Our friend Richard Bangs of Adventures with Purpose fame has shared a wonderful video with us today. It was shot off the coast of Cancun where Richard had the opportunity to go swimming with whale sharks, something he describes as the underwater equivalent of going on safari. This looks like an amazing experience and one that has now been added to my bucket list. Really amazing stuff.

Not long after archaeologists discovered a lost city hidden in a remote area of Cambodia a similar find has been unearthed in Mexico as well. The settlement is believed to date back as far as 600 AD and was once one of the largest cities in the Mayan Empire.

A team of researchers first spotted the ancient site in ariel photographs but had to actually get on site to confirm their speculation of a hidden Mayan city located in the Yucatan region. It took a group of explorers three weeks to hack their way through ten miles of jungle just to reach the place that they call "Chactun," but when they got there, their efforts were well rewarded.

The archaeologists have only just begun to clear the site but they have already found a stunning array of structures. So far the site spans some 54 acres with stone structures stretching out across the area. They have discovered 15 pyramids so far, the tallest of which is over 75 feet in height. They've even discovered a couple of ball courts used in a Mayan sport that is not unlike basketball. The inclusion of such buildings indicate that this was an important city that likely had a population of between 30,000 and 40,000 people at its height.

Researchers are hoping that the city can provide some clues as to what happened to the Mayans. Ranging from 600 AD to 900 AD they were the dominant civilization in the region. But after that they started to decline very rapidly and it didn't take long for the empire to collapse. Exactly why that happened remains a mystery.

The journey to find this lost city must have been like something out of an Indiana Jones movie. The team that made their way through the Yucatan jungles no doubt faced some serious challenges on their way to the site. Taking three weeks to cover ten miles must have tested their resolve at times but their persistence payed off and when they arrived in Chactun they were rewarded with an amazing find.

I continue to marvel at these stories and I love that we're still discovering things like the city in Mexico and the one in Cambodia. I would love to be a part of either of these teams as they explore these ancient sites. Who knows what wonders they'll uncover at either location and how they will impact our understanding of our ancient ancestors.

I haven't come across a really great kayaking video for awhile but the wait for the latest short film from Teva was certainly worth it. The video below is entitled Beyond the Drop and it features a team of six pro-paddlers who travel to Mexico to take on the Rio Tulijá, an amazing looking river with a series of five amazing drops. But the film is more than just that as it mixes local culture, the fun of exploring a river and joy of like-minded people coming together for a common goal. Excellent stuff.

Thanks to The Goat for sharing.

I've always thought that whales are some of the most amazing creatures on our planet. That opinion is only reinforced by the video clip below which features a playful gray whale that approaches close enough to a boat to let its inhabitants touch the large mammal. The footage gives us some great shots both above and below the water and was shot recently by 13-year old Eric Lindblad while on an aquatic adventure to Magdalena Bay.

It looks magical there.

Over the past couple of years we've become accustomed to paddlers making some daring white water runs and dropping over some extremely big waterfalls. But recently three paddlers pushed the limits even further by going over five successive waterfalls in Mexico that combined to make one very big descent.

The team, which consisted of Rafa Ortiz, Evan Garcia, and Rush Sturges, ran a stretch of water along the Rio Santo Domingo that included waterfalls that are 80-, 90-, 60-, 20-, and 40-feet in height, all in rapid succession. That's a total of 290 feet (88.3 meters) in one quick go, with very little time for recovery between each drop.

There isn't any video on this paddling expedition yet, but considering that it was sponsored by Red Bull, you know that it has to be coming soon. I for one can't wait to see what this looks like when you catch it all in motion. Hopefully from a helmet cam that shows each of the successive drops. But for now, we'll just have to settle for some the amazing still photos that are posted on the Red Bull website.

Photographer Tim Kemple often goes to some extreme measures to capture the perfect shot, particularly if he is shooting images of his friends as they paddle over waterfalls. In the video below he shares some of those photos while also telling us about what drives him to push himself and his gear to the limits, just like the extreme athletes that are his subjects.

I have to admit, I have a soft spot for expeditions that plan to set off in search of nebulous adventures. The kind that don't have a lot of concrete goals per se, but are just looking for adventure in what ever form it arrives. That happens to be exactly what three filmmakers have in mind when they launch their "Finding Guapo" voyage later this year. The team is setting off to shoot a documentary on what they say will be "about life, adventure, nature, sailing, diving, freedom, but mostly about madness."

The men will be joined on this voyage by a mysterious adventurer who is simply named "Guapo." I don't know a lot about Guapo, but from what I have heard, he sounds a bit like he Dos Equis Most Interesting Man In the World.  In addition to being both a scuba and sky diving instructor, he is also a mountaineer who has climbed the big mountains of the Americas. A few years ago he also sailed solo from New York to New Caledonia, a tiny island located in the South Pacific, which he ended up making his home. In short, he is a free-spirited adventurer who goes where his wanderings take him.

