Cancun pol jailed

Gregorio Sanchez, who resigned as mayor of Cancun to run for the governorship of Quintana Roo, is in prison awaiting trial on charges that he accepted bribes from drug smugglers. His supporters insist that it is all politics. Sanchez belongs to the left-of-center Party of the Democratic Revolution, opposed by the Party of the Institutionalized Revolution and the National Action Party.
People in the hospitality industry worry that all this may be used by rivals to smear Cancun’s image. A former Quintana Roo governor (the state also includes Cozumel and the Maya Riviera) recently was extradited to the United States, where authorities have charged him with money laundering for the narcotics trade.

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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Investment declines

According to figures gathered by the Tourism Ministry, investment in tourism this year will be about $2 billion, a substantial sum, but 16 percent below what had been expected. The overall world economic situation gets the blame.
Lack of financing is expected especially to hamper development of centrally planned resort areas sponsored by the federal government in the Pacific coast state of Sinaloa and in Tamaulipas on the Gulf of Mexico.

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Jimm Budd
Reporting from Mexico City
Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Jai alai may return

Brisas Hotels (owners of Las Brisas in Acapulco and several other hostelries) has announced plans to re-open the Frontón México, the fabled jai alai palace in Mexico City. Once a top tourist attraction and one of the few places where bets could be placed legally, the Frontón was closed by a strike several years ago.

The new installation will include a now-legal betting parlor plus a 17-room boutique hotel. Brisas also is planning to develop a 134-hectare resort, golf course and residential complex in La Paz, Baja California Sur.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

10 Tourist Routes to be Promoted

As promised, Tourism Minister Gloria Guevara has announced the creation of 10 routes designed to take tourists to various less-visited parts of the country. Vacationers, it has been pointed out — and this includes Mexicans, who account for most of the pleasure travel in the country — generally seek out seaside destinations or resorts with swimming pools and seldom do much exploring.

This minister would like to see tourists take in the wine-producing areas of Baja California, the aquatic marvels found off the shores of Baja California Sur, the Tarahmara country of Chihuahua, the Thousand Flavors of Mole found in the neighboring states of Tlaxcala, Puebla and Oaxaca, plus much more. Speaking to tour operators and members of the press, Guevara urged these to join in promoting the program.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Programs to be announced

Tourism Minister Gloria Guevara, accompanied by President Felipe Calderon, tomorrow is scheduled to announce her plans for the department she took control of in April. Among these will be 10 “itineraries” or “routes” it is hoped tourists will follow, spreading the wealth as they see more of the country. One such route might combine Puerto Vallarta or Manzanillo with the town of Tequila and with Guadalajara, although the minister has declined to confirm this.

The fact that she will be making her presentation at Los Pinos — the official presidential residence — is taken as an indication that Calderon now fully supports the Tourism Ministry. Last year he asked Congress to abolish it as a money-saving measure. Congress refused.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Telluride a winter, summer playground

The building, from left, where Butch Cassidy held his first bank robbery, an aerial view of Telluride and Bridal Veil Falls east of town.

Story & Photos By Stan Wawer

There’s only one way in and one way out. It didn’t stop Butch Cassidy from getting away after a bank robbery, but it has made Telluride a unique town tucked away in the southwest corner of Colorado, protected by the 13,000-foot peaks of the impressive San Juan Mountain Range.

Telluride is no lonesome valley, however. It is a winter playground with some of the best powdered snow in the world and there are enough summer activities to keep the most energetic family busy.

What began as a turn-of-the-century mining community has evolved into a world-renowned resort on the scenic San Juan Skyway.

“I love Telluride. I love the snow,” said avid skier Peter Bally, former managing director of Park Hotel Vitznau on Switzerland’s Lake Lucerne. The hotel closes at the end of October and that’s when Bally used to head for Telluride, Vail and Keystone in Colorado. “The powdered snow is the best,” he said.

