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Wednesday, September 25, 2013
La Puesta Antro-Bar Zipolite Llueva, truene o Relampagueeee, FIESTA este fin, si gustan apoyar a los Damnificados por las lluvias pueden traer su ayuda y se las cambiamos por Cokteleria!!! no faltes!!! Rain, shine or Relampagueeee, party this weekend, if you like to support those affected by rains can bring their help and we are changed by Cokteleria! Don't miss out! (Translated by Bing)
Llueva, truene o Relampagueeee, FIESTA este fin, si gustan apoyar a los Damnificados por las lluvias pueden traer su ayuda y se las cambiamos por Cokteleria!!! no faltes!!!
Rain, shine or Relampagueeee, party this weekend, if you like to support those affected by rains can bring their help and we are changed by Cokteleria! Don't miss out! (Translated by Bing)
Tuesday, September 24, 2013
Playa Zipolite. Welcome To The Beach Of The Dead!: Flying down Mexico’s highways in a first-class bus...
Playa Zipolite. Welcome To The Beach Of The Dead!: Flying down Mexico’s highways in a first-class bus...: Flying down Mexico’s highways in a first-class bus Posted by Brian J. Cantwell Modern Volvo buses are used by ADO, a prominent...
Flying down Mexico’s highways in a first-class bus Posted by Brian J. Cantwell
Flying down Mexico’s highways in a first-class bus
Modern Volvo buses are used by ADO, a prominent Mexican intercity bus line. This is the GL-class bus, akin to Business Class. “Platino” is the top-of-the-line service. (photos by Brian J. Cantwell / The Seattle Times)
OAXACA, Mexico — You can still find the fabled “chicken bus” in Mexico, but if you’re traveling between sizable cities, that’s a long-outdated stereotype. Mexico’s modern intercity bus lines are among the best in the world — and also quite affordable.
Traveling overnight back and forth between Oaxaca and San Cristobal de las Casas, in Chiapas, I compared the two premium services offered by ADO (say “Ah-Day-Oh”), one of Mexico’s largest bus operators. The top-of-the-line “Platino” service, modeled after first-class airline comforts, has just about everything but a flight attendant plumping your pillow.
The first-class bus terminal in Oaxaca is new and shiny, not unlike a modern air terminal in the United States.
At the modern and shiny first-class bus terminal on the northern edge of downtown Oaxaca, I discovered the first difference when I made the mistake of trying to check my luggage at the “ordinary” bag-check counter. I was pointed around the corner to the private, guarded Platino waiting room with its own bag counter, private restrooms, big-screen TVs, water cooler and free coffee. As I boarded, I was offered a free soft drink or chilled water.
The bus itself had only three seats across the width of the vehicle, in a two-and-one configuration. Traveling alone, I had booked one of the single seats, with the best of both worlds: both a window and an aisle. The down side, I discovered, was that the single row had significantly less leg room between seats than on the side with two seats abreast. It was an unhappy situation as soon as the big man in front of me reclined all the way back and the top of his head was under my nose.
Aboard the ADO “Platino”-class bus, there are only three seats across the width of the bus. The interior resembles a first-class airline compartment.
But the good news came in two doses: 1. Because the Platino bus costs about one-third more than the next cheapest service (ADO GL), it may not run as full. So I was able to move across to an open pair of seats across the aisle. 2. Because the Platino bus makes fewer (or no) stops between major cities, I could switch seats without worry about someone getting on an hour later to claim their reserved seat that I had purloined.
Other first-class amenities on the Platino: The big wide seats not only reclined to almost horizontal, they came with a pull-down cushioned support for your legs. All windows were tightly curtained, with a curtained and closed door separating us from the driver, so it was quite the dark womb at night. Tiny airline-sized pillows and thin blankets were provided. Men’s and women’s lavatories were in the back, with lighted icons at the front of the bus to tell if they were busy. Between the restrooms was a serve-yourself coffee bar with hot water and instant-coffee packets. Video screens were in the seat backs, with ear buds provided and a selection of music and movies (no English-language movies, sorry). They even provided a black-out mask for light sleepers.
One thing the fancy buses couldn’t do: Provide a smooth and quiet ride over some stretches of rough and winding Mexican roadway. Bring earplugs; there’s clattering. In addition, you’ll hear beeping from other riders’ cell phones getting text messages all night long. Nonetheless, I arrived feeling relatively rested and needed only a two-hour nap during the day to feel revived.
Platino service wasn’t offered the date I returned to Oaxaca, so I sampled the next step down, the “Ejecutivo” (sort of like Business Class) bus, the ADO GL (570 pesos, compared to the Platino’s 762 pesos — about $44 vs. $59 U.S.).
