http://RealAdventures.com/vacations/185084_articles-mexico-other.htm Check out some of the recently updated travel & vacation listings on RealAdventures. Be inspired, go explore! en-us Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:19:36 GMT Fri, 27 Nov 2009 01:19:36 GMT http://RealAdventures.com http://RealAdventures.com/vacations/185084_articles-mexico-other.htm 100 100 http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1156760_Home-Cooking-in-Mexico http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1156760_Home-Cooking-in-Mexico Articles Mexico Sun, 25 May 2008 15:05:18 A week of cooking, eating and digesting the culture of the Alta Plano of central Mexico -
A week of cooking, eating and digesting the culture of the Alta Plano of central Mexico


MEXICAN HOME COOKING
And The Joys of Pulque
By Justin Dash


I always like a glass of good pulque and my friend Pedro had some of the best. Once allowed only to Aztec nobles and priests, pulque is produced by cutting out the center of a Maguey cactus and collecting the liquid which rises from it. Fermenting naturally in two to five hours, the resulting drink is mildly alcoholic, viscous and sweet. Served at room temperature, it is an acquired taste as are the locations, or pulquerias, where it is sold.

Pedros pulqueria is definitely one of the best. Calling me his brother we would sit together in the shade of the bottle brush tree in the sandy area behind his gate. There we listened to his clientele of farmers and peasants talking in Spanish or Nahuatl as they sat surrounded by an assortment of dogs, chickens, turkeys and goats as well as their distinct and mingled smells drinking what Pedro called the elixir of the gods.
Pulque, I was told, would cure everything from guilt to senility. When served with chito (a dried meat), they assured (!) me that it would produce a male child. You wont find Pedros in any guide book It is hidden from the world, left over from some other Mexico that doesnt even exist anymore...

As we sat there soaking up the earthy ambiance a car pulled up. Amid clouds of swirling dust and barking dogs, blond heads were visible over the high gate. Pedro yelled Johnny! and rose to hug the thin blond guy who had just arrived, followed by three middleaged women and another man, all Americans. Odd I thought. Quite odd.
It turns out that I have another brother! Pedro leads him along with the others into the distilling room. He motions me to follow. My new brother Johnny is here with students from his cooking school for a Pulque Experience. We are led into a tinroofed adobe room, lined on one side with old rakes, sacks of corn, broken shovels, religious statues, burning candles and a stuffed armadillo. On the other side are dozens of fivegallon plastic cans full of bubbling, fermenting pulque. Pedro is serving, and the air is heady.


Johnny tells me that pulque is used in many recipes here in central Mexico and that his Mexican wife Estela considers it part of the culinary experience of the country. To think that I thought that Pedro and I were merely having a drink when it turns out that I am actually having a culinary experience with my other brother and four gringos!
They definitely got my attention with all that talk about pulque and food. So I followed them out and around seorita Romero the sleeping pig and out to the road, into the dust and on to meet Doa Estela at her home in the next town. I liked what I saw, and figured anyone who sent her students to Pedros for a culinary experience had to be interesting. So I signed up, moved out of my hotel and into Estela and Johnnys house for a week of lessons at Mexican Home Cooking.
My fellow students Crocker, his daughter Hester, and the two women, Billie and her friend Bridget turned out to be as interesting as the rest of the crowd at Pedros They all loved cooking and with glasses of wine at hand we diced and sliced and fought over who got to dredge the chicken breasts. As classical Mexican music seeped into the food, Estela and her helpers did their best to empty our heads of measuring spoons, cups and any preconceived ideas of Mexican cuisine we may have had. Touch, mix, taste use your hands feel the food! she said.


