With a small bag and a five month itinerary, I thought long and hard about each item I wedged into my bulging pack. But more often than not, I was wrong, wrong wrong. After 149 days in South America, here are the lessons I...

Sorry, frequent flyers. In South America, overland travel is king. Whether you're visiting for a short vacation or a multi-month backpacking adventure, you're likely to encounter some bus time down here. But if the thought of spending anywhere from five to 24 hours on a coach makes you cringe --...