This less expensive bus was packed full. The seats were four across, in a two-and-two configuration — about 2/3 the width of the Platino seats. I had a window seat, which meant “holding it” in the middle of the night because I didn’t have the heart to wake my seatmate so I could get to the restroom.
Seats still reclined quite a ways, and we still got a free soft drink, his-and-hers lavatories and the coffee bar. But no pillows or blankets on the GL (bring a sweater), and movies were shown on drop-down video screens (with earbuds provided), meaning you watched whatever they were showing. Sleep was more elusive on this leg of my journey.
In both cases, the quoted travel time was about 11 hours. Both journeys actually took 12 hours.
All in all, it’s not a bad way to get around Mexico, especially to some places without big airports. You might not get to make friends with a chicken along the way. But knowing a few Mexican towns as I do, you’ll find chickens easily enough once you’re there.
A few logistical tips:
- A website, www.ticketbus.com.mx, is useful for checking schedules and prices. It gives users a choice of Spanish or English. But when I went through all the laborious steps to reserve a ticket, the website responded with an “error” message. I heard from another traveler of a similar experience. So you might do best to use the website for schedule info (and seating charts, even) but actually purchase your ticket at the bus station. If you’re concerned about getting a seat, purchase a day or two in advance at your departure station.
- These deluxe buses don’t necessarily stop for food, nor do they always have vendors come aboard as you might have experienced on other Latin American bus trips. Bring snacks.
- All seats are reserved on these buses. When you reserve, choose a seat far enough away from the restrooms that you don’t get the odor from them if they get overused on the trip.
COMMENTS | More in MEXICO, TRIP REPORTS | Topics: BUS FROM OAXACA, FIRST-CLASS BUS SERVICE IN MEXICO, MEXICO BUS
Monday, September 23, 2013
Mexico storms death toll rises to 123, crop lands damaged By Luis Enrique Martinez ACAPULCO, Sept 23 | Mon Sep 23, 2013 11:31pm EDT
Mexico storms death toll rises to 123, crop lands damaged
ACAPULCO, Sept 23 |
(Reuters) - The death toll from a pair of storms that flooded much of Mexico rose to 123 on Monday, and large tracts of farmland were declared lost as the country cleans up some of the worst storm damage in decades.
Miguel Angel Osorio Chong, Mexico's interior minister, gave the new estimate of casualties from last week's Tropical Storm Ingrid and Hurricane Manuel at a news conference in the heavily damaged Pacific resort city of Acapulco.
He added that some 59,000 people had been evacuated from their homes as recovery efforts continued across the country.
The agriculture ministry declared 613,000 hectares (1.5 million acres) of planted land "completely lost" as a result of the storms, or about 3 percent of the country's total farmland.
It was unclear which crops were most affected, but a top official with Mexico's sugar chamber said earlier on Monday that the upcoming sugar harvest will be largely unscathed by the flooding.
In southern Guerrero state, the most severely hit, dozens of people were still missing and feared dead after a mudslide caused by torrential rains buried 40 homes in La Pintada.
Five corpses were dug up from the village on Monday.
President Pena Nieto said over the weekend there was little hope anyone had survived the village mudslide.
On Sunday, the president said Mexico's Congress will revise its proposed 2014 budget to allow for more disaster spending beyond the roughly 12 billion pesos ($938.91 million) available in emergency funding.
The government is expected to provide a preliminary report of the country's damaged infrastructure on Tuesday.
Mudslides and flooding buried homes and wrecked highways and bridges in all but five of the country's 31 states, according to government officials.
Join us on a unique photographic adventure for cruise ship passengers in "La Ventanilla Mangroves". http://www.oaxacaexpediciones.com/turtleSanctuary.html
Join us on a unique photographic adventure for cruise ship passengers in "La Ventanilla Mangroves".
http://
Sunday, September 22, 2013
Saturday, September 21, 2013
Hurricane Manuel hits Mexico
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
- 68 people are still missing
- Damage is widespread
- Thousands were trapped in Acapulco
(CNN) -- The death toll from several storms that hit Mexico this week rose to 101, authorities said late Friday.
An additional 68 people are still missing after storms ravaged the area, the nation's Interior Ministry said.
At one point this week, Mexico seemed to be pummeled from all sides by then-Hurricane Manuel and the remnants of Hurricane Ingrid.
Some 24 states in the country had been impacted by storm damage, the Interior Ministry said.
And the bad news, forecasters say, is that heavy rains could continue through the end of the month.
Trapped in Paradise
One area battered by rain was the tourist destination of Acapulco on the Pacific coast. Manuel had left about 40,000 tourists stranded in Acapulco. As of Thursday, more than 10,000 were able to board military or commercial flights out of the storm-ravaged area. On Friday, some good news was delivered to trapped tourists.
