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Photo via Tolerance.ca
In a recent interview with ABC News from Mexico City, Michelle Obama said that it is a safe for Americans to travel to Mexico. She told reporters, “Our embassies are not discouraging American visitors. I think that they are encouraging them to be aware and to be smart as they travel.” She also said, “I would encourage any American to spend time here.” You can view a brief video of the interview at ABC’s Site.
Exploring ruins at Tonina with Journey Mexico
Researches at the archeological site of Tonina in Chiapas found a new sarcophagus in January of 2010, which they feel could help clear up the mystery surrounding the fall of the Mayan civilization. The sarcophagus is said to measure 6.7 feet in length, 27.6 inches in width, and 23.6 inches in depth, which is very similar to the dimensions of “The Red Queen,” who was discovered in 1994 in Palenque, Chiapas.
The archeologists working on the site say that this new sarcophagus dates back to sometime between 840-900 AD, which is right around when the Maya stopped producing sculptures and inscriptions, signaling the end of their dynasty. Scientists hope that the discovery of this sarcophagus and its tomb will shed new light on what was happening at this time of transformation for the Maya.
Zach atop Tonina
This discovery adds to the incredibly long list of reasons to visit the Mayan ruins in the Yucatan and explore the mystery surround such a unique and important culture.
Full article at The Times of India
Dios Nunca Muere (“God Never Dies”), an awesome exhibition of contemporary Oaxacan art, went off with great success last week at Deluge Gallery in Victoria, Canada. The exhibition showcased works from 17 artists from Oaxaca, Mexico – two being the regions most notable: Daniel Guzman and Dr. Lakra.
The press release for the show explains: “Dios Nunca Muere explores the seismic shift in contemporary art practice in Oaxaca, Mexico over the last two decades. The work of these artists — both individually and collectively — parallels and reflects widespread social, political and economic changes in the region.
Photographer, videographer, and art fanatic, Efren Quiroz, has obtained a sort of fame, in his own right, by producing raw videos of art exhibitions in Canada. Below is his video from Dios Nunca Muere.
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A Fresh Look at Journey MexicoWe are pleased to announce the launch of our new website and blog. The new Journey Mexico website is designed to showcase the unique and authentic experiences that we offer throughout Mexico as well as to provide travel planners with a user friendly and informative resource.
Our new blog (which you are looking at right now!) is where we will be posting news, information, pictures, and videos about Journey Mexico and the latest in travel to Mexico. We hope you follow along via our RSS feed!
Rainforest AllianceJourney Mexico is a proud new member of the Rainforest Alliance. In accordance with the Rainforest Alliance’s mission, we are committed to promoting bio-diversity, sustainability, and cultural awareness through our hand crafted trips. Several of our trips offer volun-toursim opportunities for those looking for a chance to have a hands-on experience that directly benefits local wildlife and endangered species.
(April 15-19) This week, Journey Mexico will roll out the red carpet for the world’s leading luxury travel executives as one of the preferred suppliers chosen to assist in organizing this years Symposium for the Virtuoso Travel Network. The inaugural Virtuoso Symposium in the Americas will be a landmark event, and Journey Mexico is thrilled to boost visibility of Mexico City’s cultural treasures as well as the region’s importance as a luxury travel destination.
As your eyes on the ground, we are always on the look out for top quality destinations and experiences to bring to our clients. Below, you will find several new hotels, restaurants, and locations that we are excited to start working with this year.
Casa de la Real Aduana, Patzcuara – Just a few steps from the Plaza Quiroga Basque, this beautiful boutique hotel offers a wonderfully classic feel with a modern twist.
Hotel Las Alcobas, Mexico City – This 35 room hotel defines modern luxury.
Hotel Brick, Mexico City – “Brick is a chance to live Mexico City from within, to reminisce the city’s majestic past from a young and modern perspective.”
BeTulum, Tulum – This 20 room hotel marries luxury with the natural surrounds of jungle and sea.
Roses&Xocolate – JM trip planner, Gerardo Tovar, recently stayed at this boutique hotel and spa in Merida and loved it.
Izote, Mexico City – Journey Mexico President, Zach Rabinor, had the chance to dine with Izote owner and chef, Patricia Quintana, and has had nothing but great things to say.
Los Mirasoles, Morelia – JM director of operations, Mateo Luthi, and his wife recently dined at this gorgeous restaurant offering both Michoacana and international delicacies as well as over 250 wines.
Pujol, Mexico City – Recently, Matthew Upchurch, CEO of Virtuoso invited Zach for dinner at Pujol, and Zach reports that the meal was truly a unique culinary experience.
We couldn’t believe our eyes when we were introduced to this private, secluded cenote. We know future customers will fall in love with its tranquility just as we have.
