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Hi Everyone So where are we now? Would you believe Verzacruz, Mexico? That’s right. The day started at 8:30 AM in Puebla. We first visited a Church that was closed yesterday in Puebla. The Church was decorated in the Baroque style and very ornate and beautiful. We only spent a few minutes there since Mass was starting. We then boarded our bus for our four hour drive to Veracruz. At about 11:30 we arrived at the town of Xalapa. Our tour guide had arranged a special lunch for us at a local coffee plantation. We arrived at the plantation at about noon. This stop was not on the tour, but our tour guide felt that we would enjoy this site. What I am about to describe is one of the truly amazing places that I have visited. This is one reason why I love to travel. You never know what you will encounter. The plantation does not entertain guests, but the tour guide and the owner made this special arrangement. The owner met us as we descended the bus. Her name is Marisa Moolick Gutierrez and the name of the plantation is “Hacienda de Pacho”. The property was purchased by her great grandfather in 1843 and has remained in the family ever since then. The original structure housed African slaves who worked the plantation that was purchased by Luis Pacho y Mexia and thats how the plantation gets its name. She is half Mexican and half American, having been born in Mexico but raised in California. She has lived on the plantation since the mid 80’s. Her great grandfather, Julian Gutierrez purchased the property in 1843. The original structure included housing for African slaves who worked the plantation until emancipation. The emancipation of the slaves took place when Mexico achieves its independence from Spain in 1821. Marisa’s great grandfather added onto the original structure by building a large house next to the structure where he and his family lived. He had nineteen children with his wife and fifteen reached adulthood. Both Julian and his wife were closely allied with Antonio Lopez de Santa Ana from Alamo fame. Santa Ana had a hacienda a short horse ride from their plantation. The fortunes rose and fell with those of Santa Ana. Santa Ana was the President of Mexico eleven different times. Julian Gutierrez passed away in 1857 and his wife, Damiana, operated the property until she passed away in 1895. After the two Mexican revolutions of 1857 and 1910, most of the property was taken by the government to be given to the local people. As we were being shown the property, Olivia commented that it sounded like the movie “Out of Africa” The movie starred Meryl Streep and Robert Redford and is about Danish author Karen Blixen and her family’s coffee plantation in Kenya. There is also a chapel on the property and it is named “Our Lady of the Remedios”. The chapel or small church is very beautiful and houses the mausoleums of many of Marisa’s ancestors including her great grandparents. After we were served lunch, it was time to sample her coffee. I took the coffee black and was amazed byob the beach the taste and smell. The coffee has almost no acidity and drinking it black was easy to do. Marisa does not sell her coffee commercially. She has no website and only offers it to visitors and locals. We purchased one kilo for 200 pesos or $10 dollars. She needs to raise her prices. Marisa has no children and wants the property to remain as it is after her demise. I have some ideas and will be staying in contact with her to try to figure out the best way possible. What a gem and how fortunate we were to find and have this experience. It was now back in the bus with a two hour drive to Verzacruz. Veracruz is the largest port in Mexico. Most of the shipping into and out of Mexico goes through Veracruz. We checked into our hotel and all met in the lobby for a short drive to the beach. The sand looked almost volcanic and there were lots of locals playing on the beach and enjoying the beach area. Ivan, our tour guide, told us that one custom in Veracruz is that there are boys who dive for coins that are thrown into the harbor. He introduced us to one who was just finishing his day’s work. He was diving all day and made around $7 US dollars. People throw a coin in the harbor and he dives after it. It was then back to our hotel to have dinner. Fish is the dish here in Veracruz. I had conch fillet and started out with a side order of raw tuna and octopus ceviche. Was so fresh and delicious. We leave early tomorrow for a ten hour drive to Palenque. Our visit to Hacienda de Pacho was so special. The memory will stay with us for a long time. Love Larry