Doa Estela had at least 15 uses for masa (tortilla dough) round, oval, open, topped, flat or thick these we covered with sauces and filled with unknown greens and blossoms, cactus, mushrooms from the fields and fungus from corn. A parade of meats appeared as neighbors brought rabbit, lamb, possum and barbecued goat. Yes we even used pulque, that elixir of the gods. And feeling a little godlike ourselves, we ate the forbidden amaranth (banned by the Spanish as food of the devil) while visions of the inquisition filled the kitchen....
Gradually we began to let go of our busy minds and entered the world of sensation and tastes, of mingled aromas and people (hilariously stumbling about) trying to execute that perfectly flowered cauliflower. Success!...with much clapping and patting on backs It was Mexican Grand Opera with music in the air and a toast to ourselves and Estela!
The days were filled with delights. There were visits to ruins the Mayan style murals and pyramids at Cacaxtla really knocked me out as well as a colonial city to explore, with cafes and dancing under the portales on the square. And best of all, the tastes... There were tastes I never dreamed of in Mexican cooking!
It was winter the nights were chilly and filled with the smell of burning wood and cooking tortillas. One by one we would wander in to sit and talk. One night around the fireplace in my room, Billy told us a little of her own story In 1936 her father had lost everything in the depression. With his last money, he bought a ticket in New Orleans and boarded a ship for Veracruz. He arrived with one bag and a stolen typewriter. He soon sold the typewriter and bought two more. A business was born and two years later, in Mexico City, so was Billy! Selling typewriters, her father became one of the richest men in Mexico, and Billy was born a Mexican.
The story ended and music called us to our dinner. It was our last meal together and the musicians had arrived. They serenaded us into the evening singing volver, volver "comeback, comeback" to Mexico as we ate and sang and sipped our Margaritas...
In the end it was okay that Hester never was able to get her hands into those duck eggs to separate the yolks. It was a color thing she later admitted the brilliant yellow yolks did her in. And Billie and Bridgett never did discuss their I thought rather excessive enjoyment in the soft masa dough. But for me, it was the fiances sighs covered in honey, lemon and cinnamon that left me forever changed.
Mexican food, for me, has become an elusive smell, a subtle, delicate or intense flavor remembered from there and never quite found again...except sometimes with Estelas recipe book out. I begin to remember to taste and touch, to feel the food and I try again for that perfect walnut sauce for chiles in nogada.

Estela Salas Silva can be reached at mexicanhomecooking@yahoo.com
or visit her Home Page

Pedro and the pulqueria can be reached by foot.
Details & Reservations: Home Cooking in Mexico
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]]> http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1156599_The-best-kept-secret-in-Oaxaca-grana-cochinilla http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1156599_The-best-kept-secret-in-Oaxaca-grana-cochinilla Articles Mexico Tue, 08 Apr 2008 20:04:58 Few travelers know that a tiny insect, native to Oaxaca, impacted the world economy for close to 200 years, after the Spanish first arrived in Mexico the strong natural red dye from the cochineal or cochinilla, a bug living off the nopal cactus. -
Few travelers know that a tiny insect, native to Oaxaca, impacted the world economy for close to 200 years, after the Spanish first arrived in Mexico the strong natural red dye from the cochineal or cochinilla, a bug living off the nopal cactus.


grana cochinilla fina

THE BEST KEPT SECRET IN OAXACA

by Alvin Starkman M.A., LL.B.

Most tourists have no idea that only a couple of hundred yards off the main highway, a minute or two from the black pottery village, is one the most fascinating destinations that the state of Oaxaca has to offer children and adults alike. And yet the majority of travelers have a least heard or read a snippet about the natural red dye which comes from a tiny insect and is used to color the rugs they buy in Teotitln del Valle, and other products including some of the foods and beverages we eat todaythe grana cochinilla fina, commonly known as simply cochineal.

I suspect that from reading their guidebooks or speaking to tour guides and taxi drivers, visitors are not generally made aware of the importance of this little bug on the world stage over centuries or perhaps they think its enough to buy a tapete and be told its been dyed with cochineal, and see and touch a few dried insectsrather than spend 40 or 50 minutes in amazement. It might be different if they knew that during the conquest era, next to gold and silver cochineal was the most valuable commodity known to mankind, and that in 1758 Oaxaca exported over 1.5 million Spanish pounds of it to Europe, Africa and Asia for a multitude of uses including the dying of fabrics including uniforms worn by British nobility and cavalry.

Together known as Tlapanochestli, the quaint research facility, museum, ranch and openair teaching environment is located at Santa Mara Coyotepec off a dirt road only 15 minutes from downtown Oaxaca. The attraction is designed to hold the interest of travelers of all ages and all backgrounds, from layperson to academic or professional.