It turns out, Guapo was planning on being in Mexico for a short time later this year and our intrepid filmmakers at KRAKEN decided they wanted to make this documentary with him during which they would be sailing across the Pacific Ocean. The current plan is for them to set sail for Australia, but as you'll see in the video below, those plans are in flux. They four men are going to see where their whims, and the tides of the Pacific, take them as they go looking for the adventure of a lifetime in the hopes of making a film about their travels.

To help fund this endeavor the men have set up an Indegogo campaign. They hope to raise $15,000 towards creating the project, although they're off to a bit of a slow start at the moment. With nearly a month to go however, they'll hopefully reach their goals.

Good luck to Guapo and the rest of the crew!


Finding Guapo - Indiegogo from Kraken Productora Tentacular on Vimeo.

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Here's a short paddling film that you definitely don't want to miss out on. It is a beautifully shot video that follows a group of paddlers who go in search of the perfect waterfall in the Mexican jungle so that they can capture a spectacular run on film. The results are quite spectacular in every sense of the word. Nearly every frame of this film is masterpiece. Amazing stuff from the gang at Forge.

CASCADA from NRS Films on Vimeo.

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Photo © Chico Sanchez- All Rights Reserved

As part of the celebrations in honor of the Virgin of Carmen, residents from Oaxaca state's eight regions travel every year to the capital to offer traditional dances, while the residents from Carmen Alto and Carmen Bajo neighborhoods participate in banquets, offerings and processions throughout the city....and this is how Chico Sanchez describes his latest audio-slideshow Deep Friendship.

The Guelaguetza is an annual indigenous cultural event in Mexico that takes place in the city of Oaxaca as well as in nearby villages. The word Guelaguetza means "offering" in the Zapotec language, but its means much more. In traditional Oaxacan villages, people attending the festivities bring food, alcoholic beverages, etc. Each person's offering, or "guelaguetza" triggers a reciprocal exchange, and enables the reinforcement of social ties.

Chico Sanchez is far from being a stranger to The Travel Photographer's blog. His audio-slideshow work has been featured on it on many occasions.

He is a freelance photographer based in Mexico City. Chico worked in Venezuela, collaborating with Reuters, European Pressphoto Agency, Agencia EFE, and freelances for various newspapers and magazines.

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Guadalajara’s countless charms are distributed equally and liberally throughout its distinct neighborhoods. The city’s Centro Histórico (Historic Center) is dotted with proud colonial relics that house museums, government offices, bars and hotels. There are dozens of leafy plazas with gushing fountains, strolling families and shredding skaters. The Zona Rosa, more modern and spread out, is sprinkled with fashionable restaurants, coffee houses and nightclubs.

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Before Cancún and Ixtapa, Acapulco was Mexico’s original party town. With stunning yellow beaches and a 24-hour nightlife, it was dubbed the ‘Pearl of the Pacific.’
During its heyday, Acapulco was the playground for the rich and famous including Frank Sinatra, Elvis Presley, Elizabeth Taylor, Judy Garland; John F. Kennedy and his wife Jacqueline honeymooned here. It was immortalized in films like Elvis’s Fun in Acapulco and TV’s The Love Boat. Acapulco’s gorgeous arc of beaches that sweep around Bahía de Acapulco can be a relaxing place to soak up the sun – if you can ignore the pesky beach vendors. But step off the sands and you’ll soon be hit by a harsh reality: terrible traffic, crowded sidewalks, smoggy fumes, aggressive touts, poverty, homelessness and a significant crime wave.

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If you've been following this blog, you have probably figured out that I'm kind of an intrepid traveler, in as much as I travel a lot and have been for a long time and I go to some whacky places-- from Tierra del Fuego to Lapland and from Mali to the Himalayas. But what I'm not is swashbuckling or heroic. I'm not making plans to visit Somalia, Yemen, Iraq, Syria, Congo or anyplace I feel is legitimately dangerous. It doesn't keep me from visiting places like Mumbai, Jerusalem, Bangkok, Mexico City, London or New York City-- all places that report dangerous situations from time to time-- but I try to be careful. So I really had to laugh when some friends in the L.A. Philharmonic said they were worried about a trip to Caracas. Grammy winning conductor Gustavo Dudamel just brought the orchestra down there for the series of Mahler's symphonies they just finished performing in L.A. Earlier today, the NY Times applauded the whole endeavor-- and so did Venezuela:

El Sistema, Venezuela’s national music program aimed at young people, put on a major show of orchestra playing and singing for the visiting Los Angeles Philharmonic, its staff and patrons, who are in town for a Mahler symphonic cycle. But the attention of the enthusiastic crowd of young performers, parents and others around the Teresa Carreño Theater was focused on José Antonio Abreu and Gustavo Dudamel.

