Swimming, Hiking and Marvelling at Rio Secreto
About two years ago, an amazing network of watery underground chambers were discovered beneath the vast Yucatan jungle. They were just a few of the thousands of cenotes, sinkholes formed over millions of years partly as a result of the catastrophic meteor hit that took place in the sea just […]
Zipping Down the Zip-line, Plunging into the Cenote
Sustainable tourism is a robust business and employs many people in places like the Yucatan. This afternoon I learned how one company has brought jobs and a lot of revenue by a simple formula. Selvatica offers American and Canadian tourists some adrenaline, a plunge in a natural pool, a simple […]
Mexico, Where Have You Been All My Life!?
When I called my dad to tell him I was heading to Mexico, he groaned. “Oh Cap, do you know they’re having a civil war down there?” He groaned too, upon my announcement of trips to Iran and Colombia. But as with those trips, fear hasn’t been on the agenda […]
The Title Says a lot: Prof of Sustainable Tourism
One of the hallmarks of my press trips is meeting ‘interesting locals’ wherever I am. To do this I ask my hosts to find people I can interview and get a feel for the local zietgeist. It never fails to produce quote-worthy people who offer us unvarnished views of politics, […]
Spider Monkeys in the Trees of the Yucatan
Spider monkeys weren’t the only things we gasped and said were soooo cute during our day with the Mayans. This little girl took to Cindy and we enjoyed meeting her and her family as they brought us into their home and served us dinner. The tortillas were made on the […]
Ecotourism with Mayans Near Cancun
Governments can do some good things, but the real heavy lifting is often done by NGOs, or non-governmental organizations. We rode out to Nuevo Durango this afternoon, with Jesus Mesa del Castillo Bermejo who does good work for Kanche helping develop tourism and other endeavors among the Mayan people of […]
In a Pumpkin Patch, A Cave Entrance is Found
Arsenio Hau’s uncle was picking pumpkins when they found a big hole in the field, covered by vines. He fell part of the way in, and he got trapped. When he was rescued with ropes and they shined flashlights down the hole, they discovered the Caverna Nueva Vida, or New […]
Cancun Surprised Us…It’s Damn Nice Here
I’m liking Cancun much more than I thought. I remember running into a very suave tourism official, Emilio,while I was on a river cruise in Pittsburgh back in June. As the boat made its way up the Ohio River, all of the passengers were either journalists, PR folks or Tourism […]