Travel Blogger Explores Bereavement Fares

Ability to travel affordably to a death or other family emergency depends on the airline

Mark Ashley, a writer and frequent traveler whose Upgrade: Travel Better blog follows the in's and out's of the fickle air travel industry, recently had to fly to Germany for his 99-year-old grandmother's last days. He explored airlines' bereavement fares and wrote a lengthy post called "Bereavement and Compassion Fares: Firsthand Experience" about his findings. Among them: international compassion fares are easier to obtain than domestic ones; most such fares (Continental excepted) must be booked over the phone; and airlines have different policies regarding required documentation. His column on this topic is worth bookmarking, should the need arise.

Thanksgiving is Over; Let Winter Begin

After a mild fall, Colorado ski resorts are welcoming winter

This evening, the live telecast by Denver's "9News" of the lighting of the City and County Building finished off with light, wet snow falling on the streets of Denver. News anchors rejoiced about the perfect time, and skiers and snowboarders are rejoicing after a long, mild, dry autumn.

Snow or no, the City and County Building and other locatations in downtown Denver will be aglow until the middle of January. This glorious, gaudy display that has been a Denver tradition since 1932. Also, Union Station, nearby Larimer Square and the entire 16th Street Mall are festively illuminated for the holidays.

Colorado Mountains Cooling Off and Getting White

Current Colorado snow reports are finally somewhat encouraging too. Vail Resorts Inc.'s Colorado ski resorts (Breckenridge, Keystone, Vail Beaver Creek) reported 3 to 6 inches of snow in the last 48 hours. Moving southward and westward, accumulations have been greater. Aspen Mountain, hosting the Winternational ski races this weekend, and Snowmass (skiers loading onto the six-passenger chairlift shown at right) reported 7 and 8 inches respectively. They are two of the four areas operated by the Aspen Skiing Co. Wolf Creek, located in southern Colorado, was the state's snowfall leader with 13 inches in the last 48 hours. I am writing this on Friday evening, and Saturday morning's snow reports will show greater totals.

Great Snow Conditions in Europe

So far, this is shaping up to be a season of big snows in the Alps. Resorts in Austria, France, Germany, Italy, and Switzerland have reported up to a meter (39 inches) of new snow in the past five days. Although Europeans have no Thanksgiving to provide a psychological kick-off to the season, more than 200 ski areas across Europe have already opened or are opening this weekend, including Zermatt, Switzerland, with 100 miles of pistes and Espace Killy, France with 187 miles of pistes in neighboring Tignes and Val d'Isere. When Americans think of European winter resorts, the Alps come to mind, but the Pyrenees and Scandinavia, especially Norway, also offer downhill skiing. There too, resorts are starting off with abundant snow.

Hawaii Promotes the Obama Connection

Visitors are reminded of President-Elect Barack Obama's Hawaiian heritage

In June 2007, when Barack Obama was a fast-rising star on the US political landscape, I was in Hawaii and took a fabulous, fascinating Hole in the Wall Food Tour that led to the real, multi-cultural mosaic of Honolulu. You can read about the tour here. In that post, I didn't mention that as we were driving back to the the highrises of Waikiki, Matthew pointed to a Baskin-Robbins dipping store and said that Obama had worked there as a teenager. Then, we didn't stop to take a picture. Now, perhaps the Hole in the Wall tour includes a pilgrimage to that dipping store too.

Mainlanders have made much of of his African-American roots, but in Honolulu, he's still considered a local. Now, Hawaii Convention & Visitors Bureau, which promotes the state's tourist interests, is pointing out just how Hawaiian the former senator from Illinois and soon-to-be president of the United States is -- and the information the bureau is disseminating even references the Baskin-Robbins that Matthew pointed out. The CVB writes:

BARACK OBAMA’S HAWAII

“You can’t really understand Barack until you understand Hawaii.” ~
Michelle Obama

Hawaii will always be home for President-elect Barack Obama. There can
be no doubt that growing up in this idyllic, multicultural setting was a major
influence in shaping who Obama is today.

KAMAAINA: LOCAL AT HEART
The Hawaiian word kamaaina means someone
who is native born or who has lived in Hawaii for some time. When Barack Obama
returns to Hawaii with his family, he comes as a kamaaina, a local who knows
where to go, where to eat and what to do. Here are a few places Obama has
visited on his trips back to Oahu:

ACTIVITIES:
• Pearl Harbor - Chief historian Daniel A. Martinez gave the Obama family a tour of the USS Arizona Memorial.
• Hanauma Bay – Located on the southeast coast of Oahu, this is Oahu’s most popular snorkeling destination. This is also near Sandy Beach, one of Obama’s favorite beaches growing up, as well as the Halona Blowhole, near the area where his
mother’s ashes were scattered.
• Nuuanu Pali Lookout – This scenic spot atop Oahu’s Windward peaks was the site of a fierce battle lead by King Kamehameha I.
• Golf – Obama has played rounds at Olomana Golf Links and Luana Hills
Country Club.
• National Memorial Cemetery of the Pacific at Punchbowl – One of the country’s most prominent national cemeteries for the armed forces. Obama’s grandfather is buried here.

