Los Algodones, Baja California; Mexico

This is not the End of the World, but you can see it from here!



Wednesday, February 19, 2014

Riviera Maya Mexico

Riviera Maya Mexico's Winter Escape

The dinosaurs were basking in the prehistoric sun for 135 million years, living as kings of Earth. And perhaps they would have lived that way forever, were it not for a massive meteor that struck the shallow waters where today’s Yucatan Peninsula sits, thus ending the reign of the dinosaurs forever.
Move forward 65 million years to the 1300s. The dinosaurs had disappeared long before, and the Mayans were controlling a strong Caribbean and inland trade from the Yucatan. At the coastal city of Tulum, massive walls blocked would-be invaders, and a protected beach surrounded by cliffs gave the Tulum dwellers access to the Caribbean’s crystal-blue waters. For the Mayans, it was a time of luxury and wealth that allowed them to build pyramids elsewhere at Chichen Itza, Coba and dozens of other cities.
I suppose that if you asked a citizen near Tulum, the future must have seemed particularly bright — as it once did for the dinosaurs. And bright it was — at least until the European explorers brought ships and soldiers and European diseases. By the later 1500s, the reign of the Mayans had disappeared back into the jungle, along with their cities Tulum, Chichen Itza and Coba.
Move the clock forward once again, this time to the present. Even the massive Chicxulub crater from the dinosaur-killing asteroid is gone. Now the only holes in the ground on Mexico’s Yucatan Peninsula are the cenotes — natural wells formed from collapsed caves in the dominant limestone rock.
Today, the Yucatan is one of the world’s most popular vacation destinations, best known for Cancun and Cozumel, but increasingly known for the Riviera Maya region, a coastal strip located south of Cancun and which extends from roughly the town of Puerto Morelos to the former Mayan city of Tulum. In the last 40 years, the region has grown explosively as all-inclusive resorts and boutique beachfront hotels have catered to world travelers (many from the U.S. and Canada) looking for sun, sand and surf. These travelers seem to have picked up the lesson that was taught brutally to the dinosaurs and to the Mayan people, which is to say, “Enjoy the moment, because you never know what could be coming next.”
Going There
Peak travel season to the Riviera Maya area (via Cancun’s airport) is generally considered to be from November through May along the Yucatan. This happens to be the driest time of the year, and it’s also when much of North America would prefer to abandon that snow shovel.
Stay
The concept of the all-inclusive resort is alive and well in the Riviera Maya region, and the concept is not entirely different than what you know of Cancun, minus the spring-break-party image. Beachside resorts like Karisma’s Azul properties, Grand Velas and Secrets capitalize on vacationers’ desires to get away from it all, but in towns like Playa del Carmen, travelers will find boutique hotels, condo properties and even traditional hotel-style properties. Rooms at the big resorts tend to be well-sized, and numerous companies offer timeshare-condo ownership programs for those wanting to make a getaway into a regular adventure.
Eat
The secluded, seaside locations of most resorts mean you often simply cannot bounce into town to grab dinner, and the “all-inclusive” price encourages vacationers to get value out of their daily fee. Fortunately, the food quality at many all-inclusive resorts has improved dramatically. The buffets are still there but the quality is good, and many resorts have added specialty restaurants.
Le Chique, the signature restaurant at the Azul Sensatori resort, is one of the additions to the resort dining scene. Chef Jonathan Gomez Luna stuns his diners with gastronomy feats you’d expect only in the most cutting-edge restaurant in Los Angeles, New York or Paris, but it’s not just about showmanship. Gomez Luna is equally at hand with local flavors like aguachile (a variation on ceviche typically served in Northern Mexico) and a Tikix Xic (dry rubbed) sea bass in achiote chili sauce — a traditional Mayan style of preparing fish.
Outside of the resorts, you’ll find many of the best restaurants scattered about. In Playa del Carmen, Maiz de Mar serves fresh foods from local ingredients, as does Calle Ocho at the boutique hotel The Palm at Playa. Near Tulum, Chef Brian Sernatinger operates Unico where he produces thoroughly delicious comfort food that echoes his former work at New York’s Gramercy Tavern.
Shop
The beachfront town of Playa del Carmen is casual and imminently walk-able. The main drag, 5th Avenue, is the kind of place where you can find Swarovski jewelry, Hugo Boss, specialty tequila retailers and even tourist enclaves selling refrigerator magnets and T-shirts.
Do & Visit
Really, what is there to do besides relaxing at your hotel pool or napping on the beach under a palm tree? Quite a lot, actually. Tulum is the obvious archaeological destination, but the Riviera Maya has also seen a steady increase in soft adventure. Adventure parks Xcaret and Xenotes cater to the younger visitor, offering packaged experiences like zip-lining, snorkeling, ATV tours and swimming in the cenotes.
Chichen Itza, while not planted beside the Caribbean like Tulum, is the famed site of a pre-Columbian city where the centerpiece is an enormous pyramid. Its distance from the resort district along the coast makes for a lengthy day trip, but travelers who make the inland journey will admit the experience was well worth the effort.
Snorkeling and diving are favorite pastimes, thanks to the just-offshore proximity of the Grand Mesoamerican Reef, the world’s second largest coral reef.
Taking the Family
Each of the resorts caters to a different set of travelers. While some focus only on getaways for adult couples, other resorts cater to the entire family, offering daytime child-watch services where kids play games together and take fun classes. On a press visit to Azul Sensatori, the focus on the family was obvious, with a daytime kids club and evening performances geared for kids, plus a game room and even a rock-climbing wall. Even the hotel’s manager admits that kids are pleasantly spoiled, but as the dinosaurs and Mayans might remind you: Live in the moment and appreciate it.