Upon entering Tlapanochestli youll be greeted by one of the employees who works the ranch, or perhaps one of the two scientists who run the research and teaching programs, Engineers Manual Loera Fernndez and Ignacio del Ro Dueas. Youll learn about the lifecycle of the cochineal, how it attaches itself to and feeds off of a certain variety of nopal cactus, and about its harvesting and preparation for use as a dye. Both kids and grownups will delight and be awestruck at having either a live or dried bug squished on their palm yielding the scarlet pigment. Youll be taught why not all types of nopal cactus are suitable for production of cochineal, which ones are used to make salads, and about varietals which produce the sweet red edible fruit known as tuna, seasonally sold in marketplaces just as apples and oranges, and just as often encountered as a sorbet flavor or fresh fruit juice.

But your tour is not only about the insect and its host, but includes learning about a plethora of other natural products used to dye foods and fabrics, such pecan shells, oyster conch, pomegranate, marigold, moss, onions, and the ail plant which produces our blues and indigos. Combining some of these dyes with the cochineal results in yet a further spectrum of color. Youll also discover how to use cochineal in combination with lime juice or baking soda and with different colored natural wools to produce orange and purple hews.

One cannot help but marvel at the diversity of commercial products which utilize the cochineal as a coloring such as lipsticks and makeup for those allergic or sensitive to synthetic red and orange tones, Danone yoghurt, Campari, and even Campbells soup. Often artists have opted to employ cochineal and other natural colors for their work, and accordingly witness walls adorned with examples of fine art created without the use of chemicalbased paints. The photos of Prince Charles attendance at Tlapanochestli is a testament to the worlds continued fascination with the historical and contemporary significance of the grana cochinilla fina. In the gift shop theres an opportunity to purchase dried cochineal for your own use, ink in an attractive waxsealed bottle, paints and pastes, balls of yarn, soaps, clothing, and for the children perhaps a paint set consisting of dried cochineal to crush using the miniature clay pestle and mortar, along with coloring pages with instruction sheet directing how to use the kit and produce your own shades of red, orange and pink.

A short video puts the production of cochineal into its proper historical context using facts, anecdotes and mythology, along with colorful imagery, narrated using language easily understood by children. At the same time those with a background or interest in the sciences will have all of their questions answered. The film outlines the prehispanic use of the pigment the development of an internationally regulated industry attracting the attention of worldwide heads of state from The Conquest forward its importance in the global marketplace as the strongest and most brilliant dye known to humankind and its decline in the mid 1800s upon the invention of synthetic coloration and the subsequent adverse impact on the Mexican economy. While Oaxacan production and export never did recover from 19th century recessionary factors, the video concludes on a upbeat note documenting the industrys resurgence in recent decades in the face of widespread health concerns regarding the continued reliance on synthetic substances to dye commercial products.

After your cinematic journey back into history, and having gained knowledge about how natural dyes are produced and used in a multitude of applications, your perception of not only Oaxaca but also the Western World will have been enhanced foreverwhether youre in Oaxaca shopping for rugs, watching the native vendors in a market or ordering ice cream or sitting in the comfort of your home and sipping a Campari and soda.










Details & Reservations: The best kept secret in Oaxaca grana cochinilla
RealAdventures | Mexico Articles

]]> http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1120197_Cooking-classes-in-Oaxaca-Mexico http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1120197_Cooking-classes-in-Oaxaca-Mexico Articles Mexico Tue, 08 Apr 2008 19:04:21 A cooking lesson with internationally acclaimed native chef Pilar Cabrera is both a gastronomic delight and an education into the unique herbs, spices and other indigenous ingredients making Oaxacan cuisine perhaps the richest in the country. -
A cooking lesson with internationally acclaimed native chef Pilar Cabrera is both a gastronomic delight and an education into the unique herbs, spices and other indigenous ingredients making Oaxacan cuisine perhaps the richest in the country.


