Travelling….it’s all Greek to me. I travel for a living, writing road logs, travel stories, taking photographs. Still, every country I travel to at first appears to be incomprehensible. Different language, sometimes a different alphabet, food, driving habits, you name it….it is all different.

Today I am on the Island of Crete, magical, beautiful, and like my home country of Mexico, fills your senses until they explode into a fit of exhaustion. I am tired, bushed from exploring the bays, the temples and the ancient towns and port cities that are filled to the brim with OUR history. Well not being so ethnocentric, our Western civilization history.

Everything is so new, the deep clear blue water of the Mediterranean, to the menus filled with items that only a Greek could like when reading them, but when served ,taste as good as anything one could imagine…from lamb guts to goats balls and everything in between….fabulous.

Mexico's postal service tries to brighten up image

Associated Press

September 14, 2008

MEXICO CITY -

Mexico's notoriously unreliable postal service is getting the shock treatment - shocking pink.

Infamous for lost packages and tardy delivery, the postal service is getting a hot-pink makeover to try to brighten up its image, win back customers - and pull it out of the red.

Changes include a new logo, new uniforms and post offices painted pink and lime green. Some will also sell cut-rate rice, beans and powdered milk alongside stamps. Coffee mugs and envelopes - something the post office didn't sell before - will also be available, but only in hot pink and lime green.

The service's new symbol - a white carrier pigeon holding a letter in its beak - hit the streets Tuesday, a day after President Felipe Calderon unveiled the new look at a gala ceremony. The government hopes the new image and services will help the post office break even next year, after annual losses of up to $50 million.

Officials promise high-speed Internet access at post offices where clerks still struggle with manual typewriters and sort mail by hand.

Out are the dingy blue-and-white paint and threadbare uniforms the postal service has used for decades. The trendy new color scheme was chosen because "we want to be very visible ... in colors as brilliant, as vibrant as Mexico," said Purificacion Carpinteyro, who oversaw the remake.

All 1,450 post offices will be painted with the new colors, both inside and out.

But in a country where mail theft is widespread and letters often arrive weeks after they're sent, the public is skeptical.

"I don't trust it," Mexico City resident Beatriz Stern said as she mailed a "very important letter" at a post office sporting a fresh coat of pink paint. She said she went there only because she doesn't believe anyone bothers to collect mail from the country's red street-corner mailboxes.

"They say it was faster in colonial times, when they used horses and carriages," Stern said.

The new name, Correos de Mexico, or Mexican Mail, is actually a throwback to the days of the early 20th century, when the service was trusted and the government built a main post office meant to look like a Renaissance palace.

Alberto Izquierdo, who was waiting in a long line to mail a letter at the main downtown post office, wasn't impressed. "I think they're focusing a little too much on appearances and not substance," he said.

Mexico's postal service delivers only about seven pieces of mail per inhabitant per year; Americans get an average of 700.

The low volume reflects a lack of confidence. Federal officials acknowledge that most businesses won't send bills, statements or receipts through the mail, preferring pricey but safer private courier services, about 4,000 of which have sprung up here.

Many expatriates don't even bother with Mexico's postal service. Chris Davis, an English teacher from Philadelphia who lives in Mexico City, said he doesn't "even take the risk" of having packages sent from the United States. "I ask people who are coming down to bring things," he said.

Those who do use the service tend to be like Jorge Garcia, 38, who sees it as an affordable alternative to courier services for the few personal letters he mails.

"It's slow, but it's cheaper," he said.

Skyrocketing fuel costs may lure manufacturing firms back to Mexico.Just as Mexico was becoming the rising star of global manufacturing in the 1990s, China's even cheaper wages turned that country into the world's factory. ….More

Government spends millions on fence, while residents of New Mexico town feel the pinch

COLUMBUS, N.M. - On a bumpy dirt road along the US-Mexico border, the mayor of this tiny town pulled his truck tight beside the government's multimillion-dollar new fence. He wanted a closer look, but someone else was watching, too.

