Ballooning getaway in Northern Arizona

Northern Arizona is a wonderful place to escape the chill of the northern climes. Among the many interesting and fun activities in the area is hot air ballooning. Outside of Phoenix you can take a sunrise you (or sunset) flight, soaring over the grandeur of the Sonoran Desert, watching the sun rise over the towering mountain ranges. A photographer will be in heaven with an unobstructed view from the balloon’s hand-crafted wicker basket. “Captain” Mike piloted our balloon, smoothly gliding over the desert scenery below, finally coming to a perfect three-point (I guess in a balloon it’s a one-point) landing. Back on earth, we were treated to the over 100-year-old ritual of flutes of champagne. It seems that when ballooning first started in France, the balloonists would carry along bottles of champagne so that when they landed in farmer’s fields, the drink would be quickly offered, proving that the strange fliers were not from another planet. Read more and view slideshow at Examiner.

Art, Food & Wine – Taos, New Mexico Traditions

Wine Seminar- Pairing Wine with Food - Jo Ann Carolla-Polt ©John Lamkin

It may come as a surprise to learn that the first wine production in the United States started in what now is called New Mexico by Spanish monks in 1633. The New Mexico wine country is home to over forty wineries, several in the vicinity of the art colony, Taos, high up in the Sangre de Cristo mountains.

In August, 2011 the toast of taos arts & wine festival took place under the new and enthusiastic management of Jan Mellor, gallery owner; Jillian Smothers, Food & Beverage Director for Taos Country Club; and sculptor Steven Gootgeld. This year the festival consisted of three main events. Several art, food and music partnering events ran concurrent with the festival.

Continue reading on Examiner.com Art, Food & Wine – Taos, New Mexico Traditions – Albuquerque Travel

Tulum & Sian Ka’an Real Estate: From Backpacking to Luxe

By John Lamkin

As the whole Caribbean coast of Mexico goes steadily more upscale in its real estate offerings, the ex-backpacker enclave of Tulum and regions to the south are heating up in anticipation of a new international airport.

Tulum Beach - Mexican Caribbean - photo © John Lamkin

 

A few years ago the image one had of Tulum, Mexico was a unique Maya archaeological site, backpackers, pseudo-Maya huts and bare-breasted Italian women on sparkling white powder sand Caribbean beaches.

Now that image has changed considerably to include luxury homes and luxury resorts. Plus ecology has crept into the picture – Read more at Luxury Latin America.

360 degree Panorama — Rancho Encantado Eco-Resort, Laguna Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico

The Dock at Rancho Encantado Eco-Resort on Laguna Bacalar, Mexican Caribbean

Rancho Encantado Eco-Resort, Laguna Bacalar, Quintana Roo, Yucatan Peninsula, Mexico —  December 2010

I ‘discovered’ Rancho Encantado about 14 years ago – not that it was lost. It had been languishing on the shore of Laguna Bacalar, the Lake of Seven Colors, in the southern Yucatan Peninsula for 10 years before that discovery. I try to get to that magical place at least once a year. The Rancho exists in the midst of the Zona Maya, the home of the old Maya civilization. Archaeological sites abound. I met my querida there and we have been together for 13 years.

You can find Rancho Encantado at www.encantado.com.

Click on the image or here to view in 360 degrees.

Manatee Hormones

words + photos by John Lamkin

Dani has a face that only a mother could love, but he doesn’t have a mother – he’s an orphan. Dani is a manatee, sometimes referred to as a sea cow. I guess if he had a mother she would think he was beautiful. The horny seafarers of earlier times thought manatees were beautiful. When seen in the ocean from a distance, they were mistaken for mermaids or sirens.

Dani was found by a couple of boys, four days old with an injured flipper – caught in the mangrove roots. He was left an orphan, unable to leave this annual birthing lagoon with the other manatees. The lagoon lies just off the Caribbean Bay of Chetumal in the south of Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula. The villagers took him to Chetumal to have his wounds attended. Once treated, the state wildlife department decided to return Dani to the lagoon and put him in the care of the village until he recuperated. Well enough to swim, he was released to return to his manatee family, but he didn’t want to go. Read more at Your Life is a Trip.

