San Miguel’s beetles
By Emilie Lomas September 5, 2008 San Miguel de Allende

Have you ever noticed the old, modern and colorful Volkswagen beetles here? I have been in San Miguel for only a month and so far I have seen every kind of beetle imaginable—from old, peeling and uneven paint to brand new coats of paint, from old and barely drivable to the latest model.

When it comes to its colors, I have seen every shade of blue, yellow, red and green possible. Even hot pink, Ferrari red and orange: the only color I have not yet seen is purple.

Since my second day in San Miguel I have been taking pictures of every beetle parked nearby or driving past me and my goal is to find every color.

Many times beetle drivers have looked at me questioningly and some seemed surprised or uncertain of why I was taking pictures of them. I even once stood in the way of a beetle, with my camera. The driver seemed stunned, slowed down not to run me over and when he passed by me he even seemed slightly concerned. Even some pedestrians noticed me and wondered why I was photographing a local car. In all, I have 86 pictures of 76 beetles, each different and unique in its way.

All these beetles were intriguing me; I had to find out why beetles were so popular in San Miguel, especially such old models. I found out that in 1945 Volkswagen established one of the first car factories in Mexico. Ever since then, the beetles, mostly Type 1(shown in the pictures) have been outrageously popular in Mexico.

Although the beetle was also popular in other countries such as Germany, Australia, England and Brazil, they were popular to the extent that 21,529,464 Type 1 beetles were produced for world markets.

The beetles were first produced in Germany in 1938, but production stopped there in 1978. Beetles were manufactured in Mexico for 58 years and stopped in 2003. The last Type 1 beetle was manufactured in Puebla, Mexico.

Five years earlier, in 1998, manufacturing of the new Volkswagen beetle started again in one location in the world: Puebla. Manufacturing of the original beetles unfortunately stopped because the engine released too much pollution and much faster, more fuel-efficient, newer cars were being introduced to the public.

Another important reason is that most taxis were beetles and the Mexican government voted it unsafe for many reasons. The beetle is a two-door car and many robberies and other crimes were occurring because of that.

Most crimes were committed in Mexico City. The driver would be part of a gang and as soon as he would get a tourist customer, his accomplices would perform a hold-up. The taxi driver would pretend to be scared and surprised. The robbers would usually take the tourist’s ATM card and some victims were even kidnapped overnight so that the next day the robbers could get more cash. More than 10 people were shot in taxi robberies, most of them in broad daylight.

Because the beetle had only two doors, the victim could not escape.

Maybe the end of beetle manufacturing was for the good of the populace, though I hope I can still, one day, manage to buy my own beetle and paint it purple. 

Emilie Lomas came to San Miguel for a month and studied Spanish and art. She is a student at the Lycée Française de New York and will be entering ninth grade this year.

I have 86 pictures of 76 beetles, each different and unique in its way.

Soaring with the eagles
Story & photographs by Sandy Baum

It’s not every day I get a chance to write about one of the loves of my life; today happens to be one of those days. I’m talking about the love of flying, leaving our earthbound existence, to soar above like an eagle.

Last Sunday, I was invited out to San Miguel’s airport, the San Julian Aeropuerto, just beyond the city’s administration building, off Dr. Mora road. There, a handful of potential Jovenes Aguilas, or Young Eagles, were gathered together to be introduced to the wonders of flight by my friend and fellow pilot, el Capitán Rusty Henson. He flies a 180-horsepower, 4-seat, single engine Piper Cherokee. All of these soon-to-be Young Eagles had never been close to an airplane, let alone ridden in one.

On this particular Sunday, I met youngsters from the nearby rural community of San Julian, from which the airport gets its name, as well as a family of eight youngsters and their parents from Dr. Mora, beyond Los Rodríguez.

 It was a fantastic day for flying—the sun shone bright, the sky was a particular San Miguel blue with puffy white clouds—and it all came together to provide a memorable day for these young aviators, a day they won’t soon forget.

By the time the day ended, el Capitán had carried aloft a full dozen individuals. Two of the Young Eagles-to-be were too young to participate on their own, so Henson had the parents come along on the last flight of the day while holding the two small fry on their laps.

Fun was had by all the participants, even the parents, and they came back with broad smiles and a twinkle in their happy eyes. “The best part,” said one of the youngsters, “was the taking off.” “No, no,” said another, “the best part was the landing.” Whatever the best part of their experience was on this day, needless to say they were all euphoric about flying above San Miguel, seeing the Parroquia, Jardín, Presa and even the Picachos up close.

Ten Young Eagles flew this day and, after landing, received diplomas declaring them full-fledged Young Eagles of Mexico, a document I’m sure they will show to all their classmates.

The idea of teaching kids around the world the excitement of flight got its start with a program called the Young Eagles initiated by the Experimental Aircraft Association (EAA), based in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Harrison Ford (you may remember him as Indiana Jones) is the chairman of the EAA’s Young Eagles program and has this to say about the idea behind the program: “One of the great pleasures in life, no matter what you do, is to share your passion (for flying) with young people. Through the EAA Young Eagles’ program, we have the opportunity to demonstrate flying in such a way that might not otherwise be possible and infuse them with our enthusiasm for the experience. This program not only encourages kids to fly, but it helps us to reach their parents and create a positive influence on their views of aviation.”

Henson has been involved in the EAA’s Young Eagles program for a number of years and has, to date, given rides to over 200 Young Eagles in Colorado and Mexico. He has moved to San Miguel and is working to set up a Young Eagles of Mexico program with the help of local pilots here. In addition, el Capitán is working to get Mexican approvals to start a flight school for young (and old) aspiring helicopter and airplane pilots in San Miguel.