Hi Everyone Am writing my daily blog from Puebla, Mexico. We left Mexico City at about 8:30 for our three hour drive to Puebla. Along the way we passed by three volcanoes. They are named Pico de Orizaba, Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. Bet you cannot say those three names. One is active and the other two are snow capped. The one that is active had smoke coming out of the cone constantly. Hikers are not allowed up to the active one anymore as it is in an unstable state now. We saw another smoking volcano in the Sacred Valley of Peru two years ago. We finally arrived in Puebla at around twelve thirty. There is a beautiful big public square in the middle of town. It seems that all of the cities that we have ever visited in the Spanish speaking areas of the Western Hemisphere have this town square in the center of town. The square has a central fountain and is surrounded by shops and restaurants on all sides. Before we arrived in the center of town, we stopped at a famous ceramic factory that has been making local ceramics since the mid eighteen hundreds. Each piece is hand made one at a time. Imagine making pottery in this way in America? What would each piece cost? It was then onto the center of town and lunch. Puebla is an old colonial town with lots of colonial buildings dating back hundreds of years. The architecture reminded me of Mexico City and Madrid. Balconies and beautiful sculptures done in a very ornate way. Of course, Puebla has lots of churches. Both Olivia and myself felt that Puebla reminded us of Arequipa, Peru. Lunch was enjoyable in a beautifully styled Mexican restaurant. It was then onto our hotel. The hotel is named “Quinta Real”. The hotel was a former convent that was originally built in 1593. There are two large squares and gardens with the rooms surrounding the squares. You eat outside on one of the squares. So beautiful and unique. Imagine the ghosts and spirits living here. After check in, our tour guide took us for a walk around town. We visited the Puebla Cathedral in the center of town. This is the church that should have been built in Mexico City and the Mexico City church that we visited should have been built here. This church was in far better shape than its sister church in Mexico City. This church is, of course, not sinking and has far less people to handle. We then walked the streets and even visited the first public library in the Americas. The streets were cluttered with lots of small shops, restaurants and small bands roaming around playing for tips. We then walked back to the hotel for a short rest and met at 6 PM for dinner. The US dollar goes far here. After taking a long walk around town, we settled on having traditional food. For eight of us including drinks and a tip came to 640 pesos or $32 US dollars or $4 per person and the food was excellent. Tomorrow it’s on to Veracruz. Love Larry

