Ghosts and such

Tonight some will be celebrating All Hallow’s Eve, prior to All Saint’s Day tomorrow. Just before the saints have their big day, anti-saints supposedly engage in all kinds of mischief the night before. Halloween is catching on in Mexico, although Mexican kiddies merely ask for treats without threatening the ungenerous with tricks. All Souls’ Day follows All Saints Day and All Souls’ Day in Mexico is regarded as the Day of the Dead, similar to Asia’s Feast of the Hungry Ghosts, when spirits of the departed return to party and dine with those they left behind.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Ill Wind

Although Rina was downgraded from hurricane to tropical storm, it still did much financial damage to the Mexican Caribbean. Thousands of guests checked out of hotels in Cancun, Cozumel and along the Riviera Maya, only to arrive at airports and discover that flights — 73 in all — had been canceled because of the threat from the weather. Operators of seven cruise ships canceled programmed calls at Cozumel and an uncounted number of tourists canceled air and hotel reservations for the upcoming long weekend. In view of the threat from Rina, cancelation penalties were waived.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Flying High

Air traffic grew by 18 percent during the third quarter, led by Interjet (117 percent), Viva Aerobus (61 percent) and Aeromar (21 percent), while Aeroméxico traffic was up by 15 percent. Perhaps in recognition of its performance, Mexico was designated to coordinate the Tourism Group of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation Forum (APEC). And Aeroméxico showed that it now carries more passengers to and from the United States than any other airline. In other words, it beat out American and Continental/United for the first time.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

So sue them

The Supreme Court has ruled unconstitutional a law limiting the financial responsibility of airlines when accidents occur. Overruled was a decision by a lower court upholding a law limiting the amount a permanently disabled passenger could collect. The passenger had been injured when an Aeroméxico DC9 ran off the runway in Guadalajara nearly 10 years ago.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Hotel Scene

Next year InterContinental Hotels plans to open Holiday Inns, Holiday Inns Express and Indigo hotels in Mexico City, Nogales, Guaymas, Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. These will be franchise operations with the buildings owned by Mexican investors who will operate their hotels according to Holiday Inn standards. At one time the master franchise belonged to Posadas de México, that is to say, Inns of Mexico. Posadas went on to develop its own brands and sold its rights to Holiday Inn. Posadas later bought Mexicana Airlines, which under its management sought bankruptcy protection. Now it is rumored that Posadas is up for sale.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Hark Rock Coming

Palace Resorts in Cancun, the neighboring Riviera Maya and in Pacific in Puerto Vallarta will become Hard Rock Resorts this winter as soon as the conversion process is completed. The properties already feature in-room spas, a choice of dining venues, live entertainment and 24-hour room service. Conversion means adding rock star memorabilia and rock star suites. Meanwhile, Wyndham has raised its flag over what was Las Villas in the Estrella del Mar complex near Mazatlan.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Continental Moves

Continental, now merged with United, has announced it will be shifting its operations in Mexico City from Terminal 2 to Terminal 1. This is important for passengers to know, as the two terminals are on opposite sides of the airport’s two runways. The second terminal was built to ease congestion at the first. With Mexicana on the ground, congestion no longer is a problem. Aeroméxico and Delta and others continue operate out of Terminal 2.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Adventure Tourism

President Felipe Calderón presided at the opening session of the Adventure Tourism World Summit in remote San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas. The event is expected to attract 650 outfitters from 54 countries, although concern has been expressed about how they would get there and where they will stay. There are only a limited number of flights to the area and not all that many hotel rooms. That, of course, may be part of the adventure.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Hunting in Sonora

The hunting season has opened in Sonora, the state directly south of Arizona, with some 500 ranches open to those who hope to bag anything from wild boar and deer to white wing dove. Most expensive are licenses to hunt Cimarron sheep. Even after paying thousands of dollars for a permit, it is good for only 10 days. Hunters are required to use the services of specialized outfitters.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

A glass of wine...