Four ships arrived with 125 tons of groceries and nine tons of medical oxygen, the Interior Ministry said. But it may be some time, officials said, before Acapulco International Airport is fully functional.
In Mexico, Critics Say Political Corruption Worsened Impact of Dual Storms
In Mexico, Critics Say Political Corruption Worsened Impact of Dual Storms
Eduardo Verdugo/Associated Press
San Jeronimo, Mexico, on Friday after being struck by rains and floods caused by Tropical Storm Manuel. The federal police have been helping to aid the victims.
By ELISABETH MALKIN
Published: September 20, 2013
MEXICO CITY — The twin storms that tore through the country this week, unleashing rains that sent mud crashing down hillsides, buckling roads and flooding coastal cities, have renewed criticism that corruption and political shortsightedness made the damage even worse.
Alejandrino Gonzalez/Associated Press
Buses on Friday as they made their way to Acapulco to pick up tourists stranded by Tropical Storm Manuel. A patchwork of roads to Mexico City had been partly reopened around midday.
The death toll rose to 101 late Friday, but was expected to climb higher as rescue workers reached by air isolated mountain villages that had been cut off by landslides along the Pacific Coast. Soldiers continued their search Friday for 68 missing people in La Pintada, a coffee-growing village in Guerrero State where a hillside had given way and a river of mud poured over the town’s center.
“Anywhere you fly over you will see a number of landslides that are truly shocking,” Interior Minister Miguel Angel Osorio Chong said Friday.
The storms battered both the Pacific and Gulf Coasts starting last weekend, a rare double hit from tropical systems at the same time. But experts said officials had not learned from earlier hurricanes and had failed to prepare for disaster, which magnified the losses this time.
“If we had the right development plan, the country wouldn’t fall into chaos,” said Angel Macías Garza, the vice president for infrastructure at the Mexican Construction Industry Chamber.
Corrupt officials give permits to developers to build along riverbeds and in canyons, Mr. Macías said. State governors build roads without containing walls in flood-prone regions because they prefer to spend the money they save on handouts. The federal disaster fund allocates only 5 percent of its budget on prevention and the other 95 percent on reconstruction.
“Politically, prevention doesn’t pay,” Mr. Macías said. “There is a lack of vision and a lack of resources.”
In an editorial posted on its Web site, Cidac, a research group, echoed the criticism. “Taking preventive measures, like relocating settlements from the most vulnerable areas or investing in infrastructure,” the authors said, “doesn’t appear to sell ad space or generate grateful constituencies.”
The worst natural disaster to affect Mexico in years began last weekend when Manuel, a tropical storm, battered Acapulco and the surrounding Pacific Coast at the same time as Hurricane Ingrid, a Category 1 storm, bore down on the Gulf Coast. Mexico had not seen paired storms on both coasts since 1958, officials said. Manuel then spun out to sea and gathered force before buffeting Sinaloa State in the north again on Thursday.
Vice President Joseph R. Biden Jr., in a brief visit to Mexico City on Friday that had been scheduled to encourage closer economic ties between the countries, announced that the United States government had donated $250,000 to the Red Cross for emergency relief and offered more direct American assistance. “It’s your decision,” he said, careful not to make the offer seem a criticism of the handling of the storm by Mexico’s president,Enrique Peña Nieto.
Mr. Peña Nieto, whose performance in the crisis is being closely scored, spent most of the week flying between coasts to monitor rescue efforts, and canceled a visit to New York next week to address the United Nations General Assembly.
He has been pushing Mexico’s Congress to approve an ambitious agenda of laws that would raise taxes, open up the energy sector and confront powerful monopolies.
Mexico’s economy has stagnated, and growth may not reach the government’s tepid forecast of 1.8 percent. Mr. Peña Nieto’s plans for new investments in infrastructure to help jump-start the economy could be derailed by cleanup costs after the storms. Mexico’s construction trade association estimated that fixing the roads alone could cost more than $3 billion.
Still, the president said on Wednesday, these storms “will not paralyze the development that Mexico should have.”
The government reopened the main highway between Acapulco and Mexico City on Friday under blue skies, while officials farther north were just beginning to tally the damage from Manuel.
Tiny La Pintada mourned its missing Friday as soldiers continued to search the river of mud for victims. A police helicopter vanished in the region late Thursday, a sign of how perilous the mountain rescue effort was.
Many of La Pintada’s residents had been inside making lunch, which may have saved them, when the hillside collapsed Monday, Mr. Osorio Chong said. But the number of victims may rise, he added, as residents of nearby farms often waited in the town center to use the telephone there.
