San Blas Islands are part of Panama and it is an archipelago with around 370 islands and small sandy islands part of coral reefs. Only 49 of them are inhabited and mostly by the local Kuna Indians.
It is easy to get to.
The San Blas Islands are located in the Northwest of Panama, which borders Colombia in the East and Costa Rica in the West. You can fly from Panama straight into the San Blas Islands or you can take a boat from either Cartagena or Capurganá.
The San Blas Islands are remote but don’t feel overwhelmed by getting here.
If you don’t want to cross the jungle or open waters of the Caribbean Sea you can use a plane to get to San Blas. You can book flights at Air Panama or Aeroperlas, but make sure you book in advance.
Discover the pristine and untouched archipelagos in the world
Most of these impressively pristine islands have few roads and even fewer people. Here you can discover many new species that are unknown to the science in some of those uninhabited islands. If you are searching for that desert island feel, San Blas is the perfect destination.
San Blas is also known to have some of the best spots for snorkeling in the Caribbean of Central America. Many of the islands are ringed by healthy coral reefs and gorgeous water. The coral reef attracts many stunning species. The best time to go snorkeling is from June to October because the water visibility is better and there are fewer currents.
Photo credit: Markus Leupold-Löwenthal / Wikipedia
The Kuna People
The real name of San Blas is Kuna Yala – Land of the Kuna. The Cuna are famous for their bright molas, a colorful textile art form made with the techniques of appliqué and reverse appliqué.
About 50.000 Kuna’s live on the 49 major islands of San Blas and are controlled by their own community leader called a Sahila.
The island is picture-perfect with lapping waves, swaying palm trees, and gentle breezes and no Wi-Fi or TVs. Evenings are leisurely, with everyone relaxing and enjoying the slow Caribbean pace.
San Blas is an indigenous territory located northeast of Panama. Discover the San Blas Islands and relax in a typical rustic bungalow over water, hosted by a native Guna family. The San Blas Islands are popular with eco-tourists due to their pristine natural state.
Featured image photo credit: Marc Veraart / Flickr
Curitiba is the capital of the southern Brazilian state of Paraná. It is known as a cultural center, Curitiba is home to a number of performance venues. Curitiba is one of the largest cities in the prosperous Southern region, and its population is largely descended from German, Ukrainian, Russian, Italian and Polish immigrants. The city’s population is close to 2 million.
Curitiba’s eco-city initiatives began long before the current mandate to clean up cities was born. In 1971, architect Jaime Lerner was elected mayor for his first out of three terms and came up with innovative and creative solutions.
The city has 17 new parks, 90 miles of bike paths, trees everywhere, and traffic and garbage systems that officials from other cities come to study.
The average salary resident of Curitiba about 3.5 times greater than the minimum in the country, thus taxes in Curitiba are not higher than in the whole country.
Curitiba, Brazil pioneered the use of bus rapid transit and is viewed as a model bus rapid transit (BRT) system for other countries in Latin America and around the world. Curitiba was the first city in Brazil to organize private bus operation in catchment areas and the first city in the world to implement a full BRT system.
They are widely recognized for their many innovative features. The overall system is the result of many incremental decisions aimed at improving service quickly, pragmatically, and affordably.
The bus system includes about 37 miles of median busways and carries about 2 million people per day. About 70% of Curitiba’s commuters use the bus system even though Curitiba’s automobile ownership and per capita incomes are significantly higher than the national average for Brazil.
Buses also travel on urban roadways, so infrastructure investments can be substantially lower than the capital costs required for rail systems.
The buses run frequently—some as often as every 90 seconds and the stations are convenient, well-designed, comfortable, and attractive.
Curitiba has one of the most heavily used, yet low-cost, transit systems in the world.
They initiated a system that focused on meeting the transportation needs of all people—rather than those using private automobiles. They avoided large-scale and expensive projects in favor of hundreds of modest initiatives.
Passengers pay a single fare for travel throughout the system, with unlimited transfers between buses at terminals where different services intersect.