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The Mexican Spa

Story and photos by John Lamkin

“SPA TREATMENTS” read the hand-lettered sign, which seemed perfectly normal…until I remembered I was in a prison, in Mexico!

Prisoner in Courtyard with Pet Coatamundi

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Outside, a tarp strung between the large trees was flapping in the breeze. Beneath were chairs for chair massage and pedicures. Inside the wooden shack I found one massage table and three therapists – one man, one woman and one of unidentifiable sex. This primitive spa “palace” was in the middle of the courtyard of a prison located in Chetumal, Quintana Roo, Mexico, just a half an hour north of the Belize border. Read more at Global Writes.

 

Day of the Dead in a Typical Oaxacan Village

Day of the Dead - Cemetery, Teotitlan, Oaxaca, Mexico © John Lamkin

I arrived in the village of Teotitlán del Valle just in time for the Day of the Dead celebrations –November 1st & 2nd. I was traveling with a film crew for Starr Interiors’ Line of the Spirit™ weaving collection (Taos, New Mexico).

This being fiesta preparation time, I got to watch a village matron, Alta Gracia, who was featured in the film, fire up several barbecue pits with sizzling goat meat to be sold to the neighbors for the celebrations. I was invited to attend the family’s pre-fiesta feast where I enjoyed barbecued meat served with several of her homemade sauces, ranging from mild, but tasty, to raging hot. It was an unforgettable meal, a meal that in itself would have made the trip worthwhile, and it whet my appetite for the actual Dias le los Muertos, Day of the Dead, fiesta, for which I saw preparations being made all around. Read more at Examiner.

 

Day of the Dead – Dias de los Muertos – Oaxaca, Mexico

 

 

Susanna Starr placing photo on Altar, Cemetery Chapel – Day of the Dead – Oaxaca State, Mexico ©John Lamkin

 

Day of the Dead – Dias de los Muertos – Oaxaca, Mexico

by Susanna Starr

The Day of the Dead celebration is marked by various rituals, including the American Halloween. But in Oaxaca this holiday, known as Los Dias de los Muertos, is something that goes far beyond trick or treating and children in costumes. It is not marked by carved pumpkins and children garnering as much candy as can fill their bags.

Rather, it is a holy holiday, one that marks the celebration of those who have passed away, death being part of life. Further, it is an honoring of those who once were part of their lives, a day of remembrance. It is a day infused with a feeling of spirit. Yes, there are parades, such as the large on in Mitla with all kinds of flamboyant costumes, and major decorations in the large cemeteries, but the most important acknowledgment of this holy holiday takes place at the individual altars in each home. Read more here.

Tomorrow (10/15/2010) is the last chance to Win a $10,000 Trip to Chile Wine Regions – HURRY

 

You still have still have until October 15 (quickly!) to enter a contest sponsored by wines of Chile. The winner will receive a $10,000 dream vacation for two in Chile’s wine regions. All you have to do is draw up an itinerary for your trip and explain how you will use Twitter to promote these regions. Find the details here: tweet.winesofchile.org

The Lost Maya City

words + photos by John Lamkin

Narrow jungle road to Lost Maya City ©John Lamkin

Cora Amalia, the president of the municipality, affirmed the stories I’d heard for a while. There was a “lost” Maya city in the nearby jungle that rivals Tikal in Guatemala and has a pyramid larger than the one at Palenque in the state of Campeche.

“When can I go there?” I asked the government tourism officials. “Only when you get permission from INAH (Instituto Nacional de Antropología e Historia),” was the answer, “And you can’t go now because the jungle roads are too muddy. You must wait for the dry season.”

Well, the dry season came. We applied for and got the INAH permit and set off on the adventure – seven of us in Luis’ Suburban.

Our crew consisted of Luis Tellez, professional guide and photographer and his wife Leti, myself and my significant other, Susy, two expats that lived locally and had done some research on the city, and don Millon a 90-year-old farmer who had worked in the area as a chiclero, one of the men that harvested the chicle for making chewing gum, and who had visited the ruins in his youth. Read more at Your Life is a Trip.

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