Tuesday, March 06, 2012

tripping to the mountains -- maybe


The China tales are at an end.  But my travels may not be.

Yesterday Abandou asked: "Where will we be tagging along to next?  Has that been decided?"

I may have an answer.  Possibly two.  The photograph at the top of this post is a good clue for the first possibility.

Early last week, Dan of Mex-Eco Tours saw me in town and told me there was a possibility that he and Ruth would be putting together a trip to Guanajuato.  It is getting rather late in the season, but he hoped enough NOBers would still be in town to fill a tour.

True to his word, an email arrived announcing a four-day trip to Guanajuato, Delores Hidalgo, and San Miguel de Allende starting on 20 March.

You may recall, I went on a similar trip in January last year.  You can read about it at: putting it together, visiting frog mountain, little gto, to see -- and observe, the tax man cometh, and shangri-la goes missing.

I enjoyed that trip.  Enough that I signed up for two additional trips with Mex-Eco Tours that year.  And the Copper Canyon tour this year.

But here is the rub.  I talked with Ruth on Monday.  Only eight people have signed up.  Twenty are needed for the trip.

So, if you are in the Melaque area and want an interesting diversion, give serious consideration to coming along.

If the Guanajuato trip does not pan out, I am looking at the possibility of a 30-day cruise from New Orleans to Dubai (through the Suez Canal) later this spring.  But more details on that later.

For now, I will wait to see if here are enough adventurers left in town to head off to Guanajuato.

10 comments:

Beth said...

Leave it to you to ignore the saber-rattling between Israel and Iran and jaunt off to the Middle East.  30 days on a ship...eesh...

Croft Randle said...

I have a real aversion to these "see it all in three day" tours. The three cities mentioned above deserve and require way more than a day each to "see". We have visited Guanajuato twice for a total of eight days in a hotel on the Jardine and have only scratched her surface. Over the years we have spent a total of at least two months in SMA and still want to return to see more. The closing of the only RV park we can fit in makes this a little difficult.

My brother paid a lot of money for a whirlwind tour of Europe where the total time spent in some countries was only a matter of a few hours! "Those of you on the right side will be able to glimpse the Alps as we turn the next corner". We recently crossed paths with an RV caravan which promised a "Tour of Colonial Mexico (including the DF)" in only 25 days. Really? Their visit to Merida consisted of arriving at 7:00 PM, spending the next day crammed into a bus which they got out of only once or twice and leaving the next day at 6:00 AM. 

Sorry for venting, but I am sure you must agree with me on many levels. We are no longer limited to two week vacations and can now spend the time to stop and smell the bouganvillas!

Steve Cotton said...

Trouble draws me like a magnet.

I was telling an acquaintance down here about the trip. She said it sounded like waiting for a delayed flight in the airport -- for a month. But it sounds great to me.

Steve Cotton said...

Hmmm.

John Calypso said...

I do not want to burst your cruise ship bubble - however-  a typical 3,000-passenger cruise ship produces over eight tons of waste weekly, most of which ends up in the ocean. Consumers of the Love Boat experience need to demand that these vessels recycle and make arrangements to minimize their trash dumped in the ocean. Perhaps not go for the ride unless demands are met - BEFORE IT IS TOO LATE!

Check out http://purplepatty.blogspot.com/

the entry for
Saturday, January 28, 2012

A link from your list.

jennifer rose said...

When did a fully escorted 3-city four-day trip become an adventure?  You've been to San Miguel de Allende twice now. Can't you navigate it on your own by now?

Babsofsanmiguel said...

If the tour doesn't "make", go to ETN in Barra, take the bus to Guada lajara, change buses in Guadalajara and go to Guanajuato.  There are some of us who will drive over and get you there.  OR you can get on a bus when you're finished in Guanajuato and take a bus to San Miguel.  IF you have an INAPAM card and go and get your tickets early enough the cost will be 50% off the ticket.  That would qualify as a mini adventure............

Steve Cotton said...

I can.  But i like the fellow pilgrim feel.  It teaches me to be a better human being.

Steve Cotton said...

 I may be heading up to the highlands again this summer.  If I take this trip, it will be with a far different agenda in mind.

Steve Cotton said...

 I have casa de paty in my blog roll.  At the moment, she is second from the top.

As for the recycling issue on cruise ships.  Yes, I know.  And they are doing a far better job than they did a mere decade ago.

But recycling is just one issue.  The sheer excess of food creates a list of problems.

Having said that, I have always enjoyed the cruise experience.  And I do not want to miss cruising through the Suez Canal -- while it is still there,