| The Zipolite Series - Part 1: Mexico City, accidentally
This is the first video of a six-part series of my trip to Zipolite, Oaxaca, Mexico. Hope you enjoy! ---- Follow me on social media at: FACEBOOK: ...
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Sunday, April 30, 2017
The Zipolite Series - Part 1: Mexico City, accidentally YouTube This is the first video of a six-part series of my trip to Zipolite, Oaxaca, Mexico. Hope you enjoy! ---- Follow me on social media at: FACEBOOK: ... Google Plus Facebook Twitter Flag as irrelevant
On Mexico's southern Pacific coast, Zipolite retains its friendly, unique vibe Make Me Feed A 45-minute drive from the Huatulco airport, Zipolite is nude-, gay-, pot-and even dog-friendly. It also features a sweet beach, amazing seafood and ...
| On Mexico's southern Pacific coast, Zipolite retains its friendly, unique vibe
A 45-minute drive from the Huatulco airport, Zipolite is nude-, gay-, pot-and even dog-friendly. It also features a sweet beach, amazing seafood and ...
|
On Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, Zipolite retains its friendly, unique vibe
It was the classic Zipolite moment: while sitting in the town’s best beach restaurant, I listen to the crashing waves, gaze at the yoga enthusiasts in the shade to the right while body surfers frolic ahead and board surfers catch curls further out to the left. Two women stroll by hand in hand; the smell of pot wafts in the air.
A waiter with a full tray of drinks ventures onto the hot sand toward a table of naked patrons. Suddenly, he trips on a feral dog, his tray totters, and we hold our collective breaths. But he regains his balance, turns to the dog and mutters — an apology.
This is friendly Zipolite, on Mexico’s southern Pacific coast, about a 45-minute drive from the Huatulco airport. It’s nude-, gay-, pot-and even dog-friendly. It also features a sweet beach, amazing seafood, gorgeous but dangerous waves, yoga, cheap beer and a range of eclectic accommodation in the $20 to $100 range.
It’s evening when we check into the tree house-styled Hotel Noga — one of the few in town with air conditioning — and quickly realize our good fortune. We can hear the pounding surf and a two-minute walk from our rooms puts us on the west end of the beach. We’re not disappointed as we join dozens of other travellers and locals enjoying a moonlight walk. The beach is lined with open-air palapa restaurants, booze cans and hotel/hostels. A few concrete structures stand out like sore thumbs.
After a 45-minute walk from one end of the beach to the other, we head to the short main street, where an eclectic scene features open air cafes, artisan tables and roving musicians, local and expat. The ambience is a mix of middle-class hipster Mexican, greying Woodstock and dreadlocked Rasta.
The next day we fall into the rhythm of early-morning and sunset walks, with body surfing, hammock hanging, yoga and restaurant-exploring filling the hours. We do a day trip to Puerto Escondido, an hour’s drive away, and visit the campground where the three of us stayed during a 1975 road trip to Guatemala. Amazingly, we chat with a camper who was also there in 1975, although we didn’t know him then.
Another day, we do a four-hour boat trip where we view turtles. There are no ATV tours, snorkelling, ziplines or mescal factories in Zipolite, although they can be found in Huatulco.
We soon discover favourite restaurants. Cafe Orale serves up wonderful breakfasts: huevos rancheros, fresh fruit and yogurt, strong coffee and fresh squeezed juices. Many seafood lunches are taken on the beach at El Almequista, where we witnessed the classic Zipolite moment. Fresh fruit liquados are available everywhere.
For dinner, off-the-beach La Providencia, close to Noga, is simply exquisite. The menu featuring goat cheese phyllo, tomato blue cheese soup, shrimp empanadas and more, would not be out of place at chi-chi Vancouver restaurants, with one difference: entrees such as seared tamarind tuna cost a mere $12. Try as I could, there was no resisting the fresh mango mousse.
Another favourite is the beachfront Posada Mexico. This lively joint features a pizza oven, seafood pasta and live entertainment, including dancing to live reggae and salsa, drag shows and portraiture events (yes, nude portraiture). Patrons dance on the sand between the tables and, a few metres away, backpackers whirl in front of crashing waves under the moonlight, enjoying the free music.
Hotel Noga is an absolute pleasure. Proprietors Sandra, who previously worked for human rights groups in Mexico City, and her husband Fero present an environmentally-friendly, small-scale operation that offers basic comfort to travellers who simply can’t deal with the heat and shared bathrooms common in palapa hotels. Rooms with a/c, Wi-Fi, two beds, hammock and bathroom are about $80.