He says that flying (he learned 33 years ago) was and still is challenging and exciting. He loves airplanes and how they provide the means to visit new places, especially in the vast country of Mexico. He says he enjoys being an advocate, helping to promote aviation wherever and whenever he can.

El Capitán would like to expand the local Young Eagles of Mexico program to include other local pilots and aviation enthusiasts and eventually expand the program into other parts of Mexico through Amigos de Aviacion and the Oz Project. He can be reached for more information at 044 (415) 114-4483 or email, rkhensonpe@aol.com. Dianna Aston, a director with the Oz Project, can be emailed at diannaaston@hotmail.com  or visit www.theozproject.org.  

New Driving Restrictions in Mexico City 

This information from the Mexican Government is provided as a courtesyto U.S. citizens driving in the Federal District of Mexico. Beginning September 1, metropolitan Mexico City will be subject to new rules aimed at reducing pollution. The new rules can besummarized as follows: 

1. Vehicles with foreign plates and plates from other states of Mexico that do not have "zero" or "double zero" holographic stickers are restricted from driving in the city from 5am to 11am Monday through Friday.

2. This new rule does not apply to those vehicles that have "zero" or "double zero" stickers obtained through the voluntary verification program at the various Verificentros (emissions testing centers) in D.F., EDOMEX, and/or stickers from those states that joined the agreement (Hidalgo, Morelos, Puebla and Querétaro). Furthermore, this rule does not apply to public transportation vehicles. 


3. For further information regarding the new regulation, please contact the following numbers: Hoy No Circula 01-800-831-4456 or Ecotel 01-800-232-0835. 

Citizens’ Consular Services
American Embassy Mexico City
Paseo de la Reforma 305
Col. Cuauhtemoc; Mexico, DF 06500
Tel: (011)(52)(55) 5080-2000, ext. 4905, 4440, 2260, 4780 and 4991
Hours: 8:30am–2pm & 3–5pm

Travel News You Can Use
By Judy Newell

Mexico Travel News

Mexico’s Tulum archeological zone sets evening hours

New evening tours are being organized in the archeological zone of Tulum, enhanced by audio guides in different languages. The goal of the new project is to attractively present the history of the site and to expand the operating schedule to accommodate the increased number of visitors. 

The illumination has been carefully designed to guarantee that the monuments are safe and protected, and at the same time, permit visitors to enjoy them.

The installations were made by strictly observing the regulations of the National Board of Archeology, in that no excavations were made, the cables were placed on the surface, and the installed lights were hidden in the rocks in order to avoid any negative impact to the archeological zone. 

Tulum’s nighttime tours began this year in May and are currently organized for groups of 40 people and last for about 45 minutes. The schedule will vary according to the season, with the frequency gradually increased.

According to the statistics of the National Institute of Anthropology and History, Tulum is the second most visited archeological site in Mexico. For foreign tourists, Tulum is the number one archeological site in Mexico based upon the number of recorded visits; it also receives the greatest amount of visitors in the state of Quintana Roo.

More cars to rent in Mexico 

Mexican car rental firms intend to invest US$100 million in fleet renewal this year, according to the Mexican National Association of Vehicle Renters. Some 500 automobile rental firms have a fleet of 30,000 cars available, compared to the two million rental cars in the US. 

Nearly two-thirds of all rental car customers are foreign tourists. It is not quite clear why the domestic market is so small, although it may be that Mexicans realize rental cars are sometimes in poor condition, preyed upon by dishonest traffic police and cost considerably more to rent than do vehicles in the US. 

Hertz, Avis, Budget, Alamo and other major players have franchise holders in Mexico. The goal now is to increase the size of the domestic market. Fuel, at least, is cheap, with the Mexican government spending an estimated US$20 billion annually to keep gasoline prices down.

“Whales and Wildlife” schedule  Cruise West announced its eight-day Sea of Cortes “Whales and Wildlife” schedule for 2008/2009, featuring five specialty cruises such as a John Steinbeck-inspired cruise with onboard literary experts, a PENTAX photography cruise and two holiday itineraries.

The cruises aboard the 138-guest Spirit of Yorktown offer 14 departures and passengers experience an abundance of marine life, from dolphins to sea lions. Other highlights include guided nature walks, kayaking and snorkeling. Rates begin at US$2,199 per person. 



International News

Slow progress for US travel to Cuba 

Although a US government panel has already initiated baby steps to undo travel restrictions, Cuban President Raul Castro stressed austerity in a speech commemorating the start of the revolution, Reuters reports. Low expectations are predicted for any immediate effect Raul Castro will have on travel to Cuba from the US.

Tibet bounces back 

The Lhasa city government reports that Tibet received 100,000 visitors in June, after visitor arrivals plummeted to zero in the wake of fatal clashes in March between ethnic groups and the Chinese government. This is a far cry from 2007, when a million tourists visited the country during the first half of the year. The Tibet Autonomous Region was officially opened to Chinese tourists on April 23 and to foreigners with permits on June 24.


Sources: Travel Pulse Daily, Mexican Tourism News, Travel Agent Central, Modern Agent, Modern Agent, Associated Press

Judy Newell, a writer and travel industry executive, heads the custom tour company Perfect Journeys that specializes in luxury and adventure travel. Contact her with comments or suggestions at JudyNewell_03@msn.com  or go to her website www.PerfectJourneys.net.