"The Border Patrol is right in back of us now," Mayor Eddie Espinoza said with a sigh, pulling over for what has become a routine stop, even for him. "Most of the guys, they're not local. . . . It used to upset me quite a bit. Now it's part of the situation that you've got to deal with."

The federal government has poured millions of dollars into barricading the border here, erecting a 15-foot-tall steel fence and bringing in hundreds of new agents to patrol it. But in the village beside the fence, resentment simmers. Residents say they feel neglected by politicians whose focus is on a line in the sand 3 miles to the south, and not on the worsening hardships of the Americans living within sight of it.

With New Mexico a swing state in the coming presidential election - and even more influential as the state with the nation's highest proportion of Latinos - villagers hope their votes will matter.

"What is the point of putting everything on the border, and nothing here?" said Arnoldo Rubio, a town councilor. "Why don't they come here and pay attention to the town?"

Columbus, population 1,765, is a farming town along Highway 9, a two-lane ribbon of road flanked by endless scrub-covered desert, with a ragged mountain range on the horizon. Though it is New Mexico's only 24-hour border crossing, the town is eerily quiet, a spare grid of gravelly streets and weedy lots, with a post office, one bank and no stoplights.

It is hard to imagine now, but Columbus was fleetingly famous in 1916, when Pancho Villa's revolutionary army raided it from Mexico. For a time Columbus was the state's biggest city, but it dwindled, and the last train stopped in 1961. An immigration amnesty in 1986 helped revive the town: From 1990 to 2000, the population nearly tripled. The vast majority are Latino.

Barely half of the town's adults are citizens and eligible to vote. The rest are a mix of noncitizen legal residents, and some illegal immigrants. Of the 680 registered voters, about half are Democrats, and the rest are Republicans or independents. Turnout ranges from more than 60 percent for a local election to a few dozen voters in this year's presidential primaries.

The village is not lacking for issues. Half the townspeople live in trailers, some without phones or electricity. More than a third of the families earned less than $10,000 a year, according to the 2000 census. Residents went without clean running water until last spring - and then the water bills nearly

The shortage of decent jobs is Columbus's biggest problem, according to the mayor as well as the gray-haired farmhands and the school principal. Most of the town depends on the onion, chile, and cotton fields - but the jobs are grueling and unstable. For about six months a year, farm workers labor in the dirt under the searing sun, with an eye out for scorpions and rattlesnakes. They can earn roughly $15 an hour, if they work fast.

But the rest of the year, there is nothing. Workers move away or collect unemployment. About half of the adults here have less than a ninth grade education and aren't fluent in English. Up to 14 percent of the town is unemployed, triple the state's rate.

Teenagers see little future here. In the onion fields, the biggest employer in town, more than 90 percent of the pickers are aged 50 and older. María and Simón Medina, knelt side by side one recent morning, clipping fat onions and dumping them in a bucket. A son was away at college.

"We don't have young people here anymore," said María Medina, 57, eyes squinting under a straw hat.

At 4 a.m. the same field is full, half-lit by giant klieg lights and miners' bulbs strapped to workers' foreheads. The owners, the Johnson family, let them work at night to avoid the sun.

But Juan López, was uneasy. A snake bit a worker two weeks earlier, and the nearest hospital is 30 miles away.

"After 50 years this town doesn't grow," said López, 63, clippers in hand. "There are so many things missing."

Espinoza said he is trying to improve things. But to attract employers, he needs better roads and utilities and more educated workers.

He is building the first new school in 50 years, working with the government to expand the border crossing to attract more business, and shutting off water service to delinquent residents to force them to pay their bills. Next he plans to tackle the town's falling-down trailers.

"Right now if we [were] to go and inspect houses most of them would be condemned," Espinoza said.

On Missouri Street, Jesús Miramontes, 72, lives in a rickety trailer without heat or electricity. To survive, he keeps pigs and chickens for his wife and two grandchildren, who live with him.

Miramontes was a life-long farmhand who now lives on a cramped lot, with a vast field behind it. He keeps talking about adding electricity, but never does it.

He is a legal resident, and would like to vote in the elections. But he cannot afford the $675 fee to apply for US citizenship. It is a tenth of what he earned last year.

