Category All-21-Countries

Let’s Visit Chile!

The Spanish Cave

Chile- Valparaíso

CHILE: The coastal city of Valparaíso in Chile is perhaps most known for its colorful landscape and 43 cerros/ hills. Commonly known as the “La…

Recipes- South America

Food from South America to make at home with your family. Turn on the radio to a Spanish station, and have fun! Note that the recipes…

Chile- Torres del Paine

CHILE: Torres del Paine, Chile is a national park that covers nearly 500,000 acres of land. Its diverse wildlife, epic views, and sunrises and sunsets…

Chile- Futaleufú

CHILE: Futaleufú, Chile (in Patagonia) is perhaps most famous for its extreme water rafting. While this looks like the adventure of a lifetime, there are…

Chile- Skyscraper

Image #1, Image #2, Image #3, Image #4 CHILE: In Santiago, Chile, stands the tallest skyscraper in all of South America. It is called both…

Chile- Atacama Desert

CHILE: The Atacama Desert (in northern Chile) is known as the “driest place in the world”, but you might not believe that if you chance…

South America- Condor

SOUTH AMERICA: The Andean Condor is the largest flying bird in the world. It weighs up to 33 pounds and can have a wingspan of…

Chile- Marble Caves

CHILE: Chile’s Marble Caves are a truly beautiful natural wonder. Students mixed teal and green paints to capture different shades, and later added true-to-life purples…

Chile- Easter Island

CHILE: Easter Island is an island located in the South Pacific. There are hundreds of massive statues and wooden tablets scattered over this landmass, but…

Links

  1. Songs- Chile, Argentina, Uruguay
  2. Chuquicamata Copper Mine (Chile), Chuquicamata- Wiki (Chile) 
  3. Unique Experiences (Chile)
  4. Back-Packer Best Places to Visit (Chile)
  5. Family Vacation (Chile), Wildlife (Chile) 
  6. Explosión volcán Calbuco
  7. 10 Things You Didn’t Know About Chile
  8. Amusing Planet (Chile)
  9. Chile- Exports

Let’s Visit Argentina!

The Spanish Cave

Argentina- Mercados

ARGENTINA: In much of South and Central America, outdoor markets, or mercados, are a common sight to see. In Buenos Aires, we would spend our…

Argentina- Street Art

ARGENTINA: We return to Argentina because it is a fascinating land of extremes: from the Southern Lights in Ushuaia, to Iguazu Falls in the north,…

Argentina- Southern Lights

ARGENTINA: Ushuaia, Argentina is the southernmost city in the world, and also a great place to view the Southern Lights. We tend to hear more…

Argentina- Yerba Mate

ARGENTINA: Yerba Mate Tea (“MAH-tay”) is the ‘friendship drink’ of South America, especially Argentina, Uruguay, Bolivia, and Paraguay. You drink the tea out of a…

Argentina- Iguazu Falls

ARGENTINA: Las cataratas de Iguazú, or Iguazú Falls, is the largest set of waterfalls in the world. “Iguazú” means “big water” in the Guaraní language.…

Argentina- Train to the Clouds

ARGENTINA: This terrifyingly high “Tren a las nubes” (Train to the Clouds) in Argentina is, well, terrifyingly high! Students are in the middle of creating…

Links

  1. Songs- Chile, Argentina, Uruguay
  2. 9 de julio- widest avenue in the world (Argentina)
  3. Patagonia (Argentina), Beautiful World (Argentina)
  4. Amusing Planet (Argentina)
  5. La Bombonera- Estadio de fútbol (Boca Juniors)
  6. Kids National Geographic (Argentina)
  7. Tips and Things to Do in Ushuaia, Argentina
  8. The Mountains of Hornocal- Jujuy, Argentina

Let’s Visit Uruguay!

The Spanish Cave

Uruguay- Casapueblo

URUGUAY: Obviously, we need to do some sort of amazing artistic project on this art studio turned hotel with no straight lines (in the entire…

Uruguay- Calle de los Suspiros

URUGUAY: Aptly named, “La Calle de los Suspiros”, or Street of Sighs, this dot on the map leaves you aching for a slower pace of…

Uruguay- Punta del Este

URUGUAY: La Mano de Punta del Este is a huge sculpture on the beach of a seaside resort called Punta del Este in Uruguay (on…

Links

  1. Songs- Chile, Argentina, Uruguay
  2. Torres García, Inverted America (Uruguay)
  3. Kids National Geographic (Uruguay)
  4. Facts About Uruguay (Uruguay)
  5. Amusing Planet (Uruguay)

Let’s Visit Paraguay!