Hi Everyone I could barely get out of bed this morning. We walked so much yesterday that I kept on getting up all night long with cramps in my legs. Will drink more water today. Finally, Olivia woke me up at 7 AM and I burst to the shower and got dressed. Moises and Sandra met us for breakfast at the hotel at 8:30. We had an enjoyable and talkative breakfast and then planned our day. We were going to visit and climb the pyramids of Teotihuacan. Teotihuacan is located about a one hour drive from Mexico City. There are two large pyramids. They are called the Pyramids of the Moon and Sun. Running down the middle of the site is a large avenue that is named “The Avenue of the Dead”. The Pyramid of the Sun is the third largest pyramid in the world. According to archaeologists, Teotihuacan was built by hand more than a thousand years before the Aztecs arrived. The Aztecs then gave it its current name. You can climb up the Pyramid of the Sun to the top, but the Pyramid of the Moon can now only be climbed half way. As we entered the complex, we saw a line of people climbing up the steps of the Pyramid of the Sun. Moises insisted that we do this first, since we were not tired yet. We started to climb and climb. We stopped at certain levels to catch our breaths and take some pictures. By the way, the Pyramid is 216 feet high. We finally reached the top and I felt a moment of exhilaration looking over this large and beautiful complex. We spent some time at the top walking around and just resting. It was now time to walk back down. Don’t think that was any easier. The steps are narrow and made of large hand built stones. Not level nor easy to walk on. Fortunately, there was a rubber hand rail so that you can hold on as you dragged yourself up and down. We also stopped at the same levels on our way down to rest and take more pictures of different angles and views. Moises acted as our tour guide. He told us that the Pyramids were built in various stages. When the Aztecs heard that the Spanish were coming, they purposely hid the pyramids by covering them with dirt and vegetation so the Spanish could not easily identify them. He told us that there are probably quite a few more sites hidden that need to be found and restored. We finally reached the bottom and walked down the Avenue of the Dead to the Pyramid of the Moon. Lining either side of this wide avenue, were vendors selling their wares. One item that struck my eye was a stone named “Obsidian”. Obsidian is volcanic glass that is black. The Aztecs used obsidian to look at the sun and the eclipse. If you hold a piece of obsidian up to one eye and close the other, the bright sun looks beautiful and you see it with darkness all around it. How did the Aztecs know this? I bought a large stone. Right before the Pyramid of the Moon was the “Temple of the Jaguar”. The site has been fully excavated, but the mosaics have not been restored. I hope that happens one day. It was now time to climb half way up the Pyramid of the Moon. Olivia decided to wait this one out. The steps were very steep, but I plowed my way through and couldn’t wait to see the view. I can tell you that the climb was worth the energy spent. The view was of the entire complex with the Avenue of the Dead in the middle. I took out my 18mm lens and clicked away. Got some amazing pictures looking over the whole site from this point. It was now time to climb down and walk the whole length of the Avenue of the Dead to the parking lot. How beautiful this site is and how it was built is a wonder to me. We finally reached our van and needed some serious food and drinks. Our driver took us to a restaurant that was close by named “La Gruta”. La Gruta is built in a grotto. You are led down a stone stairway into a subterranean dining area. There were portable heaters and most of the people dining were locals. Moises ordered for us since the menu was entirely in Spanish. The food was all traditional Mexican food. First came the appetizers. The waitress brought us a whole wooden dish of worms. The worms were roasted and tasted great. We convinced Olivia to try and she also liked them. The other appetizers were so good. I could not tell you what I ate but the food was great. Then came the main dishes. Tacos, goat meat, pork, vegetables and ant eggs were served. The ant eggs were very good. During our meal, dancers and singers entertained everyone on a stage. They were all dressed up in Aztec costumes. After our dinner we took the long ride back to our hotel. I felt sad that we had to leave Moises and Sandra. They have been such great hosts and showed us the real Mexico City. Hopeful they will visit us later this year. Tomorrow morning we travel to Puebla. I loved Mexico City and hope that I can return one day. Mexico City is a gem. The City is beautiful and the people are friendly. Love Larry