I also spend a few nights at the palapa-style Lo Cosmico. A large, funky open-air room with three beds, two hammocks and shared bathroom costs about $40 for two. The beds have mosquito nets, but they aren’t needed in early February.
Warning: Noga’s Sandra warns us on arrival that the waves at Zipolite are very dangerous. If red flags are posted, only shallow wading is OK. When the yellow flags are out, good swimmers should be OK with body surfing and the buddy system. Board surfing the major waves is only recommended for the experienced.
Zipolite is slowly changing.
With the Huatulco airport now offering direct flights from Canada and the U.S. and a new highway under construction to the provincial capital of Oaxaca, increased accessibility is expected to bring more tourists. The funky palapas are slowly being replaced by mainstream construction. There is at least one condo development on the beach.
Still, Zipolite currently has no all-inclusive or chain hotels, no chain restaurants, no glitzy nightclubs, no tour buses. For the near future, Zipolite will likely retain its unique, friendly, laid-back ambience.
Friday, April 28, 2017
The ones from Oaxaca * Cumbia * Nuyoo Industries Sarabia Industries Sarabia
The ones from Oaxaca * Cumbia * Nuyoo
Zipolite - Mexico, MX Pinterest This pin was found by Colleen Choi. Find (and save!) Your own Pins on Pinterest. Google Plus Facebook Twitter Flag as irrelevant
| Zipolite - Mexico, MX
This pin was found by Colleen Choi. Find (and save!) Your own Pins on Pinterest.
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Holiday Rentals near Ron's Place Zipolite Zipolite TripAdvisor Compare and Book holiday homes near Ron's Place Zipolite, Zipolite, Mexico on TripAdvisor! Find properties near Ron's Place Zipolite and 0 traveler ...
| Holiday Rentals near Ron's Place Zipolite Zipolite
Compare and Book holiday homes near Ron's Place Zipolite, Zipolite, Mexico on TripAdvisor! Find properties near Ron's Place Zipolite and 0 traveler ...
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Tuesday, April 25, 2017
Will We See a Total Ban on Personal Electronics in Airline Cabins? George Hobica
Airline Cabins?
When the electronics ban was introduced recently
for nonstop flights from various Middle Eastern
countries to the U.S. and Britain, there was
much understandable confusion. Why wasn’t
it a universal ban? Why was it only in one
direction (inbound to the U.S. and U.K.). Why
was it only on nonstop flights? Why was it
applied to some Muslim-majority countries
and not others? And why was it suddenly
“safe” for the electronics, with their sometimes
unstable lithium-ion batteries, to be stowed in
baggage holds if they were so dangerous in
the cabin?
Were the U.S. and Britain targeting certain
religious groups, and certain airlines such as
Etihad, Emirates, and Qatar, since they were
the only ones flying nonstop flights from the
affected countries, much to the delight of Air
France, Delta, and other airlines that would
benefit from passengers booking flights from
the Middle East via Europe or other connections?
That conspiracy theory sounded plausible to some, but it’s nonsense. First, the people who try to keep us safe when we fly would have loved to apply a universal ban, and perhaps they still will, but doing so would have crippled the aviation industry if imposed without warning all at once, so they did the next best thing and applied the ban selectively to the countries where, they believed, terrorists would most likely begin their journeys. Yes, it was a form of profiling, I suppose.
Second, the airlines that might “benefit” from the ban (those without nonstop flights from the affected countries) aren’t especially happy, either. As Alex Cruz, the CEO of British Airways explained to me recently, “we do not want to have 200 laptop and other electronic items in our cargo holds.” That’s because lithium-ion batteries are notorious for instability. Plus, airlines would have to (and may still have to, one day) hire hundreds of new check-in agents and baggage handlers to process all those bags. The aviation industry was simply not ready for this. Plus, the airlines will be seeing more claims for lost, damaged, and stolen property (although they notoriously refuse to be liable for “valuables,” which includes electronics).
As to why it’s “safer” for electronics to be stowed rather than carried in the cabin, the theory is that while there might not be enough room to stuff the components of a bomb (power supply, timer, transmitter, explosive material, etc.) into just one piece of equipment, a terrorist could assemble a device from components stuffed into two or more pieces (a camera, a laptop, a portable printer, and a mobile phone) if allowed to carry all those items in the cabin.
It’s probably only a matter of time before a laptop bomb plot is either thwarted at the last minute or it succeeds (it’s already happened, actually, but because it was a Somali airline and the only injury was the terrorist himself, who was sucked out of the plane, which landed safely, few noticed); if it happens again, however, we can expect a full electronics ban to be implemented.