Helicopter skiing is popular on Colorado’s famous “champagne powder,” but so is snow boarding, snowmobiling, cross-country skiing, snow shoeing and downhill skiing.

In the summer, a plethora of activities include jeep tours to the mining towns at elevations up to 12,000 feet, hiking, biking, camping, rock climbing, historic tours, fishing, glider rides, horseback riding, kayaking, rafting, golf and shopping.

Telluride, of course, has an abundance of night life and excellent restaurants. One historical tour takes you to 131 Main St., the former site of San Miguel Valley Bank. It was the site of Butch Cassidy’s first bank robbery, which took place on June 24, 1889. He and his partner (this was before the Sundance Kid) got away with $24,000. The money was never recovered.

Summer season ends with the Telluride Film Festival Labor Day weekend. This year’s film festival runs Sept. 3 to Sept. 6. The festival’s more than 30 programs are screened in nine different venues in Telluride and Mountain Village, which is reachable by a spectacular and free gondola that takes about 10 to 15 minutes.

The summer is loaded with festivals, including the famous Music-Bluegrass Festival in June, the Telluride Jazz Celebration in August and the Telluride Blues and Brews Festival in late September.

Telluride also is holding its first Photography Festival Sept. 20 to 26. The festival will feature field classes and workshops, seminars, portfolio reviews and exhibits. For more information on the festival, to purchase festival passes and to register for classes and workshops, visit www.telluridephotofestival.com

Azure blue skies, aspen with perfect posture and mountain peaks that rival the Swiss Alps are just some of the reasons to visit Telluride. There are no traffic lights (the nearest one is 45 miles away) and no chain restaurants or shops in the town. “That’s why you don’t see any trash,” said Dave Rote, local historian and owner-operator of Dave’s Mountain Tours. “You show me a place that serves fast food and I’ll show you a mountain of trash.”

Telluride also has a 25-mile-an-hour speed limit. Kick it up to 28 or 29 mph and you will get a severe reprimand from one of the locals.

Dave will take you on some incredible tours of mining camps and ghost towns, riding through arches and winding your way up to the summit of Imogene Pass at 13,000 feet or Ophir Pass at 12,789 feet. The views are stunning and the history of the area is fascinating. To learn more about the tours, go to www.telluridetours.com.

At the east end of Telluride, Bridal Veil Falls is Colorado’s tallest free-falling waterfall at 365 feet.

Flying into Telluride is an E ride (old Disneyland fans will remember E ticket rides). The Telluride Regional Airport is the highest commercial airport in North America at 9,078 feet. Hold your breath coming in; hold your breath going out.

Telluride is hard to get to, but even harder to leave.

(All information is accurate at the time of publication but prices, dates and other details are all subject to change. Confirm all information before making any travel arrangements.)

(For more information and lodging, go to www.VisitTelluride.com.)

‘Medical Tourism Sick’

The above was a front page headline in a Mexico City newspaper this week reporting that fear of violence has reduced the number of foreigners electing for surgery in Monterrey by as much as 60 percent.

Medical procedures in Mexico generally cost about half what they do in the United States. As a result, many Monterrey hospitals have obtained international certification and the city had hoped to win recognition as “Houston South.” However, battles between drug smuggling gangs and gunfights with police have spilled over into Monterrey streets. Apparently as a result, the halt and lame are staying away.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Bali’s charm lures vacationers, surfers

Rainforest view from my villa.

Story & Photos By Stan Wawer

Bali is an Indonesian island with swaying palm trees, lush terraced rice fields and waves that have lured surfers for decades. The native Balinese are happy, warm, good-hearted and comfortable with their spiritual riches.

Bali, with its population of about five million, has been a vacation haven for Aussies, Brits and Americans for more than 30 years. Kuta Beach, where most of the tourists hang out, is not unlike most beach towns along the Southern California coast. It is clean and lined with local shops and shops from around the world. Kuta Beach has a MacDonald’s, a Burger King and a Starbucks. Its six-mile-long crescent-shaped beach is famous for its stunning equatorial sunsets, topless European women, guitar strummers and vendors selling everything from massages, cheap jewelry and chilled fruit.

