What I Discovered In a Flight Magazine Yesterday

living.boondockingmexico@yahoo.com

Yesterday morning (I wrote this on Sunday morning) I flew to Chihuahua to teach a three hour course.  Funny, we finished at 3 p.m., went for lunch at the mall, and I was back home by 9 p.m.  A long day no doubt and I could have spent the night on either side of Saturday but I wanted to be at home.  Sunday is when I read my Rv.Travel newsletter.  It comes on Saturday now but I save it for my Sunday morning.

On the flight yesterday, I went out on VivaAerobus which offers discount flights.  The only gripe I have is if you don't get there on time or what they consider 2 hours before the flight, they shake their finger at you and tell you that you can't board the flight.  I got there an hour early and they didn't say anything.  The airline flies 737-300s and although it is a discount airline, their planes are roomy and super clean.  They offer a menu with breakfast, lunch, snacks, good coffee for 10 pesos with a free refill, beer for 35 and cocktails for 40 pesos.  Cheaper than a U.S. airline and you don't go hungry like on Southwest.

Once I am awake I don't go back to sleep.  Being an early  morning flight everyone was sacked out and I was wide awake.   I did some work and then started reading their in-flight rag.  Turns out, it was a very interesting find and here are some things I found:

For all of their destination cities they have a guide that includes activities, food, night life and things not to miss.  I know most of it is advertising for those establishments but I found that in Culiacan that the tacos sold on the street are supposedly a real treat, namely vampiros y pellizcadas.  I've had many tacos in my life and some in Culiacan but I don't think I have tried these.  So it has sparked my interest.

Another tidbit of interest is the constant advertising in not only in the VivaAerobus magazine but also Aeromexico is for the Chepe, the train which runs through Chihuahua.  They now show a picture of the train along with the new cable car that takes you down into the canyon.  I think that if you check Les' blog, MexicoKid, you will find a write he did when he passed through the Copper Canyon last month on his return to Canada.  One company is offering packaged tours from under 6800 pesos including the train, hotel, food and transfers.

Surprisingly enough, there is advertising for my town of Santiago, once or still is a pueblo magico promoting geo-tourism, climbing, camping and backpacking, and cabin rentals.  I am guessing there is a big push to promote the area and bring back tourists.  I had the opportunity to speak with a couple of local business owners at the gym last week after returning from vacation.  The burning question on my mind was if Semana Santa had drawn tourists as in previous years.  The answer was yes.  They all agreed that it is one year on and one year off and this happened to be the on year and by the way some of the younger kids with university studies are actually tracking it as part of their family business plan.  I thought that was interesting.

Another thing I would like to try is cooking classes in Oaxaca.  Again, you learn something new everyday.  Most classes are just one day and it includes all your materials starting at 50 dollars.  The best part is you get to eat what you prepare.   I always wanted to know how to make a mole from scratch.  

Normally I read my book but I was so tired I just kind of thumbed through the magazine.  Good thing I did.  I know I still have a lot to see and do in Mexico but adding it to the list is another thing.