Ten Essential Things to Do When You Visit Mexico

Ten essential places and things to do when you travel to Mexico you can't miss to do this as this are the best places to travel alone or with company

Cozumel Air Show 2011

Cozumel Air Show 2011

MAYAir,  the airline of southeastern Mexico, brings to the beautiful Mexican Caribbean the aerial show “Cozumel Air Show 2011″, which will take place on March 19th and 20th, 2011.  A beautiful setting of tropical jungle and turquoise sea will be the framework for internationally renowned aerobatic pilots that will offer to the audience hours of great fun and pure adrenaline.

The series of skydiving and daring aerial routines will be complemented by motorcycle stunts and classic and modified car exhibitions. This is a unique event for the whole family that you can’t miss.

The guests are:

Fred Cabanas

Fred Cabanas

He started flying airplanes at the age of 16 and currently has an experience of over 24 thousand hours of flight time. Fred is a certificate pilot of commercial and cargo flights, seaplanes, multi-engine and instrument flights. In 1986 he founded in Florida the company Cabanas Aerobatics, and has been involved since then in international air shows. He specializes in high-speed acrobatics at low altitudes.

Gary Ward

Gary Ward

His interest in aviation began at an early age and by the time he was 16 years old he started to fly solo. Graduated as Aerospace Engineer, he has contributed in airplane design for the Cessna company. His first participation in an air show was in 1998 and since then he has performed stunts in several airplanes. He specializes in shows using the MX2, a next-generation airplane that allows him to do risky maneuvers at speeds exceeding 250 m/h.

Carlos Dardano

Carlos Dardano

He got his license as private pilot at the age of 16 in his homeland El Salvador, and continued his aviation training in theUnited States. He began his career as commercial pilot in 1981 and in 2000 he received the certification as pilot in air shows. He is currently Director of the TACA airline and teaches skydiving and aerobatics at his own school in El Salvador.

Luisa Romero

Luisa Romero

Born in Mexico City, she is the only woman in the country dedicated to aerobatics since 1992, the year in which she received her license from the Pilots College of Mexico. With experience of over 15 years, she has been internationally honored for her ability to command airplanes for exhibitionflights.

Iron Eagles Aerobatics Team

Iron Eagles Aerobatics

This talented team of airmen has been involved in exhibitionflights since 1990. It is composed by the pilots Bill Gordon and Billy Segalla, who specialize in synchronized formation flights and they have participated in over 800 performances until now.

Join us on March 19^th and 20^th,  2011 in the Captain Eduardo Toledo Aerodrome in Cozumel. See you there! Free admission.

Swim with Whale Sharks in Cancun

Swim with Whale Sharks in Cancun

During the summer months, mid May to mid September, the Whale Shark is a welcome visitor to the waters around Cancun Mexico and provides a perfect chance to be at one with nature as you swim and snorkel alongside these fantastic underwater giants.
The Whale Shark (Rhincodon typus) is the biggest fish in the world and grows up to 40 feet in length with the biggest specimens weighing over 75,000 lbs. Despite its name and size the Whale Shark is not a Whale at all, it is a filter feeding shark which eats algae and plankton. In fact, it is the traveling plankton it feeds upon that brings this fantastic creature to the crystal clear blue sea of the Mexican Caribbean.
In the Cancun area of Mexico, Whale Sharks gather off the coast of Isla Mujeres, Isla Contoy and Isla Holbox and provide a great day trip diversion for those holidaying in Cancun and the Riviera Maya.
The traditional boats that take you to visit the Whale Sharks are small craft with room enough for around 10 persons plus staff , and the numbers of craft are strictly enforced via licensing . It’s usually an early start (7am) and you’ll return in the early afternoon (2pm). During your tour soft drinks and a light lunch is provided, and many offer an open bar on the return journey.
The whale sharks are more often than not easily located and once their location is pinpointed guests enter the ocean two at a time to swim and snorkel beside them . This ensures that the Whale Sharks are not frightened and also gives maximum time for some superb unobstructed underwater photography. Whale Sharks travel at a velocity of only 3mph so it is easy to stay alongside them. Each turn lasts around 10-15 minutes per two people , and during the trip there will be 3 or 4 opportunities for a total swim time of up to an hour per person. All participants must wear lifejackets and no feeding or touching of the whale sharks is permitted. Non eco-friendly sunscreen is also prohibited.
Most whale shark tour companies , including those below, also include a second stop to snorkel at a close by reef to enjoy the colorful and varied underwater flora and fauna that this particular area of the Caribbean is famous for.

