The Royal Tour of Mexico

On Wednesday, Sept. 21, thanks to the kindness of Jorge Gamboa of the Mexico Board of Tourism, I was invited to see The Royal Tour of Mexico, hosted by Presidente Felipe Calderon, his wife, Margarita Zavala, and Antonio Villaraigosa, the Mayor of the City of Los Angeles. Prior to the screening of the Royal Tour of Mexico, there was a reception in the lobby of the Regal Cinema by Staples Center.

To have been invited to this was an honor and I am most grateful to Jorge Gamboa for thinking of me and taking the time to invite me. I am also very grateful to my friend, Naomi Covarrubias, the owner of Naomi's Travel and Life's a Trip for letting me ride with her to the event. As agents, we are not in competition, our client base is different and our areas of expertise are different, but we share information and encourage each other. I respect and admire my travel agent friends. Sylvia Diaz from Far Horizons is another of my agent friends. We all try and help each other and some of the best information I have received regarding tour companies, sale prices, excursions and destinations has been from agent friends, and that, in turn, helps my clients.

Returning to the event, Presidente Calderon is very down to earth and loves Mexico dearly. It was a pleasure to hear him speak on a subject he knows so well. He is aware of the problems that have occurred in some of the cities and did not try and underplay or hide from those problems. However, he stressed, as we as agents do, that the problems are NOT in the places we send tourists to visit.

The film was amazing, starting out in Teotihuacan and the Pyramid of the Sun, going from there to Palenque, Chichen Itza,the State of Jalisco and Puerto Vallarta, Morelia, Michoacan; back to Jalisco and the town of Tequila; on to San Luis Potosi and a cave adventure; including scuba diving in a cenote in the Yucatan and a trip to see the Monarch butterflies in Michoacan. I loved the film! Many of those places I have visited more than once.

I understand there will be a Part II to this film. Mexico is a big country, there needs to be a part II.

What would I have changed or done differently in the making of this film? Probably a lot of things as a travel agent. First, I actually have clients who scuba, and they range from expert divers to people who are only resort certified, so I would probably have left in the part about scuba diving in a cenote. I considered that when my husband and I were staying in Chichen Itza (NOT scuba diving myself, just the possibility that some of my clients would enjoy that). Of course sending people to Palenque, Teotihuacan and Chichen Itza is something I would do for clients and highly recommend. Those are incredible, amazing ruins, proof that a higher civilization that rivaled that of Greece and Rome, once existed in North America.

Visit Tequila in the State of Jalisco...of course! There is even a Tequila Train that is a typical tourist experience.

However, Mexico misses the mark, by a lot, on how to make the most of their amazing tourist attractions. I am an experienced agent, and have lots of years of traveling in Mexico. I would have no idea how to send clients to the cave in San Luis Potosi and have them rappel into the cave. There are some fabulous caves in Mexico, and the first one that comes to mind is Cacahuamilpa, located in the State of Mexico. It is one of the largest cave systems in the world and is a National Park. I would not even have an idea how to get clients to that cave to explore it. Of course you start by flying people into Mexico City...but after that? I have not seen any tours offered nor would I know how to set up a tour.

I am amazed that a small Caribbean island like Barbados is able to have an organized, fascinating, cave tour at Harrison Cave, complete with a tram that takes you far and deep into the cave system and in Mexico I have no way to get people into Cacahuamilpa...or any other cave.

The Butterfly Reserve in Michoacan...my husband is from Michoacan and has never been there. Our niece was lost there overnight. The President rode in on horseback, tied the horses up, and proceed on foot to where the butterflies are...pretty tough hike! My observation is that wherever horses are offered to get to an attraction it is going to be tough going on foot! This from having hiked in to Paricutin and La Tzararacua waterfall...horses were offered, we chose to walk, there is a reason horses are offered!

Somehow, some way, there is a happy medium between what we do here...paved pathway, handrails on each side, ranger AND signs advising not to hold the hand rail in case of thunder storms, portapotty, first aide station...to get to see a natural wonder. This, of course, is an exageration! Hiking in to Devil's Postpile on the back side of Mammoth Lakes you must take a bus to get to the start of the trail. This is to cut down on pollution. From there, the trail is dirt but well maintained and it is what I would consider an easy hike to Devil's Postpile. Yes, there are reminders not to litter...no problem. Mexico could use a lot more signs reminding people not to litter!

Would it not be possible to invest some of the money for tourism into making the trail to the Monarch Butterfly Reserve truly accessible? Would it also not be possible to spend some of the tourism dollars on developing the Grutas of Cacahuamilpa into a true tourist attraction?

The Mexican Government does not always fail in developing a natural wonder to make it tourist friendly. Chichen Itza is a perfect example. It is easy to reach by paved highway. Once inside of the park, there are dirt paths taking you from one amazing ruin to the next. Very user friendly. Not too many years back you could climb the major pyramid, El Castillo, now one of the new 7 Wonders of the World. Climbing El Castillo is no longer allowed. Good reason, too much wear and tear on something that must be preserved. This was a step forward in preserving something wonderful.

Could other amazing wonders in Mexico not be treated with similar thought to the people who will go to visit, along with preserving the ecology of the area and the attraction itself? I would be delighted if I could send people to Paricutin and La Tzararacua. At the moment, I would first have to send them to meet one of our family in Morelia and have that person take them!

Tourism is a renewable resource for any country. Mexico cannot afford to NOT develop it's natural wonders and make them tourist friendly and accessible. Mexico cannot afford to let the current problems kill tourism. As I repeat over and over, on a daily basis, Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, Ixtapa, Manzanillo, Cabo San Lucas, Loreto, Huatulco and Mazalan are SAFE. Mexico City is safe, as in as safe as any large city plagued with poverty can be. What Mexico, as a tourist destination and as a country needs to do is find a way to make these incredible, natural destinations safe and easily accessible. And in this instance, when I say "safe" I am not speaking of drug violence...I am talking about having stairs that are evenly spaced, trails that are smooth, a way to get in and see the attraction without worrying that you may break a leg and have to be helivaked out...IF there were a way to get help!

Please see the movie. It is wonderful, it is beautiful, and the President Calderon is obviously in love with his country. And if anyone with influence in the area of tourism in Mexico should happen to read this, please realize that I love Mexico, too, and that my advice is sound!

Until next time,
Sonia

P.S. Don't forget to check out kiva.org