The Spanish Cave

Paraguay- Bottle Dance

PARAGUAY: La Danza de La Botella, or Bottle Dance, is a traditional Paraguayan dance with unclear origins- although many say it is an offshoot of…

Paraguay- Ñandutí Lace

PARAGUAY: “Ñandutí, (Guaraní Indian: “spider web”), type of lace introduced into Paraguay by the Spaniards. It is generally characterized by a spoke-like structure of foundation threads upon…

Paraguay- Landfill Harmonic

PARAGUAY: Cateura is the name of a landfill in Paraguay where a town of people have taken a difficult situation–living in, quite literally, a dump–and…

Links

  1. 20 Things You Didn’t Know (Paraguay)
  2. 17 Interesting Facts (Paraguay)
  3. Amusing Planet (Paraguay)
  4. Guarani Language Stories (Paraguay)
  5. Jesuit Ruins (Paraguay)
  6. Bandera- Huella Digital (Paraguay)
  7. Destinos Paraguay: ¿Por qué un escape a una estancia paraguaya?
  8. The Sound of the Paraguayan Guarani language
  9. Recipe: Sopa Paraguaya

Let’s Visit Bolivia!

The Spanish Cave

Aymara & Quechua

About Time Aymara and Quechua are spoken in the Andes mountains and highlands of South America. While many fewer people speak Aymara compared to Quechua…

Bolivia- Pantanal & Trains

BOLIVIA: I read a book recently that took place primarily in the pantanal. It sounded fascinating–and I desperatedly want to do a project on it–but…

Bolivia- Salt Flat

BOLIVIA: Salar de Uyuni is the largest salt flat formation in the world. It is almost 11,000 square kilometers in area, with 10 billion tonnes of salt.…

Bolivia- Yungas Road

BOLIVIA: Yungas Road is one of the most dangerous roads in the world. It is only 12 feet wide, and the elevation varies from 4,000…

Links

  1. Aymara: Past/Future (Bolivia, Peru, Chile)
  2. Capybara (Bolivia)
  3. The Tsimane Tribe- Amazon (Bolivia)
  4. Puma Punku (Bolivia), Pumapunku + Tiwanaku

Let’s Visit Peru!

The Spanish Cave

South America- Quipu

You know that feeling you get when you really want something, but know that you shouldn’t have it? Well, recently, I’ve been frequenting the Teacher’s…

Peru- Huacachina Oasis

PERU: When I first read Paulo Coehlo’s The Alchemist, I had a vague idea of what an oasis was. It seemed nice, but the concept…

Peru- La Rinconada

PERU: La Rinconada is the highest city in the world. It is over three miles high (16,732 feet). It is also on top of a…

Peru- Nazca Lines

PERU: The Nazca Lines are a group of ancient geoglyphs in Peru. They are made out of naturally occurring elements, like rocks, stones, or earth.…

Peru- Amazon River

PERU: Ed Stafford walked the entire Amazon River on foot. It took him 860 days, or almost 3 years, to complete the walk. He faced…

Peru- Boiling River

PERU: Deep in the Amazon there is a river… that actually boils. You can fill an empty mug with a teabag and have instant hot…

Peru- Rainbow Mountain

PERU: Rainbow Mountain, or Vinicunca in Quechua, has a unique composition–14 different, colorful minerals–that makes the mountain range appear like the inside of a jawbreaker. For…

Peru- Machu Picchu

LINKS: Machu Picchu – Llama (Peru), Machu Picchu (Peru), Ascenso a Waynapicchu, Video (Peru), Cusco Video (Peru), Explore Macchu Pichu in Virtual Reality, Machu Picchu Coloring Page Image…

