No comments about Rand McNally Santa Fe/Taos New Mexico Local Street Detail.

5 comments about Cruising the Mexican Riviera & Baja: A Guide to the Ships & the Ports of Call (Cruising the Mexican Riviera & Baja) (Cruising the Mexican Riviera & Baja).

1. This is a very quick book to read about the ports you will be visiting. I read it on the airplane on the way to my cruise. It made my trip to the Mexican Riviera a pleasant experience with many helpful hints and colorful pictures included.



2. My wife and I are experienced cruisers. We are cruising the Mexican Riveria in February.
   
   Mr. Ludmer's comments about cruising, in general and preparing for a cruise are right on the mark.
   
   The reason we bought the book is for the information on the ports. It is all right there, in an easy to read, easy to find format.
   
   Of course we haven't been on the cruise yet. We always take a travel writer's opinions with a grain of salt, but we'd never criticise their observations. Everyone's likes are too subjective. Nonetheless, having the input of someone who's been there is very valuable. That's the way I feel about this book, a fun read, with information that, I'm sure, is well worth the price.



3. I just returned from a Mexican Riviera cruise. We followed the walking and taxi tours recommended by the author(actually tore out the pages for each port and took them with us) and had a wonderful time. We saw so many sights that our fellow cruisers missed. The author provides detailed information, along the lines of, "Exit the ship, turn left, walk two blocks... skip Museum A in favor of Museum B" etc. including advice regarding when to take a cab vs. walking to certain attractions. I found the directions to be very accurate for Mazatlan, Puerto Vallarta, Cabo, and Zihuatanejo, although the map for Acapulco was not sufficiently detailed, so I suggest you pick up a city map if you're planning on walking there. Unfortunately this book does not have any restaurant recommendations, but we ate at several of the "authentic" local restaurants mentioned in the book "Mexico's Beach Resorts for Dummies" and were very happy with our choices. Finally, the author provides some useful information about cruising in general, including a checklist of items to take, and since this was my first cruise, I found this to be very helpful.



4. Generally found to be a very good book in regards to our trip but was in error on some specifics in our three ports; i.e. by walking left (per the author's instructions) we went in the wrong direction. Double check before you go but this book is a great reference.



5. This book is a fine guide to cruising the Mexican Riviera and Baja California. It describes the main cruise ships, especially those on the Carnival, Celebrity, Holland-American, Norwegian, Princess, and Royal Caribbean lines. There's advice on climate, what to wear, both in port and on the ship, and the costs involved. And there are good descriptions of the ports. Anyway, I was on a one-week cruise and found the book very useful. The cruise prices were very reasonable (it was the off-season, but the weather was fine). Do not expect to get seasick: I rarely noticed that the ship was moving. Yes, I liked the food. And the Lido deck. And even the art auctions with the free champagne.
   
   As the book explains, cruises are often one week long, with stops in Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan, and Cabo San Lucas. These leave from the Los Angeles area: mine started from Long Beach. It's fun being pampered and having all sorts of things to do on board.
   
   Puerto Vallarta, about 250 miles south of the tropic of Cancer, is not a very rich city. But there are some things to do there. One can swim with the dolphins! Or, if one is really adventurous, soar over the jungle on a guide rope! One can shop for tanzanite, silver, leather, pottery, and ceramics. Or visit a tequila factory. There is a very unimpressive church, completed in 1987, with a fiberglass crown on top. And there is Mismaloya, where one can see plenty of iguanas.
   
   In Puerto Vallarta, I liked the sculptures along the Malecon best. These include the "homeless whale," the "dancing dolphin trio," "Caballeo del Mar" (by Rafel Zamarripa), "Neptune and Nereida" (by C. Espino), "The Milleniums" (by Mathis Lidice), "Nostalgia" (by Ramiz Barquet), "Nature as Mother" (by Adrian Reynosa), the fantastic "Rotunda of the Sea" (by Alejandro Colunga), and my favorite, "In Search of Reason" (with the pillow-headed mother, two children, and ladder, by Sergio Bustamente).
   
   In Mazatlan (about 15 miles south of the topic of Cancer), one can see cliff divers, the flying pole dancers (an interesting display of acrobatics), bullfights (not my cup of tea at all), more sculptures, and a tall natural lighthouse (a great landmark for the city). There is also a rather nice church, the Basilica of the Immaculate Conception.
   