Hi Everyone What a great day today. Where should I start? Moises and Sandra picked us at around 9 AM. We had previously had coffee downstairs in our hotel. The hotel”’ serves Mexican coffee. What is Mexican coffee? The coffee is black and made with cinnamon. It is put in a big clay pot and you use a ladle to scoop it out. I loved it and it got me going. Our room is small, but the bed is very soft and comfortable. It feels like you are going into a cocoon when you lay down. We first stopped off for breakfast at Restaurant El Lago. The restaurant is located in one of the sections of the Park El Bosque de Chapultepec. This is a huge park that has a beautiful lake. The restaurant is right on the lake. We were told the park is larger than Central Park in NYC. Breakfast was amazing. I had a great avocado omelette. Avocados are grown here locally and very fresh. After breakfast we boarded our private van and Moises’ driver dropped us off to start our walking tour of old Mexico City, at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. Translated as the Beautiful Arts Palace. The palace was built at the end of the eighteen hundreds by the order of General Porfirio Diaz. The marble was brought over from Austria. He was the last dictator of Mexico. Moises told us he did some great improvements in the country such as underground sewer and water systems and lots of building. We then continued our walking tour and visited the Palacio Postal or Postal Palace. This was a huge post office built in the eighteen hundreds that was magnificent. The metal staircases and ancient lights with the marble floors were so beautiful. Currently there is a holiday in Mexico that ends tomorrow. The holiday is named “The Three Kings Day”. The children get gifts from the Kings. Imagine giving more gifts just two weeks after Christmas. The old and magnificent post office was packed with a long line of children and parents waiting to drop their letters to the Kings to tell them what they wanted. The line extended far into the street. The old section of Mexico City was packed with people walking and enjoying themselves. We saw very few tourists and foreigners. The architecture of downtown Mexico City is extraordinary. The buildings are in the old Spanish architecture of the colonial time. Many of the buildings had long balconies. The architecture reminded me of Madrid. How beautiful it is to see buildings like this still being used and preserved. Along our walk we stopped at the oldest pastry and candy store in Mexico City. It has been open since the eighteen fifties and is still being operated by the original family. The inside looked like the store belonged in the eighteen fifties and the pastries were not like any of those we enjoy today. We bought some samples and continued our walk. We finally arrived at the main square of Mexico City. Mexico City is built over a big lake and is sinking over one inch per year. You can see some of the buildings are not straight and they have curves. There was a huge Cathedral at the side of the square. This Cathedral was supposed to be built in Puebla and the one in Puebla was supposed to be built in Mexico City. Puebla had been chosen to be the capital of Mexico but he architects and engineers got the building plans mixed up. Puebla was supposed to be the capital of Mexico, but instead Mexico City was given the honor. We are visiting Puebla next. We saw the original steps of the cathedral underground and how much the Cathedral had sunken down since it was built over two hundred years ago. The Cathedral has the largest organ in the latin American world and the music vibrated over this huge structure. After we left the Cathedral, we walked into people who were watching local Aztec people doing traditional dancing on the street. They were wearing traditional dress of huge feather head dresses and not much clothing. People were lining up to be blessed by some other Aztecs with smoke and some king of large leaves. I hope my pictures do this justice. It was then onto the National Palace. The National Palace is a three story structure with balconies around a rectangle building on the inside. The inside has a large water fountain in the middle. We walked up to the middle floor and half way up, there was a large mural painted by Diego Rivera covering three walls heading up the staircase. Diego Rivera is one of the most famous Mexican artists of all time. This mural depicted the history of Mexico. I called it the Cistine Ceiling of Mexico. The middle floor had more Rivera murals of Colonial and Aztec life. He spent from 1927 to 1958 painting it. It was a deal he made with the Mexican government to repay his tax debt rather than go to jail for tax evasion.We also visited the first meeting hall where the first Mexican Constitution was signed two hundred years ago. We further walked to some recent ruins of a pyramid base that was found under a parking lot. How amazing it was to see these ruins in the middle of old Mexico City. Our driver then picked us up for a long drive to the floating gardens known as “Canales de Xochimilco”. My feet were so tired that I fell asleep and was woken up as we were arriving. I can never describe the floating gardens but everyone must add this to their list of must see places. It is a designated Unesco world heritage site.You board hand made boats that are brightly colored. The boats have a long table in the middle with chairs around the table. A man with a long stick then pushes the boat through

Hi Everyone Happy Holidays and New Year to everyone. Its been two months since our last visit and I hope everyone is well. I have missed our talks and am looking forward reconnecting with everyone. So where am I now? Am currently in Mexico City. My beautiful wife and myself arrived her about three hours ago from New York. I can tell you that immigration and customs was very easy and efficient. Many countries should learn from the Mexican system. We are spending three days in Mexico City and then visiting the Yucatan Peninsula and all the Mayan ruins. Should make for some great pictures and experiences, but first Mexico City. We are on a small group tour of fifteen people. When I visited Patagonia and Antartica, last year, I spent almost all my time with a beautiful and fun loving couple from Mexico City. Their names are Moises and Sandra. Had a great time with them. When I emailed them and told them that we would like to have dinner with them on Sunday night, they insisted that we leave the group and that they would show us the real Mexico City. We are leaving Mexico City on Monday morning for Puebla. We decided to take them up on their offer and they are picking us up tonight to start our tour with a great dinner. What a way to see and experience Mexico City. We are so lucky. Our hotel is a five star hotel. On the drive from the airport to our hotel, I expected to see lots of slums. I was pleasantly surprised. The apartment houses, streets and parks were very clean and orderly. Olivia informed me that the air quality is poor. Mexico City is 8000 feet up and very populated. Hope everyone enjoyed my Morocco pictures and the Kalahari Stars that were recently published. Looking forward to reconnecting, writing and taking pictures. Talk to everyone tomorrow. Love Larry

