The popularity of different sections of Luxury Latin America will ebb and flow with the seasons and with which destinations are getting media coverage—good and bad. When we started, Mexico had no trouble ruling the roost, but it has declined a bit in the past year with all the negative cable news attention on the border zone problems. Argentina was riding high for a while, but has ebbed since the hefty new entry fee was introduced earlier this year and the political situation has become more bizarre. Specific hotels spike for a month when they get featured in a glossy magazine, then drop again when the new flavor comes along next issue.

Here are the most popular sections and articles for the past 30 days, then specific hotels getting the most hits.

Most popular pages on Luxury Latin America:

Luxury hotels in Belize
Luxury hotels in Panama
Luxury Tour Reviews
Real estate in Cuenca, Ecuador
Luxury hotels in Argentina
Cruising the Galapagos Islands
Luxury hotels in Los Cabos
Real estate in Boquete, Panama
Arriving at Machu Picchu in Style
Luxury hotels in Costa Rica

Most popular hotels and resorts on Luxury Latin America:

Hotel Garzon – Uruguay
Azul Resort – Belize
Cayo Espanto – Belize
Banyan Tree Mayakoba – Mexico
Bristol Buenaventura – Panama
Turtle Inn – Belize
Capella Pedregal Los Cabos – Mexico
Cavas Wine Lodge – Argentina
Barefoot Cay – Honduras
Morgan’s Rock – Nicaragua

A few months back I was fortunate enough to get that “once in a lifetime experience” sailing around the Galapagos Islands in Ecuador. For many tourists that’s the whole focus and Quito gets a day in the itinerary—if they don’t just fly from Guayaquil to the islands instead.

That’s a shame really, because Ecuador’s capital really is worth some extra time. When I go back to Ecuador someday, I want to spend at least a week in that region, with a few nights at the lovely estate hotels like Hacienda Cusin and Hacienda Zuleta.

We just posted a story on the time I did get to spend there, with a couple days in the city and an excursion out to the nearby Andean market towns: Quito and the High Valley of Ecuador. It’s a story of food and flowers, of masses and markets, from the historic center to a town of leather crafters. If a trip to Ecuador is in your future at some point, I hope this convinces you to not pass Quito by. Not all Latin American cities are pleasant places for tourists, but this is one that’s definitely worth the lingering. If you get in touch with Metropolitan Touring, you’ll be in good hands.

Brew a strong cup of joe and then check out our newest travel feature: Exploring the Coffee Triangle of Colombia.

This is a region of Colombia that doesn’t get many foreign tourists—yet. That means prices are about half what they are in Cartagena for comparable hotels and restaurants. Plus it’s a beautiful mountainous region and you don’t have to look very hard to find a good cup of coffee.

For more visuals check out the photo/video slideshow I posted earlier or see this professionally edited Colombia video from writer Lisa Loverro, who was on the same trip with me.

Last week I posted our latest feature to the Luxury Latin America Tours section of the site: Cruising the Galapagos Islands with Angermeyer. Many of our feature stories are done by writers who work with us, but on this one I had the pleasure of taking the trip myself, spending a few days in Quito and the surroundings and about 10 days in the Galapagos.

As anyone who has been there will tell you, it’s an amazing experience. I’m used to wildlife trips where I am looking at birds through binoculars or seeing hippos and lions from the safety of a Land Rover vehicle. On the Galapagos Islands it’s a different story though. You can get up close and personal with these critters and they don’t attack or fear attacks from us.

The most difficult task in writing a story like this is picking out which photos to use. The ones that are up are only a fraction of the good ones available. If you want to see the whole array of highlights, including Blue-footed Boobies, sea lions, penguins, and more, see the slideshow below.

I just got the story posted from my family adventure excursion in Belize this past summer. We avoided the cruise ship crowds and Ambergris vacationers to explore the wilder side of Belize.

After perusing a bunch of itineraries from upscale tour companies, I decided to use three of the best adventure lodges in the country as a base, in three different regions, and take excursions from there. We stayed at these fine hotels, all featured in Luxury Latin America: Blancaneaux Lodge, Turtle Inn, and Machaca Hill.

The weather wasn’t as cooperative as I would have liked in Placencia (that’s what happens when you go to Central America in the summer—their rainy season), but overall it went well.

See the full story here: Family-Friendly Adventure Excursions in Belize.