Friday, May 22, 2009
Saturday, May 16, 2009
Good-Bye Eden, Hello Norway!
Ok, so that is a little premature, we will be stopping along the way in Florida for fun and frolicking with Jim's parents and then on to Tennessee to visit mine. Yay!
Parting was sad indeed. We left our work of 12 years, something that we have pored our heart and soul into. And then our wonderful guests that we will miss terribly. Sniff!! Every month their visits have made this place special for us, and in no way like a "job". We are so lucky that our guests have shared so many perfect vacations with us. There will be no replacement in Norway that is for sure.
There is no doubt that we will be pining away for beautiful sunsets, and wonderful stories. Rufies tacos, Minie's Pozole, and the sweet smiling faces of all our friends and staff.
Hasta la proxima!
Tuesday, May 12, 2009
Ladies who Lunch Rock!!
Soooo, the last ladies lunch for me for a while, and it was ever sooo sweet. Isn't that just the way! We enjoyed fabulous food, made by the hands of Jill and Ann and basked in the ambience of Casa Colorida. Truely Lovely! Thanks Ann!! Everybody was there, The two Eva's, Lois, Jill, Eloisa, Janelle, our newest convert Tiffany, and Kimberly.A great time was has by all!
Thursday, May 07, 2009
Teotetlan de Valle
We finished up our trip in Oaxaca were we went to the rug village of Teotetlan de Valle. It is a small village were it seems everyone is in the rug business. We drove by house after house with thier wares in the window untill we picked one at random to visit. We met the Gutierez brothers and they showed us thier HUGE showroom! They have been making rugs for many generations and have established a family co-operative so that each of the brothers has thier own style and workshop but shares in the profits of all the sales. They use all natural dyes and the wool is from another co-operative of sheep farmers in the region. It seems to me that there is very little negative impact from the industry, no polution and all of the workers are in nice open airy conditions.
The weather in Oaxaca is great. Cool at night and warm in the day. We bought lots of rugs for the new shop in Norway! If you want rugs like these you can go to La Zapoteca rug store in Zihuatanejo.
Africam
We had the most fun at the drive through Zoo outside of Puebla. We were such sceptics, we thought that it would be sad and a bit underfunded, but NOOO. It was fastistic! You drive your car through all of the open seaming enclosures, all of the tameish animals come right up to your car and you can get a great view of them, and visa versa!! Yikes, we did have a pretty close up encounter with a rino, THAT was exciting!
And we got to see Benghal Tigers sooooo close it was great. Such beautiful animals.
Those Crazy Taxcoans
Well we have been back from our trip for quite a while now, but with the FLU and packing, closing the hotel and everything else things have been a little hectic! So i am just going to post photos as best as i can. Cuz i also want to start posintg about our move etc... but first things first!!
Taxco is one of the most beautiful citys in Mexico. I go there often to buy silver for the shop, but i have never been there for Semana Santa, and boy i have been missing quie a spectical!!
For three days they close off car trafic to the center of the city. This is a pain as Taxco is built on a steep incline and it is nice to have the random taxi to schlep you back up the hill at the end of the day. So we just decided to stay on top! Our hotel was my favorite the Posada San Javier, def the best hotel in Taxco. Out side of our room there were parades daily and
oh what parades. Not the happy go lucky things, but lines and lines of men carrying huge bundles of thorny branches (supposedly weighting 45 kilos!) and these guys didn't look like they were in shape or anything! They walk an entire circut of the town it takes about 4 hours with these things tied to thier backs. Then after them there are bunches of ladies in black outfits with bare feet and chains tied around thier ankles. And lots of others carrying life size crosses and a bunch with cats-o-nine-tales that were beating themselves on the back till boody. A good education was had by all.
Sunday, May 03, 2009
Mexico travel industry bowed but not beaten
By CHRISTINE DELSOL SPECIAL TO SFGATE.COM
Could there have been a less auspicious beginning for Mexico's Tianguis Turistico, Latin America's biggest travel trade show? Well, perhaps. There could have been a tornado.
With headlines of drug violence battering Mexico's travel industry, this year's Tianguis, which ended April 29th, was seen as a crucial opportunity to combat the overheated press coverage and move Mexico's vast and varied tourist offerings to the forefront. Then, as thousands of travel industry representatives and hundreds of journalists were winging their way to Acapulco for the annual gathering, the news broke that Mexico City was locking down to try to contain the swine flu .