Peru

Links

  1. Songs- Peru, Colombia, Venezuela
  2. Girl is Making Quechua Cool in Peru Article (Peru)
  3. Peruvian Cuisine (Peru), Homemade Spicy Fries (Andes Mountains)
  4. Weavers of the Sky: Maptia (Peru)
  5. Momias de Llullailaco (Peru) 
  6. Introduction to Quechua (Peru), Indigenous Language Push (Peru)
  7. More Cultural Crafts (Peru), Latir Latino Street Art (Peru), Beautiful Painted Staircases Inspired by Andean Textiles
  8. Beautiful World (Peru)
  9. Most Extreme Railways in the World (includes Argentina/Ecuador/Peru)
  10. Ica, Peru
  11. Uru/Uros People (Peru/Bolivia)
  12. The Floating Uros Islands of Peru
  13. Lake Titicaca- Uros Floating Islands, Peru
  14. Floating Islands of Uros (article)
  15. Exploring Southern Peru’s Uros Islands- Departures (have to subscribe)
  16. Parque de la Papa (Peru)
  17. Llamas/Alpacas/Vicuñas/Guanacos, Llama vs. Alpaca Et Al, Diferencias entre llamas y alpacas

Let’s Visit Ecuador!

The Spanish Cave

Ecuador- Galápagos Islands

ECUADOR: The Galápagos Islands off of Ecuador are known for their diverse range of wildlife, including Galápagos tortoises and iguanas. In class, our class joke…

Ecuador

  1. Hispanic Mama: All About Ecuador (Ecuador)
  2. Cordillera de los Andes/Andes Mountains (Andes)
  3. National Geographic- Galapagos (Ecuador)
  4. Native Birds (Ecuador)
  5. 18 Interesting Facts (Ecuador)
  6. The OutBound Blog (Ecuador)
  7. Explore- Ecuador (Ecuador)
  8. Purple Corn Drink (Ecuador)
  9. Most Extreme Railways in the World (includes Argentina/Ecuador/Peru)
  10. 10 Top-Rated Tourist Attractions in Ecuador

Let’s Visit Colombia!

The Spanish Cave

Colombia- Encanto

It is quite possible that I am the only Spanish [elementary] teacher on the planet who has yet to watch the movie Encanto. That said,…

Colombia- Emeralds

COLOMBIA & BEYOND: Last year, second graders became very excited about gemstones and minerals. As a result, we spent time learning which minerals come from…

Colombia- Colorful Town

COLOMBIA: Is Guatapé, Colombia the world’s most colorful town? Last year, students painted colorful buildings and houses on tri-folds, and set up the cardboard in…

Colombia- Biblioburro

COLOMBIA: LINKS: Biblioburro- The Donkey Library (YT); Biblioburro, Read-Aloud

Colombia

Let’s Visit Venezuela!

The Spanish Cave

Venezuela- Angel Falls

VENEZUELA: Angel Falls is the highest uninterrupted waterfall in the world. Did you know that “Paradise Falls” in the movie Up was based on the…

Venezuela- Ice Cream

VENEZUELA: Heladería Coromoto in Merida, Venezuela, is home to 900 flavors of ice cream and a world record, at that! Have you ever been in…

Venezuela- Roller Skating

VENEZUELA: “For locals in the capital of Caracas, it is customary to strap on your roller skates and glide to Christmas mass. As legend has…

Venezuela- Lightning

VENEZUELA: Catatumbo Lightning is a naturally occurring phenomenon in Venezuela. Here, lightning strikes continuously above Lake Maracaibo for 140-160 nights per year (some sources say…

Venezuela

  1. Songs- Peru, Colombia, Venezuela
  2. From Amazon to Garden State (Yanomami Territory, Venezuela)
  3. The Collapse of Venezuela Explained (Venezuela)
  4. Mount Roraima (Venezuela)
  5. Arepas Recipe (Venezuela)
  6. Tourist Attractions (Venezuela)
  7. World’s Highest Cable Car (Venezuela)
  8. Beautiful World (Venezuela)
  9. Esfera Caracas (Venezuela)

Let’s Visit Panama!