La Casa de los Sabores Cooking School
Alvin Starkman, M.A., LL.B.
If visitors to Oaxacan cooking school La Casa de los Sabores came away with nothing more than great recipes and a gastronomic meal rich in unique herb and spiceaccented flavor combinations that are the hallmark of Oaxacan cuisine, they would leave fully satisfied. But a visit with owner and chef extraordinaire Pilar Cabrera also inspires and sates travelers with a sensual daylong immersion into sights, sounds, smells and, yes, tastes and timetested recipes of southern Mexico.
As always, a recent culinary odyssey with Pili, as she is known, began at La Casa de los Sabores first thing in the morning at 930 a.m. Over the next few hours, she introduced me and the others in the class to the wisdom and experience of her great matriarchal culinary tradition. Pili learned the basics and the subtleties, including the mysteries of the famed seven moles, from her grandmother, who learned from her grandmother before her. She is a Oaxacaborn master of southern Mexico cookery as well as international epicurean trends, capable of sharing the secrets of preparing the most multifarious meal with novice and expert alike in English and in Spanish.
Our day began with Pili's informal talk about the menu and the foods she was going to introduce us to in one of Oaxacas colorful markets. The extra attention to the key ingredients of Oaxacan cuisine kept us spellbound. What we will achieve today with the chilis," she told us, "is hot and tropical with the Chile de agua, you will see we use it not only for flavor but color as well, and I will teach you how we keep this beautiful, brilliant green.
Once prepared with this knowledge, we all embarked on a shopping trip to the wellknown marketplace, Mercado de La Merced, armed with multihued bolsas market bags to carry the compras purchases. Pili had readied a partial shopping list, but, she advised us, she always adds "surprises," such as fresh foodstuffs which peasant women from the mountains sometimes bring down.

When you have a chance to find something real special or unusual, you buy and incorporate into the comida," she explained. "Today, for instance, we look for mushrooms, because they grow so beautifully in the rainy season. Also, we will see what kind of fresh fruit we can use for the dessert.

Her insights into the unique stores and small factories enriched the short walk to the market. A rich bouquet drew us into a mill that was making chocolate from scratch. As Pilar told us about the ingredients cacao, cinnamon, almonds and sugar the owner welcomed us with, do you want to taste?

The lesson began in earnest when Pilar began methodically searching through the indoor and outdoor portions of the marketplace and exchanging pesos for its plethora of fresh produce.

Look at that lady sitting there, what she has in those bowls," she said. "She just brought those raspberries and blackberries from the Sierra Juarez. We can use them for the dessert. Notice how fresh and beautiful. The mushrooms beside them, see the size, how big and the bright orange color this is the time of year, but not for our recipe today Over here, we dont buy the big green tomatillos. I prefer the little ones grown locally because they are not acidy like the others, and they have much more flavor, perfect for the salsa we are preparing today.

She encouraged us to smell the herbs as she explained their use in particular Oaxacan dishes. Today we use this hierba santa for the mole, she said as she was examining samples of the fragrant leaf until she'd found the best and freshest for storage in one of our bolsas. But we also use it to wrap fish and make tamales."

Lynet who had been in Puerto Escondido on the Oaxacan coast for six months, expressed the wish of many as she lamented, I wish Id been in this class at the beginning of our trip.

Our enthusiasm and our appetites grew once we returned to Doa Pilis wellequipped, spacious kitchen. Its wide counters, food preparation island and eightburner gas stove opening onto the lush courtyard dining area made this cocina into an ideal classroom.

While we were reviewing printed recipe sheets for the dishes we were about to prepare, she displayed our purchases in baskets filled with the components of each recipe to help us learn why we bought what. Then we spent the next two hours preparing a sumptuous fourcourse meal.

Mary, her souschef, did preparatory work such as halving limes, slicing chilies and preparing chicken stock and poultry for the mole, freeing Pili to teach us the rituals and secrets of Oaxacan culinary seduction. Sparks from Pilars hearth of experience ignited even the most learned in the class as she pointed, touched, and passed around each item we purchased, telling us how it would be incorporated into the meal.

Once the actual cooking began, she put her bilingualism to good use, giving instructions and asking questions in one language, then repeating it in the other, as required by some of her visitors. Necesito otro ayudante para quesillo, I need another helper for the cheese. Pilar might as well be a Maestra de Espaol, a Spanish teacher to boot.