Puerto Vallarta was once a quiet fishing village, but ever since it served as the backdrop for John Huston’s 1964 film “The Night of the Iguana,” starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, the sleepy seaside town has grown to become the blockbuster resort that it is today. This longstanding popularity only seems to be increasing among both tourists and retirees, and as a result, Puerto Vallarta's real estate market is thriving. ….More

N.C. Sheriff Expects to Have Marine Charged with Murder in Custody in a Week….More

Shares of New York Times Co. rose after it was disclosed that a Mexican company purchased 6.4 percent of the publisher's publicly traded stock, according to media reports Friday quoting the Securities and Exchange Commission filing. ….More

Columbus Academy students celebrated the life of the monarch butterfly Monday by releasing 100 butterflies on their pilgrimage to Mexico. ….More

A drug-sniffing dog pulled the U.S. Border Patrol agent to a rusty cargo container in the storage yard just north of the Mexican border. Peeking inside, he saw stacks of bundled marijuana and a man with a gun tucked in his waistband…..More

Mexico is in the midst of a legal revolution, and Cristal Gonzalez is on the front lines. The U.S.-trained lawyer is one of a growing number of Mexican attorneys putting judges, lawyers, investigators and clerks through crash courses in justice, now that Mexico has amended its constitution to throw out its inept and corrupt legal system. …..More

WASHINGTON (AP) — The government of Mexico has voluntarily suspended shipments of meat and processed poultry to the United States after U.S. officials raised concerns about the quality of Mexican food processing and inspections, an Agriculture Department official said Thursday. …..More

Many versions of Barbie dolls have been created throughout the ages, and now the world's most expensive has been unveiled in Mexico City. …..More

The life of a high-level mobster is a staple of books and Hollywood films. But most real-life gang leaders don't tell their stories. The code of silence runs deep; breaking that code can be fatal. That's especially true if the mobster is behind bars. …..More

Living in the Riviera Nayarit offers breathtaking natural beauty and friendly people. It is neighbors like Francisco (Paco) Aldana that make the newcomer feel welcome. Always available to lend a hand or translate, it is an understatement to describe Paco as a good guy. He is a true Mexican: chivalrous, courteous and intelligent. Mi casa su casa is not a cliché when Paco is around; this gracious host always has wonderful Mexican cuisine to share.

Growing up in the northern desert state of Chihuahua, Francisco dreamed of ocean vacations. After graduating university with a chemical engineering degree, he accepted a position with CELANESE Mexican that brought him to central Jalisco. The company grew, becoming international conglomerate when it was acquired by HOECHST chemicals and renamed HOECHT CELANESE CORP. Paco advanced to manager and the ocean vacations became a reality. In 1989, Paco was able to obtain waterfront property in (then) tiny La Peñita; he and his family have been living here part-time ever since.

There are many things that I miss about Vancouver. I miss the mountains, the fresh clean air, and how shoe stores have my size. Most of all I miss the diversity and the variety of cuisines that are always readily available.

As a young boy growing up in the multi-cultural Mecca that is Vancouver, it has spoiled my taste buds forever.

I am a stickler for when it comes to how I want the quality of my sushi. I could tell you the differences between regional Chinese cuisines Szechuan and Cantonese and I have cravings for fresh sashimi that could rival the cravings of Count Dracula in dire need of plasma.

I think someone should be blamed for my Szechwan addiction, and my sashimi shakes, but the question is who? Was it the video games that did this to me? Maybe it’s all the rap music I listen to? I think not.

Blame the parents. They also grew up in Vancouver, a city with the second largest china town in North America. In my household, the sweet smell of sushi rice was as common as my father’s scent of Paco Roban and Rolaids.

On the many occasions that we went over town for family dinners, it was a draw between The Old Spaghetti Factory and The Chongqing, a restaurant that specializes in Szechuan cuisine. It wasn’t the typical Chinese fair you would get in a mall; this restaurant was the real deal. Lobsters were segregated from the crabs and tanks were full of live multi colored fish.