   Cabo San Lucas is about 50 miles south of the tropic of Cancer. This is a true beach resort. It has some great scenery, and most folks take a boat trip to El Arco. There are a couple of nice little beaches there. These include "Lovers beach," which is a good swimming beach and "Divorce beach," which is right next to it but is very dangerous to swim at. One can also visit the glass-blowing factory. And across the peninsula, in San Jose del Cabo, one can visit Cacti Mondo, a big cactus garden. In Cabo itself, I also recommend an Italian restaurant with a terrific view, the Mona Lisa.
   
   Do not miss the opportunity to see the Los Angeles area if you have time. Just to give you a tiny idea of what is there, let me mention two of the things that interest me: art museums and large pipe organs. Seven of the best art museums are the Museum of Contemporary Art (MOCA), the County Museum of Art, the J. Paul Getty Museum, the Norton Simon museum, the Huntington Library, the Pacific Asia Museum, and the Armand Hammer museum.
   
   What about pipe organs with over 100 ranks? There are at least seven of them: First Congregational Church, Los Angeles (5 manuals, 346 ranks), Crystal Cathedral, Garden Grove (the sanctuary is not of crystal and it has no cathedra, but the organ is 5 manuals and 270 ranks), Westwood United Methodist Church (4 manuals, 153 ranks), Lake Avenue Congregational Church, Pasadena (4 manuals, 126 ranks), Disney Center, Los Angeles (4 manuals, 109 ranks), Cathedral of Our Lady of Angels, Los Angeles (4 manuals, 105 ranks), and Royce Hall, UCLA (5 manuals, 104 ranks).
   
   If you are thinking of taking such a cruise, get this book!

4 comments about Wicked Spanish (Wicked).

1. I spent most of an evening laughing reading this book. I recently gave it to a couple of co-workers who went to Peru, one fluent in Spanish, the other who spoke none at all. They each used some of the phrases and made several new friends.



2. I bought this in the airport on the way to Chile. I laughed out loud many times on the plane & when I met up with co-workers in Santiago, THEY laughed out loud. Rating this on laughs per page, it's not a bargain--it's a steal.



3. These are the kinds of comments that are bound to get you a punch in the nose or worse in many parts of Latin America. They are humorous as satire. However, the Spanish comes across as literal translations of the English comments. It ends up sounding like a debased form of the language that doesn't even get the "wicked" points across accurately. With few exceptions, the Spanish comments were word-for-word translations that don't mean very much in Spanish. Waste of time.



4. I read this after learning some Spanish from Peruvian co-workers. It would be safe to say that the Peruvians taught me nothing useful and some very exotic terms. In reading this I was expecting something similar. That isn't what I got. Things you won't find here: cussing and some real native (to one or two countries) expressions. Oh and in case you haven't picked up on it, this is not meant to be a pocket guide to the language. This is a humorous phrase book.
   
   What you will find is a humorous English guidebook to Spanish culture. Every two pages you are given a paragraph write up on some aspect of culture and then a sample dialog. These are hilarious. Some sample phrases pulled from the book: "What lies motionless under the spicy chocolate sauce?" "Can't you see I'm a gringo?" "These look delicious... How much for one/two/half a kilo?" and "Actually, sending letters into the Void is one of my hobbies."
   
   Somehow I liked this less than I did other books in the Wicked (insert language here) series. I think maybe there are too many Spanish speaking cultures to do an accurate parody of them. Factors like political instability, cocaine and hygiene issues are big points for some countries but not universal. All of these issues make for a joke somewhere, but there isn't a focused target for parody as there is for say, Wicked French. If they did pick a focused target it was fat wool clad women, but hello have you seen Telemundo. All the women are hot and the men are all disgusting with hair growing from weird places - and they all have mustaches. The jokes are funny, but Spanish is such a widespread language that the humor skips all over the place.
   
   Also since Spanish is so widespread the book is limited from giving a translation that would only work in some of the countries in question. I don't speak Spanish, but I can pick through it and I didn't see any idioms here. I am sure that the Spanish is accurate, but these are phrases that you could translate with a dictionary. I don't think you will find any slang here.
   