Everyone learned each task and participated in the preparation of virtually all menu items. And as the group peeled, diced and sautd, Pili's gems of information flowed on.
We learned much more than how to achieve flavor. Pilar taught us techniques on how to attain desired tones and textures A lot of people ask me about cleaning mushrooms, she said at one point, demonstrating the correct technique. Now watch to see how we clean and seed this kind of chili, she pointed out while preparing chile guajillo for the mole. Once we start cooking these chile de agua, we need to remember to always check them and turn them constantly.
Look for the hot part of the comal now this is when you know when to turn it over, she said while demonstrating the art and science of making tortillas.

Every once in a while a new recipe rolled off the tip of her tongue as we worked other dishes we could prepare with this particular mole different fillings for the quesadillas such as potato, chorizo or huitlacoche, the exotic corn mold ... the texture we would want for the corn masa if we were making tamales rather than tortillas.

Soon, aprons removed, we were ready to feast. But first now before we sit down, remember in the market I told you there were two types of gusano worm? Here they are, so who wants to try?" she asked. Now know about mezcal. Taste this one Alvin brought, and tell us how it seems to you. Heres another kind. What do you think is different about this one?

We sat down at a table exquisitely set with local handmade linens, dishes and stemware. Bottles of Mexican and Chilean red wine were already breathing. The fine music of Oaxacan songstress Lila Downs serenaded us in the background.

Pilar reminded us that her grandmother and other relatives usually prepare their comidas with meat and all vegetables mixed together in the mole, a plate of rice on the side, and a bowl of broth. But our meal, like all the recipes she prepares with visitors at La Casa de los Sabores, would be her modern take on all the elements and flavor combinations of the best that contemporary Oaxacan cookery has to offer.

It was a celebration of every ingredient. We began with wild mushroom, onion, tomato, chili and cheese stuffing in the quesadillas de championes (mushroom quesadillas), complemented perfectly by smoky salsa verde asada (green sauce from the grill) served in its molcajete. Then it was time to calm our palates with bright yellow crema de flor de calabaza (cream of squash blossom soup), garnished with a drizzle of real cream, toasted calabaza seeds and indeed fresh squash blossoms. The main course or plato fuerte was mole amarillo tender slices of chicken breast atop a sea of aromatic deep saffroncolored mole, accompanied by a medley of crunchyfresh steamed vegetables. To conclude, arroz con leche (rice pudding), speared with a length of wild vanilla bean and crowned with berries that had been picked only the day before.

I left convinced that the grandest chefs at the most trendy Manhattan beaneries would be hardpressed to compete with this petite Oaxaquea's ability to marry the regions complex cooking with postmodern attention to color, texture and flare. For Pilar Cabrera, it comes naturally. For the rest of us, it comes with a visit to her home.

La Casa de los Sabores Cooking School is located at Libres 205, in downtown Oaxaca. Maximum class size is 8, with private lessons available upon request. You can register for Pilars classes by calling (951) 5165704 or emailing her at bbsabores@prodigy.net.mx. ( Websites http//www.laolla.com.mx http//www.mexonline.com/sabores.htm )

Alvin Starkman together with wife Arlene operates Casa Machaya Oaxaca Bed & Breakfast ( http//www.oaxacadream.com ). Alvin received his masters in social anthropology in 1978, and his law degree in 1984. Thereafter he was a litigator in Toronto until taking early retirement. He and his family were frequent visitors to Oaxaca between 1991 and when they became permanent residents in 2004. Alvin reviews restaurants, writes about life and cultural traditions in Oaxaca, and tours couples and families to the villages.


Details & Reservations: Cooking classes in Oaxaca, Mexico
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]]> http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1025242_Cultural-visit-to-Mexico-City http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1025242_Cultural-visit-to-Mexico-City Articles Mexico Tue, 13 Apr 2004 00:04:00 Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world with a population of 22 million. It has many colorful parks as well as a wealth of cultural museums and attractions including the enchanting Ballet Folkloric which performs throughout the year, -
Mexico City is one of the largest cities in the world with a population of 22 million. It has many colorful parks as well as a wealth of cultural museums and attractions including the enchanting Ballet Folkloric which performs throughout the year,


Culture adds to canopy of attractions in Mexico City

Music and art abound in Mexico City

By Arvin Steinberg



The colorful canopies of street vendors selling their handcrafted items and native foods captured our immediate attention as my wife and I traveled from the airport to our hotel located in downtown Mexico City.

