by Kylie Smyth - Winner of the 2007 ASTW Young Travel Writer Award

We started out at 4500 meters. By the end of the day we would be at just two thousand. Our adventure playground? “The World’s Most Dangerous Road”. Realistically, just how dangerous could it be? They wouldn’t take tourists down it if it was too dangerous. Would they?

There is a constant, inescapable sensuality to the entire Cuban experience. For all the crumbling decay, the tarnished and faded glamour, and the shortages and sacrifices of a country whose economy virtually collapsed when the Soviets cut off the drip-feed more than a decade ago, there is nothing dormant or moribund about the place.

The enchanting city of Oaxaca, 440 kilometres south of Mexico City, is situated in the middle of spectacular rocky deserts of towering cacti. Encircled by protective mountains, this sophisticated city boasts some of the finest Spanish colonial architecture in Mexico. Oaxaca, which is one of the country’s major arts and crafts centres, also has numerous pre-Hispanic ruins nearby and a large Zapotec and Mixtec indigenous population.

Many of Oaxaca's delightful colonial buildings were constructed in the 16th and 17th centuries. Central Oaxaca, with its cobblestone streets and ornate facades, has a strong sense of history. At its heart lies the zocalo, a large shady pedestrian central plaza that is the focus of much of the city's traditional activity.

Brazil Carnival history in
Rio de Janeiro!