Cozumel Spring Break

The name Cozumel (Isla Cozumel) means "Land of the Swallow" in Mayan, and was named so due to the indigenous, graceful birds that can be seen regularly patrolling Cozumel's beautiful beaches and coastline. Cozumel was settled roughly 2000 years ago by ancient Mayans, a seafaring people, who saw Cozumel as a commercial trading stop as well as a sacred shrine. 
The island of Cozumel was a mecca to Mayan women who made the voyage from the mainland to Isla Cozumel in large dugout canoes to worship Ix Chel, the Goddess of fertility. Leaving the mainland from what is now Playa del Carmen and Tulum, Mayan women crossed the treacherous channel in open canoes to give offerings at the alter site of Ix Chel. What remains now of the altar and ceremonial center of Ix Chel can be seen at the San Gervasio ruins site near the center of the island. 
It was Spanish Conquistador Juan de Grijalva who first discovered Cozumel in 1518 as he was blown off course during a journey to Cuba. Grijalva left a golden statue as a gift when he departed which now resides in the downtown San Miguel Cathedral. 
Shortly thereafter, the infamous Spanish conqueror Hernán Cortés found his way to Isla Cozumel in 1519 and with his influence, which included the destruction of the many temples and the spread of the smallpox disease, Cozumel's inhabitants went from 40,000 to just 30 people by 1570. Cozumel's ancient Mayan civilization lied in ruins, and by 1600 Cozumel was uninhabited. 
By the early 17th century pirates had discovered Cozumel and used it as a safe harbor. Legendary pirate Henry Morgan fequently used Cozumel as a stopover during his raids around the Caribbean between 1658 to 1688. Later on in the early 1800's, another famous Caribbean pirate Jean Lafitte, hid from his pursuers in the waters near Cozumel as well. But in general, Cozumel remained uninhabited until 1847, when a few families fleeing the Spanish backlash over the Maya rebellion during the War of the Castes settled on the island. 
The War of the Castes
In 1847 Mayans from the Yucatan initiated an uprising that would be remembered as one of the greatest civil wars Mexico has ever experienced. Known as the War of the Castes (classes), this uprising caused a group composed of both Spanish Indians and Mayans who had been living in Valladolid to begin a journey two years later that would result in the permanent repopulation of Cozumel Island. 
Historically speaking, the group's migration was doubly important. First, because the Mestizos and Mayans would be responsible for permanently settling the Mexican Caribbean coast; and secondly, because repopulating that area ultimately produced a consolidated group with economical and political power that continues to this day. 
The genesis of the Yucatan's east coast development, which later became the state of Quintana Roo, was a direct result of the War of the Castes. It was a conflict that changed the economic, demographic, and political geography of the peninsula and initiated the process of subdivisions and territories as the population was pushed out of the region. 
So it is also that the Mestizos and white Yucatecans that lived in the South of Quintana Roo, in Bacalar and the surrounding area, went to repopulate what today is known as Belize, specifically Orange Walk, Corozal and Ambergris. Most of these settlers returned to Mexico at the end of the 19th century and populated Payo Obispo (Chetumal), Bacalar and Xcalak. The north was repopulated with emigrants from Valladolid, Espita, Tizimin and other villages. From that point on, the islands of Holbox, Mujeres and Cozumel would always maintain a population. 
During this same period of time newly authorized officials divided up sections of Cozumel Island and distributed lots among the island's new settlers. These first citizens were Spanish descendants, some of whose surnames were: Novelo, Angulo, Alcocer, Cardenas, Rivero, Vivas, Aguilar, Anduze, Ezquivel, Vega, Martin and Coral. One of the elements that unified the group was their Catholic faith, which was the dominant religion among Yucatecos. One of the immigrants, a Catholic priest, had brought an image of Saint Michael with him, and San Miguel quickly became the patron saint of the island. The power of the church also worked well in controlling the Mayan farmers who had settled in El Cedral because they too were profoundly Catholic. 
Once political and religious power had been established and the land distributed, the citizens set about establishing occupational specialization between ranchers, artisans and merchants. It would be the merchants who would consolidate the island's interior market, which initially grew out of the necessity for bartering between the citizens of San Miguel and the residents of El Cedral; and between the Cozumeleno merchants and seasonal fisherman from Cuba and Belize. The Cuban fisherman exchanged manufactured products from Havana for fresh food and drinking water. 
In actuality, two different immigrant groups made it to the shores of Cozumel that first year. The first group was made up of 51 middle class families who made their way from the city of Valladolid, accompanied by 86 mestizo male servants. The second group consisted of 350 poor Mayans who came from the outskirts of Valladolid, but felt ideologically connected to the more urban group and elected to join them. Thus the first people to repopulate Cozumel arrived as a group with a history that instantly divided them according to work assignment and class distinction. 
The mestizos that formed the dominant group of the newly born society had a European-Mayan culture, were bilingual and dressed like white Yucatecans. Their experience in the market economy would be determined by events that had taken place as the island was first repopulated. 
The best land was appropriated in parcels of 10 to 200 hectares and the village of San Miguel was divided into lots for building homes. 
The field workers, who had arrived in the second wave of immigrants, were relocated in the El Cedral area and given excellent agricultural land. They, in turn, organized their own disbursement system that tended to parcel out land based on the individual's ability to work. 
The first action by the dominant group was to communicate with Merida and advise them of the new settlement, and so it was that on November 21, 1849, only two years after the War of Castes was initiated, Quintana Roo Governor Barbachano established the village of San Miguel on Cozumel Island. 
By 1970, Cozumel's population had grown to 10,000 inhabitants and by the year 2000 had reached 65,000. Now, almost a decade later, the island boasts a population of more than 85,000 residents. The only explorers that visit Cozumel these days are those looking to discover the beauty of the sun, sand, and sea.