We have vacationed in this city of 22 million inhabitants many times before but found this trip to be exceptional because we were staying right in the heart of the downtown area at the Gran Melia Mexico Reforma Hotel.

The fivestar Gran Melia hotel recently completed a 12 million dollar renovation in the Victorian style. The hotel has an elegant spa, aerobics center, fullyequipped workout area, sauna, steam bath, nutrition center, three Jacuzzis, indoor swimming pool and a vast array of massages as well as facial treatments.

The Gran Melia is located just a few blocks from the city's craft market and less than 10 minutes to the historic district, area parks and the Palace of Fine Arts (Palacio de Bellas Artes), where we enjoyed a captivating, scintillating performance of the Ballet Folklorico.

The Ballet is not classical ballet where dancers leap across the stage in ruffled short skirts and tights. The ballet is Mexico folklore at its best and we highly recommend it to anyone planning a visit to Mexico City. The Ballet appears throughout the year at the ornately decorated marble performing arts center in Mexico City.

The large cast of wonderfully talented men and women danced and sang in many fastpaced sequences and were accompanied by the music of a Mariachi band. The total spectrum of the rainbow was brought out in elaborate costumes of bright orange, blue, green, red and yellow. Each number was followed by thunderous applause and shouts of approval from the packed house. At times the audience clapped in rhythm with the music and the crisp staccato beats of Flamenco steps echoing throughout the theater. The production also included passionate and pulsating, romantic numbers and the perennial favorite, the dramatic Deer Dance, that was impeccably performed with such realism that we felt as though we were watching the struggles of a live animal.

And although we don't speak a word of Spanish, we enjoyed every moment of this energetic an entertaining production.

Art abounds in Mexico City. We visited the Delores Olmedo Museum and were captivated by the splendid collection of works of art of Frieda Kahlo and Diego Rivera.

Natives of Mexico and art lovers throughout the world are familiar with the works of Diego Rivera. He is probably Mexico's finest and definitely the most famous of its artists.

Mexicans and others throughout the world also hold a passionate interest in the works and life of Frida Kahlo.

In fact, a movie entitled, Frieda, was recently released in America, depicting Kahlo's life and her art work.

The romance that existed between Kahlo and Rivera has produced an even greater interest in their paintings.

There are many places in Mexico City to view the works of these prominent Mexican artists. One of the most popular is the former home of Frida Kahlo in Mexico City known as the Blue House. Another is the National Palace at the Square of Zocalo in the historical section of the city, where thousands flock to see the murals painted by Diego Rivera that reflect the history of Mexico.

We enjoyed the Blue House and the National Palace, but our favorite place to view the art works of these remarkable Mexican artists was in the Dolores Olmed Museum in Xochimilco on the outskirts of Mexico City.

Here, we enjoyed several wonderfully relaxing and interesting hours as we were surrounded by the greatest collections ever assembled of the works of both of these artists.

It was not only the art that fascinated us. It was the grounds and structure of the museum. The museum occupies the main house of a Hacienda that dates from the 16th century. The Hacienda was initially intended for agricultural purposes and it also had a small chapel for the use of the household, and is still registered as a historical monument.

The late, Dolores Olmedo Patino, owned this elegant, heavily wooded setting, and it is where her art collections were kept. She donated her collections to the people of Mexico, and a trust in her name is responsible for the conservation and exhibitions of the works of art, as well as making their existence known throughout the world.

As we entered the museum grounds, we saw vast expanses of fresh green gardens, as well as animals, all living together in harmony peacocks, geese, ducks, and several of the original Mexican hairless Xoloitzcuintle dogs playfully running about, enjoying the quiet beauty of the parklike grounds and the cool Mexico City air.

The museum also serves as a cultural center for every type of audience, including worldclass international exhibitions of all aspects of Mexico's cultural heritage. On the day we visited the museum, we saw a large room of children quietly and intensely painting with assistance from instructors. groups.

We also enjoyed visiting the Zona San Angel on Saturday afternoon where local artists assemble and sell their works of art. The works of art were exceptionally good and reasonably priced and made great purchases to take home.