Experience More at the Four Seasons, Punta MitaDiscover the best that Punta Mita has to offer while enjoying up to $1200 US credit for a 3 night stay. Take even more credit for a longer stay! Whether it’s winding up your golf swing or unwinding at the spa, this daily credit gives you room to stay and play.
| Daily Credit | Room Type | Apr. 11-30 | May 1 –June 25 | June 26 – Oct. 1 |
| $150 | Casita Garden View | $595 | $545 | $415 |
| $150 | Casita Oceanview | $855 | $725 | $590 |
| $200 | Casita Oceanview Premium | $895 | $820 | $645 |
| $200 | Casita Oceanfront | $1,130 | $1,090 | $845 |
| $400 | 1-Bedroom Gardenview Suite | $1,825 | $1,290 | $1,100 |
| $400 | 1-Bedroom Oceanview Suite | $2,225 | $1,490 | $1,325 |
| $400 | 1-Bedroom Oceanfront Suite | $2,735 | $2,195 | $1,660 |
Book this 8 night country-to-coast special combination of The Haciendas locations in the Yucatan countryside and Esencia on the Riviera Maya and the fourth night is free at both locations (May – Nov. 15th).
Additional specials at The haciendas:
Additional specials at Esencia:
This Zihuatanejo hotel offers cool garden waterfalls and enchanting lagoons. From Apr. 8 – Oct. 31st, The Tides is offering:
As you may have heard in the news, US Department of State has extended a travel warning focused on certain regions of Northern Mexico. The warning has been extended in the wake of an increase in violence along the U.S. – Mexico Border.
We at Journey Mexico prioritize our clients’ safety and security first and while reviewing this warning, it is important to note a few key things.
1.) Mexico’s main tourist destinations are, geographically, very far from the very specific areas included in the warning. Mexico’s top travel destination, Cancun, is 1,312 miles from Ciudad Juarez, (the Mexican town most noted for recent violence), and the number two most traveled to city, Puerto Vallarta, is over 700 miles away. The distance from Cancun to Ciudad Juarez is approximately the distance from New York City to Miami, and the distance from Mexico City to Ciudad Juarez is approximately the size of the entire state of California!
2.) The warning does not discourage travelers from visiting tourist destinations, rather recommends that travelers exercise caution and be alert to safety and security issues if traveling in the border regions affected by the violence.
3.) The warning specifically notes that “common-sense precautions such as visiting only legitimate business and tourist areas during daylight hours, and avoiding areas where prostitution and drug dealing might occur, can help ensure that travel to Mexico is safe and enjoyable.” This is true for travel to any country, even travel through the US and Europe.
While Journey Mexico is taking the necessary steps to avoid client travel to the affected areas, those of us that live here know how beautiful and safe Mexico is, so let’s spread the word and continue to bring visitors to Mexico in 2010 to share in all the unforgettable experiences this country has to offer!
If you’ll be surfing in Mexico any time soon (Sayulita specifically), be sure to check out one of the town’s newest surf shops, Quiverito. Although Sayulita is a tad saturated when it comes to surf shops these days, Josh Labovitz, Quiverito’s owner, is definitely doing something different and refreshing.
Take a quick glance into the shop, and you’ll immediately see something unique is going on. The walls are lined with retro and classic boards from shapers like Gordon and Smith, Stewart, Skip Frye, Herbie Fletcher, Al Merrick, Terry Goldsmith, Ian Zamora, and others. There are also a few modern boards in the mix, like Firwire, but you’re definitely not going to find racks of Quicksilver tees, shelves of Volcom wristbands, or counters covered in Red Bull stickers. The classic vibe led me first to believe the shop was a gallery, but then I saw a sign that read: “ALL boards for rental and sale.” My head tilted, I stared at a vintage Gordon Smith single fin and went, “That can’t be right.” But, alas, the sign did not lie.
The mentality at Quiverito is simple: Boards are meant to be ridden. When most board collectors would wince at the idea of you even touching their coveted Skip Frye, Josh says, “Like it? Take it for a ride.” When I asked Josh how someone with such a great collection of boards could let total strangers take them out, he said, “It’s definitely an exercise in dis-attaching myself from material things, but I figure, I ding them up myself every time I travel. Why not let other people enjoy them as well?”
Quiverito provides a really unique opportunity to save yourself the 80+ bucks in flying boards back and fourth (as well as peace of mind about dinging your babies) and the chance to ride classic shapes without having to shell out mucho dinero to pull them off the wall. The coolest part is that you can check the boards out on Quiverito’s website, pick one out, and reserve it before you ever get on the plane. Check the website out at www.quiverito.com.
We were featured on Ron Mader’s website, Planeta.com, this week in a section called Luxury Travel in Mexico by Ron Mader. Many thanks to Ron. Planeta is an incredible resource for responsible and eco travel, and we’re thrilled about everything Ron is doing for travel to Mexico.
Ron has a really cool photo-scavenger hunt going on his site right now so if you are in Mexico now, coming soon, or happen to have a lot of pictures from a previous trip to Mexico City, be sure to get involved.