Everyone in the family had their favorite dish that they had to order; be it my mom’s chicken cashew, or my sister’s dumpling fixations. We would then serve and share each other’s choices. My favorite dish was the hot and sour soup; a hearty and spicy soup to which chunks of white tofu, lines of egg and tiny shrimps were added.

Wonderful in its intensity, my mother would often serve it to me when I was sick, as it would suffice as the perfect sinus cleanser and every time I slurped a mouthful my taste buds would take a much needed vacation from chicken broth-land.

When I returned to La Penita after two years, I heard of a new Chinese restaurant located in the plaza. “A Chinese restaurant in La Penita,” I thought, “I must be delusional.” After pacing for a good three hours and a half, I decided that I would go where no proper Vancouverite has gone before, to a Chinese restaurant in the middle of small- town Mexico.

Victor Acosta, the owner and head chef of Huo-Mi, greeted me as I entered, without a menu in hand but a list that he had memorized in his head of the days specialties.

“Everyday we have fried rice, and chow main, but today’s specialty is a mixed Szechuan melody with chicken, peppers, squid and fresh shrimp,” said Victor.

Impressed and excited, I ordered all of the above. I quickly realize two things that foodies such as myself believe are great signs. One; Victor is a friendly and chubby, this is great news as heavy set men such as myself know how to eat. Two; Victor’s menu wasn’t on paper, so the plus side of that is that his menu cycles daily, ensuring fresh food and different specials consistently.

Originally from Veracruz, Victor worked as an Insurance salesman for companies such as ING and Commercial America. A successful salesman, Victor ate his lunches out, trying the different restaurants that were close to work.

One of the restaurants was called “Ho- Wah” a Szechwan style restaurant that immediately made an impression on Victor. “Everything changed when I first tried Chinese food” Victor said. “It was love.”

Victor befriended the owner of Ho- Wah, Johnny Wong. Johnny taught Victor all about Chinese cuisine and the depth of the history from his home country of China. Over a ten month period Johnny trained Victor on how to prepare classic Szechuan food.

When Johnny became Ill, Victor helped out as much as he could. “I quit my insurance job, to work in the kitchen, to help the family business survive while Johnny was in the hospital.”

Johnny sadly passed away, creating a protégé in Victor. Swapping chef pants for beach shorts Victor decided that he wanted to move to La Penita and open a Chinese restaurant.

Victor opened Huo-Mi on November 1^st, 2006 beside the church in the Plaza. Starting only with two tables, and two woks Victor slowly created his dream restaurant in one of his favorite locations.

A family man with a wife and daughter Victor is passionate about creating a better community. “We need better services,” says Victor. “For a town that’s number one resource is tourism, why do we have such a dirty beach. “I see the potential in this town, and the power of the community.”

I take a break from as my food arrives, hot and sizzling on my plate after being thrown about in the flames of the wok.

The food isn’t Chongqing, of course. Surprisingly it’s satisfying, fresh and hits the spot. A most needed break from tacos, tacos and more tacos.

“It’s so difficult to get the ingredients here, so far from the big grocery stores,” says Victor.

I joke, “So far from China!” I understand this only too well, as my mother often assigned friends and family coming down from Canada to pack a gallon container of Oyster sauce from her favorite brand only available in Vancouver.

Soon Victor will be starting a delivery service, and will create a menu for private catering. “I just hope, people don’t think; he is Mexican, why is he making Chinese food. It will taste bad because he is Mexican or something.”

I tell Victor “Just let your food shine.” I quickly realize how much of a pretentious foodie I have been, I have been to Italian restaurants where all the chefs were East Indian, Greek restaurants where the whole staff was Persian.

The same people who believe that one needs to be from the country of origin to prepare a cuisine properly is nonsense and these people are the same people who will vote for Palin in the upcoming American election just because she is a woman.

I come to a realization that it shouldn’t matter as long as the food is good, and fresh, and hits the spot.

I am proof that with an open mind, one can be truly satisfied. Huo-Mi gets the job done.

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Mexico's postal service tries to brighten up image

Message from the Chief Electoral Officer of Canada

Subject: Outside Canada? You can vote by mail!

Objet : Vous êtes à l’étranger? Vous pouvez voter par la poste!