Legian Street is Kuta’s nightlife boulevard. It is here that the town’s two most famous nightclubs — Paddy’s Bar and the Sari Club across the street — once burned the late-night and early-morning candles.

On Oct. 12, 2002, terrorists’ bombs shattered the Balinese lifestyle. The first went off inside Paddy’s and the second in a van outside the foreigners-only Sari Club. The body count was 202 dead and 324 seriously injured. Among the dead were 83 Australians, 38 Indonesians and two Americans. The death toll included victims from 22 countries.

Tourism, Bali’s number one industry, took an immediate downward spiral. The Balinese were I shock.

Bali is almost 100 percent Hindu. The Balinese are far removed from the world of terrori

sm, or so they thought. The explosions of Oct. 12, 2002 left the area looking like a war zone. There were 450 houses, shops and food stalls, 21 cars, six motorcycles and four electric power transformers damaged. Bodies were still being found a week after the bombings.

“We were in shock. We couldn’t believe anyone could do this in Bali,” said Agas, my butler at secluded Como Shambhala Estate at Begawan Giri. “No one here could believe someone could do something like that.”

The Sari Club, open since the 1970s, has not been rebuilt. A memorial is planned for the site, but it is still a vacant space almost eight years later. A local business revealed plans in 2009 to build a bar and restaurant on the site, but has come under strong opposition.

Paddy’s has a new location a couple of blocks down Legian Street where business is back to normal. The day bartender that all Paddy’s employees survived. “I got off at 20 hundred hours (8 p.m.),” he said. “The bomb went off at 2315 (11:15 p.m.).”

David Callaghan (early 40s) and his wife, Corena (39), are from Perth, Australia. They visited Kuta two weeks before the bombing, came back in February 2003 and again September 2003.

“I have no fear because of the bombing,” said David, who has his own security services business and often travels to the U.S. West Coast.

“I was quite happy to return,” Corena said. “We thought about it and decided not to come for the anniversary [in 2002].”

The Callaghans come to Bali every six months. “Coming to Bali after Oct.12, 2002 was no different than coming to New York after 9-11,” David said.

“I have no fear of coming here, Bali is fantastic,” said a young man from England while sipping a beer and watching soccer at Paddy’s. “My parents come here all the time. I tried to get here a couple of years ago, but couldn’t fit it in. I’ll be back again.”

Bali, with its great surfing, beautiful scenery and exchange rate of about 8,500 rupiah to the dollar, make this island a perfect vacation spot. In a marketplace in Ubud, you can purchase T-shirts for 10,000 rupiah (about $1.25).

Distance to Bali creates a problem for many Americans. It takes almost 24 hours of flying time from Southern California. Malaysia Airlines flies from LAX to Kuala Lumpur in about 19 ½ hours, including a two-hour layover in Taipei, Taiwan. The flight from KL to Denpasar, Bali takes between two and a half and three hours. I suggest a couple of days in KL before moving on to Bali. Kuala Lumpur is a modern, clean city with much to see and do. The Kuala Lumpur Airport is one of the most beautiful in the world.

Bali is an equatorial land of ageless traditions, of sacred rituals and secrets and of subtle rhythms and haunting melodies. It is a place where villages govern autonomously. Each village has a chief and a religious chief.

The Balinese are very religious people,” said Paul Van Frank, the general manager of Begawan Giri before it became a Como Hotels and Resorts. “They don’t want trouble. This is a peaceful island.”

My late September stay in Bali included a catered lunch at Bretan Lake near Bancasari — The Village in the Sky — a visit to several Hindu temples in Ubud where a monkey attacked me and a trip to the Sangeh Monkey Forest. I’m a glutton for punishment.

