JAPAN IN CHERRY-BLOSSOM SEASON April 10-26, 2016 I had never been to Asia and friends convinced me correctly that Japan was a great destination so I signed on to a tour with Overseas Adventure Travel (OAT). I was not pleased with the operational policies of OAT which I will evaluate at the end of the…
LIMA PERU & A VOYAGE ON THE AMAZON DISCOVERY, December 4 – 10, 2015 Best viewed on a computer with full screen. A cell phone will not do justice to the photos. All photos by the author except that many of the photos of birds high in the trees were taken by guide Eric Pineda…
This tour began at the Four Seasons Resort, Scottsdale AZ, and included Sedona, the Grand Canyon, Lake Powell, Bryce Canyon, Zion National Park, ending in Las Vegas to be near a major airport. Note the essay at the end on the historical significance of the area traversed. I flew into Phoenix Sky Harbor airport where…
This post has been revised to reflect the improved State Department advisory for Cuernavaca, Morelos, January 2016. This is an expanded and illustrated version of a paper delivered August 6, 2015, at Universidad Internacional in Cuernavaca, Morelos, Mexico, at the 2nd International Congress, Latin America: Tradition & Globalization. Click on the photos to enlarge them. For…
UPDATE: the museum was closed temporarily after the September 2017 earthquake, but as of July 23, 2018, it is again open to the public. (Photos are by the author unless otherwise noted. Click on them to enlarge) Cuernavaca’s cultural life received a momentous boost when a sensational new museum opened to the pubic on Avenida Morelos 275, next…
I had this destination on my wish list for several years. I had looked into various river cruises and read evaluations of their performance. Alas, the most popular ones sell out almost a year before departure and I am not into planning that far ahead. I waited until January to book a river cruise in…
Cuetlaxochitl is the Nahuatl name the Aztecs gave to poinsettias, native not just to Mexico but to our state of Morelos. The Aztecs used it to make a red dye and for ritual ceremonies. The conquering Spanish friars converted it to Christian rituals with the red leaves representing the blood of Christ. The original…
MEXICO’S PRE-COLUMBIAN HERITAGE By James J. Horn, Ph.D Copyright 2003, updated Nov. 2014 [This is a print copy of a lecture to the Cuernavaca Community Cultural Center November 7, 2014. The delay in printing it is due to the need to document it. Lecturers have the benefit of not needing documentation but printing it without…
THE CANADIAN ROCKIES BY TRAIN & BUS Sept. 14-21, 2014 (Unless otherwise noted, all photos are by the author. Click on a photo to enlarge it.) Seeing the Canadian Rockies has long been on my travel wish list. Since I was finishing up a Tauck Tour of the Pacific Northwest in Vancouver ( a separate…
THE PACIFIC NORTHWEST: A TAUCK TOUR, SEPT. 6-13, 2014 I had never been to the Pacific Northwest but it had long been on my wish list. Having led 150 tour groups to 20 destinations abroad hadn’t left me with lots of time for the USA. Having taken three previous tours with Tauck, I knew I…