As everybody too acutely knows, the American automobile industry has been driving on fumes lately, along with the rest of the world economy. However, while some notable factories have recently closed, it would be a mistake to think that car-making in the United States is completely in the breakdown lane. While the industry may need a tune-up and a refilled tank (along with an electric battery or fuel cell), the great American tradition of the car … [Read more...]
Acapulco: Litterly the Mother of all Mexican Resorts
I was walking on the Costera Miguel Alemn, Acapulco's main thoroughfare, with a colleague who had last visited the city in the early 1960s when he remarked, "I can't believe how Acapulco now looks! When I was last here all I remember is the grit, annoying peddlers, polluted beaches and unsafe streets. Look at it now!" He continued, "Now what some travellers once described as 'a dazzling resort spreading on the green towering Sierra Madre del … [Read more...]
The Maltese Falcon Sailboat
The world's largest sailboat, the Maltese Falcon Photo by staff photographer, John Thompson View the blog about his sailing to Mexico in October/November 2008 www.sailblogs.com/member/calou … [Read more...]
The Guns of Central America
My journey started in Havana - probably the safest capital in Latin America. The Castro regime has put so many cops on the streets that I was instantly told from the very beginning that any assault on a traveller is unthinkable. Scams, theft, yes. But in terms of violence, it is pretty obvious on the streets of Havana who is the boss. Then I flew in to Yucatan, Eastern Mexico. As I wait in the queue for passport control, a guy in front of me … [Read more...]
El Salvador, Part 2: The Thoughts
The end of 1970s was a turbulent period in Salvadorian politics. Various juntas formed and collapsed, tension soon spilled indo an epidemic of underground political violence and murders, until at some point a war against the government was declared by a leftist coalition (FMLN). After a 12-year carnage peace was finally struck in 1992, with the government taking necessary reforms to stay in power, and the FMLN re-organising into a political … [Read more...]
El Salvador, Part 1: The Trip
El Salvador was almost an accident. I was on my way from the South to the North of Mexico when the proximity of the Guatemalan border sucked me in. Guatemala was nice but my time was very limited and the terrain didn't allow to go too far off the Great Central American Dope Trail. The Lonely Planet felt particularly evil on that trip. Everyone was on the way to that village where turtles lay eggs, their noses buried in the book. I suddenly … [Read more...]
The G.A.P Top 5: Places of Independence
1. Yukon, Canada There's nothing you know like your own backyard, and even if it's 7000 km away from home it's still more familiar than Mexico, which is closer. Canada's Yukon, east of Alaska and north of British Columbia, has attracted independent types since frontier days. I like trekking in the mountains, which there are lots of (the last ice age missed this part of the continent) and the long light in the summertime. I don't recommend … [Read more...]
BBQ Goat in Oaxaca: The Pomp, Ceremony and Tradition
Some say it's one of the oldest professions in Oaxaca, yet it garners little if any respect from most of the population notwithstanding the tradition and ceremony that has been its trademark for generations: the chivero, or slayer and preparer of goat, and its barbequing Some say it's one of the oldest professions in Oaxaca, yet it garners little if any respect in a clay, in-ground oven. There are a number of caprine cattle that are cooked in … [Read more...]
Once Upon a Time in Mexico
"So what do you make of this?" said Xavier. I watched, from behind a cordon of yellow police tape, Antonio Banderas in a mariachi outfit, and Salma Hayek in far less, dangling from cables affixed to the rooftop of the Hotel San Francisco in San Miguel de Allende's central plaza, el jardin. Walkie-talkies crackled in Spanish and English. A utility van edged slowly past with a card taped to its windshield reading Once Upon A Time In … [Read more...]
Los Angeles, CA
Los Angeles anchors the heart of Southern California and LA is the 'King' here in the south land. International tourists who visit California often say to me, I visited Los Angeles and San Francisco, and I really didn't like Los Angeles, but San Francisco was so awesome; it is such a small city - easy to get around, manageable, picturesque etc. Well that is not what LA is about. To the casual visitor Los Angeles can be extremely overwhelming to … [Read more...]
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