GRATIS
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DESTINO s o b a C s o The Lifestyle Magazine of Baja California Sur
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SACRED SITES
Polo in Cabo EAST CAPE KITE-SURFING MAPS THE BEST PLACE ON EARTH WINTER 2011
Photo: Dirk Gallian
SACRED SITES ACROSS THE PLANET
Up Close and Personal
Monte Alban, Oaxaca Mexico was the religious center of the Zapotecs starting around 500 BC. See page 12 for more.
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Mt Sanqunishan, Jiangxi Province, China is an WuYi Mountain in Wuyishan, Fujan Province, China artistic masterpiece of nature. This rock carving looks over the Taoist monastery. Read more about represents longevity and well being. See page 28 this granite sacred mountain area starting page 24.
DESTINO LOS CABOS
3
BEACH MAP
Isla Espiritu Santo
BAJA SUR
El Coyote El Tecolote
DIVING DESTINATIONS
Save Swim Gas Station
LAND’S END Intermediate-Advanced
Airport
Isla del Carmen
Balandra
Surf
50’-60’ and just 5 minutes by boat you’re swimming with sea lions and moray eels. Also a sunken boat can be seen in the Falls.
Windsurf
SAND FALLS Beginners - Advanced
Pichilingue
El Tesoro Marina Costa Baja Coromuel
Fishing
La Paz
Bahia de La Ventana El Sargento La Ventana
AIRPORT
30’-100’ Steep sand banks go down sharply into a canyon filled wit tropical fish. A short boat ride from shore, the canyon runs from the depths of Cabo San Lucas bay to within 30 feet of shore, making the Bay one of the deepest in the world.
Whale Watching
PELICAN ROCK Beginners
Ensenada de los Muertos
HWY 1
Los Planes
25’-80’ Just 5 minute boat trip to this large rock that attracts many tropical fish.
Bahia de Los Sueños
NEPTUNE’S FINGER Advanced
Boca del Alamo San Antonio El Triunfo
80’-100’ Spectacular canyon wall dive.
CABEZA
Punta Pescadero
San Bartolo
HWY 1
Bahia de Las Palmas
HWY 19
Los Barriles Buena Vista
DE
BALLENA Beginners
20’-40’ 25 minute boat ride to dive through large boulders with lots of fish
SANTA MARIA CAVE Beginners 20’-40’ 35 minutes by boat, or dive from the beach. The entrance to Santa Maria canyon has a huge variety of fish who feed right from your hand
La Ribera Punta Colorada
Cañon de La Zorra Km 93
Pueblo Magico Km 55 Km 57 Km 59
Pescadero
Las Barracas
Santiago
Todos Santos Punta Lobos Las Palmas San Pedrito
Punta Arena
Agua Caliente
Cabo Pulmo
Miraflores Los Frailes
Km 65
Cerritos
HWY 1
Art & Beer
Boca del Salado Palo Escopeta
HWY 19
Vinorama
AIRPORT
Migriño
Cabo Pulmo Marine Park
Km100
San José del Cabo
La Fortuna
La Playa
Santa Cruz Punta Gorda Puerto La Laguna
CHILENO
TWIN DOLPHIN Beginners 20’-40’ 35 minutes boat ride and a sandy and rocky bottom. PARKING Lots of turtles sited here, tropical fish, night dives DIVE CENTER • RENTALS • TRIPS
EL GAVILAN Intermediate - Advanced 70’-100’ 35 minutes boat time. Rocky ledge leading into a canyon where groupers and larger fish are often sited.
BLOW HOLE Beginners – Advanced 30’-70’ 35 minutes boat ride from San Lucas, or just 10 minutes from Chileno beach. Rocky valleys present a variety of fish.
LAS SALINAS Beginners
30’-45’ 1.4 hours by boat from San Lucas, or 1 hour by boat from La Playita. A sunken Japanese fishing boat attracts a large assortment of fish.
Los Cabos
Pacific Ocean
COSTCO
Cabo San Lucas
Costa Azul Km 28 Palmilla Km 27 El Tule Km 15.5 Chileno Km 14.5 Santa Maria Km 13 Monuments Km 5
El Medano Lover’s Beach
Destino Los Cabos S. A. de C.V. © 2010
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GORDO BANKS Advanced 110’-120’ 1 hour boat from La Playita, there is a seamount where you can see Marlin, Hammerheads, Skip Jacks and at times huge Manta.
CABO PULMO Beginner-Advanced
Sea of Cortez
30’-100’ 2 hour drive East of San José then 5 minutes by boat you’ll find the only living coral reef in the Sea of Cortez. Note: travel time is from Cabo San Lucas marina
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FROM THE PUBLISHER
E
very issue of Destino Magazine is an original creation based on the stories that are ready for print, the photos that inspire our design group and the choices of the editor – me – how it all flows together. We always print our maps and charts as well as advertisements and stories for our local charities. Everything else is different every issue as there is so much to discover and share. This issue has a variety of stories about sacred sites across the planet. In “Up Close and Personal” I’m sharing some of my recent journeys to Monte Alban in Oaxaca Mexico, Mount Sanqingshan in Jinxzhu Province China and Mt WuYi in Fujan Province China with some photos from Mt E’Mei in Sichuan Province China. I enjoy exploring and studying ancient cultures and looking at the political, cultural and social changes over the years that create the reality manifesting today. I call it social archeology. My two trips to China in the past two years with Taiji Master Chungliang Al Huang, and his students from all over the world, brought me to World Heritage WuYi mountain in Fujan China to explore the ancient Chinese culture. Our weeks of study often featured visits – or treks – to spiritual or high energy places created by the Chinese Taoist and Buddhist followers. These practices have been around for many centuries and there is a rich integration of the Taoist belief of living in harmony with nature practiced by the Chinese people of today. The photos inside this issue will give you just a glimpse of these places and they are worth exploring in the future for you adventurous readers....which includes most of you or you would not have arrived in Baja Sur It seems that information is shrinking in the mass media, so sharing some first hand viewpoints has been of interest to our readers, so thanks to those of you wanting to read about my experiences in China. China is the country of the future of our planet, in my view, so they are worth getting to know at their many complex levels. Water sports in Baja dominate the athletic talent that has migrated
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to this playground. Wind conditions on the East Cape are near perfect for wind and kite surfers, attracting the best! Destino cover, kite-surfer Cynthia Brown does amazing physical feats enjoying her sport, while the precision photography of Dirk Gallian captures these flying surfers for our experience! The first kite-surfer was Benjamin Franklin in a boat on a lake, and the story goes on from there to this athletic, exciting sport today. The newest twist for the buff surfing community is Stand Up Paddle (SUP) and you’ll read about a recent tournament many participated in. The course was pretty grueling and the teams planned their strategy competing for a prize. Standing up on a wide, long surf board is much easier to learn and attracting people of all ages. It’s a great way to get out onto the water and rentals and instruction are available in Cabo at Medano Beach, and San Jose at Costa Azul beach. Much more fun than shoveling snow. A new set of “athletes” are now in Cabo in the four legged form of horses. The Polo horses now part of Club Polo in Cabo, are highly trained for the tricky maneuvers required when playing Polo. You’ll read about the recent “Battle of the Sexes” polo weekend in Cabo where an enthusiastic crowd welcomed the opening of Club Polo. New immigrants from South America and Europe embrace this sport, and Cabo is now joining this world community. With the harsh, snowy weather covering North America, I guess our winter residents are very happy they invested in this vibrant community with sunny blue skies over 300 days per year. There are many festivals, art shows, music events and charity events planned over the next few months to showcase the talents now living here. We trust our touists will share their real Up Close and Personal experience of Baja Sur with their friends, telling them about the safe, crime free, tranquil and entertaining resort community we have, and come back to visit, and even live in the future. May 2011 bring you health and the answer to your dreams.
In this
Issue
CONSULATE GENERAL UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
Trina Brown
Consular Agent Boulevard Marina Plaza Nautica Hours: Monday - Friday 9 am - 2 pm Tel: (624) 143 3566 usconsulcabo@yahoo.com
Features Kite-Surfing Yea the Whales! Cave Paintings
7 14 22
UP CLOSE & PESONAL Oaxaca City Festival de Rabanos Monte Alban China Dao of Tea Religion Mt Sanquinshan
10 11 12 24 25 26 28
CONSULATE of CANADA
Marie-Evee Pomerieau
Consular Agent Boulevard Marina Plaza José Green Hours: Monday - Friday 9 am - 2 pm Tel: (624) 142-4333 loscabos@canada.org.mx
EMERGENCY NUMBERS
Events & CRAFTS
Wizard of OZ Rope Makers? Numerology POLO
DIVING FISHING
CHARTS
20 21.. 32 34
4 9
Cabo San Lucas 143-3577 San José del Cabo 142-2466
ROTARY INTERNATIONAL Tuesdays
4 16 31 31
“To be close to nature is to have physical and moral health. Man in the country does not degenerate; only man in the cities”. Lin Yutang
FIRE DEPARTMENT
Meetings 8 am
MAPS Peninsula beaches San José Historic Dist. Cabo Marina Pacific Beaches
Police 066 Red Cross 065
Hong Kong China 1930
VOTE FEBRUARY 6, 2011 The path to peaceful change and growth
CASA DEL MAR San José Thursdays
Playa Grande Cabo San Lucas
DESTINO LOS CABOS s a de c v
San José Del Cabo, BCS Ph (011 52) (624) 142-4949
email: destinoloscabos@gmail.com ISSUE 46 Winter 2011 Printed in USA. All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced in any form without the written consent of the publisher. © 2011 Destino Inc. Numero 46 Invierno 2011 Todos los derechos reservados por Destino Los Cabos prohibida la reprodución total o parcial del contenido sin previa autorización por escrito de los editores. © 2011 Destino Los Cabos SA de CV DESTINO: LOS CABOS welcomes all written and photographic material. We cannot guarantee return. Rights to publish unsolicited material are retained for 12 months. Circulation throughout Southern Baja. For advertising rates and placement, Please contact: destinoloscabos@gmail.com
Susan Carol Publisher/Editor
www.destinoloscabos.com
Let’s Go Fly A Kite A conversation with local kite-surfers by Cathy Buchanan
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n the words of Cynthia Brown, Jeff King and Kent Forest, three of Los Cabos’ most proficient and dedicated kite-surfers, the extreme water sport is “gravity defying, the ultimate freedom and nature’s gift”. Winner of the 2009 La Ventana Classic, currently the only kite-surf competition in Baja California Sur, Cynthia “Cynbad the Sailor” Brown recalls a magical session with a school of bat rays. “I was jumping freestyle, and every time I was airborne there were at least two rays spinning and flying beside me,” she says. “It was a modern dance expression session with the real kiters of the sea.” While wind-sports have been popular on the tip of the Baja Peninsula for decades, kite-surfing is a relative newcomer in the field. Former professional windsurfer Jeff King, who set a world record for speed sailing in 1986, gives Ben Franklin credit for inventing the sport. “It was Franklin, who lay in the prone position on a raft and used a kite to pull himself across a lake, who was the first kitesurfer,” King says. Franklin may have had another invention in mind as his kite took him across the lake, but no doubt the thrill was similar to what Brown felt while flying with bat rays. According to King, modern kiting began evolving in the United States and Europe on a similar time line in the early 1980’s when Cory Roesler, son of a Boeing Engineer, designed a delta-winged frame kite pulling water skis, and Bruno Legainoux of France patented the first inflatable kite, which is today’s standard. Kiting went global in 1998 and became popular in Los Barriles on the East
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Cape, the epicenter of wind-sports in Baja California Sur, soon after that. In 1998 when the sport was still in its developing years, Brown and her husband Kent Forest took their first kite-surfing lesson from Corey Roesler. “The equipment, which was his own design, was incredibly difficult compared to today’s gear,” Brown says. “The kite was like a large stunt kite, with a frame. The bar was massive, with a fishing reel and a bicycle brake attached to it. When the kite went out of control, it would dive full speed into the water and sink. You had to reel in two 85-foot lines and toss the kite back into the air while floating with a weighted slalom water ski bound to one foot. Most of the time, it meant a long swim back to the beach,” Brown added. Forest has similar memories of the day. “We did actually ride for 20 to 30 feet that day and it changed our lives forever,” he says. “We were hooked.” Kite-surf equipment design has improved over the years as the sport’s popularity has grown. Modern kites are constructed of the same material as windsurfing sails, ripstop nylon. “They have inflatable leading edges and struts to provide flotation and water relaunch capabilities,” says King. “ ‘Spectra’ lines, which are 10 times stronger than steel, are connected to a control bar that has de-power capabilities and emergency escapes for when things get ugly.” Kites today are specialized to match the kind of kite surfing a rider
Photos including Destino Cover: Dirk Gallian www.jumpshotusa.com. GRATIS
DESTI The Li festy
le Mag az
ine of Baja Ca liforni
NO a Sur
FREE
Los Cabos
SACRED
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Polo in C TES abo
EAST CA
MAPS
PE KITE
-SURFING THE BE ST PLA CE WINTER
ON EA RTH
2011
Photo:
Dirk Gall
ian
Destino Los Cabos cover kiter is Winner of the 2009 La Ventana Classic and currently the only kite-surf competitor in Baja California Sur, Cynthia “Cynbad the Sailor”
prefers. “There are big air kites for jumping, kites for technical, low elevation tricks and kites designed for those who want to ride the waves,” says Forest. Price of a kite is about $1500, though King says “figure about $3000 to get started out right, and it’s easy to shell out $5000 if you want to run with the big dogs.”