While eating lunch at Bretan Lake, a food cart behind us played “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” and “We Wish You a Merry Christmas.” Nice late summer touch.

The attacking monkey tried to steal my camera. We were in a great tug of war. He was pulling on my strap. I had an equally firm grip on my camera. David, a member of our group, grabbed the monkey trying to divert its attention. Bad idea. The monkey turned on David, baring its teeth while maintaining its vice-like grip on my camera. I finally pulled loose, as did David, leaving a really ticked-off monkey screeching expletives in monkey talk.

The monkeys at Sangeh were well behaved, albeit the larger ones have been known to jump on people if they have something the monkeys want — glasses, cameras, pocketbooks are high on their list.

The drive to Begawan Giri from Denpasar Airport was an E ride (for you old Disneyland fans). The road was narrow (two lanes) and bumpy; people on scooters and people walking along the side of the road in the dark — some with push carts — made me a little nervous, but not my driver who was familiar with Balinese road etiquette.

Let’s put it this way, no one is in a hurry. A honk on the horn and the scooter driver or walker moves casually to the right without looking back. Once inside Begawan Giri, however, life as we know it changes dramatically. Privacy is important in this hideaway and all the surrounding land is leased so no one can build. A super model and fashion photographer once rented the entire estate for their wedding.

Each residence has its own butler. These unique individuals cater to your every whim and always appear out of nowhere when needed. I think they hide in your closet or suitcase or behind a tree. The butler system is Swiss watch precision. Your butler meets you at immigration and whisks you through. He or she does the same thing when you leave. The only thing you can’t do is put the butler in your bag and take him or her with you.

The terraced rice fields add another measure of ambiance to Begawan Giri. The original owner allowed the villagers to cultivate the rice and keep it, but they must do it without the use of machinery. They must use the old harvesting method.

To ensure that Begawan Giri remains self-contained, poultry, fish and prawn farms have been established on the grounds, as have vegetable gardens, tropical fruit trees and flower nurseries.

Begawan Giri is known as “Wise Man’s Mountain.” History, myths and legend all combine to explain why. Centuries before, the forests of the land proved too frightening and formidable for the ordinary village folk to enter, save for three strange “wise men” or Beganwantha, as they were called. The wise men made the land their home and in so doing, perhaps invested it with a deep spiritual and mystical energy, which makes its significance felt even now.

Life at Begawan Giri is idyll; with a setting that overlooks the sacred Ayung River gorge just north of Ubud. I was greeted with a downpour on my first morning at Begawan Giri. I looked out from my deck to the river below and a rain forest. My shower was out on the deck of my residence — Wanakasa (Forest in the Mist). Interesting, indeed. Wanakasa gave me the feeling of living in a tree house. On other days I could see the rice fields and the Balinese villagers balancing laundry on their heads while walking down to the sacred river to wash clothes.

My main living pavilion was supported by huge tree columns, which stretch to a height of two stories. My room had teak floors, a screened king-size bed and ironwood shingle roof. The Holy Tree, which stands before the entrance, sits beside an altar blanketed with offerings. Its existence on the land before the creation of Begawan Giri by Bradley and Debbie Gardner, and the importance of its mystic history, dictated the entire design and building of the residence literally built around the tree.

The Source, Como Shambhala Estate at Begawan Giri’s unique spa-amidst-nature, defies the usual concepts of a Western spa. It is called “The Source” because its three natural rock pools are built around and fed by the sacred mountain spring Toya Mampeh, which has been venerated by the local Balinese for centuries. The treatment rooms are unique open-air pavilions or “bales,” which look out over lush valleys to the river below.

Guests can enjoy a Balinese massage with aromatic oils from the island, or exotic body treatments such as Javanese Lulur and Balinese spice. The spa menu further appeals to the senses with a wide selection of baths and wraps created from volcanic clays, sea salts, flowers and indigenous plants. All bodywork and massages are offered in the privacy of the guests’ suites, in the garden of their villa, or in the massage garden bales near the waterfall. Experienced staff is on hand to pamper guests thoroughly, but the focus remains on simplicity, balance and a return to nature. Yoga and Pilates also are offered at the estate.