The Spanish Cave

Panama- Canal

PANAMA: The Panama Canal is an iconic piece of maritime history, and yet, somehow–despite our country focus in Spanish class–I have never spent any real…

Recipes- Central America

Food from Central America and beyond to make at home with your family. Turn on the radio to a Spanish station, and have fun! Note that…

Panama- Mola

PANAMA: The Kuna Indians of the San Blas Islands off of Panama are famous for a specific type of art, called mola. Mola means ‘blouse’…

Panama

  1. Volcán Barú (Panama)
  2. Rainforest (Panama)
  3. Atlas Obscura- 8 Cool and Unusual Things to Do (Square Trees)
  4. 11 Things To Do In Panama
  5. 986 Recorded Bird Species in Panama
  6. Panama- Fun Facts
  7. Panama Canal Museum

Let’s Visit Nicaragua!

The Spanish Cave

Nicaragua- Nik Wallenda

NICARAGUA: Nik Wallenda is a tightrope aerialist who recently (March of 2020) walked across an active volcano in Nicaragua. Watch the news clip below… and…

Nicaragua- Volcano Boarding

NICARAGUA: Do you know what snowboarding is? Well, volcano boarding is just like that… except that you slide down the side of a volcano. Really!…

Nicaragua

Let’s Visit Guatemala!

The Spanish Cave

Guatemala- Sawdust Carpets

GUATEMALA: Thousands of Catholics in Antigua, Guatemala join together during Lent each year to make colored sawdust carpets in preparation for Semana Santa, or Holy…

Guatemala- Worry Dolls

GUATEMALA: These tiny Worry Dolls are from Guatemala. Children make them and put them under their pillows at night to take away their worries (e.g.,…

Guatemala

  1. About Guatemala (Guatemala)
  2. 36 Hours in Antigua Guatemala
  3. Augusto Monterroso

Let’s Visit Mexico!

The Spanish Cave

Mexico- Fried Crickets

MEXICO: It is very common in many parts of Mexico to eat, well, bugs. Really! Evidently, Mexico is the country with the greatest variety of…

Mexico- Chocolate

MEXICO: After taking time to learn about molinillos, or the [beautiful!] wooden tools used to stir chocolate in Mexico (see video below), students practiced a…

Mexico- Radish Festival

MEXICO: Mexico has a lot of holiday traditions this time of year, but one particularly unique one is Noche de los Rábanos (Night of the…

Mexico- Hammocks

MEXICO: The Yucatan in Mexico is known for its hammock culture, especially amongst the indigenous Maya people. Here, 2/3 of children sleep in hammocks instead…

Mexico- Cinco de Mayo

MEXICO: Cinco de Mayo means “May 5th” in Spanish. It is celebrated especially in Puebla, Mexico, but has become popular in the United States to recognize…

Mexico- Crystal Caves

MEXICO: The Giant Crystal Cave is a cave connected to the Naica Mine in Mexico with massive crystals. The average person can only stay inside…

Mexico- Chewing Gum

MEXICO: Making natural chewing gum is a fascinating, time-consuming, and dangerous job that dates back to the Mayas in the Yucatan. Chicleros climb high up…

Mexico- Underwater Museum

MEXICO: In 2005, someone noticed that tourists, anchors, snorkelers, and divers were damaging the coral reefs in Mexico–in particular, the Manchones Reef. By 2013, an…

Mexico- Chichen Itza

MEXICO: This pyramid is called “El Castillo” in Chichen Itza (2:19-2:36). It was built hundreds of years ago by the Maya civilization, but the amazing…

Mexico- Alebrijes

MEXICO: Alebrijes are mythical-type creatures and spirit animals. You may remember the alebrije Dante if you have seen the movie Coco. The origin of this…

Mexico- Día de los Muertos

MEXICO: El Día de los Muertos (the Day of the Dead) is a day to honor family members who have passed away. This tradition dates…

Mexico- Amate Paper

MEXICO: This is amate bark paper from Mexico. The Kid World Citizen blog has an article about amate paper and a great project how-to. Read below for…

Links

  1. Songs- Mexico
  2. Animals Endemic to Mexico
  3. Toma Todo Game (Mexico)
  4. Danza de los Voladores (Mexico)
  5. 10 Tastiest Insects and Bugs (Mexico), Edible Insects (Mexico)
  6. Why Last Two Speakers of Ayapaneco Don’t Talk to Each Other (Mexico)
  7. Frito’s Corn Chips, Bandito/Bandido (Wikipedia)
  8. Walt “Zorro” (1958); Legend of Zorro- cartoon
  9. Univisión (Wikipedia)
  10. Rosca de reyes (video), Rosca de reyes (Wikipedia)
  11. Lucha Libre (Mexico), Lucha Libre- Wikipedia (Mexico)
  12. Beautiful World (Mexico)
  13. Cenotes