There are many wonderful parks located near the hotel including the famous Zona Rosa. Here, Mexicans gather to stroll with their families, attend mass at the historic churches and listen to music performed by street performers. There are easels in the park where children dabble in watercolors and there are always large masses of colorful canopies of native handicraft items, jewelry and foods to purchase.

Mexico City is an enchanting destination for visitors. Art and culture as well as just strolling the parks proved to be an ideal weekend getaway for us.

We enjoyed the new threehour direct flight from Fort Lauderdale to Mexico City on AeroMexico.The flight was right on time in both directions and they served real food, a delicious meal on both flights.

The Gran Melia Mexico Reforma offers a weekend rate of $99, making it a terrific bargain for vacationers. The hotel also has a daily buffet restaurant offering a range of international specialties as well as a Spanish eatery.

For more information about the hotel, call 80033 MELIA (3363542) or visit the website at www.solmelia.com

Photos by Phyllis Steinberg

Details & Reservations: Cultural visit to Mexico City
RealAdventures | Mexico Articles

]]> http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1024433_Surprise-of-a-Lifetime http://RealAdventures.com/listings/1024433_Surprise-of-a-Lifetime Articles Mexico Thu, 08 Jan 2004 00:01:00 How personal travel experience can lead to the highs and lows of owning a hotel in Mexico. -
How personal travel experience can lead to the highs and lows of owning a hotel in Mexico.


by Michael O'Brien

Nearly 30 years ago, I was appointed headmaster of a private boarding school for boys aged seven to 13 in the peaceful countryside of Southern England. At the same time, I began to feel that I also needed to experience another side of the world where life was not so (comparatively) easy and where the culture and language were completely different. So, I travelled to Mexico five times over three years, stayed with modest Mexican families, and learned to speak Spanish.

Somehow, with the pressure of work and other responsibilities, my interest in Latin America faded. I bought a very nice timeshare on Longboat Key, Florida, where I went with my family over 10 years. Then, suddenly and without explanation, I felt I needed to return to Mexico. I had sold my three weeks of timeshare and had a little money to spend on something wild. So, when I walked down a little street in Puerto Morelos just south of Cancun on the Yucatan Peninsula and found a plot of land just 150 meters from the main downtown square and 100 meters from the beach, the temptation proved irresistible. I bargained, set deadlines for replies and bought two little houses 5,000 miles away from home.

But that was just the start. I hadn&8217t bargained with Fernando! He had given me some help during the purchase of the plot, and when he realised that the deed was done, he decided it was time for him to play his part in the drama. What! Just refurbish the two houses? Was I a man or was I a mouse? Instead, he suggested, there, just three minutes&8217 walk from the Caribbean, in the heart of a real Mexican pueblo, he would demolish the houses and build a HOTEL for me, become the manager and assure me of the adventure of a lifetime.

How could I say no? And the money to build? No problem, he assured me. He was sure that I could find enough to finance a little hotel in the real Mexican style where people would come from all over the world to stay a day, a week or a month and enjoy the best that Mexico had to offer at a reasonable price. Anyway, he wanted to be the manager, we had become amigos, and that was more than enough reason.

And that is what has happened. We started building four years ago, and the building has taken up to now (October 2000). We organised the project in three phases. The first phase finished two years ago, and we opened 10 rooms. We were in business, and that first Christmas an extended Mexican family booked the whole hotel. And it worked! Not a single problem with the plumbing!!

The following year we built the restaurant and four more spacious rooms on the second floor with airconditioning and bathrooms to rival anything, anywhere. I am sure nobody else around has bidets! By Christmas 2000 we will have 21 rooms, terraces with a view of the sea and the waves breaking over the reef, a special laundry area, an extended reception area and, of course, Fernando&8217s tasty breakfasts.

I am still working fulltime in England running a language school and helping to promote new fashion models. I go over to Mexico four times a year with my little grandson, but I am involved every day in England promoting our websites and replying to emails from people who want to know what this Hotel Inglaterra is all about and, of course, sharing the daytoday fun with Ferndano by phone.
Details & Reservations: Surprise of a Lifetime
RealAdventures | Mexico Articles

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