You don’t have to stay at Begawan Giri to enjoy Bali. The island has many outstanding resorts and hotels. Bali isn’t paradise, but it’s probably as close to it as anyone of us will ever get.

If You Go

GETTING THERE: Malaysia Airlines had daily flights from LAX to Kuala Lumpur, with a refueling layover in Taipei, Taiwan, and on to Bali. Flights leave at 1:40 a.m. daily and arrive in Kuala Lumpur the next day at about 12:15 p.m. (Malaysia and Indonesia are 15 hours ahead of California on the other side of the international dateline). Please check schedules if you are flying from any other major city in the U.S. www.malaysiaairlines.com.

WHERE TO STAY: The five-star Como Shambhala Estate at Begawan Giri overlooks the sacred Ayung River. It is about an hour from Denpasar Airport (www.cse.como.bz/). 21 elegant suites housed within five freestanding, self-contained residences. Each residence has its own butler. Fantastic spa treatments. $300-$3,200. Voted in the Top 3 Spa Retreats Global in the Conde Nast Traveller Readers’ Spa Awards 2010.

Bali runs the full gamut of accommodations — from $2-per-night home stays to $3,000 suites. Check with www.balitourismauthority.net.

(All information is accurate at the time of publication but prices, dates and other details are all subject to change. Confirm all information before making any travel arrangements.)

Airline mergers

Now that United and Continental are flying together, more talk is heard about merging Aeroméxico and Mexicana. For the moment, it is just that, talk. Meanwhile, new low-fare carrier Interjet has reiterated its interest in acquiring new low-fare carrier Volaris. Volaris inaugurated service to San José, California last week. Former Finance Minister Pedro Aspe, television magnate Jean Azcárraga and world’s richest man Carlos Slim are partners in the Volaris venture. They have put out word that several purchase offers are being reviewed.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Mexico City taxis

Hailing a taxi on the streets of Mexico City is increasingly risky, according to the American Embassy there. In 2009, 228 American citizens reported that their passports were stolen while riding in a Mexico City cab. The total number of robberies may have been much higher, since only passport thefts must be reported.

The U.S. State Department, for its part, has reiterated its warnings against traveling to Mexico’s border cities as well as to Culiacan, reported headquarters of narcotics smuggling gangs, and to Michoacán, a state in the center of the country battered by battles between different gangs.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Cancun beaches

Three months after large sums were spent on a controversial program to restore eroded beaches in Cancun, the local hotel association reports that the sands are being washed away again. Hoteliers want to take action to restrain the erosion, but federal authorities — who have jurisdiction over beaches — have yet to authorize any measures.

The erosion has been blamed on everything from nature to overbuilding, but, whatever the cause, it is a problem. The talcum white beaches with sand that never gets too hot to walk on has been a major attraction in Cancun ever since the first resorts opened there nearly 40 years ago.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Palenque Airport

Work is scheduled to begin in a month or two on an airport for Palenque, Chiapas, famed for its spectacular Maya ruins. Palenque now is most easily reached driving from Villahermosa, about 90 miles distant. Villahermosa itself is a travel destination for those interested in archaeology. La Venta, an outdoor museum, is noted for its monumental Olmec sculptures.

Later this year, bidding is now open for the construction of the Maya Riviera airport on the Caribbean. Newest airport in the country is at Punto Peñasco (Rocky Point), a beach resort for Arizona. As yet, no airlines have been interested in using the facility.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

La Paz blossoming

The first rooms are scheduled to be ready at the Grand Heritage hotel being refurbished at Cabobaja, a 550-acre resort, golf course and residential project being developed at La Paz, about a two-hour drive from Los Cabos in Baja California Sur.