   If you get this book do it for the parody of hispanic cultures. This whole series is good clean fun.

No comments about Backroads & Byways of New Mexico: Drives, Day Trips & Weekend Excursions.

3 comments about Lost Gold and Silver Mines of the Southwest.

1. I wrote the original book in 1963 (as Lost Desert Bonanzas) to mark 25 years of Desert Magazine lost mine stories. The main appeal was Norton Allen's great cartography (this is the only kind of map book that gets better as the maps are outdated by freeways and etc.). I would like input from treasure-seekers, but all I know about the particular lost mines is recounted in the book.



2. What is a book about lost mines without maps? The maps in the book were neat. Maybe the gold is still there?



3. This is a good read just to fire the imagination on a cold winter night. It's also a good one to get filled with bookmarks, margin notes, dog-ears, and fingerprints on the bookshelves of serious treasure-hunters. Buy it.

5 comments about Rand Mcnally 2008 Deluxe Midsize Road Atlas United States/Canada/Mexico: Delux Midsize (Rand Mcnally Road Atlas Mid Size Deluxe).

1. This Atlas is good for travel but not as good as the larger one.
   It is compact and easy to store in the car or truck.



2. I owned a much older larger size Rand McNally Road Atlas. I needed a new one and then read all the other views before buying this Deluxe Midsize. While this Deluxe Midsize might be right for some individuals, I now wish I would of gotten the Larger Size. This one lacks the detail and large print of the Larger Size. One almost needs a magnifying glass to read some of the smaller print on the maps. I do like the spiral bond.



3. Spiral binding and small size makes it an easy map to use in the car but the small size makes it not a very informational map! So limited in detail - I wouldn't rely on it for more than general "point me in the right direction" use. This was a waste of money for my purposes - glad I bought the big one also.



4. .....as the other reviewers state this atlas is just a tad too small. The larger version would be more ideal for those with not so perfect eyesight.
   
   This version of Rand McNally Atlas is recommended for those who do not wish to take up a lot of space and don't need their atlas to go into great or easy to see detail.
   
   I like it, but it still could have been better.



5. The Rand McNally 2008 Road Midsize Road Atlas is the perfect size to take on a trip. It also has a lot of good features, such as information on different areas of the states that have interesting things to see and do, but that aren't well known to most people. We have seen many great places that we did not know about before using these Atlases (this is our third one). We recommend this Atlas highly.

5 comments about Oaxaca Journal (National Geographic Directions).

1. This is a book for Oaxaca lovers and people who could BECOME Oaxaca lovers at the slightest provocation. Oliver Sacks, rummaging around in the history, natural history, geography, geology, anthropology and cuisine of this best-loved part of Mexico, and recording his thoughts, has answered many questions I have had about the place. Just for one example, through reading his book, I discovered that El Tule, the gigantic tree outside of town that everyone visits sooner or later, is a bald cypress and is probably at least 3000 years old. Neither fact is really clear from the information available at the site, perhaps losing something in translation. But the book is filled with such tidbits, and that's not all. Sacks and his fern-loving companions find a lot to enjoy in this old, stucco-walled, stone-paved city and the surrounding countryside. Some books make me wonder (and fear!) what the world is coming to. This book proclaims that all is not lost, since it focuses on things that have always brought hope to mankind, and perhaps represent our ultimate hope: the wonderful natural world and the many GOOD dimensions of the human mind...the many good humans. When a group of such people, intelligent, interested, interestING, and curious--as one reviewer said, exactly the kind of traveling companions one would like!--will take time from their lives and trek all the way to Oaxaca to look at ferns, the world becomes a better place, even if no one else knows about it. Thanks to Mr. Sacks, we do.



2. Dr. Sacks accompanied a group of botanical friends on a trip to see, catalogue, draw, and take delight in the unparalleled variety of ferns in Oaxaca, Mexico. His resulting journal is a meditation on Zapotec culture, amateur naturalists, edible insects, psychedelics, and above all ferns: seemingly so fragile yet having survived, with little change, for over 300 million years.
   
   According to the author, his "sense of a prehistoric world, of immense spans of time, was first stimulated by ferns and fossil ferns."
   
