Venezuelan cargo plane found in Ecuador Andes

"  2008-08-31 19:54:02 - QUITO (AP) - Authorities located a downed Venezuelan cargo plane on Sunday after it went missing in the snowcapped Andes five minutes before it was due to land in central Ecuador, civil aviation officials said. The Boeing 737-200, operated by...

Trekking from Lodge to Lodge to the Macchu Picchu

Ready to hit the trails, looking for adventure, ancient civilizations with Macchu Picchu as the crown jewel, Mountain Lodges of Peru offers all that via hiking trails such as the Salkantay Trek with the reassuring thought that your maybe not so young or trained bodies find...

100-foot deep Andes lake disappears

A 100-feet-deep lake in the Bernardo O'Higgins National Park completely disappeared sometime between March and May. The water may have drained through cracks in the bottom of the lake, but there have been no earthquakes lately that could have caused them."A five-acre glacial...

Bolivian Fight Club: From Ritual to Tourist Spectacle -AP

Here is a fascinating photo essay about how a Bolivian mountain town's annual tradition of settling grievances and honoring their goddess is decaying into a tourist-friendly spectacle, leaving both locals and visitors feeling unfulfilled."The locals come down from the...

Pre-Columbian ruin discovered in Peru

"Muscutt said the ruin, located in the cloud-forested eastern slope of the Andes, is believed to belong to the ancient Chachapoya, a civilization that flourished in the upper Amazon between the ninth and 15th centuries. Muscutt made the announcement this month during the...

Bolivia's Morales faces biggest test

"Political leaders in wealthy regions, long alienated from his Andes power base, are pushing for more autonomy. By Patrick J. McDonnell, Times Staff Writer December 25, 2006 LA PAZ, BOLIVIA — Not yet a year in office, President Evo Morales can boast of some major...

Wine pioneers settle in Argentina's Pampas (Reuters)

" BUENOS AIRES, Argentina (Reuters) - Most people associate Argentine wine with the snow-capped Andes. But far from the mountains, in the country's soy and cattle-farming heartland, wine pioneers are putting down roots. The South American country, famed for the Malbec grown...