Travel Vacations tips

Aberdeen City Guide Including Aberdeen Hotels

Aberdeen in the heart of Scotland’s Grampian Highlands is an ideal destination for art history and culture that is slightly off the beaten track. Scotland’s third largest city was inspiration for the well known Scottish folk song The Northern Lights of Old Aberdeen which portrays a well worn Scottish theme: that of extreme homesickness when away from my “home native land” and celebrates the spectacular phenomenon of Aurora Borealis.

Places of interest:

Aberdeen was established in 1179 and her fortunes were transformed by Robert Bruce’s 1319 Charter in recognition of his gratitude to the people of Aberdeen who had sheltered him during his campaign against the English. Since 1509 when the renowned University of Aberdeen was established Aberdeen has been an academic centre of Europe which influences a great many of the cultural and historical activities on offer in the city and its surrounding areas.

About the writer:  Biography
Name: Maria Williams
Website: http://www.sleepuk.com
Biography: Maria writes for Sleep UK
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Effect Of The Union En Caule Company On Puerto Vallarta

Silver is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when you think of Mexico but perhaps it should be. After all Mexico has been the world’s leader in the production of silver since the 1500s and continued to be the number one producer through 2003.

The TranVolcanic Axis range of mountains that traverse Mexico from Veracruz at the eastern side to Cabo Corrientes on Banderas Bay near Puerto Vallarta at the western side are extremely rich with mineral wealth uncovered during the Pleistocene age when its 38 volcanoes erupted. As the crust of the earth was ripped open by the volcanic action massive sulfide veins rich in gold lead zinc copper and silver were exposed.

For a thousand years prior to the 1500s Spain dominated the world in silver production. Silver was domestically used by the Spaniards in the Roman Empire and was also used in bartering for Asian spices. Soon after 1492 when the Spaniards first arrived in the New World Cordoba visited the Yucatan coast of Mexico in 1517 and Cortez arrived in Veracruz Mexico. Much to their delight they discovered a land rich with vast deposits of silver gold and other prized minerals. That was the beginning of the Spanish Conquest of Mexico resulting in the Spaniards pretty well dominating the country for the following three centuries.

Cortez and his army of well trained and armed soldiers managed to terrorize and plunder Mexico for 20 years stripping her of as much mineral wealth as possible. In 1524 for example Cortez and his troops defeated a large band of native Indians in the Ameca Valley near Puerto Vallarta while on his journey to Baja California. During their ventures across the country they discovered the rich ore deposits throughout the TranVolcanic Axis Mountains.

Within the first year of his arrival in Mexico Cortez had staked his claim for silver in Taxco and the process of staking claims by Spaniards such as Guzman continued for many years as they traversed the country. Beautiful colonial mining cities sprung up all over central Mexico with adjacent farming communities as required to support the miners. For example within 50 miles of the Pacific Ocean and high in the Sierra Madres the beautiful colonial gold and silver mining city of Mascota was founded in 1592 Talpa de Allende in 1599 and San Sebastian in 1605.

Prior to arriving in Mexico the Spaniards had extracted and refined silver and gold from ore by various means however in 1557 a new mercury amalgamation process was developed in Pachuca Hidalgo Mexico whereby ores were crushed to a fine powder and then mixed with salt sodium chloride water copper sulfate and mercury. The silver in the ore then chemically bonded to the free chlorine from the salt and the free sulfur from the copper sulfate. This slime was then spread out on a patio and allowed to dry; hence the name Patio Process. After a month of drying and regrinding the mercury was removed from the amalgamation of mercury silver and gold and the refined silver and gold was ready for the market. Use of this extraction process continued for the next three centuries.

In 1804 a couple of the local indigenous people in the Sierra Madre mountains about 30 miles southeast of Banderas Bay discovered massive sulfide veins while searching for flint. They took vein samples to the miners in Talpa de Allende for evaluation and lo and behold within a few years a Spaniard named Hernandez had staked his claim on the area! This area was referred to as the Cuale District and mining began in 1824. The Hernandez family mined the area for 30 years but when the owners died the slick lawyer hired to settle the estate somehow acquired the mining licenses and formed the Union en Cuale Company. This company owned all of the land from Los Arcos to the Pitillal River along the Banderas Bay and extended approximately 40 miles back up into the Sierra Madres.

All of the mines in the area from the Cuale District to Talpa de Allende Mascota San Sebastian etc. required tons of salt mercury and other mining related materials and equipment. Of course the miners needed food and other products for daily living. Most of these supplies were transported by boat up the Cuale River or Rio Cuale which flows from high in the Sierras down to Banderas Bay on the Pacific Ocean.

The entire area along Banderas Bay near the mouth of the Cuale River was first referred to as Las Peas when the Spanish explorer Don Pedro de Alvarado arrived in 1541. Las Peas or the rocks was named after the huge rock outcropping; now called Los Arcos in Banderas Bay located a few miles south of the mouth of the river. A small village known as Las Peas was officially established at the mouth of the Rio Cuale to support the mining operations of the Union en Cuale Company and by 1885 the thriving village of Las Peas consisted of approximately 1000 residents living in 250 casitas.

As part of the Agrarian Reform resulting from the 1919 Mexican Revolution 39 square miles of the Union en Cuale Company property located in the Mexican state of Jalisco were expropriated by the federal government and granted to the local residents as an ejido or farming cooperative. In memory of Don Ignacio Vallarta the Governor of Jalisco the name of Las Peas was changed to Puerto Vallarta in 1918. Who could have imagined that this young municipality located at the mouth of the Cuale River was destined to become one of the most popular resort destinations in the world?

Today that area where it all began near the mouth of the Rio Cuale is referred to as Old Town or The Romantic Zone. It is the home to numerous fine restaurants curio and souvenir shops beautiful new condominiums and a magnificent new malecon or beachfront promenade that connects with the malecon in El Centro or downtown. Nestled among the mountainsides surrounding and overlooking the quaint Romantic Zone are thousands of villas and condominiums all with spectacular views of the city the bay and the Sierra Madres.

With its perfect climate and incredible shoreline in all probability Puerto Vallarta would have eventually been discovered as a world class travel destination and a retirement Paradise. However without the Union en Cuale Company it very well might have all begun near the mouth of the Ameca River which enters Banderas Bay at the state line between Jalisco and Nayarit about five miles north of town. The Ameca River runs through the rich Ameca Valley which has been farmed for centuries and would have been the logical choice for the region’s initial settlement in the absence of the Union en Caule Company.

In summarizing thanks to the Union en Caule Company Puerto Vallarta has become the world class retirement haven and tourist resort destination that it is today; a Paradise that has grown from 1000 to 350000 inhabitants in a mere century.

About the writer:  Jim Scherrer has owned property in Puerto Vallarta Mexico for 24 years and resided there for the past ten years. The mission of his series of 30 articles pertaining to retirement in Puerto Vallarta is to reveal the recent changes that have occurred in Vallarta while dispelling the misconceptions about living conditions in Mexico. For the full series of articles regarding travel to and retirement in Vallarta as well as pertinent Puerto Vallarta links please visit us at Puerto Vallarta Real Estate Buyers Agents and click on ARTICLES.

A Memory Of Kyoto

Its often that chance encounters the unplanned events linger long after the excursions and the sights of a particular trip have faded. It was in 1998 when my wife and I visited central Japan basing ourselves in Kyoto having availed ourselves of cheap flights from Bandar Seri Begawan courtesy of Royal Brunei. I can place the date exactly because it was during the early group stages of the 1998 World Cup in France. I can remember vividly watching television in a bar and seeing David Beckham being sent off in the game against Argentina. And on the evening that the Japanese team was eliminated beaten by Croatia it seemed that the whole nation cried. And then they all got up for work the next day as if nothing had happened all hubris presumably having been publicly and duly dispatched.

But of course its the differences that the ephemeral traveller notices. We had done our research and were resolved to experience something quintessentially Japanese. An essential part of this was to stay in a traditional small hotel called a ryokan. We couldnt manage to arrange it right away but did manage more than a week in the place we had earmarked which was Ryokan Yuhara right on the canal banks at the southern end of the Philosophers Walk. We even managed a room at the front with a balcony overlooking the water.

And so to some of those differences so carefully noted and recorded. It started and perhaps finished with the shoes. Outside shoes were left in the foyer each room having a designated pigeon hole in a large wooden rack a space that holds your corridor shoes. So the rack is really a large status board for the hotel. Outside shoes in the rack means that you are in whereas corridor shoes in the rack means you are out.