MEXICO- Aztecs & Mayans

  1. Teotihuacán, Mexico (article1), Teotihuacán, Mexico (article2)
  2. Pyramid of the Sun (Mexico), Pyramid of the Sun/Orion’s Belt #1, Pyramid of the Sun/Orion’s Belt #2
  3. Aztec Day Signs, Nahuatl Song (Aztec Language), Mayan Language for Beginners
  4. Nohoch Mul, Yucatan Peninsula + Blog- Tallest Maya Pyramid
  5. Ancient Maya 101- National Geographic

Let’s Visit Cuba!

The Spanish Cave

Cuba- Holidays

CUBA: For New Year’s, many Cubans mop their houses from top to bottom, and fill up a bucket with the dirty water. Next, they dump…

Spain- 1715 Shipwreck

CUBA/SPAIN: It is the year 1715–King Felipe V wants his treasure, and he wants it now. As a result, he demands that his Spanish fleet…

Cuba- Cuban Cars

CUBA: Cuban cars: the who, what, when, where, and why in the video! “Why Cuba’s Streets Are Filled With Classic Cars”.

Cuba

  1. Songs- Cuba, DR, PR
  2. Run Across Cuba Documentary
  3. Nuestra Infancia (Cuba)
  4. Children’s Games (Cuba)

Let’s Visit the Dominican Rep.!

The Spanish Cave

Dominican Rep.- Dominoes

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: While baseball is technically the sport of the Dominican, many also refer to Dominoes as the national sport of the country, due to…

Dancing!

Dance is a very important part of the culture in many Spanish-speaking countries–from the Tango in Argentina and the Flamenco in Spain to the Merengue…

Dominican Rep.- Defy Gravity

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC: “Defy gravity in Barahona! In the southwestern part of the Dominican Republic, there is a town called Polo. There you can go challenge gravity…

Fried Plantains & Mangú

PLANTAINS: While plantains appear very similar to bananas, they are not the same food at all: plantains are starchy and much harder, and cannot be…

Dominican Republic

  1. Songs- Cuba, DR, PR
  2. Juan Luis Guerra- Music Videos (DR) 
  3. Ojalá que llueva café Explanation (DR)
  4. Morir Soñando (recipe)
  5. 3 Happiness Lessons (Dominican Republic)
  6. 10 Fun Facts (Dominican Republic)
  7. Dominican Cooking (Dominican Republic)
  8. Teaching Children Dominican Culture (Dominican Republic)
  9. Dominican Dominoes (DR)

Let’s Visit Puerto Rico!

The Spanish Cave

Columbus Day & Word Loans

A few weeks ago, my best friend lent me a heating pad after I injured my back. It was a very thoughtful gesture and much…

Puerto Rico- Güiro

In class, PK students made miniature güiros by coloring a notecard, and then gluing Popsicle sticks on top of it; to experience a similar sound,…

Puerto Rico- Coquí Frog

PUERTO RICO: Students were so fascinated by the tiny size and loud voice of the Coquí frog (native to Puerto Rico), that they wanted to…

Puerto Rico- Bioluminescence

PUERTO RICO: Bioluminescence is a natural phenomenon where “living organisms emit light”, oftentimes when disturbed. You have probably seen this on land–fireflies lighting up the…

Puerto Rico

  1. Songs- Cuba, DR, PR
  2. Things To Do in Puerto Rico (scroll down to “Flyboarding”)
  3. Leyenda del Chupacabras Movie Trailer (Puerto Rico), Chupacabras Song (Puerto Rico), Chupacabras Movie Review (rated PG, 8+)
  4. Top 7 Incredible Places in Puerto Rico

Let’s Visit Spain!