Very limited public parking is available in the downtown area, and most employers offer transportation subsidies, especially to low-skilled and low-paid employees.
Additionally, to avoid congestion in central areas, various streets in the city center were pedestrianized.
The result was a highly reliable mass transport system that dramatically reduces automobile usage, fuel consumption and emission levels in the city. A versatile, cost- and time-effective model that can be implemented by making improvements to existing transport infrastructure and vehicles.
A low-cost transit system used by over 75% of travelers in Curitiba, a city of three million-plus. Eliminates about 27 million automobile trips annually, saving 10 million gallons of fuel and lowering the city’s CO2 emissions by 25%. A model for developing cities worldwide.
The city administration had to find a solution for the frequent flooding that was taking place due to the geographical position of the city.
Curitiba’s park system was designed to preserve the river’s meandering course. During heavy rains the river backs up and spreads out into the low-lying area of the parks, forming temporary lakes and mimicking a natural floodplain.
Curitiba has 400 square kilometers of public parks or forest space or more than 50 square meters per inhabitant. It emits 25 percent less carbon per capita than most Brazilian cities.
The local botanical garden is divided on the site of the former city landfill, it serves as a recreation and research center. In addition, there are 17 parks – and each is dedicated to a particular topic. In addition, these parks are easily accessible using the public transport system.
Curitiba developers get a tax break if their projects include green areas.
Curitiba’s Recycling Initiatives
Curitiba’s citizens separate their trash into just two categories, organic and inorganic, for pick-up by two kinds of trucks. Curitiba has also spearheaded programs that encourage residents to keep their streets clean and recycle, in exchange trash and recyclables by offering them bus tokens, food, and cash.
The trash goes to a plant that employs people to separate bottles from cans from plastic.
Recovered materials are sold to local industries. The recycling program costs no more than the old landfill, but the city is cleaner, there are more jobs, farmers are supported and the poor get food and transportation. Curitiba recycles two-thirds of its garbage – one of the highest rates of any city, north or south.
Curitiba now has the most developed in the Brazilian system of social support and one of the most viable educational and outreach programs. Students are educated to become engaged citizens through learning progressive social and environmental concepts at an early age. A great example of this is the recycling program.
The Brazilian city of Curitiba has developed a model of successful operation and development, learning to deal with a wide range of issues from transport and economic – to the social and environmental.
The success of the city can be largely attributed to mayor Jaime Lerner, whose goals are largely rooted in developing a city that works efficiently for all its residents, and produces a society of satisfied individuals. Curitiba is an excellent example of a society working together as a collective.
It is hard to believe that so many cities in the world today are unable to find solutions for better mobility, sustainability and general quality of life.
Guyana, a country on South America’s North Atlantic coast, is defined by its dense rainforest. Its capital, Georgetown, is known for British colonial architecture, including tall, painted-timber St. George’s Anglican Cathedral.
It is home to a wide variety of landscapes and ecosystems – coastal plains in the north, mountains, rainforests, and dusty savannah plateaus in the southern Rupununi region.
With a population on just over 800,000 people, Guyana is one of South America’s smallest nations.
This unique country combines the best of both South American and the Caribbean, added to the rich wildlife, waterfalls, great rum, cricket, and music. Its neighbors include Venezuela, Suriname, Brazil, French Guiana, Trinidad and Tobago, and Barbados, which also has left influence. It has many features in common with the Caribbean – from music to food, architecture, markets and more, however, Guyana doesn’t offer much of beaches.
English is official language
Guyana is South American’s only English-speaking country, so you won’t be having any problems speaking with the locals. The country has historically been tied to the English-speaking Caribbean as part of the British Empire. Guyana is a founding member of the Caricom (Caribbean Community) economic bloc and also the home of the Bloc’s Headquarters, the CARICOM Secretariat.
History
The Dutch were the first Europeans to establish colonies. In 1831 the three separate colonies became a single British colony known as British Guiana.