FOOD:
• Plate lunch - Like most locals, Obama frequents the restaurants of Kapahulu on the outskirts of Waikiki. He’s been known to get a local style plate lunch from the Rainbow Drive-In and the 24-hour Oahu mainstay, Zippy’s.
• Shave Ice – The Obama family likes to cool off with a shave ice, the local version
of a snow cone. Matsumoto Shave Ice on the North Shore is a famous shop and spots like Waiola Shave Ice in Kapahulu are popular with locals.

New York Times: The Hawaiian Plate Lunch
SF Gate: Where Would Obama eat?

OHANA: BARACK OBAMA’S FAMILY
Barack Obama was born on August 4, 1961
at the Kapiolani Hospital for Women & Children in the city of Honolulu on
the island of Oahu. Honolulu is home to the majority of Hawaii’s diverse population and it was here at the University of Hawaii that Barack’s father and mother, Barack Obama Sr. and Ann Dunham, met.

Raised in Hawaii until he was six, Obama spent four years in Indonesia
after his mother remarried. Obama returned to Hawaii at age ten to attend the
prestigious Punahou School, where Steve Case, co-founder of AOL, and golf phenom
Michelle Wie also attended. Far from a Presidential hopeful, Obama dreamed of
becoming a pro basketball player, playing on the state championship basketball
team.

Obama lived with his maternal grandfather and grandmother, Stanley and
Madelyn Dunham, a few blocks from school in the neighborhood of Makiki, just ten
minutes away from Waikiki. He spent his youth enjoying picnics at the scenic Puu Ualakaa State Park near his home and Kapiolani Park in Waikiki as well as body surfing at Sandy Beach on the eastern tip of Oahu. He even worked at a Baskin-Robbins Ice Cream on South King Street that still exists today.

Obama continued on to Columbia and Harvard Law but made frequent visits
back to see his ohana, or family, in Hawaii. His mother, who earned a Ph.D. in
anthropology at the University of Hawaii, died of cancer in 1995. More recently,
Obama’s grandmother “Toot,” short for tutu (Hawaiian for grandmother), passed
away in Hawaii just one day before Obama was elected the 44th President of the
United States.

Honolulu Advertiser: Barack Obama: The Making of a Presidential Candidate

ALOHA: THE SPIRIT OF OBAMA

Beyond Hawaii’s natural beauty, the islands are a place of incredible
diversity. Dating back to plantation days, Hawaii has been home to a multicultural mix of people. It is this culture of acceptance and aloha that has had a profound affect on Barack Obama and will continue to influence him in the future.

“What’s best in me, and what’s best in my message, is consistent with
the tradition of Hawaii.” ~ Barack Obama

Time: My Chance Encounter With Obama in Hawaii

Iberia Adds 10 US Code Shares

Connections via Chicago make travel to Madrid and beyond more seamless

Code shares between domestic and international flag carriers take some of the stress out of travel that requires changing planes to a US gateway. Code shares assure legal connections, especially important when checked baggage is involved. I just flew between Denver and Huatulco, Mexico, on code-shared flights between American and Mexicana, which netted mileage added to my American Airlines AAdvantage frequent flyer account for all flights.

Iberia, the airline of Spain, has just added 10 new US destinations to its network with the extension of its code-sharing arrangements with American Airlines. Iberia passengers can now fly from Albuquerque, Buffalo, Baltimore, Charlotte, Milwaukee, Oklahoma City, Pittsburgh, Richmond, Rochester and San Antonio to Madrid connecting via Chicago’s O’Hare Airport.

With these new destinations, Iberia now operates from 48 cities in the United States, with direct service from Boston, Chicago, Miami, New York and Washington D.C., to Madrid, and connecting flights via American Airlines from the rest. From Madrid, Iberia passengers can fly on to 34 airports in Spain, 42 European cities and 10 destinations in Africa and the Middle East.

Looking in on Huatulco

Quick trip to resort towns in southern Mexico yields favorable impression

You know those "36 Hours in...." pieces that are published in the New York Times and in Hemispheres. I experienced "36 Hours in Huatulco" -- about the time I spent in this resort development in the State of Oaxaca. Two days and three nights provided a tantalizing taste, and I'd love to return.

Officially called the Bahias de Huatulco, it is actually a string of resort developments and beaches tucked into a series of nine bays along a 35-mile-long stretch of south-facing coastline between the southern end of the Sierra Madre Range and the Pacific Ocean. Rather than one long beach, there are 36 small ones, which means there is no shoulder-to-shoulder, Cancun-style row of high-rise hotels. In fact, there are no high-rise hotels at all, because regulations prohibit anything higher than five stories, and nothing is built on the ridgetops either. (Below, Tangolunda Bay with Camino Real in foreground and Quinta Real, with its twin Moroccan-style domes, in the background.) Recycling, water purification and aggressive sewage treatment also have contributed to Huatulco's certification in 2006 as a Green Globe Community. In fact, it became the organization's first recognized tourist destination in the Americas.

