Travel Time Is Here Again!

Mexico has been hit hard!

In May, 2009, International flights in May to and from airports serviced by one of the Mexican airport service companies (Grupo Aeroporutario Pacifico) reported in June that May traffic was down by 44% from the previous May. Wow!

Traffic overall was down 37%. So, for the first time in several months, International travel declined more rapidly than domestic travel.

So, why? We all know the biggest scare is the Swine Flu. But, the number of cases of the Swine Flu is far less than the number of cases of regular old flu flu!

Also, the drug cartels are trying their hardest to make travel to Mexico seem unsafe by terrorizing rival gangs/cartels. The media is having a field day with all this stuff. You Tube and other on-line services have been having a field day as well!

Finally, the economic downturn has created havoc on jobs and other income generating sources.

Just think of all the financial types who were traveling all over in the old days and who now do not have jobs.

Overlay the obvious on the drop in the stock market and the heretofore untouchable companies that have traveled through bankruptcy and you have increased the number of travelers who decided not to go anywhere enormously.

Well that was then and this is now.

We are not out of the woods by any stretch, but we can start planning with more confidence than in the recent past.

If you want to feel special, travel to some of the beautiful resorts in Mexico, specifically, and through out the world, more generally. Resorts that we are more familiar with include the Grupo Mayan / Grupo Vidanta resorts, which own the Grand Mayan and Mayan Palace resorts in Acapulco, Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Nuevo Vallarta, San Jose del Cabo, Puerto Penasco or Riviera Maya. Crowds are down and you have the whole beautifully manicured place to yourselves.

Our trip in November 2008 exposed us to the pleasure of reduced crowds. Although the resort seemed to have lots of guests, it did not seemed crowded. Beautiful place all to ourselves.

Look to the future. Plan now and let's get back to feeling positive about where we can go and what we can do!

View from the Top

Sunrise or sunset. Which is better? By that we mean, vacations are for relaxation, which implies sleeping late sometimes. In that case, sunsets are best.

Getting the right vantage point for a sunset or sunrise takes patience. Also, it takes imagination.

For example, the view of the pools in the left photo was taken in November 2008 at 6:45 AM (about) from the 9th floor of the Grand Mayan resort in Nuevo Vallarta. This resort is about a half mile south of the entrance to the Paradise Village marina in Nuevo Vallarta.

Alternatively, the photo to the right was taken at about 6:30 AM during Christmas week, 2005 at the end of the breakwater at the entrance to the Paradise Village marina. We took this photo in the small pagoda like structure at the end of the breakwater. It tuns out the beach with waves crashing is the same beach Grand Mayan beach. Just a very different vantage point.

The sunset is also taken from the same Grand Mayan deck as the pool shot. It is 9 floors up, and we think the view is beautiful. Of course all ocean views from elevated decks in resorts located along the shores of Bahia de Banderas are beautiful.

Regardless of your preference, you don't want to miss either. It is especially gratifying when you see something that surprises you when you review your photo for the first time. The pictures in this post surprised us because of the content and colors, each photo presenting a different view of the same place.