There are nine indigenous tribes residing in Guyana: the Wai Wai, Macushi, Patamona, Lokono, Kalina, Wapishana, Pemon, Akawaio and Warao. Guyana was granted self-governance in 1961 with full independence coming in 1966.
Culture
The country’s official language is English and the population is very diverse. The local residents of the country are generally very relaxing and fun people.
Guyana’s culture reflects Amerindian, Nepalese, Indian, Chinese, and African influences, as well as British, Dutch, Portuguese, and Spanish facets. Despite being in South America, Guyana is considered a Caribbean nation. All this has led to Guyana becoming a fascinating mixture of religion, culture, and cuisine.
Football and cricket are the main outdoor sports enjoyed by the locals. Some other sports that are enjoyed by the locals are table tennis, lawn tennis, netball, squash, boxing.
Unique Wildlife
Over 70% of Guyana remains undisturbed rainforest habitat for rare South American wildlife. Here you can find jaguars, giant otters, ocelots, giant anteaters, not to mention big snakes boa and anacondas, over 783 bird species like blue-and-yellow and red-and-green macaws, toucans.
The Guyanese government works closely with several international conservation organizations like Conservation International, World Wildlife Fundto preserve wildlife and control and implement best practices in sustainable wildlife tourism.
Guyanese people enjoy lots of festivals throughout the year. Religious holidays like Christmas and Easter are widely celebrated. You can see Christmas trees and a Christmas cake with rum. Schools are closed for two weeks during Easter and children work with their parents and friends to prepare for a unique Guyanese Easter tradition
Mashramani, often abbreviated to “Mash”, is an annual festival that celebrates Guyana becoming a Republic in 1970. The streets are flooded with people to view a big parade with extravagantly dressed people in colorful costumes dancing under Caribbean rhythms.
Hindu and Muslim festivals – Paghwa or also called Holi in other countries. Holi is originally a Hindu celebration that was brought over to Guyana from India in the early 1800s. The festival marks the beginning of spring. and Eid-ul-Fitr marking the end of Ramadan are also celebrated.
Divali – also called the festival of lights. This is one of the most picturesque festivals in Guyana. All households and city streets are decorated with lit-up candles.
Independence Day. Guyana was ruled by the British until May 26th, 1966, when the country became independent. A flag-raising ceremony, fireworks and a message from the president, as well as two-day Guyana Food, Arts and Music festivals held at the National Stadium are some of the events following the celebrating of this momentous day.
There are lots of waterfalls, but the best known is Kaieteur Falls, Guyana’s tallest Falls, with 226 meters. It is five times higher than Niagara and even higher than Victoria Falls and it is a result of the Potaro River interacting with a sandstone cliff into the verdant.
There are three large rivers that gives the names of Guyana’s three counties – the Demerara, Essequibo and Berbice River.
Everyone interested in nature and ecotourism will enjoy Guyana. 80% of the country is covered in rainforest, most of which is still unexplored and more likely to reveal species yet unknown to science.
90% of Guyana’s population lives on the coast.
The Iwokrama Forest is nearly 3,710 square kilometers of central Guyana. The Iwokrama Forest’s ecosystem is located at the juncture of Amazonian and Guianan flora and fauna. It has the highest species richness for fish and bats for any area this size in the world and contains high species richness and several species of animals that are threatened or extinct across the globe.
In 2012, Guyana received a $45 million reward from Norway for its rainforest protection efforts.
Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and the country’s largest urban center. It is situated on the Atlantic Ocean coast at the mouth of the Demerara River and it was nicknamed the ‘Garden City of the Caribbean.’
The city is surrounded by a blanket of cane fields along with marshy swamps, and savannah lands on its east and south. It’s a perfect mixture of South American and Caribbean influences.
The Home of El Dorado
The legend of El Dorado is popular folklore and is applied to a legendary story for the lost city of gold, in which precious stones were found in fabulous abundance along with gold coins.
In 1595, it was rumored that El Dorado could be found at Lake Parime in the highlands of Guyana.
Photo credit: David Stanley / 