Fonatour, the Mexican government development and tourism promotion agency, also designed Huatulco as the greenest of the country's five new resort areas and also transferred 30,000 acres to another agency for preservation as a national park. There is not yet any infrastructure, but the dense jungle, coral reefs, bays and beaches within park boundaries are protected. Biologists and wildlife experts have document 413 plant species, 130 species and subspecies of mammals, 291 species or birds, 72 species of reptiles and 15 amphibian species, as well as fish and shellfish that live in the sea. It is an astonishing accomplishment for a country that has had, at best, a checkered environmental and ecological record.

Located between the Coyula and Copalita Rivers that cascade down from the Sierra Madre, Huatulco offers river rafting as well as such more expected activities as sea kayaking, snorkeling, scuba diving, surfing and golf. In the town of La Cruceita are a shady plaza, a church, small shops, restaurants, bars and small, budget hotels. The waterfront center of Santa Cruz is smaller and a second plaza, more shops and a cruise ship pier accommodating two vessels. The Boulevard Santa Cruz/Boulevard Benito Juarez parallels the coastline and connects Santa Cruz with the zone of larger beach hotels with swimming pools, restaurants, bars and other facilities (one of Las Brisas' several pools, below left; beach in front of Camino Real, right).

West of Huatulco is the small village of Ventanilla with its stunning, undeveloped beach fronting a mangrove-fringed lagoon (below left) and a small, palm-studded island (right) on which a crocodile preserve is situated. A boat ride through the mangroves is a magical experience, with dappled light, sounds of birds and the occasional glimpse of orange of a male iguana.

The beach at Ventanilla is one of several where sea-turtle eggs are removed from the sand to a protected enclosure until they hatch and make their way to the water. Close to the nearby beach community of Port Angel is the Centro Mexicano de la Tortuga, a research and rehabilitation center that studies both sea and land turtles. It is also something of a turtle zoo, where visitors can see many species on land and in tanks (below).

Mexicana Airlines flies Mexico City-Huatulco several times a day year-round. Continental has nonstop service from Houston on a seasonally changing schedule. Hotels range from in-town bargains with rooms for as little as $25 a night to super-luxury resorts with room rates starting at more than $200 nightly. Several properties are all inclusive, meaning that all meals, entertainment (below) and on-site activities are included.

After a 36-hour taste of Huatulco, I look forward to returning for a whole feast.

Mexico City Airport Connection Alert

Mexico City Airport - Avoid making connections here if you can. The airport is poorly signed and confusing, and with its vulnerability to fog/smog, flights can be delayed. Continental flies nonstop Houston-Huatulco, but only once or twice a week in the spring/fall shoulder seasons.

Note: For more details on specific connection issues at Mexico City's Benito Juarez Airport, see comments below. I will say that once a traveler has a concept of the layout (one very long terminal area with international gates at one end), it is easier than arriving clueless and depending on poor signage and misleading information. But I still believe that the first time around, it's good to have a little spare time.

FYI: 110 ML > 3 ounces

Dear Diary: experienced Transportation Stupidity Agency actions -- again

6:10 a.m. - Left home. Husband dropped me off at Boulder's Walnut Street bus station.

6:19 a.m. - AB bus to Denver International Airport left on time.

7:35 a.m. - AB arrived at DIA a few minutes early

7:37 a.m.- No line at American Airlines check-in. Got boarding passes for Denver-Dallas, Dallas-Mexico City and Mexico City-Huatulco flights. Carry-on only.

7:42 a.m. - No lines at security. Hooray! Took off shoes and jacket. Removed laptop from case. Sent small roll-aboard, laptop case and two bins, one with one-quart plastic bag with small liquids/gels, through Xray. Security screener squinted through clear plastic at small container of contact lens solution, lipstick, small bottle of liquid makeup, small stick of deodorant and small tube of toothpaste and small tube of sunscreen.

7:43 a.m. - Screener removed tube of sunscreen, purchased in some country that is on the metric system, examined it more closely and declared quietly but triumphantly (and ungrammatically). "This is 110 milliliters. Three ounces is 100 milliliters." I didn't know that before, but now I do -- and you do too. You're welcome.

7:44 a.m. - Supervisor confiscated my 110 ML tube of sunscreen that probably had 30 ML of liquid left. He helpfully suggested that I could mail the offending object home if I chose (the post office at the airport, of course, was not yet open) or return to the airline counter and check my bag with the leftover sunscreen in it.

7:45 a.m. - Grabbed my stuff, my previous good mood dampened by Transportation Security Agency nonsense -- again.

7:55 a.m. - Arrived at the gate with enough time to write this post, courtesy of the much-appreciated free WiFi at DIA.

Now that I've gotten that off my chest, don't you feel safer knowing that this agency of the Department of Homeland Security is on the job?

Dear President-Elect Obama......