Caribbean Beaches

Rescue efforts are being programed to save the beaches along the Riviera Maya. Sugary sand that never grows too hot to walk on long has been a major attraction on the Riviera as well as in Cancun. However, in recent years beaches have grown as much as 50 percent smaller. There are many theories as to why, but whatever the cause, authorities have announced they plan to bring in more sand. From where, they did not say.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Progress Report

Mexico’s two newest states, Quintana Roo (Cancun, etc.) and Baja California Sur (Los Cabos), lead the nation as tourism destinations. Both became states in 1972 when tourism development ended their dependency as federal territories. Mexico City in the now self-governing Federal District, ranks ahead of the two new states as a travel estination and might well become state number 32 sometime during this decade.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Mayas

This being Maya Year (and the final year, according to the Maya calendar), the National Commission for the Development of Indigenous People is preparing 15 eco-tourism projects that are expected to attract 52 million visitors, most of them probably residents of Yucatan. Details on these projects are available from the Yucatan Tourism Office, yucatan.travel/en.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Dazzling daffodils herald spring in the Litchfield Hills

The “oohs and ahs” and great photos are guaranteed. Hundreds of thousands of daffodils carpeting more than 15 acres of woodland are a blooming bonanza each spring for visitors to Laurel Ridge Farm, an unspoiled oasis in Northfield, a village in the township of Litchfeild, in Connecticut’s Litchfield Hills. The wild natural landscape of gently sloping woodland, fields and aged stonewalls overlooks a small lake dotted with two tiny islands. The land and one of the islands is completely covered with gold and white blossoms, a glorious welcome to the season for about four weeks, usually beginning by mid-April. The property is private but is opened to the public free in April and May thanks to the generosity of one family.

The story began in 1941 when Remy and Virginia Morosani moved to the Northfield section of Litchfield to begin what became known as Laurel Ridge Farm. The pasture across the road from their home was too rocky to support crops, but they were taken with the rugged beauty. In the fall of 1941, they planted 10,000 daffodil bulbs in the rocky valley bottom. Daffodil bulbs multiply themselves, often doubling. It takes hard work to separate the extra bulbs and replant them in the fall, but the Morosanis persevered, digging and replanting each year from the mid-1940s to the 1960s, expanding the original two acres to 15. By that time the fantastic annual display was attracting visitors. In the mid-1960s, the couple formed the Laurel Ridge Foundation, a private foundation, to preserve the daffodils. The foundation is managed and supported by Remy and Virginia Morosani’s descendants.

Visitors are welcome to walk on the paths and take photographs on the property on Wigwam Road, off Rt. 254 in April and May. The grounds are open from sunrise to sunset. Strollers are allowed, but picnics and pets are not permitted. Visitors are asked to park carefully so as not to block traffic on Wigwam Road. Parking is not permitted on the property. For more information, see litchfielddaffodils.com.

For more information on the daffodils and other spring gardens nearby and a free copy of UNWIND, a 112-page color guide to lodging, dining and all the attractions in the Litchfield Hills, contact the Western Connecticut Visitors Bureau, PO Box 968, Litchfield, CT 06759, (860) 567-4506, or visit its web site at www.litchfieldhills.com.

Toluca Airport

VivaAerobus is expected to become the fifth airline operating scheduled flights from Toluca, the alternative airport for Mexico City. United, Spirit, Interjet and Volaris are the others. Toluca is closer to western Mexico City than is the capital’s own airport, but it lacks connecting flights. As a result, newer, smaller airlines shifted operations to Mexico City International. Flights out of Toluca, however, usually are much cheaper.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Magic Towns

The Federal Tourism Ministry is racing to reach its goal of having designated 52 localities as Pueblos Mágicos by the end of the year. Small, often unknown communities considered to have tourism potential get the nod, and, on occasion, places such as Taxco and Patzcuaro. With the nod comes a federal largess, but only if the towns themselves paint designated buildings (the government supplies the paint), repave rutted streets, clear out peddlers with stalls on sidewalks and so on. No statistics have been released that I have seen explaining whether towns have complied and whether or not they have benefitted.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers

Airlines

Aeroméxico management has announced that the carrier will invest $2.5 billion as it adds 27 aircraft to its fleet during the next three years. The assumption seems to be that Mexicana never will fly again. A bankruptcy court revealed that $300 million is ready to be invested in Mexicana once authorization to fly is given by the Transportation Ministry. The ministry says no authorization will be given until the money actually is invested. Much of the cash may be claimed by debtors, including those who hold tickets they never were able to use.

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Jimm Budd

Reporting From Mexico City

Member of the Society of American Travel Writers