Brazil blackouts hit up to 60M, spur Olympic fears (AP): "Brazil emerged Wednesday from a widespread power outage that plunged as many as 60 million people into darkness for hours, prompting security fears and concern from residents about another black eye for a country hosting the 2016 Olympic Games."

Paraguay, who shares the power from the Itaipu dam, the world's second biggest hydroelectric producer, also lost country-wide power, but for a much shorter time.

View of the Itapu dam thanks to ArtToday.com. For more views, browse through Sampling of Paraguay.

Colombia's unspoilt island idyll (guardian.co.uk): "A strange mix of South America and the Caribbean, the tiny Colombian island of Providencia enjoys a pace of life that makes Antigua or Barbados look frenetic."

The author recounts his adventures in four days spent swimming, diving, cruising around the island and relaxing in a hammock.

"Providencia was all about pace. I really don't remember the last time I switched off to such a degree. Imagine a place with no mobile reception, no internet cafe other than in the main urban area, no shops, no chains of any kind, no chefs, no TVs in the bedrooms. Less is more, nothing is everything. Providencia by name and by nature. Colombia being off the map for so many years has ensured this island's isolation from Latin America's anxious, often half-baked urge for European-style development."

This view of a Providencia island beach is displayed with the kind permission of Glowimages / Getty Images.

On your next trip to Brazil, make sure you check out the scenic views and the hospitable towns and people in The Other Brazil: Minas Gerais (NYTimes): The author explains that he "had taken my two friends to Minas Gerais to show them what I think too many foreign travelers like them miss: the Brazil that lies beyond the Christ on the hill in Rio, the eco-lodges of the Amazon and the model-flecked beaches of Florianópolis. Instead of a cross on a hill, Minas has colonial towns loaded with Baroque-style churches. Instead of vast rain forests, Minas has gorgeous mountains and countless waterfalls. And instead of beaches, it's the home of a country cooking style famed across this nation of more than 190 million."

With descriptions and recommendations for Ouro Prêto and surrounding locales, the author gives us an on-the-spot look at the area. See more with this Visit to Ouro Prêto, Brazil, with the historic Praça de Tiradentes. Also on their itinerary was a visit to the state capital, Belo Horizonte and Tiradentes, named for Joaquim José da Silva Xavier, a dentist or tooth-puller, who was executed in 1792 for his role in encouraging Brazilian independence from Portugal, and is today honored each April 21st as the Civic Patron of the Brazilian nation.

View of the Praça de Tiradentes with a statue of Tiradentes and a baroque-style church in the background,, seen from this location, is displayed with the kind permission of Peter and Jackie Main.

Need a potion to succeed in business, love, or insure good health? Or maybe a more sinister reason? You'll find them all in the witches market stalls of Bolivia's not-so-wicked witches (globalpost.com) also known as the Mercado de la Hechicería.

Photo of a witch's market stall thanks to ArtToday.com.

Explore more about La Paz, the city that touches the sky.

Are you looking for a great holiday with fewer visitors? If you are looking for peace and quiet, a restful communication with sand and sky, take a look at these suggestions for Unspoilt Latin American beach escapes (guardian.co.uk) in Uruguay, Peru, Brazil and Venezuela.

This view of Lover's Beach near Natal, while not listed by name in this article, is displayed with the kind permission of Peter and Jackie Main and gives us a good idea of an unspoiled beach.

Want to travel in South America, avoid the over-visited and expensive destinations and/or tourist traps?

Plan your trip to explore
a few of the cheap destinations in South America that Rough Guides suggests.

Choose your destination carefully and your budget will stretch just that bit further - allowing you to spend longer eating great food, relaxing in a hot spring, doing a bit of skiing, or just marvelling at the incredible landscapes that stretch away in every direction from these Best on a budget - a selection of seven cheap destinations in South America.

This view of Brazil's Valle do Capao invites you to follow the path, wherever it leads. Photo is displayed with the kind permission of Peter and Jackie Main.

A Tale of Two Cities: Traveling in Ecuador(wesleyanargus.com): "There are many ways to get to places in Ecuador, and I have experienced almost all of them, except for the plane and llama. This is a summary of transportation in Ecuador, in case this column has inspired you to visit."

The author describes her experiences with taxis, local and long distance buses.

Comments from readers show an unfavorable reaction to her comments.

How about you? Have you travelled in Ecuador? What's your experience?

Photo of the road to Baños is displayed with the kind permission of David Berzins.

It's not surprising that the Galapagos and the Amazon rainforest are listed in The Best Places to View Wildlife (gadling): "The Amazon Jungle in South Africa (sic) is so vast that it it covers parts of eight countries. It is also the home to the highest concentration of birds and freshwater fish on the planet, and more than one third of the world's animal species call the Amazon home. Highlights of these species include jaguars, anacondas, giant anteaters and a variety of monkeys. The Amazon River contains plenty of interesting creatures as well, such as electric eels, freshwater dolphins, pirarucu, which grow to more than 2 meters in length, and of course the piranha."

"The Galapagos Islands may have made yesterday's list for great places to view penguins too, but they have plenty more to offer as well. Located 600 miles off the coast of Ecuador, the small volcanic archipelago is home to a host of animals that are found no where else on Earth, such as marine iguanas the only lizard in the world that lives in the ocean. There are plenty of lizards that live on land as well, along with several breeds of turtles and sea tortoises, an array of distinct birds, and a large colony of sea lions and fur seals."

Photos of cougars in the Amazon basin and marine iguanas in the Galapagos thanks to ClipArt.com. For more views of the wide variety of wildlife, browse the South American Wildlife Photo Gallery.

November 1 is celebrated throughout the Catholic world as Día de Todos Santos, or All Saints Day, to honor all the saints, known and unknown, of the Catholic faithful. Every day of the year has its own saint or saints, but there are more saints than calendar days, and this one major holy day honors them all, including those who had died in a state of grace but had not been canonized. And, to keep things fair, November 2 is celebrated as the Day of All Souls.

Ecuador: Ancient source of a shady business (nzherald.co.nz): " I've had a Panama hat for years but I have to confess that until I visited Ecuador, I had no idea it had such colourful origins.

The hat's story begins with the toquilla palm which grows on the warm coastal lowlands - I saw one growing on the Galapagos islands - where its leaves are harvested for their fibres.

In a process which pre-dates the arrival of the Spanish conquistadors in 1532 and even the arrival of the Incas about 1450, the leaves are sent up into the Andes, to the villages around the city of Cuenca, where they are boiled, dried and split into narrow strips. Then the fibres are passed to local women, descendants of the indigenous Quichua people, to be woven into hats.

The Panama hats are sold at markets throughout Ecuador, such as at the famous Otavalo market.