The Spanish Cave

Spain- Caves

SPAIN: As you may know, the name of my website–The Spanish Cave–has its roots in the year I was moved into a tiny classroom with…

Atlantean & Basque

My initial encounter with the Basque language (Euskara) was a bit of a shock, particularly since I was in Spain and, well, expected Spanish/ Castellano…

Spain- La Sagrada Familia

SPAIN: La Sagrada Familia is an enormous basilica in Barcelona, Spain, designed by architect Antoni Gaudí. Construction began in 1882, but was halted in 1936…

Southern Spain- Andalucía

The unrelenting Spanish sun beat down on me as I wiped the sweat from my forehead for the umpteenth time, wondering what in the world…

Spain- Tapas

SPAIN: An exciting part of traveling is getting to see and try different types of foods. What is “normal” to you is “strange” to others,…

Spain- La Alhambra

SPAIN: La Alhambra is a famous fort/ palace with beautiful gardens in southern Spain and a rich history. In class, students learn that Spanish and…

Spain- Joan Miró

SPAIN: Artwork by Joan Miró and a watercolor copy by a student. Look at THIS VIDEO PAINTING and THIS VIDEO PAINTING to understand what he sees. “For me an…

Spain- El Prado

SPAIN: El Prado in Madrid, Spain is one of the most famous museums in the world, housing over 27,000 objects and artworks. In fact, it…

Spain- Bullfighting

SPAIN: Pamplona, Spain is perhaps most famous for its celebration of San Fermín and the annual Running of the Bulls. This tradition, although a huge…

Spain- El Camino

SPAIN: The Camino de Santiago is a 500-mile hike across northern Spain. It takes about 30 days to complete on foot. You carry everything you…

Spain- Don Quijote

SPAIN: Don Quijote de La Mancha is a world-renowned, 900-page novel from Spain, written by Miguel de Cervantes way back in the 1600’s. Centuries later,…

Spain- La Tomatina

SPAIN: La Tomatina is a famous tomato-throwing fight that takes place every August in Spain. Tens of thousands of visitors flock to the city of…

Summer Packet 2017

My Dearest Friends: As most of you know, I will not be returning next year. I have loved teaching here, but I also love learning…

Links

  1. Songs- Spain
  2. Making Bobbin Lace (Spain)
  3. Mapa de España, All About Spain: The Regions
  4. Atlas Obscura- All Places in Spain
  5. Real Madrid C.F.
  6. Churros (article), Churros (recipe), Flan – Dessert, Salmorejo Recipe (Spain), Andalusian Gazpacho (Spain)
  7. Metro (subway) – Madrid, Renfe (train) – Madrid
  8. Paseo del Prado (Madrid), Aeropuerto de Madrid-Barajas, España
  9. Cave of Altamira
  10. Human Towers of Cataluyna (Spain)
  11. Juzcar, The Spanish Village- Blue Smurf Town (Spain)
  12. Color Colorcito Tag Game (Spain), Chapas Game (Spain), 11 Traditional Spanish Games (Spain), More Games (Spain)
  13. Fiestas más populares (España), La Navidad en España
  14. Eating Grapes- New Year’s Eve (Spain)
  15. 25 costumbres españolas (Spain)
  16. Ratón Pérez
  17. El oso y el Madroño/ The Bear and the Strawberry Tree (Spain)
  18. The Black Beaches of La Palma, Breña Baja (Spain)
  19. Flamenco Spanish Guitar- Acoustic (Spain)
  20. Art with Mati and Dada- Antoni Gaudí | Kids Animated Short Stories in English
  21. Gaudí- Salamander
  22. Our Journey to Spain- International Cuisine & History
  23. Gymnastics- Sara Moro, Barra; Gymnastics- Sara Moro, Beam; Gymnastics- Sara Moro, Montage
  24. Casares, Spain
  25. Spain’s La Palma Volcano (fotos)
  26. Gaudi Salamander
  27. Metro System- Spain
  28. 5 Most Festive Cities in Spain

LINKS: National Anthem, La Roja Baila, Rompe Ralph (Auryn)

SPAIN- Southern Spain

  1. Street Mercado1 (Granada), Street Mercado2 (Granada), Street Mercado3 (Granada)
  2. Covered Streets of Granada, Covered Streets of Granada (article)
  3. Andalucía, España1, Andalucía, España2
  4. About Granada, AccuWeather (Granada)