How fliers and airlines will cope is anyone’s guess. At the very least, airlines will have to hire more people to manage checked bags.
Perhaps electronics manufacturers will come up with a substitute for lithium-ion batteries, making it safer to stow them beneath the plane. Perhaps fliers will once again chat with seatmates (I sat next to a NASA astronaut on my last flight and we chatted and it wasn’t a torture) or read an improving book. More likely, Panasonic and other in-flight entertainment manufacturers will build software and keyboards into their systems, so every seat will be a workstation (that is coming, actually). You’ll bring your files and data on a memory stick, plug it into the IFE, and work, or use the plane’s WiFi to work in the cloud (super fast WiFi is coming and will soon be universal; British Airways recently announced that it will soon provide next-gen WiFi on all its planes). Or just write that vitally important memo that just can’t wait on your mobile phone.
But meanwhile, we should all just chill. Stop looking for conspiracy theories when people try to keep us safe. Make sure you buy your flight with a credit card that covers lost or damaged laptops and other electronics (the American Express Platinum Card, for instance).
But most importantly, stop whining because you can’t be “productive” while flying. You need a rest; you deserve a rest, and a long flight is the perfect time to contemplate, recharge, and relax. Sans laptop if it comes to that.
Huatulco Forum TripAdvisor We are looking to arrange a private transfer to and from the Zipolite area for next New Years. We would prefer to have this pre-arranged to avoid ...
| Huatulco Forum
We are looking to arrange a private transfer to and from the Zipolite area for next New Years. We would prefer to have this pre-arranged to avoid ...
|
Private transfer to Zipolite
Apr 23, 2017, 9:33 AM
Saturday, April 22, 2017
MX grasshoppers big at Seattle ball games Oaxaca government looking to boost exports after chapulines sold out
MX grasshoppers big at Seattle ball games
Oaxaca government looking to boost exports after chapulines sold out
The popularity of Mexican cuisine in the United States is unquestionable but one uniquely Mexican snack that hadn’t been quite as eagerly embraced are chapulines, or toasted grasshoppers.
Until now.
Chapulines are small grasshoppers belonging to the sphenarium genus and have become an unexpected hit at Seattle Mariners baseball games. The insects, native to Mexico, are a specialty of the state of Oaxaca although they are widely consumed across the country. They are also considered an aphrodisiac.
In the first three games of the baseball season, a concession stand at the Mariners’ Safeco Field has sold out of the crunchy delicacies, which are seasoned with chile, lime and salt.
The stand, run by local Mexican restaurant Poquitos, sold 901 four-ounce servings at $4 a cup during the first games, which equates to around 18,000 grasshoppers. Mariners spokeswoman Rebecca Hale told ESPN that the quantity was more than what Poquitos sells in an entire year.
Poquitos owner Rich Fox told VICE Munchies that interest in chapulines had recently increased although they were on the restaurant’s menu from day one.
The increasing popularity and press coverage did not escape the attention of the Oaxaca state government.
It is now looking to take advantage of the insect’s moment in the spotlight by increasing exports to the U.S.
Jesús Rodríguez Socorro, Secretary of Economic Development, recently met with the proprietors of four local businesses to encourage them to increase their export volumes.
According to Rodríguez, chapulines are currently being exported to meet demand in the cities of Los Angeles, Houston and Seattle but shipments are also sent to Europe and other parts of Latin America.
One of the companies that has been successful with those experts is run by Humberto Sandoval and Roberto Pérez, graduates of the food-engineering program at the Technological University of the Mixteca (UTM). They produce more than 20 tonnes of high-quality chapulines per year.
“Abroad, packaged chapulines are expensive and sought-after,” the pair say. “A vacuum pack of garlic-flavored insects can sell for up to US $20.”
The entrepreneurs work with local farmers who capture the insects using mesh nets in fields where alfalfa, beans and corn are grown.
Sandoval and Pérez attribute their success to strict compliance with international food standards and say they have had no problems with U.S. Customs. Dehydration of the bugs prior to packaging, which gives them a longer shelf life, also works to the company’s advantage.
In addition, the company produces mezcal worm salt and salsas made from chipotle and poblano peppers mixed with chapulines.
Meanwhile, as supply catches up to demand, the Mariners have decided to limit sales of chapulines for the rest of the season to 312 servings per match, in honor of legendary Mariners player Edgar Martinez, whose batting average was .312.
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