The safety of traveling to Mexico is a redundant topic for those of us living here, but Americans still don’t seem to be getting the message (especially my mother).
When explaining the situation to friends and family back home (about 30 miles north of Philadelphia), I always draw an analogy along the lines of: “Do you not feel safe living outside Philly because some got murdered in a back-alley in Memphis, Tennessee?” Obviously, the answer should be no as Memphis is more than a 20 hour drive from Philadelphia just as Mexico City is much more than 20 hours away from these boarder towns (Juarez specifically) where murders are occurring.
A new study from Brookings Institute compares Washington D.C. with the country of Mexico in general, strengthening my point. Apparently, Washington D.C. has a murder rate of 31 people per 100,000 inhabitants, where as the country of Mexico has a murder rate of approximately 11.5 people per 100,000 inhabitants. New Orleans’s murder rate is 74/100,000!
It’s a shame that the American media creates such a biased portrait of the safety of traveling to Mexico, when there are so many unbelievable trips to be taken and incredible sites to be seen in this breathtaking country.
You can find the full article via the Miami Herald Online
We are very excited to bring tons of videos to our new website/blog! Here’s a greeting from Matteo.
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We are very excited to have been selected for the March issue of Travel and Leisure Magazine as one of the “World’s Top Adventure Trips.” The article covers one of our Sea Turtle tours as well as a Whale Watching Tour, both of which we are very proud.
Many thanks to Travel and Leisure Magazine.
Image via http://www.periodicoelsur.com/
Today marks the beginning of the Viva Tequila Festival in Guadalajara, which will run from today until March 22nd and is expected to become an annual event. The festival was formed with full support from the Mexican government as well as from the ministries of Culture and Tourism, so it should definitely be quite the party.
The goal of the festival is increase tourism to the historic city of Guadalajara as well as to solidify tequila as the national drink of Mexico and, in turn, boost the sales of tequila worldwide.
The list of activities for the ten-day fest is enormous and includes tequila tasting, art shows, a photography contest, several free concerts and shows, and a celebrity parade. I haven’t yet been able to find a full list of activities in English, but you can find a full list of events in Spanish at Vivir Guadalajara.
March 17-20th of this year marks the 7th annual International Guitar Festival in Zihuatanejo, Mexico. Each year, musicians, artists, and music lovers from around the world flock to Zihuatanejo, one of Mexico’s most unspoiled and tranquil bays, for the festival.
Zihuatanejo provides the perfect backdrop for four days of music, sun, and relaxation. If you get restless, there’s plenty going on in Zihuatanejo besides the festival, including golf, tennis, hiking, fishing, and shopping. If you’re a surfer, there are always waves in this region of Mexico, and Zihautanejo’s nightlife (especially during the Guitar Fest) won’t let you down.
Proceeds from the festival go to La Casa de la Cultura, which is a cultural education center that has been offering free art and cultural classes to adults and children in Zihuatanejo for 15 years. For the full schedule of events and participating artists, visit Zihuafest.
Journey Mexico has been selected as one of the World’s Best Adventure-Travel Outfitters for 2010. We were selected under the category of Regional Specialists due to our specialized focus on Mexico’s cultural and natural heritage. Travel + Leisure went on to feature one of our Whale Watching Trips as a one of the “World’s Top Adventure Trips.”
Journey Mexico President, Zachary Rabinor, was published in the Journal of Environment and Development with his article, “Sustainable Development and Management of EcoTourism in the Americas.” The article was in preparation for the conference for the International Year of Tourism. You can download the article here.
Due to our extensive knowledge of Mexico’s land, its people, and its culture as well as to our ability to provide unforgettable adventure, cultural, nature, and luxury trips in Mexico, Journey Mexico has been invited as a guest speaker to following events:
Lisa Grossman wrote an excellent article, “Mexico: Baja’s Blue Frontier,” for Rough Guides in which she illustrates the incredible beauty, the wide variety of marine life, and the rich culture that Baja California has to offer. Journey Mexico is sited at the conclusion of the article as the go to outfitter for excursions to Baja. To read the article, click here.
The New York Times highlighted Journey Mexico as the go to company for hiking the Sierra Norte Mountains. The article notes the way in which Journey Mexico takes adventurers beyond the normal hikes around the fringes of Oaxaca and into the Sierra Norte, through several ecosystems, to meet and interact with the indigenous people of the highlands.
In 2008, Journey Mexico President, Zachary Rabinor, was quoted several times in an article by Rebecca Ruiz for Forbes.com entitled: “How Authentic is Your Vacation?” The article goes on to illustrate the way Journey Mexico provides truly unique experiences that benefit both the traveler and the indigenous people of the region be traveled.
In 2009, Journey Mexico was listed as the 5th fastest growing company in the Travel section of Inc. 5000. Based on data from 2005 to 2008, Journey Mexico dominated both the Inc. 5000 Industry Median and the Industry Benchmark: 3 Year Growth, as shown in the graph above.
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