   For someone like myself who loves both ferns and the writings of Dr. Sacks, this journal is a treasure. It was composed under the blue sky of Oaxaca and filled with an emotion that Dr. Sacks admits is usually foreign to him: joy.
   
   The author is fond of reading natural history journals and he has created a multi-faceted gem of his own, out of observations on lost civilizations, mescal, cochineal insects, plants as rare as horsetails a hundred feet high, and others as common as the bracken fern.
   
   Half of our property in Michigan is covered with bracken ferns and I was always curious as to why insects didn't seem to bother them. According to this author, bracken is regarded as the 'Lucrezia Borgia' of the fern world: "the young fronds release hydrogen cyanide as soon as the insect's mandible tears into them, and if this does not kill or deter the bug, a much crueler poison lies in store. Brackens, more than any other plants, are loaded with hormones called ecdysones, and when these are ingested by insects, they cause uncontrollable molting."
   
   The Romans used bracken on their stable floors because it arrested or perverted the development of fly larvae, although Dr. Sacks doesn't specify how the ancients kept the horses from eating their bedding. Bracken also poisons mammals, and humans who eat too many fiddle-heads over a long period of time are apt to develop stomach cancer.
   
   It is tempting to open up "Oaxaca Journal" and reread an essay equally as vivid as the riff on the 'Lucrezia Borgia of ferns.' There are so many choices. By writing a journal for the National Geographic 'Literary Travel Series,' Dr. Sacks has opened himself up to every conceivable subject under the blazing Mexican sun.
   
   There is indeed joy in this book.



3. After finishing this book, I am convinced that people who develop a passion for something, be it for career, avocation, or hobby, tend to live longer and are more frequently happy, and when they die, they die happy. I bet Oliver Sacks is one of these lucky people! Never cease to be fascinated--that is one key to happiness, and Sacks proves to us just that. Without question he is a Renaissance man, keen to share with us his enthusiasm for his profession (evident from his excellent prose in "The man who mistook..." and his other books) but stays open to ideas and activities that pique his interest, one of which is attending and participating in the New York Botanical Garden's Fern Society and embarking on a weeklong trip to Oaxaca, Mexico with a quirky cast of people whose common interest in ferns and other plants, and birds, transcend professions, economic status, nationality, and personal histories. The fact that the book was based on his travel journals that were written at the time of his trip and were left unedited made the reading experience more poignant and powerful. At the end you feel grateful for people who look "beyond the scenery", who take the time "to stop and smell the flowers", and who see the world almost with the same innocence as children, for they are the ones that make life richer, and perhaps even make the world a better place for the rest of us--and for future generations.



4. Some chapters are a delight to read- a very frank and engaging take by the author on his observations and thoughts. Other chapters seem a tad self-contained and unbalanced, with way too much attention and emphasis given to a particular observation or subject. Given that it's a jouranl though, one reasonably expects that the jottings penned would have a bit of a subjective emphasis and a slightly idiosyncratic feel.



5. I am a huge fan of Oliver Sack's writing. He brought so much interest, knowledge and "wow" to case writing and now, he is bringing it to ferns and travel writing. To tell you the truth, I would never have picked up a book about ferns and would have hated it if someone was so bold as to give me one as a present, but when I went to the bookstore to browse for some summer reading, I was intrigued to find this book.
   
   What initially got me was the graphic of the ferns on the cover. They reminded me of some food items at a fancy restaurant I had a while back. Paging through the book, I was intrigued by more wonderful graphics and finally by the fact that this was a travel journal. I rushed to the register and indulged in the first couple pages that very same afternoon.
   
   I enjoy travel writing - mainly because it gives such an intimate look into another person's observations, thoughts and experiences. Some travel writers are careful not to say too much, but Sacks gives it all to his readers. I so much enjoyed his very detailed descriptions of his friends, the natural landscape, the food and yes, the ferns. I walked the unpaved paths with him, put on my glasses to find yet to be discovered plants and listened to his conversations with his friends.
   
   This is a wonderful book. Sacks has a great way of keeping his readers engaged with stories of ferns and interesting facts about his travel companions. I highly recommend the book to all of the curious and open minded that won't be put off by ferns.
   
   P.S. This book belongs to a series of travel writing published and, I think, commissioned by National Geographic.

3 comments about Cancun & The Yucatan (Eyewitness Top 10 Travel Guides).

