruvian jungle and is a great teacher of the spiritual aspects of Peru. The women of Santiago Zamora, near Antigua, Guatemala, can give you a  unique perspective of the indigenous culture of Guatemala with a tour of their village. In Buenos Aires, Robert Wright, a former tour guide for Rick Steves, can show you the hidden nooks and crannies of this incredible city. Lastly, when in Rio de Janeiro, you will get a unique perspective of the Brazilian social situation with Marcelo Armstrong's tour of the favelas (slums). Marcelo, who grew up near a favela in Rio, is one of the pioneers of the favela tour. Check out the OTR website for more great tour guides in Latin America.

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Would You Penalize the Pope for Forgetting his Passport?

With all the recent news about celebrities being above the law, an inequality of a different sort surfaced regarding the Pope's recent visit to Brazil. Apparently both the Pope and the Vatican's Secretary of State arrived in Brazil without their passports. I think we all agree the the Pope is not likely to try to plant roots in Brazil, and that it wasn't worth making a fuss over, but the Brazilian government did fine Alitalia, the Italian airline that transported the Pope and his entourage, for allowing the two passengers to travel without passports.

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Argentina Takes the US Open

I'll admit... I'm not remotely a golf fan, but I was very impressed to see the US Open go to an Argentine yesterday. Angel Cabrera out-shot Tiger Woods and others to be the first Argentina to take home the bragging rights of the tournament. The only other Argentine to win a major tournament was Robert de Vicenzo at the 1967 British Open.

Cabrera began his career as a caddie at the Cordoba Golf Club in Argentina. He dropped out of school to support his family this way and turned professional at the age of 20. He is known by the locals as 'El Pato' (the duck) for his unique swagger. International fans recognize him for his gaucho-style smoking habit and he is often seen making his way down the fairway with a cigarette in one hand.

It is no wonder that he became the golfer he did. Argentina is home to some incredible golf courses (or at least that's what i'm told by those in the know - since it would take a whole lot to get me out on a golf course). Both Bariloche and the outskirts of Buenos Aires boast some of Latin America's best courses.

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