September 21, 2013, 7:32 PM Slide victim recovered as Mexico storm toll rises
Slide victim recovered as Mexico storm toll rises
Soldiers remove the body of a woman who was recovered from the site of a landslide in La Pintada, Mexico, Saturday, Sept. 21, 2013. The village was the scene of the single greatest tragedy in destruction wreaked by the twin storms, Manuel and Ingrid, which simultaneously pounded both of Mexico's coasts. Using picks and shovels, soldiers and farmers removed dirt and rock from atop the cement or corrugated-metal roofs of houses looking for bodies in this town north of Acapulco, where 68 people were reported missing following Monday's slide. / AP PHOTO/EDUARDO VERDUGO
LA PINTADA, MEXICORescuers fighting tons of slippery, wet mud at the site of this week's worst storm disaster unearthed a woman's body Saturday, possibly one of68 missing in a massive landslide that buried half of the remote coffee-growing town of La Pintada.
Houses were filled to their roofs with dirt and vehicles were tossed on their sides when the hillside collapsed Monday afternoon after several days of rain brought by Tropical Storm Manuel, which along with Hurricane Ingrid gave Mexico a one-two punch last weekend.
"There is little hope now that we can find anyone alive," said President Enrique Pena Nieto after touring the devastation, adding that the landslide covered at least 40 homes.
Pena Nieto told the townspeople that La Pintada would be relocated and rebuilt nearby in a better location as officials responded to a wave of criticism that negligence and corruption were to blame for the vast devastation caused by two relatively weak storm systems.
Deadly floods in Mexico
Authorities on Saturday also found the wreckage of a Federal Police helicopter that was working on the rescue when it went missing Thursday. All aboard died, though officials still could not confirm late in the day how many were aboard.
All week in Mexico City, editorials and public commentary said the government had made natural disasters worse because of poor planning, lack of a prevention strategy and corruption.
"Governments aren't responsible for the occurrence of severe weather, but they are for the prevention of the effects," wrote Mexico's nonprofit Center of Investigation for Development in an online editorial criticizing a federal program to improve infrastructure and relocate communities out of dangerous flood zones. "The National Water Program had good intentions but its execution was at best poor."
Ingrid and Manuel simultaneously pounded both of Mexico's coasts, killing at least 101 people, not including the helicopter crash victims or the 68 missing. Interior Secretary Miguel Osorio Chong told Mexican media that the death toll could go as high as 200 in the coming days, nearing that of Hurricane Paulina, which hit Guerrero state in 1997 and caused one of Mexico's worst storm disasters.
Guerrero Gov. Angel Aguirre publicly confirmed that corruption and political dealings allowed housing to be built in dangerous areas where permits should have been rejected.
"The responsibility falls on authorities," Osorio Chong said in a press conference earlier in the week. "In some cases (the building) was in irregular zones, but they still gave the authorization."
Thousands of stranded tourists await airlift from Mexico flood zone
Both federal and state administrations are new and cited cases in the past, though Osorio Chong said that going forward, he is sure that Aguirre and the mayor of Acapulco will not allow flooded-out victims to return to high-risk areas.
In a meeting with hotel owners in Acapulco, Pena Nieto told the resort city that the reconstruction phase has begun, and that the government will help address the hoteliers' concerns, including improving the main thoroughfare from Mexico City, the Highway of the Sun, which was closed by slides and damage in the storm, cutting off access for days.
The highway reopened Friday, albeit with many detours skirting stretches damaged by flooding and landslides. As of Saturday, all of the stranded tourists had been able to leave Acapulco.
The Mexican government late Friday gave a list of damages from Ingrid and Manuel, which later gained hurricane force and rolled into the northern state of Sinaloa on Thursday morning.
The storms affected 24 of Mexico's 31 states and 371 municipalities, which are the equivalent of counties. More than 58,000 people were evacuated, with 43,000 taken to shelters. Nearly 1,000 donation centers have been set up around the country, with nearly 700 tons of aid arriving so far. Nearly 800,000 people lost power across the country, though the Federal Electricity Commission said 94 percent of service had been restored as of Saturday morning.
Seventy-two key highways were damaged, including main arteries that left Acapulco isolated for days, as thousands of tourists awaited airlifts out of the inundated resort city.
The investigations center, known as CIDAC for its initials in Spanish, said Mexico had not been hit by two simultaneous storms since 1958.
The editorial said that while rescue efforts and aid are indeed humanitarian, they also provide good images for opportunistic politicians.
Prevention "like that in developed countries, designed to avoid the negative impact of natural events on people, doesn't seem to sell advertising or create grateful constituents," read the editorial.
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