Hi Everyone Happy Holidays and New Year to everyone. Its been two months since our last visit and I hope everyone is well. I have missed our talks and am looking forward reconnecting with everyone. So where am I now? Am currently in Mexico City. My beautiful wife and myself arrived her about three hours ago from New York. I can tell you that immigration and customs was very easy and efficient. Many countries should learn from the Mexican system. We are spending three days in Mexico City and then visiting the Yucatan Peninsula and all the Mayan ruins. Should make for some great pictures and experiences, but first Mexico City. We are on a small group tour of fifteen people. When I visited Patagonia and Antartica, last year, I spent almost all my time with a beautiful and fun loving couple from Mexico City. Their names are Moises and Sandra. Had a great time with them. When I emailed them and told them that we would like to have dinner with them on Sunday night, they insisted that we leave the group and that they would show us the real Mexico City. We are leaving Mexico City on Monday morning for Puebla. We decided to take them up on their offer and they are picking us up tonight to start our tour with a great dinner. What a way to see and experience Mexico City. We are so lucky. Our hotel is a five star hotel. On the drive from the airport to our hotel, I expected to see lots of slums. I was pleasantly surprised. The apartment houses, streets and parks were very clean and orderly. Olivia informed me that the air quality is poor. Mexico City is 8000 feet up and very populated. Hope everyone enjoyed my Morocco pictures and the Kalahari Stars that were recently published. Looking forward to reconnecting, writing and taking pictures. Talk to everyone tomorrow. Love Larry

Kalahari Stars Photo Gallery Enjoy, Larry

Hi Everyone I will be publishing eight new images in an album named “Kalahari Stars”. Four of the imagers were created using a procedure called “Star Staxx”. This  is where a selected number of images are stacked into one image. The other images were not stacked. Enjoy Larry

Morocco Photo Albums Rabat Photo Gallery Marrakesh Photo Gallery Please click on the above links   Enjoy Larry  

  Hi Everyone We left the beautiful town of Essaouira this morning. I was sad to leave such a beautiful place and could have easily spent another day there. Essaouira is a special place ands I will always remember being there. Now onto Casablanca. We drove over local roads until we finally hit a highway. During our trip the guide put on the movie “Casablanca”. Olivia had never seen it from start to finish. I have seen it over twenty times and can pick out when the famous lines will be spoken before they are. Stopped for lunch at a nice place called “The Oasis Cafe”. Had Kufta and coffee. Did not disappoint. We finally entered the outskirts of Casablanca. Casablanca is the largest city in Morocco with a population of five million. Passed by some horrible looking slum areas and finally hit downtown. You can see the French influence in the architecture and names of some of the streets. The traffic was almost bumper to bumper. Thirty percent of all cars in Morocco are in Casablanca. Casablanca is also the economic center of Morocco. Large buildings and some skyscrapers. We made one stop. At about three o’clock we pulled up in front of the second largest mosque in the world. The mosque is named “Hassan II Mosque”. During Ramadan there are 105,000 worshippers here. Twenty five thousand fit inside and eighty thousand pray on the plaza outside. Looks like St Peters Square in Rome. I went inside. The mosque was built in 1993 and is half over the water with pillars holding it up. There is also a retractable roof when the mosque is full. I was very impressed by the inside. There were lots of carvings on the ceilings made from the wood of the Atlas Mountains. Downstairs were lots of marble fountains where the people wash themselves. Of course, you have to take your shoes off before entering and pictures were allowed. Women sections were separate from the men. Very impressive. We finally arrived in our hotel. A large five star hotel. Olivia and myself took a short walk and what we saw was a dirty city full of traffic and people. It seems like the only reason why we are here is to get on the plane tomorrow morning. We also drove by “Rick’s Cafe”. Was opened in 2004 and we did not have time to stop. Now for my wrap up. Morocco is a beautiful country and is a destination I would strongly recommend. The country is so diverse. From the beautiful sands of the Sahara to the ocean resort of Essaouira. You need two weeks to do it justice, but any destination its all about the people. They are beautiful and of course, the food is great. What I will miss the most is spending two weeks with my wife enjoying this amazing country. Her being on a camel and sleeping in a Bedouin Camp was an experience that will stay with me. Picking fresh dates from date trees at our Casbah is another jewel. On could go on and on, but go to Morocco. You will not be disappointed. Love Larry