Capital of Southern Baja California, La Paz is being eyed as a haven for retired Baby Boomers. One golf course already is open. The second, designed by Gary Player, is scheduled to be inaugurated in November. Three other golf courses are in the planning stage.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting from Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

My Five-Day Montego Bay, Jamaica Diary

(photo by Milton Fullman)

Ziplining on the White Witch Canopy Tour.

Day 1, April 22: Sitting here at LAX waiting for my flight to Miami and on to Montego Bay for a Society of American Travel Writers board meeting. One more in Leipzig, Germany in October and that’s it for me as Western Chapter chair and board member. I will miss it; I won’t miss it.

Boarding time in 15 minutes. A long layover in Miami. I almost forgot my Traveling Teddy. Good thing he was sitting on my bar as I was leaving. He still has his Christmas sweater on. The one he wore skiing in South Lake Tahoe in January. I wanted to buy him a pair of shorts for Montego Bay.

The Traveling Teddy is part of the Society of American Travel Writers geography program. An elementary school classroom adopts a teddy. He travels with a travel writer around the world. The writer sends photos back of the teddy at different sites along with a story about the destination.

Mechanical problems delayed my flight 35 minutes. The American Airlines flight did not take off until 9:15 a.m. Amazingly, I checked one bag and it was free. I also got headsets, which I never use.

The guy sitting next to me (middle seat) had a burrito for breakfast and kept passing gas — curling my hair. He also went to the bathroom every half hour. One time, he was in the lavatory for about a half hour.

I’m dying of hunger. I’m not about to pay $6 for some crackers, nuts and a cookie. The yogurt I had for breakfast at 5 a.m. will have to last me until I get to Miami.

Got into Miami on time (4:30 p.m.). Looking for a decent place to eat was an adventure. This is an old and dirty airport. Went to my gate for the connecting flight to Montego Bay. I had three hours to kill. The only restaurant around was a sports bar that only had a burger, club and one other sandwich. No fries. I went in search for a place to eat where I could sit down and get served and have a cocktail. I had to walk all the way to Gate D49 to find a café. It cost me $35 (including tip) for conch fritters (OK), jerk chicken sandwich and a Bushmill’s on the rocks. Interesting meal after only a yogurt before leaving for LAX at 5 a.m. Jerk chicken sandwich was too dry. Disappointing.

I tried to call my wife but she wasn’t answering her cell. Out of sight, out of mind.

It’s now 6:45 EDT. About another half hour before boarding Flight 503 to Montego Bay. Jamaica is on Eastern Standard Time. The island doesn’t do daylight savings time.

It was an easy one-hour flight to Montego Bay. I was picked up at the airport by a limo service and driven the 2 to 3 miles to RIU Montego Bay, an all-inclusive resort. My room (suite) overlooks the beach and the ocean. I was told not to drink tap water. It’s bad. I was surprised. I expect that in many places I travel in Mexico but not in Jamaica. But, who needs tap water. There is plenty of bottled water and a complete bar in my room.

Quite a few people here for late April. Mostly Europeans (Germans and Brits). The resort’s general manager told me that two plane-loads of Europeans had to cancel because of the volcanic eruption in Iceland. No Internet service here except for Wi-Fi in the lobby. Makes it tough for business people.

Day 2, April 23: Woke up early. Already warm and humid. Walked down to breakfast. Nice buffet. Getting ready for a swim. I’m on my own all day until a 6 p.m. reception at the poolside bar. Guys deal drugs right on the beach. They sell junk jewelry as a front. Yesterday, I was told, they pulled four guys off the beach. If they are in the water, there is nothing the resort can do. It has no jurisdiction.

I spent all day in the pool and at the swim-up bar. The reception started late — 7 p.m. It followed dinner at the buffet. The food was mediocre. You can stay here for as little as $150 a day per person. That price includes all meals, drinks (alcohol or otherwise), tips, shows, activities and your room. For that price, you’re not going to get gourmet food and top-brand liquor.