All three kiters agree that professional kite lessons are not negotiable for initiation to the sport. “Take lessons, period,” Forest says adamantly. “Kites are dangerous in the hands of an untrained person, much like an automobile in the hands of a ten-year-old child,” says King. The three agree that modern kite gear is safe and user friendly compared to the equipment they used in the early days. “Done right, kite surfing is safe and fun,” says King. “Done wrong, without expert training, you could become a statistic.” King adds that Los Barriles has a growing number of kiters over the age of 60. “Don’t let anyone tell you this is a young man’s sport,” he says. “Older kiters have a new lease on life, and will usually drink you under the table at the post-kite drinking hole, where tall tales of the day’s adventures grow faster and higher after each beer.”
Chris and Jeff King in San José del Cabo 1980 DESTINO LOS CABOS
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RE NEWS by Terry Gray Curtis Century 21 Real Estate, Cabo
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ost Real Estate agencies survived 2010, some with flying colors! The saying: “Only the strong survive” is quite applicable in the Los Cabos Real Estate scene. Some brokerages have positioned themselves very intelligently with their physical location(s) and internet marketing programs. Those seasoned Los Cabos entrepreneurs have played their cards right and are succeeding during this first third of our traditional busy season that runs from October through May. Although the start has been slow, it is gaining momentum. This Latin gem, Los Cabos is in a unique geographical position to reap the rewards of a battered but recovering US economy. Add to that the first of the post-war baby boomers are turning 65 next year and they represent the largest group of retirees the US has ever generated. What a great combination. This group of new retirees coming online is a very educated group. They are financially savvy and most
have planned well for the financial base of their retirements. Unfortunately after all of that planning the outcome does not offer the same amount of security as expected due to Wall Street thieves and frivolous banking industry decisions. The cost of living in many places in the US is expensive, these Boomers are now looking for other options to invest and other places to live where they can get more for their dollar than in the good ole USA. The numbers are powerful: the most conservative number of American and Canadian Baby Boomers who are on their way to owning property in Mexico for full or part time living in the next 15 years is over 6,000,000. We realtors here in Los Cabos see this movement daily and it is very real. Do the math on six million people, each buying a $300,000 house or condo and the numbers are staggering. Conspiracy theorists suggest and a lot Mexican business owners will agree, that this relocation of investment out of the US and into Mexico is directly related to the U.S. Government poisoning Mexican tourism through negative propaganda spewed out on Fox and CNN news weekly. Whether the US government is that well organized or
not, it does sell a lot of advertising for the networks and other media. This negative, sweeping dialogue in the north about Mexican crime, is actually quite embarrassing and offensive as an ex-pat who has lived in Los Cabos since 1989, since we are free of the drug wars and far from the drug trafficking. Unfortunately, this First Amendment abuse has borne fruit, and as a result Mexican tourism is lower than normal in many Mexican resort destinations including Los Cabos. Fortunately, the common Cabo San Lucas vacationer is a well informed traveler and most are on their third, fourth or even fifth trip to Cabo. Why? Because it is safe, beautiful and everyone loves to either Golf, Fish, Dive, Off Road, Party, or nest on a more permanent basis, as I have. This is still a true Fun Zone, and a great place to live! Be advised that Mexico has completely avoided the subprime problem that devastated the U.S. banking industry because 90% or so of the foreign-owned real estate in Los Cabos is owned outright. The Mexican banking industry is healthy and profitable, Mexico has a growing and very healthy middle and upper middle class, and Mexican banks have fairly recently introduced residential financing for Mexicans, and in addition they and some foreign banks have introduced American-
ProMexico
N
Mexico’s Investment Arm
ew Director of ProMexico, the country’s investment and export authority, appointed by President Felipe Calderon, is Carlos Guzman Bofil. Mr. Guzman
has a bachelor degree in chemical engineering from Iberoamericana, a masters in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a master’s degree in business administration from Stanford University in California, USA. He has broad private sector experience including work at Hewlett Packard where he was General
Manager of Commercial Computing for Latin America and Treasury Manager in the Financial Division in Palo Alto, California. His task will be to attract foreign investment and to promote Mexican products abroad. At the designation event, President Calderon said,” ProMexico must be the sales organization for Mexico.” ProMexico has been involved in attracting direct foreign investment so far, in the amount of $12 billion. It has nine offices in North America.
START THE NEW YEAR WITH A LOCAL ADVERTISING CAMPAIGN
RESERVE AD SPACE By February 1 CONTACT destinoloscabos@gmail.com
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style financing for foreigners into the market. U.S. banks are competing for the Canadian and American cross border loan business. It is and will continue to be a very safe and very profitable business. These same banks that were lending in a reckless manner in the US have learned their lesson and are lending here the old fashioned way – carefully and securely. We have several lending options here in Los Cabos offering loans collateralized by the Los Cabos property being bought – and even offering cash-out financing for those with a lot of capital already tied up in their property here. Add to all this fact that it has never been easier to purchase property in Los Cabos. Our inventory higher causing overall prices to be somewhat below their levels of two to three years ago, reflecting the general lowering of prices in all of North America. There are always individual cases where the seller just has to get rid of the property, there are “fire sales.” There has never been a better time in the history of this beautiful area with just about the best weather on the planet, to buy your dream home or invest. Between the incredibly large amounts of inventory we now have and the fact that prices and sellers have become very competitive, the opportunities are unlimited!
Gary Player Golf Course Opens in La Paz
Surrounding the Costa Baja Resort on the Sea of Cortez
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a Paz adds its second golf course after waiting 475 years for its first golf course to open at Paraiso del Mar, in 2009. In November the Costa Baja golf course and club house were inaugurated. Participating in the opening were golf legend Gary Player, who designed the course, and perennial number one ranked female golfer, Lorena Ochoa. Following the ribbon cutting ceremony Gary and Lorena conducted a driving range and bunker clinic. Later the two teed off for six holes in front of a large crowd.
nowhere else can you see the desert and the sea meet like this.”
This is Player’s first golf course in Latin America The winner of 163 tournaments; he has designed 300 courses spread over five continents. ” This one is really special, he said,
(624) 142-4949www.destinoloscabos.com
Cleaning the Ocean
T
wice per year in May and November, Cabo Expeditions provides the community of Los Cabos an opportunity to help keep its beaches, seas and ocean clean with a one-month-long “Cleaning Campaign.” Hundreds of local people, various residents and corporations such as Domino’s Pizza, Home Depot and Costco also participate.
In November the Cabo Expeditions crew hauled out 73 old, rubber tires outside of the Cabo San Lucas Marina and within Medano Bay. Usually, these tires come from the old Tuna manufacturing plant, shut down for decades. After having been wiggled loose from the docks used as protection for incoming boats, the tires would fall into the sea and forgotten. With the tides and currents, the tires eventually present themselves to SCUBA divers and snorkelers. Obviously, this is not the best presentation for tourists and residents therefore Cabo Expeditions took action three years ago and began their own cleaning campaign. Aside from tires, dozens upon
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dozens of employees and volunteers cleaned beaches and bays each Saturday during November. They focused on areas such as Lover’s Beach, Medano, Playa Empacadora and more, collecting over 50 bags of paper, plastics and debris. Additionally, this year Cabo Expeditions also went a step further by assisting with a recycling campaign by working with Baja Recicladora who separated recyclables from trash. The trash was hauled off to the dump by a donated truck from the municipality of Cabo San Lucas and the recyclables are compacted and sent to a plant in Mazatlan, Sinaloa. Unbelievably, in November
REMEMBERING BOBBY VAN WORMER
Don Roberto died December 7 at home in Los Barriles after complications with cancer and respiratory stress. Born in the Midwest USA, served in the Navy and migrated to Los Barriles in the 1950’s, he pioneered the Sport fishing growth in Baja Sur. The owner of Hotels Palmas de Cortez, Playa del Sol, and the one closest to his heart, Punta Colorada, died with his family at his bedside. Survived by his wife, ChaCha Ruiz Van Wormer, his sons, Robert Jr, Carlos (Chuckie) and Eddie, and his sisters Dorothy and Esther and brother Frank. Bobby was the baby of the family, and died at age 85. His good stories and big smile will be missed.
alone the Cabo Expeditions’ Beach, Ocean and Sea Cleaning Campaign brought in a total of 3.5 tons of tires, trash and debris collectively! Not-so-suprisingly, people are taking notice of the philanthropic work being done by Cabo Expeditions! They are now considering opportunities to perform cleaning campaigns in both La Paz and Puerto Vallarta.