Mr. Abreu, El Sistema’s stooped but mentally vigorous patriarch, and Mr. Dudamel, the program’s most famous product and the Philharmonic’s music director, were mobbed. When Mr. Dudamel went to greet some young musicians in the cello section, they burst into exciting bobbing. “Gustavo!” people shouted from balconies... [T]he atmosphere was redolent of the sometimes religious-seeming trappings of the culture of El Sistema, whose exponents speak of love and peace and remain involved for decades. El Sistema’s proponents are indefatigable evangelizers for its mission of helping the poor through classical music.

The musicians had been sternly warned before embarking from L.A. how dangerous Caracas is and they were warned not to leave their hotel rooms. Sound screwy? It is-- and it's based on what? Corporate America's hatred for and propaganda against a national leader who sticks up for the working people of his country. I hope no one locked themselves in their hotels rooms. It would be a real waste.

Perhaps more realistic-- at least to some extent-- was this week's travel warning from the U.S. State Department about Mexico. I travel there a lot and have never run into anything I would consider dangerous. In December we spent the better part of a month in Mérida, capital of the Yucatán. Nice and relaxing, except for the mosquitoes that gave me dengue fever. But the warning isn't about dengue fever-- or the Yucatán.

The State Department advised Americans this week to defer “non-essential travel” to vast stretches of Mexico, warning that 14 of the country’s 31 states are so dangerous that visitors should avoid them if at all possible. For four other states, it counseled caution or extreme caution.

The travel warning is at once broader, more detailed and more alarming than the previous one for Mexico, issued in April.

The new warning became public as Mexican troops announced Thursday that they had seized 15 tons of pure methamphetamine outside Guadalajara-- an amount equal to half of all meth seizures worldwide in 2009.

State Department travel warnings are based on internal guidance that embassies and consular offices use to decide where it is safe for U.S. diplomats and federal employees to travel, so they often err on the side of caution.

Still, this one, issued Wednesday evening, is sweeping. To begin with, it warns against all but essential travel across most of the states along the U.S.-Mexican border: Tamaulipas, Nuevo Leon (except the city of Monterrey, where caution is advised), Coahuila, Chihuahua and Sonora.

...Ciudad Juarez, in Chihuahua, merits “special concern,” the warning says, advising that the border city “has one of the highest murder rates in Mexico” and that “three persons associated with the Consulate General were murdered in March 2010” there.

Moving south, also on the no-go list for all but essential travel: Sinaloa (except the Pacific Coast resort of Mazatlan), Durango, Zacatecas, Aguascalientes and San Luis Potosi, where two U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents were ambushed and one was killed a year ago.

This means a visitor who wants to drive from the United States to Mexico City has no viable route that would be in accord with the U.S. guidelines.

If you do drive, the warning says, remember: “TCOs [Transnational Criminal Organizations] have erected their own unauthorized checkpoints, and killed or abducted motorists who have failed to stop at them. You should cooperate at all checkpoints.”
The State Department also warns against travel in Jalisco along its borders with Michoacan, another no-go, and Zacatecas.

...Mexico is a country of 110 million people, so the odds of running into trouble are low. The number of U.S. citizens reported to the State Department as murdered in Mexico increased from 35 in 2007 to 120 in 2011.

Where to go? Much of the Yucatan Peninsula is free of murder and mayhem. No advisory is in effect for the states of Chiapas, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán and Quintana Roo. Good to go, too, are the popular art and food destinations of Oaxaca and Puebla.

Also on the safe side of the ledger: Mexico City.

As is always the case, the Mexican government termed the warning "ridiculous" and "out of proportion." Interior Minister Alejandro Poire told a press conference yesterday that the warnings "overstate or misstate the standards and security situation that exists in our country." As PolitiFact might say, "Mostly true." But it's Caracas and Venezuela that are really getting the bad rap, though the State Department doesn't even have them on the warning list at all. This stupid video could have been done for almost any city in the world. It's made by idiots for idiots, as you can see:

Marvelling at a 1300-year-old Maya palace at Palenque as parrots screech and howler monkeys growl in the sweaty emerald jungle around you. This is Mexico. Sliding from a palm-fringed sandy beach into the warm, turquoise waves of the Pacific at Puerto Vallarta. This, too, is Mexico. Dining on salmon enchiladas and chrysanthemum salad at a Mexico City fusion restaurant, dancing through the night at a high-energy Guadalajara nightclub, kayaking at dawn past a colony of Baja California sea lions – all these are unique Mexican experiences. Every visitor goes home with their own unforgettable images. Such a large country, straddling temperate and tropical zones, reaching 5km into the sky and stretching 10,000km along its coasts, with a city of 19 million people at its center and countless tiny pueblos everywhere, can hardly fail to provide a huge variety of options for human adventure.

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