1. This is quite a convenient guide fits perfectly in a pocket and easy to carry around. The book highlights the Yucatan region by listing the top 10 sights of all touristic cities in Yucatan. Besides it also lists the top 10 hotels, diving/snorkeling places, restauraunt etc. at the end. What it offers in convenience; but it lacks in depth. There is not much detail on any city; if prior reservations are not made or traveling on budget; it is best to stay away from this book.



2. Looking to find a book on "highlights" of the Yucatan? Then this is the book. When researching the next place to travel, I look for books with photos and highlights so I can see what lies ahead. This is a good book for just that ... and that only! It gave me "ideas" to further research but that is about all it is good for... a starting point.



3. I agree with the text of the two reviews before me, but I do not think their ratings are fair. This is an excellent guide for the traveler who wants to know what to see, what not to miss, and what to avoid. When I reach a destination, there are so many options that a guide like this is just what I need to make good decisions within a limited amount of time. It is also a convenient way to find out about activities you may have not heard of, like seeing the underground rivers ("cenotes").
   
   We spent 10 days in the Riviera Maya. This book was easy to carry and the information was not overwhelming. We were interested in seeing some Mayan ruins and the jungle. We still ran out of time to do everything, but we were able to prioritize what we really wanted to do with this book. We also avoided a "tourist trap" which was actually inside the airport where we would have walked right into it, because it was listed in "top ten things to avoid". The information is extremely well organized; mainly by what you want to do, and you can look up specific areas in the index. You can look up general info like "Highlights of the Yucatan" which listed a few ruins, then look up the "Top Ten Sights" at specific ruins.
   
   High quality pictures, easy access maps, and the information you want without having to dig through or flip back and forth constantly is what this wonderful and inexpensive little book offers. I will look for an Eyewitness Travel guide for all my future trips. Highly recommended!

5 comments about A Guide Book to Highway 66.

1. This book reads like a good fireside friend, or an uncle, or even Tom Snyder in his famous Roadside Companion. It's a wonderful spin back in time to the period just before "Getting your kicks" became the American pastime, and provides a postcard view of the towns, cities and countryside that was America not so long ago. As an 8-time veteran of Route 66 roadtrips (and all within the last 5 years), I have to admit I'm chomping at the bit to get back out on the road and try to find traces of some of the landmark places and hamlets Rittenhouse has recorded in this highly usable travel guide. Kudos to the U of New Mexico Press for reissuing this book as a facsimile of the original (no updates save for a warm intro to the new edition by the author himself!), and doing so at a very accessible price point. A must have for any 66 roadie's collection.



2. This reproduction of the original 1946 guide to Route 66 is an invaluable companion for any trip on the Mother Road. Not only does it give you a feel for what the road was like at the dawn of America's love-affair with automobile traffic, but it gives you a feel for the psychology of those pioneers who attempted to drive the Route.

   While we're now accustomed to well-marked Interstates with easily located on and off ramps, early cross-country routes were less highway and more stitched and patched collections of local roads, filled in with connectors and dotted with small towns. The map was, in essence, the route itself. Following these early routes was not trivial, and drivers had to take caution not to find themselves stranded without food, lodging or fuel.

   Rittenhouse's guide was the first comprehensive effort to assuage fears of long-distance car travel, and provide a mile-by-mile guide to services and sights along Route 66. While most of the sites (and most of the services) he documents are long-gone, the sense of wonder that is Route 66, and the thrill of coasting into the cities through which it threads, remains fully intact. No one should drive Route 66 without a copy of this in the glove box. Doing so would rob your of a good deal of the road's history.

   Note to West Coasters: though the book is arranged from Chicago to LA, it can just as easily be read backwards for the Eastbound trip.




3. The road out west from Chicago to LA can be tedious at times, and this cheap and fun little guide was a great way to pass the time. It's an exact reprint of the 1946 first edition about HIghway 66. I was able to call out towns and gas stations that were now in a shambles or abandoned on the side of the road. Fun book, right price, and it made my trip more interesting.



4. First off, this book is not a map. It's a guidebook to Route 66 written in 1946. However, it's something you WILL want on any Route 66 trip. Why? Because you'll be passing ruins and dried-up blown-away towns, and this book was there before they blew away. This book will tell you what you're seeing now though the eye of "then".
   