DESTINO LOS CABOS
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Up Close and Personal
oaxaca c i ty by Susan Carol Publisher Destino
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any of my friends say that Oaxaca is their favorite Mexican State to visit and I now understand why. The area is comfortable, non-polluted and full of culture to explore. The surrounding mountains offer hiking and exploration, and the people are relaxed and content with their family traditions. Family is the center of the culture as in most of Mexico, and many people choose to live there even if the financial opportunities are not the greatest, because of their family. Knowing that Monte Alban was the Zapotec center of cosmopolitan Mesoamerica just north of the Mayan empire, and all these ancient, yet highly evolved people traded with each other and walked in this valley, humbled me coming from a country with such a short history. Imagining this lineage is easier when surrounded by reminders in the land and the architecture about the rich past found throughout Oaxaca, Mexico. In this southern Mexican state of Oaxaca with just the state of Chiapas separating it from the Guatemala border, the capital city, Oaxaca City, is located in a beautiful central valley that has a humankind history of almost 10,000 years. The nickname for the city is Verde Antequera because many of the structures are built from green stone, which glistens like marble when it rains. The calm but focusedon-each-other energy of the people, shows they have interacted in community living for many centuries, and are used to foreigners passing through and pay them little attention. The weather is temperate and comfortable year round, and the 5000 feet above sea level setting is green and lush with a large variety of produce growing in the fertile soil for hundreds of kilometers in almost all directions. Many travelers may be more familiar with the State of Oaxaca through their Pacific ocean resorts of Huatulco and Puerto Escondido. These lovely
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music, fireworks, traditional foods and resorts have warmer temperatures, lots of good family fun. The first night and the same easy culture. It is a long, was a music concert. Thousands gathwindy rugged mountain highway to ered to enjoy the Christmas displays, travel to the coast from Oaxaca City, special candies, children playing in the so most travel there via airplane. A plaza. The next night was the Festival new highway to Mexico City has just de Rabaños. The entire square was opened, and a luxury bus travels there surrounded by creative displays with in just 5 hours. Originally Oaxaca Empire, Alonso Garcia Bravo, the all the items made from carving radCity was named Oaxaca de Juárez in architect of Mexico City and Veraishes. Obviously a major crop in the honor of the 19th century president cruz, to design Oaxaca City. He area, the colorful presentation was and national hero, Benito Juárez, began with the creation of the Plaza delightful to experience. who was born nearby. His statue is Central or Zócalo (square). He The city center is an inviting place found in a variety of places throughused cardinal points (direct north, to wander around. There are museout the greater city that has just over south, east and west) to position the ums, cathedrals, art galleries, good res500,000 inhabitants. Always visible streets then used a symbology contaurants and craft vendors everywhere. from the city are the Sierra Madre sisting of the placement of a CatheI found I was drawn to the town square del Sur mountains, adding beauty to dral (over the Aztec site where every day for breakfast, reading the the colorful streets, and plaza dotted they buried their dead) on one side paper, having a hot chocolate, listenneighborhoods. Thick forests of pine and the municipal buildings on the ing to music, people watching, photo and oak trees surround the central other side. Thus, it was thought, the capturing, and general enjoyment with valley region, and the famous Monte square would represent the balance the parade and fireworks the nights Albán archeological site is perched on between the terrestrial and the before Christmas. the top of a high, man-flattened peak sacred…the Church and the civil I found out that after the Spanclose to the city. power, the balance between the teriards arrived in the area, around the There are no major hotel chains restrial and the sacred…the Church early 1500’s they commissioned one located in the State and all City hotels and the civil power. are quite small; from 7-30 rooms. The of the best town planners in their food is fantastic! I enjoyed every meal all week, and sometimes even moaned with delight at the sauces on some dishes. The local chefs are famous for their mole sauces, which are found with many combinations, flavors and levels of sweetness. The local farmers also have a wide variety of vegetables, herbs and fruits that enhance the cuisine. I was surprised at how cold it was when I arrived in the evening a few days before Christmas. Heading south from Baja Sur does not mean it gets warmer. As it turns out, this is a terrific week to visit Oaxaca City as they celebrate Navidad for 6 days with Santo Domingo Church built from 1555 - 1666 with a Baroque renaissance style has extraordinary interior festivals, parades, exhibits, decorations of golden and polychrome work. The main altar was made of gold leaf in 1959 by local artisans
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Festival de Rabanos...radishes The Spaniards designed the city without walls or defenses trusting that the Zócalo’s magic strength would protect it from all evil. Aside from a brief invasion by Morelos in 1812, and the General Bazaine forces in 1864, and the guerilla uprising by Profirio Diaz, the State Governor, the city has remained out of the military conflicts. Around the town square are numerous restaurants with musicians entertaining the patrons from morning ‘til night. In the center of the square is a kiosko where the State Government band plays on a regular schedule and guest musicians play for various occasions. Throughout the park are huge, thick laurel trees, providing shade from the warm midday sun, and a place for lights to shine on the nighttime plaza. Walking distance from the Zócalo is the Cathedral of Santo Domingo. A spectacular golden altar and side altars that equal the ornate ceilings found in the main church, capture your eyes and make you sigh with awe. This state has gold mines and gold is found in gorgeous, ornate designs in all of the churches and Dominican convents in the area. The cultural museum, attached to the church is found in the ex-convent area, and is full of significant artifacts found in the region. Showing the past thousands of years of local history is an important way to understand the people today. The community, crafts, rituals are the basis of the culture…then and now. Statistically the people in this region are considered poor, however they are very rich in the ancient crafts of weaving, carving and leather-workTourists and exporters seek out these unique creations evolved over thousands of years.
MARKETS
One of the most distinctive crafts only found in Oaxaca is black pottery. Visiting the village of San Bartolo Coyotepec just 13 km south of Oaxaca it’s clear the principal industry is pottery makers using the black clay and traditional methods to make, decorate and bake their distinctive pottery designs. There were so many unique designs of vases, plates, bowls, jewelry, and
much more with prices so low at $3.50 - $10 usd each. Black pottery always means Oaxaca. The next village south specialized in weaving and embroidery with place mats and table runners and purses and belts woven in colorful and intricate designs. Again the prices are very inexpensive and the handmade quality uses weaving techniques passed along for generations. The next village a few kilometers away specialized in woodcarvings with intricate animals, hand painted designs, and hundreds of carvings to choose from. The street vendors in the city center sell most of these items, but it’s interesting to see that all these crafts are handmade by local people in family groups and not some high volume factory full of machinery. There are a number of markets in various towns considered in the outer suburbs of the city, that appeal to the local needs. For instance in the town of Ocotlán, the rancheros come to the town market every Friday to sell their cattle, and buy supplies from food to shoes to clothes and DVDs. Street markets are the heart of the economy and very few large shopping stores are found. A couple blocks from the Zócolo is the city market that truly carries everything. Multiple stands with fresh fish, all the nuts you can imagine, dried fruit, fresh vegetables, hot corn on the cob ready for eating, clothes, house wares, and anything else you can imagine. stretch for blocks. One huge area contains food counters where tasty dishes are cooked up all times of day or night full of the fresh flavors and natural spices found in their colorful cooking. Farming, pottery making and crafts are central activities for the population. No big industry has developed in the area, so the society is market centered, just like the past 10,000 years. The culture, food, gentle people, gorgeous geography has not gone un-noticed and Oaxaca City was chosen by Conde Nast Travel as one of the top 10 visited cities in the Americas. 1. Buenos Aires 2. Vanvouver 3. Quebec City 4. Victoria 5. San Miguel de Allende6. Cuzco 7. Montreal 8. Oaxaca City 9. Toronto 10. Rio de Janeiro
The annual Christmas event, Festival de Rabanos brings out over 100 displays of christmas scenes made out of radishes. Thousands of people flock to the central square to enjoy this creative display.
Monte Alban, Oaxaca
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amed by UNESCO as a world humanity site of importance, the ruins on this high mancarved plateau are the remains of the first urban complex in Mesoamerica. The Zapotecs were the culture who created this area starting around 500 BC. Spending generations just to flatten the top peak of a mountain, the organization and vision to create this site of worship, finally culminated around 850 AD. The site became the ceremonial center replacing a long tradition of agriculture-based worship.
Home of the Zapotecs
A variety of gods and worship objects like figurines and urns found on the site, represent the leadership of the dominant class and religious leaders. This culture chose the crests of the mountains to bury their dead so they were closer to their gods. The rulers used an iron fist to keep all the surrounding villages stable, while using their religious ceremonies to unite them. Impressive discoveries from Tomb 7 can be found in the Culture Museum including hundreds of pieces of jewelry made with gold and silver making up one of the richest collections found in all of ancient Mexico. Monte Alban was considered the culture center and through their religion extended their influence to cover what is now the state of Oaxaca. On Christmas day, on one of the deepest traditions from
my culture, it seemed fitting to be climbing the pyramid steps built by a culture, with totally different beliefs. Every era seems to find it’s heroes and it’s gods. This ancient city was one of splendor and nurtured the development of arts and sciences as expressed through their observatory, sun dial, calendar, artistic pottery and stonework and writing system. When people died they gained immortality and their remains were delivered to tombs located in the worship buildings and their relatives delivered offerings until they died. Modern explorers started documenting this mountain starting with Belgian traveler Guillaume Dupaix and artist Luciano Castañeda publishing their drawings in 1830. This attracted German explorer Eduard Muhlenpfordt to visit that year, and he implored Oaxacan historian Juan Bautista Carriedo to make a complete record of the site. German naturalist Johann W. von Mueller drew a complete site design in 1857. In 1885 daring French explorer Désiré Charnay described the effect the site had on him. The first excavations started in 1902 by Leopoldo Batres, the Inspector of Monuments. Many walls were
by Susan Carol
Publisher Destino Los Cabos
dismantled to extract carvings and sent to museums in Mexico City. Some say this weakened the walls and the area suffered extensive damage in the strong earthquake hitting the region in 1931. The most renowned archeologist at Monte Alban was Alfonso Caso who from 1931-1958 systematically investigated the entire Valley of Oaxaca to understand the hieroglyphs, religion and society structures. There is a statue of him when you enter the site.
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The Whale Lagoons
n the center of the lagoon a massive, barnacle-encrusted mother gray whale keeps a watchful eye on her young calf. At just 3 weeks old, the 15-foot, 2000 pound calf can barely make it alone in the protective waters. Thousands of whales have migrated from the Artic oceans, further than any other animal on earth, to arrive at the Mexican lagoons...Guerrero Negro at the nothern border of Baja Sur, San Ignacio Bay and Magdalena Bay...difficult to see from the sea, but significant in the life of the Gray Whale. As one proud boat guide said; “all the Grays birth in these lagoons, making all the Gray whales Mexican!”. This yearly 5000 mile migration – one way - from the Alaska Bering Sea to the Baja Peninsula lagoons is undertaken by all Gray Whales every year for their life, and they never leave site of land. This predictable pattern has sometimes brought them almost to the point of extinction a couple of times, but has also made them accessible to biologists and whale watchers in our times.
It’s a very special treat for all visitors to the lagoons, to commune closely with our mammal friends; whales and dolphins. Swimming with the dolphins in Cabo San Lucas brings easily accessible joy at the fun and intelligence these animals add to their encounters with humans. The existence of whale lagoons in our State of Baja Sur, and the small panga boats, close to the water that bring us in touching distance of these gentle giants of the ocean, are truly gifts and a rarity on the planet. When a whale chooses to play and interact with your boat, you feel a sense of connection to a wild animal snd you tend to feel proud and humble with the experience The Gray whales are not the only animals migrating on their route annually. They are joined by other mammals…seals,
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dolphins…and smaller fishes, birds reptiles and insects. During the several months the whales enjoy their mating and socializing time in Baja, they live almost solely off the fat they built up when feeding in the protein rich summer seas of the north. When in the Bering Sea they gain 16-30% of their total weight, sifting nearly 100 acres of bottom sediment to ingest 67 tons of food. Scientists have found that in some areas of the Bering Chukchi and Beaufort seas, 40% of the bottom has been scarred with sifting pits representing 156 million tons of sediment moving through whale mouths. Cows and bulls reach mating age from five to eleven years of age. Bulls and cows start flirting along the migratory path while going south and breed mostly in late November and December. They are basically promiscuous as cows outnumber bulls, and they mate with many partners. Rather than bulls fighting for cows, they build up massive amounts of sperm and try to outnumber a competing male’s sperm in the same cow. Scientists call this evolutionary “sperm competition”. The pregnant for 13 months cow, head to the lagoons when it’s time to give birth, though many stay out in the open sea. By January all the calving lagoons are full of whales, with the most northern one at Guerrero Negro birthing the first new whales. As the whale population increases, whales are also calving around Cabo San Lucas and as far north in the Sea of Cortez as Bahia de los Angeles. Most births occur between January 5 and Feb. 15. Few people have ever seen a gray whale birth, but general consensus is they come head first, and mothers are alone in shallow water, unattended by others. Newborns are about 15 feet long and 2000 pounds and practically helpless at birth. Within 3 hours it can swim and breathe on its own, with mom’s help.