Savoring local wines is one high point of a tour as far as many travelers are concerned. Mexican wines are better than ever, a minor accomplishment, since for a long time they were not regarded as very good. Opening the borders has changed things, allowing more than 35 million liters to be imported, but also encouraging improved quality in local products. Baja California is the biggest wine-producing state, but both Queretaro and Coahuila also are known for their wines. Better wine has led to increased consumption, up from 22 million liters in 2001 to an estimated 63 million this year.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Pan American Games

Guadalajara is hurrying to get ready for the Pan American Games, which open there on Friday. Organizers say that while some minor work needs to be done at various venues, they are optimistic that everything will be ready on time. The event has been called the Western Hemisphere Olympics and has been seen by some as a chance for Guadalajara to bid for the actual Olympic Games sometime during the next decade.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Decline Forecast

Tourism travel around the world is expected to grow perhaps 3.5 percent, according to the UN’s World Tourism Organization. This is slightly lower than had been forecast. In Mexico there will be no growth at all. Falling numbers are blamed not only to reports of slaughter related to the drug wars, but also to the economic slowdown in the United States, which supplies nearly eight out of 10 tourists coming to Mexico. Then, too, the grounding of Mexicana Airlines has hurt. Mexicana stopped flying more than a year ago, due to financial troubles. There is still a remote chance that someday it may take off again.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Cervantino Festival

The 39^th annual Cervantino Festival starts next week, continuing through Oct. 30. Biggest cultural event of its kind in Mexico, it is held in Guanajuato because that city is so Spanish in appearance. It all began with university students performing short plays written by Miguel Cervantes, author of “Don Quixote” (Don Quijote in Spanish). The Cervantino attracts artists (performing, painting and writing) from around the world.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Visa fee increase opposed

Being bandied about is a plan to increase the non-immigrant (tourist) visa fee from $20 to $30. Funds collected would go toward advertising aimed at attracting more tourists to Mexico. During the first eight months of this year, more than seven million foreigners arrived in the country, but this was nearly 3 percent less than last year. The Air Transport Chamber opposes any visa fee increase and also opposes the open skies plan proposed by President Felipe Calderon. What is needed to attract more air traffic, the Chamber says, is a new Mexico City airport.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Aspens are Golden in Colorado

The aspens are at their peak right now in the Colorado Rockies. I spent the day on Sunday (10/2/11) on Highway 62 near Nederland (west of Boulder) en route to Estes Park and Rocky Mountain National Park.

I took the shots above along Highway 62. The highway was heavy with foliage peepers as the aspens will be at their peak for about another week. It’s a short season, but magnificent. It was a day of azure skies, with temperatures in the high 70s at elevations between 8,000 and 12,000 feet.

When we reached Estes Park, gateway to Rocky Mountain National Park, traffic in all directions was at a standstill. The sidewalks were as crowded as Times Square at midnight. Wall-to-wall people. Just as we were entering downtown, a sign gave us the answer to the crowds. “Elk Fest, Oct. 1-2.”

What the heck, it was a beautiful day in the Rockies so we found a place to park after a half-hour search and spent a good part of the afternoon at the Elk Fest.

We headed for home by way of Rocky Mountain National Park. The entry fee was $20 per car, but I had my handy-dandy Golden Age Passport, which allows me free entrance to all national parks. Once we entered the park, we spotted a family of about nine elk. On our way out of the park, we saw a bull moose enjoying dinner along a pond in a meadow.

If you have never driven in Rocky Mountain National Park, it is not for the faint of heart. It’s a winding, hairy climb to 12,000 feet — well above the tree line in an area called alpine tundra — along a road with no guardrails. As my 6-year-old granddaughter said, “If we go over the side, it’s a long way down. We’re probably going to die.” Yep, I go along with that.

To make things even more fun, we were running out of gas. My son-in-law thought it wise to coast down much of the way after we reached the summit. We did make it to a gas station just outside the exit to the park with about 2 gallons of gas left in the tank. By golly, we probably could have gone another 10 or 15 miles.

Ten hours after we left home, we returned. My wife, who stayed home, handed me a glass of wine as I entered the house.

If you are in the Denver area during the next couple of weeks, get up to the mountains and check out the aspens. You will not be disappointed. If you can, however, go during the week. — Stan Wawer

Cancun Travel Mart

The Cancun Travel Mart starts in a week, running from Oct. 12 to Oct. 14 and focusing to some degree on the entire Mexican Caribbean, the shoreline of Quintana Roo. The event is organized by William H. Coleman Inc. Focus is on business, with appointments arranged by the organizers for buyers and sellers to meet.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Open Skies

Mexico may soon announce an open skies policy under which foreign airlines can fly into virtually any international airport in the country with virtually no restrictions. Normally, individual countries agree on the number of flights each will allow the other as well as the destinations that can be served. Noting that there simply are not enough flights operating to fill the country’s 330,000 hotel rooms, President Felipe Calderon has declared that the open skies policy will become law soon. Cabotage will not be included. Next may be provisions that would allow US Customs and Immigration officials to clear passengers for entry into the United States before they leave Mexico. This would open many U.S. airports that lack Customs and Immigration facilities.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers