Pixar’s “Up” inspired by Venezuela’s freaky cool landscapes:
Venezuela

@cruiselog posts from a guest live blogger aboard Costa Pacifica (no pirates just Italians):  Costa Cruise

#Travel where the fab four did (who doesn’t like the Beatles?):  Beatles

Palace of Fontainebleau gives you the royal treatment: Palace

United Arab Emirates is more than Dubai bling: Emirates #travel

I wish I was in Dubrovnik instead of trying to figure out why comment option is gone on my blog: Croatia #travel

I have been outlining and brainstorming this site for the past month, with plans to have it ready for launch later this summer. Life has a way of changing my plans. I had an opportunity to go on a “last minute” FAM to the Riviera Maya, which is the stretch of coast south of the Cancun hotel strip down to the fabled ruins at Tulum.

H1N1 Swineflu Blues

As anyone who follows me on Twitter knows, I was on my way to Mexico when the news broke on “H1N1″ or the “swine flu” (boy did that piss off the pork producers). I am a news junkie, particularly news on travel, so of course I did my due diligence. My trip was planned for the remote desert coast of Sonora far from the capitol so I went and had a great time. No H1N1 to be found where I went.

The main impact of the flu scare in my opinion has been that it scared people. This has prompted waves of cancellation of trips to areas of Mexico that have had no cases or few cases of H1N1. The Cancun area is down to around 30% occupancy from the normal 80% for this time of year. The good people at AMResorts decided to fill some of those empty rooms with travel agents to attempt to turn the tide on the flu scare. I jumped at the chance to head down and get to know some of their Riviera Maya resorts.

Zoetry, Secrets and Dreams Resorts

I have stayed at several Secrets Resorts, and we book Secrets, Dreams, and Zoetry often for our clients. These are among the most luxurious all inclusive resorts there are. There are four new resorts in this area since I last visited and it is a great chance to see for myself what they have to offer my clients. So my H1N1 cloud now has silver lining. Yes, some of our clients canceled travel plans due to flu fears, but Now I have a chance to help you get to know some cool resorts!

I will be live blogging on my trip (have laptop will travel) here and in my tweets on Twitter. I plane to eventually share oodles of great pictures with you. If I can figure the technology out I will share some short videos as well. Today I leave for L.A. and Monday I will arrive in Cancun for my first night of two at Secrets Maroma Beach. My last night will be spent at Zoetry Paraiso de la Bonita which will be a great way to end my trip.

Que le vaya bien!