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ecember at Hotel Dorado on Medano beach, Cabo Expeditions hosted the 1st Annual “Celebrating A Beautiful Journey” event, welcoming our grey whales, Honored speakers and presenters were various influential people including Miroslava Bautista (Mexican Board of Tourism, Los Cabos), Jacobo Turquie (Secretary of Tourism, Baja California Sur) and Armando Figaredo (Award-winning journalist, Cabo Mil / Unicable) acting as master of ceremonies. Lic. Maria Elena Muriel, Delegate of AMTAVE (Asociacion Nacional de Turismo Alternativo y Eco-Turismo) Maria Elena provided an educational and powerful message consistent with the preservation of whales, their protection and the natural environment they inhabit. Mexico has introduced and is institutionalizing environmental knowledge through CONANP (National Commission for Protected Natural Areas) and via the agency SECTUR (Secretary of Tourism) which is part of the federal government Maria Elena Murial system. teaches eco-tourism is T h e important to Baja Sur. agency’s goals are numerous: the development of products, services and facilities sustainable in natural areas,
Celebrating Our Whales! by Seth Romans, Cabo Expeditions
Photo Oscar Ortiz
(From left to right) Oscar Ortiz, Anita Trellez & Parents, Miroslava Bautista, Alfonso Vazquez (President of CANIRAC), Armando Figaredo.
participating in the creation of management plans, best practices and strategic plans to enhance sustainable tourism all of which by promoting the natural and cultural heritage of the country. Maria Elena Muriel has been an integral part of Mexico’s environmental and preservation campaign. Her presentation captivated the entire audience during the “Celebrating A Beautiful Journey” event as she focused primarily on the whale watching season and new SEMARNAT regulations. Beginning this year whale watching in Baja California Sur will see some dramatic changes in how tour operators are regulated. Some examples are that each tour company must be SEMARNAT approved and certified with a new regulation by the name of NOM-131-1998. If a whale watching operator does not have this certification, they run the chance of facing of large fine and
Identify whales by their blow & dive pattern blue whale gray whale humpback
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having their boating or tour licenses pulled, or all of the above. Futhermore, and more along the lines of how the United States regulates whale watching tours,
(left) Oscar Otriz, Cabo Expeditions, and Jacobo Turquie, Secretary of Baja Sur tourism
SEMARNAT (the environmental protection agency in Mexico) will now enforce a perimeter or minimum distance of at least 30 meters from a whale UNLESS the whale
was to surface somewhere close to a tour operator’s vessel. Currently in the United States, the regulations vary but the average is 100 meters in distance for any whale watching operator. In about 5 years, Mexico should have the same regulations as the United States in hopes of better preservation of a whale’s natural migratory habits. “For over one decade, we have worked diligently with the Mexican Board of Tourism, SEMANART, and governmental wildlife protection agencies in allowing people from all over the world to experience what it’s like to get “up close and personal” with our intimate whale watching tours. We take great pride and go to even greater lengths to provide an educational whale watching encounter for our clients using our fleet of Zodiac boats.” says Oscar Ortiz (Owner, Cabo Expeditions). Numerous others involved in the resorts, hotels, travel agencies and destination management companies were in attendance in order to learn more about the new SEMARNAT whale watching regulations.
Querencia’s First Cabo Collegiate By Samah El Hindi
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the sensational event. It was organized and led by the golf staff and supported by other departments such as Food and Beverage Operations and Clubhouse Operations. Also, the members of Querencia graciously allowed the development to use the course for the number of days necessary to host the event. In Ten golf teams from the U.S. fact, Jim Renwick, a devoted memtraveled to Cabo for a remarkable ber of the club, suggested the event three-day golf tournament. Accordto Querencia’s management team. ing to the CEO of Querencia, Jorge The tournament itself was hosted Carrera, the event was a smashing by two of the American teams, success. He also mentioned that Santa Clara and Arkansas. All these hosting the tournament served sevpeople came together to make what eral purposes, one of which was to Robert Miller, coach of Santa Clara was to provide an example of success and Brad McMakin, coach of Arkanin golf for the local youth of Cabo. sas, both called a “ first Mario Navarro, Director of class event.” Golf at Querencia, added The college golfto this by saying, “We want ers and their families to cultivate an ambition for experienced Querengolfers towards Cabo, to cia’s notable hospitalhelp them see it as a good ity. Miller said, “Mario option when compared to coordinated and orgaother destinations such as nized everything from Hawaii.” accommodation to The event was the transportation and it successful manifestation Jim Renwick in a strong was all great.” He also of the efforts of many. college sports supporter said that the feedback According to Carrera the and the man-who-made-it- from all the college entire Querencia team happen , hosting these top players, the coaches played a hand in creating athletes and their families and the parents was to enjoy and play golf in he clubhouse at Querencia is normally a relatively quiet place, home to about 260 private members. However, on October 4th, Querencia’s clubhouse was glowing brightly with the distinguished hustle and bustle of the awards ceremony for the first Cabo Collegiate tournament.
unanimous, saying that they were all very impressed with the area, Querencia and the course. According to Renwick, 85% of the golfers had never been to this part of Mexico and so they brought their families and planned vacations around this event- and it was a stunning first experience for all of them. In fact, Jamie Marshall the individual tournament winner from Arkansas said, “ I know that my coach and my team will come back next year.” Everyone who experienced the incredible Cabo Collegiate shared his sentiments.
THE FRED DUCKETT GOLF CHALLENGE & FUND RAISER
March 5-7, 2011
www.loscaboschildren.org Vince Gill & Amy Grant host the annual event benefiting the children of Los Cabos
Golf at Querencia and Puerto Los Cabos
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NUTRITION vs NUTRICEUTICALS REVISITED by Dr. Bill Sniechowski DC
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wrote an article a little while back entitled “Nutrition vs. Nutriceuticals” and it raised a lot of questions so, in this article, I will clarify the issue and answer the questions. What are nutriceuticals? They are synthetic, isolated fractions of a vitamin complex missing many constituents of a whole food – like a carrot or a pea or an orange. There are hundreds, if not thousands, of constituents in a whole food that act synergistically to provide the necessary nutrition to sustain life. The “active ingredient” in a carrot is the carrot. It is not beta carotene. Beta carotene needs the enzymes, minerals, catalysts, cofactors and phytonutrients in a carrot to make it “active.” It’s like ordering a hamburger but all you get is the pickle. Where’s the beef? What is nutrition? It is supplying and supporting all of your body’s physiological processes with whole food concentrates to maintain and enhance your health and well-being. If the supplement you are taking is made from things like oats, mushrooms, beets etc., you are using nutrition as Nature intended. If you are taking things like alpha tocopherol (“vitamin E”) or ascorbic acid (“vitamin C”), you are using nutriceuticals. We are complex biochemical and physiological beings and our nutrition must also be complex. When you eat a whole food or take a whole food supplement, you are using all of the known and, more importantly, unknown nutrients that make it alive and beneficial. When I was in school 28 years ago, there were 12 nutrients in a carrot. Today there are over 200…and still counting. I believe we will never know all of what Mother Nature has up her sleeve. So play it safe. Play it smart. Eat the carrot. Why do I have to take supplements? Can’t I get all I need from food? If you live on an organic farm and raise free range animals, yes. The sad truth, however, is that there is no food in our food anymore. To increase production and lower costs (increase profits?), agribusiness has
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poisoned our soil, water and food with chemicals depleting them of vital nutrients. In 1945, one cup of spinach provided 50mgs. of iron. Today you need to eat 5 cups of spinach to get 50mgs. of iron. Dr. Bernard Jensen, in “Empty Harvest”, wrote, “Our soil has become simply dirt used to prop up a plant in the middle of a field preparing it for a chemical enema.” Dr. Royal Lee, in the ‘40’s, said, “We are all suffering from varying degrees of malnutrition amid an abundant supply of supposedly good food.” Feedlot animals are pumped so full of hormones we are becoming androgenous and impotent (Viagra, anyone?). We all need to supplement our diets with organic, whole food supplements. I was told all I needed was a multivitamin like Centrum and a baby aspirin…and maybe some extra calcium…and a little more zinc…and I just heard something about vitamin D…First of all, I don’t believe you are suffering from a baby aspirin deficiency. Aspirin blocks the production of hormone-like chemicals called Series 2 Prostaglandins which cause vasoconstriction (narrowing of blood vessels), platelet aggregation (blood clotting) and inflammation. Pretty good, right? Ironically, aspirin, even baby aspirin, also blocks production of Series 1 & 3 Prostaglandins which cause vasodilation (widening of blood vessels), anti-platelet aggregation (blood thinning) and are anti-inflammatory. You’re robbing Peter to pay Paul. Regarding the multivitamin and the other chemicals, again, you are taking a nutriceutical Nature did not intend in that delivery form or at that dosage. They act as drugs, somewhat safer drugs, forcing changes in your body instead of facilitating healthy function. And the dosages are too high. They have to be because your body sees them as nonfood and excretes 90% of them putting a burden on your liver and kidneys. Another thing that occurs
is, while the chemical vitamin is in you, it starts looking for the other parts to make it whole and depletes you of stored nutrients like: high doses of zinc, for “your immune system,” severely depletes copper and iron which are needed for your immune system; too much vitamin E (alphatocopherol) depletes selenium making you more prone to cancer; high vitamin C (ascorbic acid) depletes copper; vitamin B isolates induce imbalances of other vitamin B components necessary for heart health. So, you are actually better off not taking them at all. Your body’s physiology is a wonderful cascade of interdependent events developed over millennia. This era of “better living through chemistry,” dishonors Nature. And we are part of Nature. Eat organic, whole food. Take organic, whole food supplements. Maybe, just maybe, we can eat our way out of this.
If you would like more information about whole food supplements and personalized diet and nutrition programs, call Dr. Bill 624 118 1603 or
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The Wizard Twists into Todos Santos! by Vickie M. Butler
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n the original 1939 movie version of The Wizard of Oz, starring Judy Garland, the main characters plead with the Wizard to give them a brain, a heart, courage and a home. During the first three weekends of February, audiences for The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist will not only view those attributes as staged by the actors, but also will experience the real life use of them! Because of the courage, heart and brains of well-known director Isabel Smyth and contractor/musician Raul Cavazos, the community of Todos Santos is now home to the newly constructed Blue Moon Stage. Located in an exquisite tropical setting, the multi-leveled stage is surrounded by beautifully bricked arches. One can easily imagine all of the future theatrical and musical productions taking place as Director Smyth enthuses, “We’re so excited about building our own stage in Todos Santos. From now on, Blue Moon Productions will have this incredible venue to facilitate the performing arts in our community. Comprised of a 35+ member cast and crew, The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist will be a lively, colorful musical spoof based on the familiar movie story line---with one major
exception: Dorothy is a fifty-nine year old recent transplant to Todos Santos who visits the craziness of Munchkinland, Emerald City and the Wizard of Oz because of a hurricane rather than a tornado! Talented veteran actress Roxanne Rosenblatt’s Dorothy promises to be a more relevant, cynical Dorothy whose encounters with the Scarecrow, Tin Man, Lion and Witches are truly of out of this world! Serendiptity Bed and Breakfast owner, Sharon Morris, relishes her role as the Cowardly Lion. “I look like Bert Lahr, the original movie Lion, and I really enjoy playing parts that can be exaggerated and are larger than life. Learning the Lion’s expressions and songs is fun as well as a challenge for me.” (Local audiences may recall Morris as
14th Annual TODOS SANTOS ART FESTIVAL Feb 12-19
A gathering of regional arts, photography, musical performance dance, theatre, and food presentations, The new theatre will be inaugurated, and the new town plaza will be the center of the festival. Highlights: Opening Feb 12 - 20:15 Hrs. Dance/200. Celebrating our history”. Spectacular dance show, town plaza • Feb 19 - 20:15 Hrs. Musical theater. Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice Joseph & The Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat.
Mother Superior in Nunsense four years ago). Joining her on the Oz adventure is Vic Kirby, an Oxford graduate, corporate consultant, author and photographer, who has been cast in the role of the creaky Tin Man, a man built without a heart. “I’m a little rusty at the moment, but my lines with be polished by the time we get there!” In addition to a fine acting ensemble, director and visionary Smyth has attracted a multitude of other talents including the choreographer, the costumer and the set designer. With an MA in Choreography from UCLA and experience with numerous productions in the western United States, Moonstone Mazzetti is enjoying working with both adult and child cast members. “It’s fun working with non-dancers; I love the idea of a Todos Santos community theater troupe; and I especially enjoy the Wizard of Oz. I probably have seen the movie twenty times!” Multi-media artist Roxanne Sparks, head of Costuming and Prop Design for The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist, is making use of a broad and varied skill-base. Presently, her Todos Santos studio is filling up with creations that include a lifesize mango tree and paper mache masks, ears, and tails amid an array of
other imaginative costumes. “In my previous life, I worked as a graphic artist for several years. I also created whimsical miniature houses and scenes that I called gnome houses under the name Gnome Sweet Home! These were mixed media of paper mache, wood, bark and other natural and man made materials. Happily for me, my gnome houses were collected by many devoted fans as well as gifted internationally! I also made special, and many times elaborate, costumes for my children, my husband and me. The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist is a fun way to put some of my interests to work!” Because of its ocean setting, moderate climate and growing reputation as an artists’ colony, Todos Santos continues to attract a foreign population that brings a vast reservoir of experiences and interests. When combined with the welcoming, talented local Mexican community, Isabel Smyth’s vision of an on-going Todos Santos performing arts cadre is on its way to becoming a reality. Plan to see this mixture of brains, heart, courage and home on Blue Moon Stage during the production of The Wizard of Oz with a Todos Twist, 7:30 pm, on February 4, 5, 11,12,18,19! Tickets can be purchased at Tecolote Bookstore, La Bodega de Todos Santos or Blue Moon Stage. For info, please contact bluemooninbaja@yahoo.com.