President Felipe Calderón, scheduled to give the inaugural speech Sunday, bowed out in favor of remaining in Mexico City to manage the health crisis. There was some talk of canceling Tianguis, but the show went on. Then on Monday, a 5.6 earthquake struck, centered in Chilpancingo, 50 miles north of Acapulco, but also felt in Mexico City, where tall buildings shuddered and sent workers rushing out into the streets. At Tianguis, people ran out of exhibition halls and conference rooms, and subsequent press sessions were shuffled around, with some of the larger events moving to open-air spaces.
If there is a silver lining for Mexico, it's that swine flu has pushed drug violence off the front pages. Journalists, expecting that to be topic No. 1, found themselves preoccupied instead with surgical masks and rerouting around Mexico City. Even the earthquake, which made Mexico look like a target of the seven plagues, receded into the background by lunchtime. The risk of getting kidnapped or shot by drug runners seems puny compared with a virus that you can't see, with behavior you can't predict.
In Acapulco, about 250 miles from Mexico City, life goes on pretty much as usual. The bulk of the surgical masks appear on workers who deal with great volumes of people — bus drivers, hotel workers, a few vendors. No swine flu cases have been reported in Acapulco, or anywhere in Guerrero state.
The Tianguis presentations so far have strived for a balance between acknowledging the health crisis and focusing on the positive. Undoubtedly inspired by tourists' hesitance in the face of the sensational headlines about drug-related killings — which affect only five out of Mexico's 2,400 counties — the tourist industry has been busy conjuring new ways to attract visitors this past year.
Secretary of Tourism Rodolfo Elizondo, who stepped in for Calderón at the inaugural press conference, emphasized that Mexico has not and likely will not establish a quarantine.
"There is no restriction to visit our country from any latitude of the world," he said. "It must be emphasized: Mexico stands, and Mexico will live hereafter."
The Mexico Tourism Board echoed the sentiment while encouraging travelers to follow recommendations from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Mexican health authorities. Tourism representatives here are resolutely looking ahead to the time when life returns to normal and offering a sneak peek at what returning tourists can expect:
Some highlights from Tianguis' first two days:
New airline routes: Low-cost Mexican airline Volaris announced new daily flights from Oakland and Los Angeles to Toluca and Guadalajara, connecting with 21 other airports throughout Mexico. The airline has formed a partnership with Southwest Airlines, which provides a link to the Mexican carrier on its Web site. The airlines plan to enter a code-sharing agreement by early next year.
Aeromexico, which flies out of numerous U.S. cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, is adding new routes and will serve more than 40 destinations throughout Mexico by the end of the year.
Mazatlán: The venerable Pacific resort city unveiled a logo emphasizing its historic center's unique juxtaposition with its seaside resort area. Continuing renovation of the Centro Historico recently brought underground wiring and European-style lighting. Two new golf courses, at Marina Mazatlán and the expanded Pueblo Bonito resort, will bring the total to four. The all-inclusive Riu Emerald Bay is scheduled to open next month on Playa Las Brujas beach north of the city, and a new access road to the airport is under construction.
Los Cabos: The Cancún of the west is also busily building more golf courses, soon to total nine. San Jose del Cabo is an emerging art center, with more than 20 galleries along Calle Obregon in the historic district, which hosts a weekly Art Walk. Cabo San Lucas, meanwhile, is widening its main avenue and moving utility wires underground. The expanding airport has remodeled one terminal, and an additional one is slated to open next year. The recently designated "Cabo Riviera," on the undeveloped East Cape between Los Cabos and the capital of La Paz, will eventually become a large resort area, with a marina and golf course scheduled for completion next year. Spanish developers are funding a paved road running from the airport all the way to the East Cape. The federal, state and municipal governments have negotiated an agreement that has finally resolved problems with local transportation and taxi companies and is serving as a model for other Mexican states.
New tourism route: Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo has teamed up with Patzcuaro, Celaya and San Miguel de Allende to promote "Del Sol a Corazón, a route running from the Guerrero coast to the Guanajuato highlands. Celaya, the least known of the four, is a sweet colonial town best known as the birthplace of architect Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras and for its cajetas (caramels), which come in a variety of flavors. A new museum is expected to open there this year.
From EVA
Of course the latest news is that the deaths from the flu have been re-assesed from 159 to 16. Whoah!
Could there have been a less auspicious beginning for Mexico's Tianguis Turistico, Latin America's biggest travel trade show? Well, perhaps. There could have been a tornado.
With headlines of drug violence battering Mexico's travel industry, this year's Tianguis, which ended April 29th, was seen as a crucial opportunity to combat the overheated press coverage and move Mexico's vast and varied tourist offerings to the forefront. Then, as thousands of travel industry representatives and hundreds of journalists were winging their way to Acapulco for the annual gathering, the news broke that Mexico City was locking down to try to contain the swine flu .