Day 3, April 24: I had a board meeting from 9 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. Ate lunch at Mahoe Bay. Again mediocre but all you can eat and drink. Spent most of the afternoon in the pool. Took a rafting trip down the river and enjoyed the lush Jamaican mountainside. This was our best dinner so far. The rafting was great. Our guide gave one of our board members a pedicure using limestone. She said it was great. Got back to RIU at about 10 p.m.

Day 4, April 25: Early morning zipline experience with Chukka Caribbean Adventures. I took the White Witch Canopy Tour through the jungle via a series of nine decks and platforms. All are connected by traverses mounted in the trees of Jamaica’s rainforest. The guides were terrific and funny. All had at least 240 hours of training. To say it was exhilarating would be an understatement. My Traveling Teddy rode along with me in the backpack. I did my best Tarzan yell during one traverse; I had a fantastic view of Montego Bay as I flew through the rainforest at 50 mph on some of the longer traverses.

Annie Palmer was known as the White Witch. She is a pretty scary character in Jamaican folklore. Short (4 feet 11 inches), but brutal, she married her first husband, John Palmer, who was the owner of Rose Hall Plantation, just east of Montego Bay. She was 17 years old.

John Palmer and Annie’s two subsequent husbands died rather suspiciously. Annie, who became known as a mistress of voodoo, which she used to terrorize the plantation, was thought to have brought about the demise of her husbands. It was speculated that she got rid of her lovers as well when she became bored with them. True or not, it makes for great storytelling and has made her a legend in Jamaica.

The legend continues with her death, murdered in bed by one of her slave lovers during the slave uprising of the 1830s.

If you tour the 19^th century Georgian Rose Hall Mansion you are told about Annie Palmer’s alleged cruelty. It is told that she conducted human sacrifices, especially of infants, using the bones to practice black magic. She watched from her bedroom balcony each morning the torture of her slaves into submission. She is buried in a tomb directly behind Rose Hall. Of course, the White Witch still haunts the mansion.

It was on her property that I ziplined. Also on the property is a beautiful golf course known as The White Witch Golf Course.

After my ziplining morning, I had to spend a tough afternoon in a board meeting after a short swim. I swam again after the meeting then had a steak dinner at Mahoe Bay with five of our board members. I grabbed a bottle of champagne that had been left in my room and headed over to the theater to watch the Michael Jackson show. I didn’t stay to see the finale. Staying at RIU is like being on a cruise ship.

Day 5, April 26: I spent the morning swimming in the pool, the ocean and walking the beach. The final board meeting took place in the afternoon. The stay ended up with a gala dinner on the beach with wonderful food, drinks and dancing on the sand. Jamaica’s tourism minister spoke and invited SATW back for a convention in 2013. I had one martini too many. I got to bed at 10:30 and had to be up at 4:45 to go to the airport to catch my flight to Miami and then on to Los Angeles.

The flight to Miami took us over Cuba. I had a four-hour layover in Miami. My breakfast at Miami International Airport was a mediocre Nathan’s hotdog and bad fries. My American Airlines flight touched down in L.A. at 4:30 p.m.

Montego Bay is not unlike most beach towns. Jamaica is a poor country, but the streets and buildings of Montego Bay were clean and tidy. It has its run of the usual suspects of fast-food restaurants, including KFC, MacDonald’s and Starbucks.

They have a number of beautiful golf courses and a Ritz-Carlton Resort. Jamaica is the home of the World’s Fastest Human — Usain Bolt — who blew away the field in the 100 and 200 meters at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, China. It is also home to the now-famous Jamaican bobsled team and home to the late, great Bob Marley, one of the fathers of reggae. He died in 1981 at the age of 36, his musical legend secured. Another Jamaican, Joe Higgs, who died in 1999, is considered the Father of Reggae Music, but it is believed that Marley was the man who made it popular.

(All information is accurate at the time of publication but prices, dates and other details are all subject to change. Confirm all information before making any travel arrangements.)