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Governor of Rotary region 4100 Cuauhtémoc Mendez (wine colored sport coat) officiated at the formal ceremony December 10 to swear in the founding members of Los Cabos Rotary This new club combines Americans and Mexicans and Eduardo Romans (white mustache) is the first club President. The new club joins the Cabo Rotary Club in the area, and meets Tuesdays 8 am at Casa Del Mar hotel on the corridor in Cabo Real. Rotarians and visitors are welcome!
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Who Will Make The Rope? The craft of tying palm leaf rope
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alapas, palm frond thatched roofs, have been a traditional architectural feature in Mexico for more than 2000 years. Practical, attractive and environmentally sound, they are woven from palm fronds collected without harvesting the trees. Today, palm fronds are often nailed to wooden beams, but in traditional construction, they are carefully tied to each other with strips of palm. Rope made from the fronds is used to bind the anchoring beams together. The craft of making palm rope is passed from generation to generation, but on the East Cape, between Los Barriles and La Ventana, Rosendo Sandez Lucero is one of the last people to practice this dying craft. Now 68 years old, Sandez has lived on the beach north of Los Barriles all his life. He is a descendant of a family that has lived there for more than 200 years. The title to the family property is signed by Benito Juarez. When Sandez was growing up, he lived in a handmade stick and wattle house with a palm roof that was strong enough to get him through a number of hurricanes. Sandez learned the craft of making palm rope from his father, who wove the rope into nets. In Sandez’s father’s day, fishermen attached buoys to the top of the palm rope nets, and weights to the bottom, then placed them in the
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ocean to trap sharks. “Palm is cut on the full moon,” Sandez said. “It can’t be cut in the spring, when the trees are growing fruit. After the fruit has fallen and the moon is full again, the leaves can be cut once more.” Sandez’s father taught him this, telling him that when the moon is new, the leaves are dry and weak, and break easily, but when the moon is full the leaves are well hydrated and strong. Sandez uses leaves from fan or Washingtonian palms, cut from trees growing in his own yard, to make the rope. The leaves must be dried for a week before using, and once dry, they are cut into strips and soaked in water to make them soft and easier to weave. While Sandez weaves the palm leaves into rope using two strands of palm, he speaks with pride about how his father wove three strands together using only one thumb. Sandez’s sister makes baskets from the same material. Sandez has remained single his entire life and has no sons to pass the skill on to. He says that his nephews have other occupations, and aren’t interested in learning, adding “There must be another person to learn this,” he says “because when I’m gone, who will make the rope?”
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Cave Paintings Boco del Alamo
By Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr.
This is the second in a series of adventures we will be taking together as we travel around the East Cape area. The history of the East Cape is colorful and its people are diverse. The villages along the Sea of Cortez and the mountain pueblos have many interesting stories and legends. Come along as we discover them together! For all future trips, I am providing my GPS waypoints if you want to track the routes. Use Map Datum WGS 84.
O
ur second adventure takes us north of Los Barriles along the beach road past El Cardonal in search of the Boco del Alamo cave paintings near White Face Mountain. When exploring in the desert or the mountains, it is always a good idea to go with a group of people. While I could have made the trip in a car or Rhino, I decided to ask my friend Brian Cummings from the Asociación de Artes in Los Barriles if he would be interested in taking me in his dune buggy. A
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full-time resident of the Baja, Brian has over twelve years experience exploring the area in his modified Volkswagen. Accompanying us in their dune buggy were Bob and Judy Eustice who are part-time residents with over ten years of desert exploring. I felt confident that I was in good hands for the trip. After loading up with water, adjusting our goggles, and synchronizing our Global Positioning Systems (GPS), we were off to our start point just north of Los Barriles. A little more than two miles north of the Hotel Palmas de Cortez entrance and past the Buenos Aires Arroyo and the San Bartolo Arroyo is a blue “Punta Pescadero Paradise” road sign. To the left is a hard surface road to El Cardonal. To the right is the dirt road that parallels the beach and our route of travel. We wandered along the dirt road cut into the side of the hill. It was just wide enough for one vehicle in some spots. The road climbed along the rocky cliffs that flank the smooth blue water of the Sea of Cortez. Stretches of coarse white sand alternates with fist-size rocks that were polished by the sea over millennia. I thought how truly beautiful a place it is, full of extreme landscape, lonely rural roads, and the occasional house built on the side of the cliff. The breathtaking views from far above the sea are worth the trip alone. After a little more than six miles, we came across a beach with rocks jutting out into the crystalclear shallow water. Brian told me that this is a favorite snorkeling spot of the locals. About a mile later, we came to Hotel Punta Pescadero and the airstrip that services hotel guests and the half dozen or so private homes along the beach. After another four miles, it was
time to stop at the Mar Y Tierra Restaurant for breakfast. Octavio and Antonio Aviles Cota opened the restaurant on April 17, 2010. Since then, many travelers have made it a must stop. They have many wonderful items on the menu however, if you give them a day or so notice, they can make whatever Mexican fare you would like. You can email Octavio at turispancho@aol.com or phone your order to 044-624-1273122. After a hearty meal of Huevos Rancheros and beans, we continued on our journey. We traveled northwest through El Cardonal and past the intersection with the hard surfaced road that began in Los Barriles (this is an alternative route for the return trip). After approximately five and a half miles, we reached the village of Boco del Alamo. A short distance north from the road intersection to the village is a dirt road on the left that leads to a parking area and the trail-head. We turned on the road and followed it, continuing to bear left, heading toward the large rock on top of the mountain until we reached an open area and the trail-head. We parked the dune buggies and followed the footpath a short distance to a smallunlocked gate. Once through the gate, we followed the path up the side of the hill. The climb was a little steep but there are plenty of places to rest along the way and enjoy the view of the Sierra de la Laguna Mountains and the Bahia Los Muertos (Bay of the Dead). The higher we climbed, the more we could see of the rock formations at the top of the mountain. I could see the Cardóns towering above the Creosote Bush and Prickly Pear. Turkey Vultures circled in the canyon below. After the twenty-minute climb, we reached the rock overhang and the paintings. The large rock extended out about ten or twelve feet. It was obvious why the Indians would have used it for shelter. It provided protection from the elements and gave them a great view of
the area. I could clearly see red and black figures of people, fish, an eagle, deer, and small animals. The first thing that struck me was how bright the red paint remained after all the years of erosion. I read that some of these pigments have a mineral origin. Rocks were pulverized, then sifted, and mixed with some type of vegetable-based glue like pine-tree resin or the sap of the Nopal (prickly pear). Other kinds of cactus that would permit its application on the
rock with the fingers or some kind of brush were also used. Some of the smaller rocks scattered around the area have a red and black color similar to the paintings. I stood there admiring the paintings and thinking about the Pre-Columbian Cochimi tribes that wandered through Baja’s canyons. The paintings of people and animals provide a unique glimpse into the ancient past of Baja California. Indian peoples migrated to the Baja peninsula as early as 9,000 or 10,000 years ago. Local legend claims the Boco del Alamo cave paintings to be about 800 years old. Images of wildlife are the most common paintings on Baja rockshelters. Scattered throughout four mountain ranges in hundreds of sites, Baja California’s rock art is unique -- in style, dimension, quality, and quantity. The rock art of Baja California is considered by many experts to be among the world’s most important groupings of prehistoric rock paintings. The paintings vary in age from 1100 BC to AD 1300. Motifs include human figures, weapons, and animal species such as rabbit, puma, lynx, deer, wild goat/sheep,
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whale, turtle, tuna, sardine, octopus, eagle, and pelican; there are also abstract elements of various forms. For more information about the cave paintings of Baja California, visit the Bradshaw Foundation www. bradshawfoundation.com/baja/. Spanish missionaries knew of the painted rock-shelters as early as 1728. They admired the fact that those colors should have remained permanent in the stone through many centuries without being damaged by either air or water. Francisco Javier Clavigero, in his 1789 Historia de la Antigua o Baja California, was the first to describe the painted rock-shelters, noting pictures of men and women, and the different species of animals. This is a superb day trip from Cabo San Lucas or La Paz.
It Takes a Village To Raise a Child
GPS Waypoint Table
(Map Datum WGS 84) Waypoint Description Latitude • Longitude • Distance Trip Distance “Punta Pescadero Paradise” sign 23°42’29.90”N 109°42’19.40”W -Snorkeling spot 23°47’25.16”N 109°42’10.04”W 6.27 mi 6.27 mi Punta Pescadero and the airstrip 23°47’56.05”N 109°42’12.57”W .06 mi 6.33 mi Mar Y Tierra restaurant 23°50’34.65”N 109°44’41.71”W 4.19 mi 10.52 mi Road to the parking area 23°53’38.59”N 109°48’30.44”W 5.45 mi 15.97 mi Parking & trailhead 23°52’40.20”N 109°49’13.82”W 1.44 mi 17.41 mi Small gate 23°52’39.56”N 109°49’15.91”W 75 yds 17.45 mi Large rock overhang & paintings 23°52’31.31”N 109°49’24.69”W 408 yds 17.68 mi
LOOK FOR DESTINO LOS CABOS SPRING ISSUE: Our next adventure will take us cross the mountains on quads from San Antonio to Todos Santos. This two-night trip should be exciting as we visit some of the remote ranches and camp in the pine forest of the Sierra de la Laguna range. Walter S. Zapotoczny Jr. is a retired U.S. Army historian. He works today as a freelance writer and contributing writer for World Book Encyclopedia. He and his wife Bonnie live in Los Barriles while they kick around the East Cape.
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Youth Sports are Alive in the Baja Thanks to community donations and volunteers
The rapid growth of young families arriving in Baja Sur over the past 10 years for the growing tourist and construction industries has strained the tight public resources to keep up with education and nutrition. One program that was not funded by any public school was athletics. Along with the growing problem of childhood obesity an opportunity was seen by Ray Thomas and Steve Mills to create a soccer program for boys and girls of all ages. Originating in La Paz, and then moving to Cabo and San José,
there are now over 3,000 children participating in sports programs organized by Grupo de Apoyo Ray Thomas (G.A.R.T.). Soccer programs un-coverd the need for breakfast programs and kitchens have been set up throughout La Paz and Los Cabos and today feeds hundreds of students breakfast. When children are fed, they are ready to learn and have the strength for sports. Children also receive the experience of teamwork, so essentials for participating in a positive way to a community.
Help raise healthy children in our community. Your donation will bring results! BREAKFAST PROGRAM SOCCER PROGRAM Thanks to generous food donations from local businesses and corporations, you can help feed a student for only $200 USD. This guarantees your child breakfast or lunch for an entire school year.
For $200 USD, you can sponsor a team of 7 for an entire school year. Each team will receive uniforms proudly displaying your logo or chosen team name, coaching sessions, games, tournaments, prizes, and more.
Contact Steve Mills: millss7@hotmail.com
The problems of overcrowded classrooms, understaffed schools and overworked parents are only intensifying. G.A.R.T. is committed to working with all the youth of our State, and the dedicated volunteers are grateful to receive your donation of money and time to help raise healthy children for our community.
Breakfast
The Essential Meal Te a c h e r s of all levels agree that success in the classroom, begins with a healthy b r e a k f a s t . Help ensure that all students have a chance at becoming tomorrow’s leaders by getting involved with G.A.R.T.’s adopt a student program.
