New Year's Eve party on Brazil's Copacabana Beach

Reveillon Rio: New Year's Eve party on Brazil's Copacabana Beach.

Contemplate evolution in the Galapagos Islands, Ecuador

Located over 600 miles west of the South American continent this small island chain is one of the world's most beautiful & unique destinations. Sporting a diverse & un-encroached wildlife the Galapagos Islands were the setting in which geologist Charles Darwin found himself immersed when he developed his theory of evolution. He had noticed that the plant & animal life of the islands were unique from any other he had seen, & that they seem adapted to the local environment. Home to Green Sea Turtles, Sea Lions, & the iconic Galapagos Land Iguana. Tourism to the islands is quite difficult however, with an annual imposed cap of 60,000 visitors. The majority of whom come by cruise ship from Ecuador. It's not cheap, but if you have the resources, it's worth it.

Get lost in the Amazon

The world's largest rainforest, the Amazon has the world's highest diversity of birds & freshwater fish., it spans the borders of eight countries, & one third of the world's animal species call it their home. However despite its beauty & necessity to this planet's environmental security, logging persists at an almost unchecked rate. The Amazon has lost an area the size of Greece over the last five years alone. Yet another of earth's longstanding pillars made fragile by the hand of man. This only makes environmentally friendly tourism to the region even more imperative. People need to understand that the quick buck from deforestation doesn't compare to the long term viability of sustainable tourism. One of the more popular ways of touring in the Amazon is to take boats down the Amazon River, & even luxury cruise liners make the trip up the river to Manaus.