 

 

 

Aztec dog burial site found in Mexico City

Archaeologists on Friday announced the discovery of “an exceptional” old burial site under an apartment building in Mexico City containing the remains of 12 dogs, animals that had a major religious and symbolic significance to the Aztec peoples of central Mexico.  Techichi dogs.


Previously, the remains of dogs have been found accompanying human remains or as part of offerings, experts with Mexico’s National Institute of Anthropology and History, or INAH, said in a statement. But this is the first time a group of dogs has been found buried together at one site.
“This is definitely a special finding because of the number of dogs and because we have found no connection to a building or with the deceased,” said archaeologist Rocio Morales Sanchez.
Aztecs believed dogs could guide human souls into a new life after death on earth, and could guard pyramids and other monuments when buried under them.
The dogs were buried at around the same time in a small pit between 1350 a 1520 A.D., the heyday of the Aztec empire.
The team of archaeologists determined when the dogs were buried through ceramics and other items found in nearby pits under the apartment building in the populous Mexico City borough of Aztacapozalco, Sanchez Morales said.
Michael E. Smith, an anthropology professor at Arizona State University who was not involved in the project, said the discovery is important because it is the first such find.
“This is not the first time a burial of a dog has been found, but it is the first find where many dogs were carefully buried together, in a setting that is like a cemetery,” Smith said.
Morales Sanchez said they will need to dig deeper to see if there are other items that could help them find out why the animals were buried in that area.
Smith said it will be important to see the results of the analysis of the bones.
“That work will tell us about the breed of these dogs, and it may tell us how they were killed,” he said. “The full significance of the finds is rarely obvious at time of excavation; the analysis will give the full story.”
Archaeologist Antonio Zamora, who works at the excavation site, said a biologist told the team the remains belonged to medium-sized dogs with full sets of teeth, likely common dogs.
Aztecs kept pets Techichi dogs, a breed with short legs believed to be an ancestor of the Chihuahua dog, and Xoloitzcuintlis, whose remains can be identified because of the loss of some of their teeth during adult age.

Monday, February 3, 2014

LA San Pedro Cougar / Cub Cruise

Cougar Cruise to Mexico (Out of area)

Cougars (women who are attracted to younger men) and Cubs (men who are attracted to older women) are invited to party non-stop on the 2014 Cougar Cruise, October 24-27, aboard Princess Cruise Line’s Golden Princess. The ship departs from Los Angeles (San Pedro), California and sails to Ensenada, Mexico.
Prices begin at $434 per person, cruise only, inside cabin, based on double-occupancy, including government fees, taxes, and port charges. Cruise includes:
•3 nights accommodation aboard ship
•All meals
•Variety of clubs, bars, lounges, and lounge shows
•Las Vegas Style entertainment
•Fitness Center
•Pools, full casino, duty-free shopping
•Coordinated singles get-togethers throughout the cruise
•Dancing and socializing every night within the group
•Roommate matching for those who wish to avoid the single supplement
The Cougar Cruise is sponsored by The Society of Single Professionals, the world’s largest non-profit singles organization. Anyone wishing to book the cruise may call The Singles Travel Company, toll-free at 1-888-286-8687. Anyone wishing more information about cougars and the cruise may visit www.cougarevents.com.

Events 2014 Los Algodones B.C. Mexico

Los Algodones, B.C. Mexico

FEB 15  Tamale Festival At Catholic Church  Av. "B", between 2nd and 3rd.

FEB 23  Rodeo "CHARREADA" Surprise at Ranch Magana  South of town.

FEB 24  Flag Day

Mar   15    Appreciation Spring Party for Winter Visitors

MAR 21   Anniversary of President Benito Juarez

April  06   Paraiso Restaurant Anniversary BIG Party

July   19    120th Anniversary of Los Algodones Foundation