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Up Close and Personal
China
by Susan Carol Publisher Destino Magazines Photos throughout all China stories, Susan Carol & Ulla Holtbecker, Zurich Switzerland
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nterior China opens a journey to a different awareness. Removed from western influences by nature of geography, the 700 + million people today are living the rhythm of their ancestors. The other 700+ million Chinese people are living in the large coastal city areas, and running into the future. In the city of Wuyishan in Fujan Province in southeast China, and the surrounding International Heritage Protected WuYi mountains, I’ve been
fortunate enough to spend 5 weeks in this area studying the ways of the people following the Taoist and Confucian teachings developed by philosophers of the area in the 12th century. Taoism is not a religion, it is a belief that a stable and successful life is one lived in balance with nature. Embracing regularly the social and healing benefits of
China is the same geographic size as the USA with 4 times the people...approx. 1.5 million versus 400,000 million.
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tea, a primary local crop, while celebrating through music and poetry nature’s beauty, regular people project calmness and an easy smile. With over 6000 years of continuous civilization and language, communities are close and people are generally polite with each other. Their poetry is sentimental and their nationalism strong. The people are generally connected to moving toward the future together and very eager to learn.
So arriving in this land is an energy altering experience for an American coming from a new country with little culture or community identities, and only 3 generations of family history. Maybe this is what fuels the entrepreneurial spirit the USA is so well known for….no family ties to hold us down to share time and history with. The tradition in China for the educated and privileged is to hold the family and country traditions…which are abundant after so many thousands of years. Like the Mexicans, the older the civilization the more reason to declare National holidays. Our Chinese exploration is led by well known Taiji Master and world teacher, Chungliang Al Huang. His good chi along with his Lang Ting institute, created in the Wuyishan area, leads us into scenarios few tourists ever experience, especially on their first visits. We spent significant time with University professors and students sharing our knowledge. I gave a lecture about publishing to over 200 students! They shared their poetry, songs and knowledge of tea. I learned new information about the qualities, healing and calming attributes of tea and am developing a taste and appreciation for it. Wuyishan is located in the heart of the best tea growing region, and the culture and entertainment celebrate this abundance. This magazine is not about China, but read by thousands of world travelers, so I think it’s more relevant to share some of my personal observations as so few people have yet traveled to this ancient land. Mt Sanqingshan made an impression on me and the Chinese relationship with religion is different than western views.
Musings about China
Visions of WuYi Mountain Wuyishan city, Fujan Province, China
It’s so refreshing to get real news on TV instead of a witty performance and banter by anchor people. Also no “stay tuned for this story” or scary or sensational adjectives, or judgements. Just news of the area, weather, beneficial news for business and general info and good authoritative speakers. Chinese Trade surplus is $103 billion & economy growing 13 percent for 2010 There are informative TV specials about designers, silk processing, historic places..in depth first hand reporting about creativity and perseverance. Little about movie stars, or political leaders. In the news...the Chinese government is cracking down on employers not paying the minimum wage. There is only one time zone in all of China...everyone is on Beijing time. Family workshops and farms keep active all the time for maximum crop output and any retail sale. The women do the work, the men handle the money. When Chinese get together for social events they entertain each other with song and music and poetry. The south China sea is like the Caribbean in spawning hurricanes... typhoons here. Category 3 hurricane Megi just destroyed 3000 hectares of crops in this province of Fujan. They use a lot of people power.. 3 wheel bikes with platform for carrying everything, acts like a little person powered truck. China already has 13,000 kilometers of high speed rail with trains going 350-400 kilometers per hour connecting city centers. They are now developing trains to go 500 kpm. China has a published a 5 year plan designed to increase domestic spending, expand to new cultures, and collectively lift up all the Chinese people. They are first investing in small rural farming communities or about 50% of the population; those people will make more money, then buy more TVs and small stuff, thus stimulating manufacturing for the growing middle class. This is the bottom up approach. Also part of the plan is the growth of happiness. The way traffic flows is an amazing thing to experience. Bicycles, scooters, motor trucks, buses, cars all flow together, with lots of horn honking. especially by the big buses. They travel two directions on a one way road, and just weave in and out of each other. The cities are big...over 200 of them over 5 million. In Chengdu there are 3 million cars and 5 million people.
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Dao of TEA by Susan Carol
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ore people in the world drink tea than any other beverage. The Boston Tea Party is a significant tea incident that ignited the formation of the new country of the USA, showing the passion that tea and the desire for it weave through stories of history and trade. The many healing benefits of tea are known President of WuYishan University, Managing Director of China by non-pharmaceutical based, developing Tea Society, and many more esteemed positions surrounding tea, cultures. Low cost teas are their medicine of choice. High tea presentations at major Professor Yang Jiangfang lectured to our Lang Ting group resorts and hotels are elegant afternoon about the quality and health benefits of tea functions based on luscious foods and a variety of teas. Tea has a social aura and is SCULPTURE GARDEN DEDICATED TO TEA often the center of new meetings as well as old friends talking. China is the king of tea growing and drinking. 81% of world tea production is in Asia with annual production of 100,000 tons each, coming from China, India, Sri Lanka, Kenya, Indonesia, Turkey, Vietnam and Japan. Countries with 50,000 tons annually are Argentina, Bangladesh and Iran. 73% of this tea is black tea including Lipton. Green tea accounts for 24% of the tea and is grown in China, Japan and Vietnam. The remaining 5% of tea drinkers are mostly herbal and flower blends. Relatively unknown in the west, the most popular tea drinking countries starting with the most consumption are: China, India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Japan, Turkey, Iran, Malaysia, Vietnam., Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, Pakistan, Nepal, Philippines, South Korea, Afghanistan, Georgia, Azerbaijan. Then there are most of the African countries in the north
and the south. The countries importing the most are: Russia, England, European Commonwealth, USA, Egypt, Morocco, Iran, Iraq, Dubai, Japan, Afghanistan. During my studies in Wuyishan, Fujan Province, our group was invited by the President of WuYi University, Professor Yang Jiangfang to a special lecture about tea. We were quite lucky as he is a nationally recognized tea expert. He shared relevant information about the well known teas of Fujan province – where we were located – and the special teas found in this area. I personally saw the king of tea bushes high in the mountains – Dahongpao (the scarlet robe) - which is considered the best among famous Wuyi Rock Teas. There are only six bushes, and they are shadowed by cliffs, and have very little sunlight. The temperature is very stable and a small water spring trickles down the mountain to water them. The growing environment is so prestigious and unique it has never been duplicated. The tea from these bushes is very expensive, and is known to have exceptional healing powers. This is the kind of depth that the study of tea can Drinking tea is a social joy take you.
Qualities of Tea
BLACK TEA The empress of tea with WuYi mountian in the distance.
Red leaves that dry dark and smooth, thick and honey fragrant to taste. Health benefits: helps with digestion, anti-arteriorsclerosis, cozy and romantic. Anti-oxidant and anti-aging.
GREEN TEA
Clear broth with green leaves. Tastes fresh and light with light fragrance and the flavor of Chinese chestnut. Balances the body, especially when using antibiotics, or receiving radiation. Fights cancer.
OOLONG TEA
Green, brown, oily solid weight, green leaf with a
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red trim. The taste is a natural, fruity and mellow taste. Helps with weight loss, lipid-lowering and prevention and treatment of cardiovascular disease.
YELLOW TEA
Yellow leaves make a yellow broth, with a pure taste and aroma. This tea is good for digestion, reduces phlegm and stops coughing.
WHITE TEA
The leaves look like needles and make a bright yellow broth with a fresh, dense flavor. It cools the body in hot weather, improves immunity and provides radiation protection.
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Religion in China by Su Sheng for The New York Times
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eligion has long played a central role in Chinese life, but for much of the 20th century, reformers and revolutionaries saw it as a hindrance holding the country back and a key reason for China’s “century of humiliation.” Now, with three decades of prosperity under their belt...the first significant period of relative stability in more than a century...the Chinese are in the midst of a great awakening of religious belief. In cities, yuppies are turning to Christianity. Buddhism attracts the middle class, while Taoism has rebounded in small towns and the countryside. Islam is also on the rise, not only in troubled minority areas but also among tens of millions elsewhere in China.
It is impossible to miss the religious building boom, with churches, temples and mosques dotting areas where none existed a few years ago. How many Chinese reject the state’s official atheism is hard to quantify, but numbers suggest a return to widespread religious belief. In contrast to earlier surveys that showed just 100 million believers, or less than 10 percent of the population, a new survey shows that an estimated 300 million people claim a faith. A broader question in another poll showed that 85 percent of the population believes in religion or the supernatural. Officially, religious life is closely regulated. The country has five recognized religions: Buddhism, Islam,
Taoism and Christianity, which in China is treated as two faiths, Catholicism and Protestantism. Each of the five has a central organization headquartered in Beijing and staffed with officials loyal to the Communist Party. All report to the State Administration for Religious Affairs, which in turn is under the central government’s State Council, or cabinet. This sort of religious control has a long history in China. For hundreds of years, emperors sought to define orthodox belief and appointed many senior religious leaders. Beneath this veneer of order lies a more freewheeling and sometimes chaotic reality. In recent months, the country has been scandalized by a Taoist priest who performed staged miracles — even though he was a top leader in the governmentrun China Taoist Association. His loose interpretation of the religion was hardly a secret: on his Web site he used to boast that he could stay underwater for two hours without breathing. Meanwhile, the government has made a conscious effort to open up. When technocratic Communists took control of China in the late 1970s, they allowed temples, churches and mosques to reopen after decades of forced closures, but Communist suspicion about religion persisted. That has slowly been replaced by a more laissez-faire atti-
tude as authorities realize that most religious activity does not threaten Communist Party rule and may in fact be something of a buttress. In 2007, President Hu Jintao endorsed religious charities and their usefulness in solving social problems. The central government has also recently sponsored international conferences on Buddhism and Taoism. And local governments have welcomed temples throughout the interior Provinces, as ways to raise money from tourism. This does not mean that crackdowns do not take place. In 1999, the quasi-religious sect Falun Gong was banned after it staged a 10,000person sit-down strike in front of the compound housing the government’s leadership in Beijing. That set off a year of protests that ended in scores of Falun Gong practitioners dying in police custody and the introduction of an overseas protest movement that continues today. In addition, where religion and ethnicity mix, like Tibet and Xinjiang, control is tight. Unsupervised churches continue to be closed. And for all the building and rebuilding, there are still far fewer places of worship than when the Communists took power in 1949 and the country had less than half the population, according to Yang Fenggang, a Purdue University professor who studies Chinese religion. “The ratio is still radically imbalanced,” Yang says. “But there’s now a large social space that makes it possible to believe in religion. There’s less problem believing.” Taoism has closely reflected this history of decline and rebirth. The religion is loosely based on the writings of a mythical person named
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Laotzu and calls for returning to the Dao, or Tao, the mystical way that unites all of creation. Like many religions, it encompasses a broad swath of practice, from Laotzu’s high philosophy to a riotous pantheon of deities: emperors, officials, thunder gods, wealth gods and terrifying demons that punish the wicked in ways that make Dante seem unimaginative. Although scholars once distinguished between “philosophical Taoism� and “religious Taoism,� today most see the two strains as closely related. Taoist worshipers will often go to services on important holy days; they might also go to a temple, or hire a clergy member to come to their home, to find help for a specific problem: illness and death or even school exams and business meetings. Usually the person will pray to a deity, and the priest or nun will stage ceremonies to summon the god’s assistance. Many Taoists also engage in physical cultivation aimed at wellness and contemplation, like qigong breathing exercises or tai chi shadowboxing. As China’s only indigenous religion, Taoism’s influence is found in everything from calligraphy and politics to medicine and poetry. In the sixth century, for example, Abbess Yin’s temple was home to Tao Hongjing, one of the founders of traditional Chinese medicine. For much of the past two millenniums, Taoism’s opposite has been Confucianism, the ideology of China’s ruling elite and the closest China has to a second homegrown religion. Where Confucianism emphasizes moderation, harmony and social structure, Taoism offers a refuge from society and the trap of material success. Some rulers have tried to govern according to Taoism’s principle of wuwei, or non-action, but by and large it is not strongly political and today exhibits none of the nationalism found among, say, India’s Hindu fundamentalists. During China’s decline in the 19th and 20th centuries, Taoism also weakened. Bombarded by foreign ideas, Chinese began to look with question at Taoism’s unstructured beliefs. Unlike other major world religions, it lacks a Ten Com-
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mandments, Nicene Creed or Shahada, the Muslim statement of faith. There is no narrative comparable to Buddhism’s story of a prince who discovered that desire is suffering and sets out an eightfold path to enlightenment. And while religions like Christianity acquired vast wealth for their association with lands that became rich, Taoism was pegged as a relic of China’s backward past. But like other elements of traditional Chinese culture, Taoism has been making a comeback, especially in the countryside, where its roots are deepest and Western influence is weaker. The number of temples has risen significantly: there are 5,000 today, up from 1,500 in 1997, according to government officials. Beijing, which had just one functioning Taoist temple in 2000, now has 10. The revival is not entirely an expression of piety; the government is much more likely to tolerate tem-
ples that also fulfill a commercial role. For Taoists the temptation is to turn their temples into adjuncts of the local tourism bureau. And private donors who have helped make the revival possible may also face a difficult choice: support religion or support the state.