   Team this book up with the "Route 66 Adventure Handbook (3rd Ed) by Drew Knowles, and you'll really add something to your trip.
   
   We used the "Adventure Handbook" to tell us what's in each town now, then referred to the Rittenhouse to see what each town used to offer many years ago. It was facinating! Some towns offered so much back in '46, and today there's nothing there, or very little. Other towns seem to not have changed much in 60 years. I give it 5 stars for the history it will impart to you along the way.
   
   It's a cheap addition to anyone's arsenal for travelling Route 66, and one you really will be glad you had when you're done.



5. I will be traveling cross country and bought this for that purpose. It's smaller than I expected but I will use it as a reference.

5 comments about San Sombrero: A Land of Carnivals, Cocktails and Coups (Jetlag Travel Guide).

1. I don't go out of my way looking for comedy, but I found this in my parents' collection during a visit back home. Probably the more familiar you are with Latin America travel guides, the more you'll appreciate this book, which exaggerates the dangers of travel (disease, political unrest, insects, street food), and desperate living conditions, etc. as much as the guide books tend to downplay these conditions. This book is funny to me because rather than being absurd, it is loosely based on the (sometimes frightening) truth. The book is well-designed and illustrated- if you just looked at the pictures, you wouldn't know it wasn't a real guide book. Following are some excerpts (which are by no means highlights, as the humor is relentless):
   
   "Be very suspicious about taking a ride in a cab where a 'friend' is accompanying the driver. San Sombreran taxi drivers don't have friends."
   
   "San Sombrerans are passionate movie-goers, possibly because cinemas are the only air-condition buildings in town."
   
   "Political instability has seen 17 different presidents take power in the past decade, the shortest reign being that of Alivio Escrevez who was assassinated halfways through his own inauguration speech."



2. I own the first two in this series (Molvania, A Land Untouched By Modern Dentistry, and Phaic Than, Sunstroke on a Shoestring). I bought this hoping it was half as funny, because they were hilarious. Imagine my pleasure to find that the third installment was new, fresh, and still very funny. I love to read these while I am travelling.



3. Look, we don't know each other. I may be an inveterate exaggerator, right? I might give all fives on my Amazon reviews. I might detest conflict and only say nice things about books.
   
   You don't know, do you?
   
   So let me assure you that none of those things is true, because I'm going to make a statement that might seem ludicrous: SAN SOMBRERO is one of the funniest things I've ever read. My wife thinks so, too, and we don't agree on very much. Even my Rhodesian Ridgeback seems particularly jaunty when I'm reading SAN SOMBRERO.
   
   An Aussie friend introduced me to the Jet Lag travel guide spoofs. SAN SOMBRERO is actually the third in a series but the first I've read. It doesn't matter where you begin, but - if you have ever read a serious travel guide of any kind (say, Frommers, Rough Guide, etc.) - then you'll *love* what these lunatics do with the genre.
   
   SAN SOMBRERO is roughly based on Costa Rica, Cuba, and any number of other Latin American 'travel paradise' locations. Each time you think the authors have exhausted their uproarious takes on one of the conventional aspects of the genre, you turn a page and they hit you again.
   
   It's inexhaustibly entertaining, right up to the 'insert' at the back of the book.
   
   I can't wait to read PHAIC TAN and MOLVANIA.
   
   Aussies, all is forgiven, even your abysmal cricket side and the freakin' long airplane rides it takes to get where you are. You can come home now and rejoin the family of nations.



4. Very funny, as are the orher two titles in this series. Amazon should offer a package collecting all three- "Molvania", Phaic Tan" and "San Sombrero". There are several other titles mentioned in these books as future publications in the Jetlag Travel Series. I'll buy them when available. I'm particularly looking forward to "Travel for Seniors" with information on the twenty best places in the world to lodge a complaint.Iwant to know if Rick Steves' many books on European travel inspired the authors of the Jetlag Series to parody them. Please comment, Santo Cilauro.



5. While not quite as good as the first book on Molvania, San Sombrero is still a fun book and well worth the time to read it. It makes you even want to read the restaurant and hotel information for the twist they manage to work into them. Vive San Sombrero! Vive (insert name here), el Presidente!