Corridor shoes are exactly what their name suggests. They are worn only in those communal areas where theres no water. In your room you have your room shoes which never go out. So if you go to the toilet you change out of your room shoes to your corridor shoes make your way to the loo and then change into your toilet shoes.

And then you confront the toilet seat a remarkable computerised robot that can be programmed for individual preferences. It can be heated or cooled. It plays music. It wipes itself clean after use. It plays a recording of a toilet flush to hide the actual noise your own flush makes. It probably turns you upside down sprays you with eau de cologne and announces Pleased to be of service if you wish. No wonder you need special shoes.

And then theres the bath. This has to be booked. There are half hour slots and having reserved your time you don your dressing gown and await the knock on the door. The maitre dhotel is there waiting to frogmarch you down to the bathroom where of course theres another pair of shoes. Its a house rule that occupants of a room bathe together by the way. Think carefully before booking this place with your granddad. A conventional shower with soap and shampoo is followed by a ten minute soak in a deep tub the hot water being merely replenished not replaced between slots so everyone shares the same water. Its an amazing place.

But the most enduring memory of the whole trip arose from a completely unplanned event. Kyotos temples were quite stunning of course and we tried to see as many as we could so our itinerary sometimes required starting out quite early in the morning. It also meant that we could often wander through the beautiful gardens on the way and take our time. One morning in particular we had set out very early and walked some distance in the direction of a particular temple Sanjusagendo famous for its ranks of hundreds of Buddhas and boddisatvas a veritable crowd of statues each with no less than 44 arms. So it was still quite early when we sought out breakfast in an area of the city that was new to us. Many restaurants and cafes still had their shutters down but after quite a trek we found one where the door was open.

Outside there was the customary large display board. These seemed to be a common feature of all Japanese eating establishments. They carry pictures of the dishes on offer so that they can be ordered by number a far easier process than trying to list often complicated sets of ingredients. Imagine twenty different noodle dishes all of which have vegetables and seafood. The numbering system works. My wife and I looked at the display noted the illustrated breakfast and went inside. The pictorial menus were a complete godsend for us of course since we could not read a single character of kanji.

So we sat down. There was another menu card on the table. I took it to the bar attracted the attention of the proprietor who was bending down to restock a fridge pointed to the relevant picture and indicated that we wanted two of them. We lived in Brunei at the time and were not too far from home so we thought we were used to most things Asian. We were surprised when the owner replied in English however with an immensely polite Certainly Sir poach scramble or fry and with tea or coffee? I ordered the coffee.

While we waited for the food to appear we wandered around the room. We were the only customers and there were several interesting photos in frames on the wall. It was clearly a well known place. A framed letter signed by the all the Canadian members of Disney on Ice expressed appreciation for the food.

The food took a bit longer than expected but it did eventually arrive. And it was excellent. A large and tastilydressed salad of pickled cucumber and orange was topped with three poached eggs and croutons. We ate well.

And then we had a chat with the owner who proudly showed us some more photos. He guessed we were British which I think was not difficult and explained how in the 1960s the Queen and Duke of Edinburgh had passed along the road outside as part of an official visit. And there was the photo with the restaurant in the frame as the royals processed.

We were in the caf for almost and hour eating and chatting. It never crossed our minds to wonder why we were the only customers. And then I thanked our host said we would have to move on and asked for the bill. I was immediately surprised when he said there was nothing to pay. After being lost for words I managed to ask him why our breakfast was free and he answered very pleasantly Its because we are closed Sir. He pointed to the display board we had scrutinised on the way in the one with the picture menu. It quite clearly said CLOSED in large English letters right across it. Expecting kanji we had not seen it. He had a good laugh and wished us a pleasant sty in Kyoto.

As a tourist its the differences you notice but its the human similarities the universal human values that endure.

About the writer:nbsp;nbsp;Philip Spires
Author of Mission an African novel set in Kenya
http://www.philipspires.co.uk
Michael a missionary priest has just killed Munyasya. It was an accident but Mulonzya a politician exploits the tragedy for his own ends. Boniface a church worker has just lost his child. He did not make it to the hospital in time possibly because Michael went to the Mission to retrieve a letter from Janet a teacher and the priests neighbour. It is Munyasya who has the last laugh however.