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The Lightness of Energy Mount Sanqingshan China • Ancient center of Taoism
by Susan Carol
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ature created the magnificent Sanqingshan mountain area over billions of years, and the Chinese Taoists discovered it’s dramatic beauty and high energies 1600 years ago. I felt so light and energetic hiking around that flying crossed my mind. I recalled the book The Dancing Wu Li Masters, and now understand better the concept of dancing with organic matter and imagination versus reality. The mountain is located in the Northeast area of Jiangxi Province by Shangrao City in the Southeast part of China. It’s a journey to get there from anywhere, and that is what Taoism is all about…the journey. After a gondola ride from the base to mid-mountain, climbing the 1000 stairs up the mountain, divided by suspended walkways and scenic pathways, was not as difficult as this may sound, with many in our group in their 70’s easily navigating this journey, seeming to gather strength
“Mt. Sanqingsan is one of the very few elite creatures in the world, the treasure of human, the home for soul”. US National Park Services President Paulo the longer we were on the mountain. This territory was covered over two days, as our first destination was our hotel, then day two, higher up to the most ancient temple. This famous Taoist mountain embracing the philosophical thought of “the Tao Way follows nature” and the simple and unsophisticated art of Taoist architecture are the spiritual wealth of the mountain. The ancient cultural heritage of Mount Sanqingshan has been well preserved, which can be called an ideal of the integration of billions of years of natural evolvement and thousands of years of cultural development. At 1150 meters, in the heart of the mountain, stands the large Dragon and Tiger temple - named for its carvings - and the Ming period Wind and Storm pagoda. This temple is often in the clouds, with many interesting light phenomena experienced the naturally inviting
and serene mountain plateau, was used by the early Taoists. The ancient religious Taoist way of life is based on worship in and of nature and Sanqingshan has been a Taoist shrine since a priest, Ge Hong settled in this mountain 400 years ago. In 2008 the World Heritage Conference added Mount Sanqingshan National Park in China to the List, making it the seventh World Natural Heritage Site in China. The area is covered with thousands of picturesque peaks and tumbling gullies, where age-old trees flourish and rare birds and animals inhabit. From the air, Mount Sanqingshan is in a lotus-leaf shape, which slants from southeast to northwest. The leaders of China recognize that their World Heritage sites attract increased tourism, something the Chinese want to encourage, so are spending the money to refurbish and maintain good facilities and services for tourists. 99.5% of the
tourists are Chinese. The stairs and suspended walking trails at the top of the mountain were all built in 6 months by an army of 3000 workers and offer spectacular vistas as well easier climbing and navigation. During the long-term evolution of the earth, Mount Sanqingshan remained free of glaciers so miraculously kept various landforms and “collected” a lot of ancient plants. The concentration of fantastically shaped granite pillars and peaks dominate the 22,950 hectare area. The consecutive one-billion-year history of geological evolution has been captured here making it the optimal place for the international study of the history of the earth as well as the ancient plate tectonics of the Yangtze and Huaxia valleys. It has the grand and imaginative landscape of granite pillars and peaks, and is a natural museum of the physical designs of granite.
DOG DAYS
Mount Sanqingshan
T
he Los Cabos Humane Society just finished their fund raising “season” with two well known annual events...Dog Day Afternoon and Dressed to the K-9’s, including an exclusive event at Las Ventanas Resort for the most passionate givers to the society. Entirely supported by donations from the community, they passionately help keep our The only way to move luggage on the mountain
Sanqing Temple • Discerning the good from the evil
Chris Snell with Tez
four-legged friends under control and cared for. The restaurant community contributed to both events with food presentations worthy of their donation to the organization.
DONATE ONLINE
HumaneSocietyCabo.com
The Lang Ting scholars group at the top of a mountain peak with leader Chungliang Al Huang, 3rd from right and author Susan Carol 2nd from left.
U.S. checks payable to: Humane Society de Cabo San Lucas, Inc. and mail U.S. check to: JUDITH UBALDI Humane Society de Cabo San Lucas, Inc 1776 Rolling Hills Drive Prescott, AZ USA Mexican check (dollars or pesos): Los Cabos H.S. A.C. and please drop the check off to the shelter or leave with a shelter representative that you know
Dragon Joking with Pine
Gigantic Python rising in the Mountains
Center Manager 044 (624) 129.8346 At the Center 044 (624) 151.6046 Located in CSL, off the road to Todos Santos, call for directions
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SUP POPULARITY GROWS by Cathy Buchanan
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oards, paddles and tanned bodies shimmered on the beach at Palmilla the first weekend of November as the first annual SUP (stand up paddle board) Classic took place in the waters of the Sea of Cortez. Hundreds of community members gathered to participate in a three-day event organized by SUP Mexico’s Alfredo Salafrancas and sponsored by Snell Real Estate and Del Mar Development to raise funds for the Don Manuel Orantes Marine
Sea Turtle Protection Program. At the opening event hundreds of children clamored for the opportunity to hold a tiny baby sea turtle in their hands before helping 500 of the endangered animals on the beach to make their way out to sea.
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came at the very beginning. Surf legend Mike Doyle started the race giving short speech and his wife Annie wnet on to take first place for the race for women. The on Sunday, “During the relay competitors saw whales in the water and enjoyed perfect conditions including water temperatures approaching 80 degrees,” said Salafrancas after the event. “It was a really a magical day.” The events third day was marked by an early morning “paddle out” to honor professional surfer Andy Irons whose life was cut short by dengue fever acquired while surfing in Puerto Rica. Close to 60 people gathered and paddled out on SUPs, surfboards and kayaks casting flowers to the sea in the impromptu ceremony hastily thrown together just days after Irons’ tragic death. SUP Classic sponsor Chris Snell of Snell Real Estate called this an unfortunate highlight of the event. “Beach communities around the world all held paddle outs to honor Irons,” Snell said after the event. “I am proud that Los Cabos was able to participate in honoring this surfer who was a good friend of my wife Raina. Losing someone like Andy at the age of 32 is heartbreaking. The paddle out was an amazing tribute to an amazing person.” He said. The event closed on Sunday with well over 300 people on the beach releasing 200 additional sea turtles and awarding both hand carved wooden trophy paddles and prize money to competition winners. An impromptu highight of the awards ceremony came when legendary waterman Mike Doyle took the stage creating a last minute “Eat #%*@ award” an autographed copy of his book “Morning Glass”, which he awarded to Ozzie Lynch for his classic wipe out at the beginning of the 10 mile race on Saturday. Stand up paddle surfing (SUP) is making waves globally. It draws surfers to the sport as it allows them to catch more waves in a set, and provides them with a “bird’s eye view” of the waves as they come their way. From novice to extremist, this sport provides everyone an opportunity to
The event left a distinct impression on participants, just as crawling over the sand did for the young turtles that now have the beach imprinted in their memory. The beach at Palmilla is where these turtles will return to nest if they are fortunate enough to be the one out of 1000 who will survive to maturity. Over the next three days, competitors of both genders raced across the Sea of Cortez on Stand Up Paddleboards (SUP) in a three mile race on Friday, ten mile race from the East Cape back to Palmilla on Saturday and a relay race on Sunday. A windy Friday made the three-mile race difficult, but over 30 racers tested skills and exhibited determination in the less than favorable conditions. On Saturday the winds laid down and near perfect conditions prevailed in the longest race of the Classic. Taking off from the shores of Los Zacatitos over 20 competitors paddled out into open waters searching for the most direct and shortest path back to the beach at Palmilla. “A distance race like Saturday’s is all about a navigation system.” Says Salafrancas. “You have to find your line. Some people stayed close to the coastline which was a huge mistake because it made the course longer for them and had them fighting shore current.” On Sunday, 12 teams of 4 competitors each battled it out in a grueling relay race that had a number of local companies forming teams to compete against each other. Not surprisingly, team SUP Mexico took the first place $2500 prize in this event, followed closely by team El Dorado. Third place went to team Snell Real Estate. Highlights of the 10 mile race
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excel. Salafranca says that, on average, it takes about a minute to learn how to stand up, provides a great core and cross training workout, and is a water sport that does not solely depend on waves to have fun. All racers trained hard before the Classic. Definitely there is a core group of SUP enthusiasts in Los Cabos Some of the participants paddled twice a week from PLC to Palmilla in preparation for the event. A second sea turtle release on Sunday saw 200 more babies out to sea. The tally for the turtles raised at the event was 25,000 pesos. The 2nd Annual SUP Classic, for 2011 is already in the planning stages. The goal is to incorporate the Los Cabos SUP Classic into the SUP Pro Circuit to qualify for battle of the barrel..two huge events in Hawaii and one in Dana Point California. To get involved in next year’s event contact SUP Mexico either on website or FACEBOOK page.
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A Guide to the Meaning of Life
numerology - a view of life through numbers Numerology is the study of the occult significance of numbers. Invented by Pythagoras, the well known 600 BC mathematician (see story p.___). Using numerology, you can discover a person’s strengths and weaknesses, deep inner needs, emotional reactions, ways of dealing with others....family, friends, employers, lovers. You can chart your 9 year life cycles, and discover what kind of energy or stress is existing in your life and those around you. Understanding the meaning of numbers you can determine the best times to marry, change jobs, move your home, invest or take a trip.
Analyzing numbers provides a reflective road map to navigating a life.
WHAT EACH NUMBER MEANS Every number 1-9 has a general energy vibration. The destiny number originates at birth and is always an influence. The yearly vibration changes throughout 9 years life cycles. The numbers 11 and 22 are just for Destiny calculation. More extensive knowledge comes from analyzing the name at birth with numbers. Below is a very general description of the meaning of each number, with many books written more extensively about this topic.
1 - INDEPENDENCE, INDIVIDUATION The One life path means the individual first must learn not to lean on or depend on others. The tendency to be dependent will appear throughout the life. Then one can be a leader or creator and accept and use the talents to receive good financial success, and reach a satisfying position of status. This person has much inner strength and leadership capability with strong personal needs and desires. Sometimes people confuse independence with self-centeredness, and if out of balance can be egotistical and their own worst enemies. 2 - COOPERATION, RELATIONS The 2 destiny person must learn the satisfaction of contributing to group situations. One must accept that their good ideas will often be better presented by others with more dynamics. A 2 person is sensitive to the feelings of others showing a great deal of consideration for others. Capable of working patiently and carefully with much detail if needed. A good friend with little concern for material needs. 3 - EXPRESSION, JOY OF LIVING If the 3 destiny person can be open, warm and full of delight, they will be admired by others and desired as a pleasant companion. They express an appreciation of the beauty that can be in the world. They are very social and talented with words, speaking , writing, singing, acting. The caution is to not be so joyful that the life become frivolous and superficial. Generally positive. 4- LIMITATION, ORDER, SERVICE This path is one of service, order and limitations of environment, physical body or thoughts. One often feels limited by circumstances but must learn to live in harmony with the limitations. A 4 destiny
person is very practical, capable of managing and making order from chaos. Willing to work long and hard with much patience with detail. Serious, honest, responsible and sincere. Could feel frustrated by limited surroundings and become bossy and dominant. When they recognize the positive values inherent in the limitations their life will become vital and growing. 5 - CREATIVE INDEPENDENCE The 5 life path will present much variety, change, unusual happenings, unusual people, unforeseen adventure. The 5 will find to be capable at almost any task and there are exciting things to do at every turn. The lesson is to not scatter talents, or get lost in pure physical delights...food, sex, drink, drugs. A 5 is clever, a quick thinker with a good ability to analyze. Restless and impatient and may move on before completing tasks. The excitement of life can offer eternal youth.
determine your life path WRITE YOUR BIRTHDAY and ADD THE NUMBERS Example: November 15, 1982 is written 11 15 1982
_________________________________
11 15 1982 2008 = 2 + 8 =10 =1
TOTAL OF THE NUMBERS__________________ 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 11 22 1 2 3 4 5 6 A LOOK AT 2011
In numerology a human lives in 9 year cycles. Figure out where you are in your cycle WRITE YOUR BIRTHDAY MONTH, DAY AND 2011 and ADD THE NUMERS
TOTAL OF THE NUMBERS_________________________ 7 has a good mind and fine intuition. They study and contemplate and need to learn not to judge from appearances. The life should be devoted to analyzing the world, learning to trust their intuition while striving for wisdom. Material things are not the focus, and spending time alone without feeling isolated is common. The 7 must learn to wait for opportunities versus pursue them. The 7 can find satisfaction as a teacher, counselor, researcher or any job that calls on intuition, mind and spiritual awareness .