President Felipe Calderón, scheduled to give the inaugural speech Sunday, bowed out in favor of remaining in Mexico City to manage the health crisis. There was some talk of canceling Tianguis, but the show went on. Then on Monday, a 5.6 earthquake struck, centered in Chilpancingo, 50 miles north of Acapulco, but also felt in Mexico City, where tall buildings shuddered and sent workers rushing out into the streets. At Tianguis, people ran out of exhibition halls and conference rooms, and subsequent press sessions were shuffled around, with some of the larger events moving to open-air spaces.
If there is a silver lining for Mexico, it's that swine flu has pushed drug violence off the front pages. Journalists, expecting that to be topic No. 1, found themselves preoccupied instead with surgical masks and rerouting around Mexico City. Even the earthquake, which made Mexico look like a target of the seven plagues, receded into the background by lunchtime. The risk of getting kidnapped or shot by drug runners seems puny compared with a virus that you can't see, with behavior you can't predict.
In Acapulco, about 250 miles from Mexico City, life goes on pretty much as usual. The bulk of the surgical masks appear on workers who deal with great volumes of people — bus drivers, hotel workers, a few vendors. No swine flu cases have been reported in Acapulco, or anywhere in Guerrero state.
The Tianguis presentations so far have strived for a balance between acknowledging the health crisis and focusing on the positive. Undoubtedly inspired by tourists' hesitance in the face of the sensational headlines about drug-related killings — which affect only five out of Mexico's 2,400 counties — the tourist industry has been busy conjuring new ways to attract visitors this past year.
Secretary of Tourism Rodolfo Elizondo, who stepped in for Calderón at the inaugural press conference, emphasized that Mexico has not and likely will not establish a quarantine.
"There is no restriction to visit our country from any latitude of the world," he said. "It must be emphasized: Mexico stands, and Mexico will live hereafter."
The Mexico Tourism Board echoed the sentiment while encouraging travelers to follow recommendations from the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Mexican health authorities. Tourism representatives here are resolutely looking ahead to the time when life returns to normal and offering a sneak peek at what returning tourists can expect:
Some highlights from Tianguis' first two days:
New airline routes: Low-cost Mexican airline Volaris announced new daily flights from Oakland and Los Angeles to Toluca and Guadalajara, connecting with 21 other airports throughout Mexico. The airline has formed a partnership with Southwest Airlines, which provides a link to the Mexican carrier on its Web site. The airlines plan to enter a code-sharing agreement by early next year.
Aeromexico, which flies out of numerous U.S. cities, including San Francisco and Los Angeles, is adding new routes and will serve more than 40 destinations throughout Mexico by the end of the year.
Mazatlán: The venerable Pacific resort city unveiled a logo emphasizing its historic center's unique juxtaposition with its seaside resort area. Continuing renovation of the Centro Historico recently brought underground wiring and European-style lighting. Two new golf courses, at Marina Mazatlán and the expanded Pueblo Bonito resort, will bring the total to four. The all-inclusive Riu Emerald Bay is scheduled to open next month on Playa Las Brujas beach north of the city, and a new access road to the airport is under construction.
Los Cabos: The Cancún of the west is also busily building more golf courses, soon to total nine. San Jose del Cabo is an emerging art center, with more than 20 galleries along Calle Obregon in the historic district, which hosts a weekly Art Walk. Cabo San Lucas, meanwhile, is widening its main avenue and moving utility wires underground. The expanding airport has remodeled one terminal, and an additional one is slated to open next year. The recently designated "Cabo Riviera," on the undeveloped East Cape between Los Cabos and the capital of La Paz, will eventually become a large resort area, with a marina and golf course scheduled for completion next year. Spanish developers are funding a paved road running from the airport all the way to the East Cape. The federal, state and municipal governments have negotiated an agreement that has finally resolved problems with local transportation and taxi companies and is serving as a model for other Mexican states.
New tourism route: Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo has teamed up with Patzcuaro, Celaya and San Miguel de Allende to promote "Del Sol a Corazón, a route running from the Guerrero coast to the Guanajuato highlands. Celaya, the least known of the four, is a sweet colonial town best known as the birthplace of architect Francisco Eduardo Tresguerras and for its cajetas (caramels), which come in a variety of flavors. A new museum is expected to open there this year.
From EVA
Of course the latest news is that the deaths from the flu have been re-assesed from 159 to 16. Whoah!