6 - BALANCE, RESPONSIBILITY, LOVE The 6 life path person is born with the ability to give help and comfort whenever needed. They must learn to serve family, relatives and friends. Responsible, always there to pick up the burden. Loving and appreciated, sympathetic and king and generous with one’s personal and material resources. Usually loves children, and makes a good teacher. The 6 usually accepts responsibility so readily that advantage may be taken of them and they may never realize it. 6’s are very exacting of themselves. They will sacrifice themselves for the benefit of others and may need to let go of their need for perfection.
8 - MATERIAL SATISFACTION This life path has one learning the satisfactions of the material world and the power which comes from mastery. They will be involved with the practical and down-toearth work. There will be little dreams or visions, but manipulating money to provide the best and most comfortable, will be a personal goal. They are ambitious and self confident, efficient and energetic having executive ability. One must caution not to misuse power or become intolerant of others. It is very easy for an 8 to loose their way. If material freedom does not provide pleasure then the lesson has been lost.
7 - ANALYSIS, UNDERSTANDING This path is to discover the peace of mind that comes from knowing ones self. The
9-SELFLESSNESS, HUMANITARIANISM The life destiny of 9 people is to learn the beauty of giving of oneself for the deep satisfaction of giving. This means giving up
personal material possessions for the common good.. They are usually quite social,, sympathetic and broad-minded. Idealistic and romantic and loves with depth and passion. Sensitive and sees the world with much compassion and feeling. As soon as the 9 gives up the longing for personal satisfaction, the life will achieve harmony in selfless acts. This is a very deep lesson, but the rewards are great for learning it. 11 - ILLUMINATION This high tension path provides the energy to accomplish greatness. The lesson is to learn the awareness of the spiritual world and its relation to the material world. 11’s are extremely capable, idealistic, impractical, a dreamer that is inspirational. There is obvious nervous tension. There may not even be a conscious understanding of the spiritual, but the intuitive will be the guide. This person adds a special light and gives much to others. 22 - MASTER BUILDER This path offers the ability to reach the highest levels of material and spiritual accomplishment. The potential is awesome and the challenge is to learn how to focus the talents into productive use while being dedicated to the wellbeing of humanity. Practical, unorthodox, charismatic with nervous tension..
Pythagoras - Philosopher, Mathamatician and Sage by Hao Su
G
eometry students know him as the creator of the pythorgean equation for a right triangle...C2 = A2 + B2..., but this sage teacher, mathematician, inventor and traveler living around 2500 years ago contributed much more. Having the knowledge to read and understand hieroglyphics, mastered in Egypt, this man born in Greece was the first to put a mathematical formula to music. He traveled throughout the middle east learning geometry from the Egyptians, matahmatics from the Phoenicians, astronomy from the Chaldeans and the principles of religion and practical maxims for the conduct of life from the Magians (as in the 3 wise Magi from the East - Persia - in the christian fable).
Influence on Plato
Pythagoras, or in a broader sense, the Pythagoreans, allegedly exercised an important influence on the work of Plato. According to R. M. Hare, this influence consists of three points: (1) The platonic Republic might be related to the idea of “a tightly organized community of like-minded thinkers”, like the one established by Pythagoras in Croton. (2) There is evidence that Plato possibly took from Pythagoras the idea that mathematics and, generally speaking, abstract thinking is a secure basis for philosophical thinking as well as “for substantial theses in science and morals”. (3) Plato and Pythagoras shared a “mystical approach to the soul and its place in the material world”. Aristotle claimed that the philosophy of Plato closely followed the teachings of the Pythagoreans, and Cicero repeats this claim: Platonem ferunt didicisse Pythagorea omnia (“They say Plato learned all things Pythagorean”). Bertrand Russell, in his A History of Western Philosophy, contended that the influence of Pythagoras on Plato and others was so great that he should be considered the most influential of all Western philosophers.
Influence on esoteric groups
Pythagoras started a secret society called the Pythagorean brotherhood devoted to the study of mathemat-
ics. This had a great effect on future esoteric traditions, such as Rosicrucianism and Freemasonry, both of which were occult groups dedicated to the study of mathematics and both of which claimed to have evolved out of the Pythagorean brotherhood. The mystical and occult qualities of Pythagorean mathematics are discussed in a chapter of Manly P. Hall’s The Secret Teachings of All Ages entitled “Pythagorean Mathematics”. Pythagorean theory was tremendously influential on later numerology, which was extremely popular throughout the Middle East in the ancient world. The 8th-century Muslim alchemist Jabir ibn Hayyan grounded his work in an elaborate numerology greatly influenced by Pythagorean theory. Today, Pythagoras is revered as a prophet by the Ahl al-Tawhid or Druze faith along with his fellow Greek, Plato.
Music and Math
According to legend, the way Pythagoras discovered that musical notes could be translated into
mathematical equations was when one day he passed blacksmiths at work, and thought that the sounds emanating from their anvils being hit were beautiful and harmonious and decided that whatever scientific law caused this to happen must be mathematical and could be applied to music. He went to the blacksmiths to learn how this had happened by looking at their tools, he discovered that it was because the hammers were “simple ratios of each other, one was half the size of the first, another was 2/3 the size, and so on.” From this, Pythorgas invented modern music. He figured out that the length of vibrating cords make pitch, then he calculated clear, fixed numerical relations. This gave music a system which could then be taught not just picked up through the ear as previous songs were passed along.
Numerology
He also invented the system of numerology to attach numbers to various energies. Pythagoras believed the way to insight about reality is through deep meditation, and even founded a secret society with 5 years of silence the first initiation. His community was filled with study, purification rituals, continuous balancing through meditation, exercise and contemplation with nature and diet. They tested their ideas with scientific, empirical methods of hypothesis and experiment and taught that all living things have value, that all are equal, and music has healing powers. The practice of nutrition today which includes exercise, good diet and spiritual and environmental harmony, parallels the practices of the Pythagoreans. Teachers like Confucius and Lao Tzu in China taught the exact same thing. The Pythagoreans worshiped the numbers 1-10 as gods because they were the most perfect, true essence of things. Pythagoras defined the symbolic meaning of the numbers. A number can represent anything and over thousand years
The Pythagorean theorem: The sum of the areas of the two squares on the legs (a and b) equals the area of the square on the hypotenuse (c). of study have shown to have specific qualities. the number 1 is the “source”, the beginning, the creator, masculine, father. The number 2 is infinity, evil, darkness, feminine, moist, dual. In his ongoing investigation of “balance”, Pythagoras determined that the 10 opposites of cosmic harmony: • limit - unlimited • odd - even • straight - crooked • male - female • one - plurality • at rest - in motion • right - left • light - darkness • good - evil • square - oblong The study of the interrelation of numbers is practiced widely today by many scientists, artists, poets, astrologers, philosophers and doctors. Numerology is the easiest oracle to learn and ongoing awareness of the number value of years and names can guide your personal life and those around you. Number analysis can be used to predict potential outcomes, opportune times, obstacles and much more.
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The Oldest Sport in the World Polo Now in Cabo!
by Craig Harrison Photos: Marino Lemus
F
rom its’ earliest “modern days”, Los Cabos has been the playground of many jet-setters and opinion-leaders, from the likes of Eisenhower, Steinbeck, Cousteau, Hemingway and “the rat pack” to John Wayne, Mick Jagger and Rachel Welch. How they would love to be here today, to bear witness to the establishment of a Persian’s dream - Club Polo Cabo. This ambitious addition to Los Cabos’ “celebrityappeal”, is the dream of a modernday Persian, Tony Yahyai. In its first stages of construction - less than 10 minutes drive from downtown Cabo in the rolling hills overlooking the Pacific on the Todos Santos highway, Club Polo Cabo will bring to Baja California’s stylish Peninsula, a noble activity. Less than two hours flight from the US southwest border, LA and Arizona this sport will appeal both to kings and the common man !! In November Club Polo Cabo had its season opening with the Baja Gold Cup sponsored by Diamond International. This tournament was
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set between two teams of women professional players from around the world and two teams of men pro players of the same handicap.... BATTLE OF THE SEXES. The two day elimination event brought to the final match between Club Polo/Fiesta American men team and Diamond International women team, Sunny Hale verses Carlos Galindo. Since the handicap was not even, the women’s team got two goals. Right at the beginning. Tony Yahyai converted a pass to goal to put Club Polo on the score board. All through four chukkers, both teams were neck and neck by one point. At the last minute team Club Polo was ahead by two, then Sunny made one goal at the last seconds but still one short. The Club Polo/Fiesta Americana won by 6-5.
The Noble History of Polo Polo is thought to have originated in Persia [now Iran] around 2,000 years ago. The name of the game may well come from the word “pholo” meaning ‘ball’ or ‘ballgame’ in the Balti language of Tibet.
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The first recorded game took place in 600 BC between the Turkomans and Persians (the Turkomans won). In the fourth century AD, King Sapoor II of Persia learned to play a age seven. In the 16th century, a polo ground (300 yards long and with goalposts eight yards apart) was built at Ispahan, then in the capital, by Shah Abbas the Great. The Moguls were largely responsible for taking the game from Persia to the east and, by the 16th century, the Emperor Babur had established it in India. (It had already long been played in China and Japan, but had died out by the time the West came in contact with those countries). In the 1850s, British tea planters discovered the game in Manipur on the Burmese border with India. They founded the “new” world’s first polo club at Silchar, west of Manipur. Other clubs followed and today the oldest in the world is the Calcutta Club which founded in 1862.
Modern Popularity From 1900 to 1936, polo was an Olympic sport. By the 1930’s, crowds in excess of 30,000 regularly attended international polo matches at the Meadowbrook Polo Club on Long Island in the United States. Today, there are more than 250 active polo clubs in the United States Polo Association. The highest level of polo is played in Argentina, the USA, and England, but is played in more than 60 countries and enjoyed
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by more than 50 million people each year.
The Polo Field & Handicapping change the sport In the ancient city of Ispahan a polo field was built in front of Ali Ghapu Palace by Shah Abbas the Great of Persia, 1585-1628. Today, it is still used as a public park and is the same size as a modern polo field with its original stone goal posts in place. In 1888, handicaps and player ratings were added to polo in the United States so that teams could be more evenly matched in games. Ratings were determined by a single handicapper named H. L. Herbert. Polo matches are played at three levels; low goal, medium goal, high goal, depending on a polo team’s handicap. The highest handicap is a 10 goal rating. In its early days of organization, the Polo Association changed the number and length of chukkers in a polo match. Equipment became standardized and polo pony training improved significantly. Scoring was adjusted to allow fractional points for penalties. This was later abolished and was eventually replaced with free penalty shots. The new polo country club in Cabo San Lucas, is a 130 acre site with top quality polo fields, ocean views, premium horse accommodations, single family home sites, villas, commercial boutiques, and a 5 star 37 suite boutique hotel.
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