“It Was The Trip Of A Lifetime – Actually 3 Trips In One”

We appreciate it when our guests share their stories, comments and photos with us and allow us to post them on our blog. Barbara & Ashley Blankenship, from Los Angeles, California, traveled with us on our 5-Day Peru Explorer with Add-ons and had this to report:

It was the trip of a lifetime – actually 3 trips in one, since the experiences were so different in the Inca region, the rainforest, and the coastal desert.

We loved it all but these were unanticipated pleasures. We especially recommend the Larco Museum in Lima and the museum of Pre-Columbian Art in Cusco for their elegant coverage of pre-Inca materials. We hadn’t expected the Islas Ballestas to be so magnificent. We are glad we dropped by there on our way back from Nasca.

Thank you so much,

Barabara & Ashley Blankenship
Los Angeles, CA

Overlooking Machu Picchu
Overlooking Machu Picchu

“I Will Certainly Recommend The California Native To Others”

We appreciate it when our guests share their stories, comments and photos with us and allow us to post them on our blog. Recently, Steve Donaldson, from Calgary, Alberta, Canada, traveled with us on our Copper Canyon 8-day Independent Tour and wrote us this letter:

Hi Dave. We finished our Copper Canyon Tour a few days ago and I thought I would provide some feedback on our trip. First, thanks for setting it all up. Everything worked out great and we had an incredible experience. I will certainly recommend The California Native to others. Attached is a day by day run-down.

 

El Chepe train starts it's journey from El Fuerte into the Copper Canyon
El Chepe train starts it’s journey from El Fuerte into the Copper Canyon

Day One
Taxi from Los Mochis airport to El Fuerte: We went to the taxi dispatch booth as recommended and secured a taxi to El Fuerte as you suggested. Excellent hotel and the staff were very accommodating which we enjoyed very much.

Days Two and Three
Check-out and transfer to the train worked well and the conductor had our tickets for the rest of the train ride.

We were met at the train station in Bahuichivo by Hugo from Paraisio del Oso.

El Chepe train into the Copper Canyon
El Chepe train into the Copper Canyon

His English is perfect and he was very helpful and informative our entire stay at the lodge. Hugo suggested we hike up to Yogi Bear, it was great. Back down then into town where we had some wine at the Hotel Mission.

As I said, Hugo was great and very helpful and informative our whole stay. We had a great trip into Urique then a hike to the caves with his nephew and the next morning a horseback ride.

Day Four
All transfers worked out great and our room at the Best Western Lodge in Creel was excellent. A great example of rustic appearance with added amenities such as internet and even TV (even though we didn’t need TV it was a nice addition). We were also introduced to our guide by Salvadore from S&G Tours for the next day tour.

Across one of the many bridges
Across one of the many bridges

Day Five
Martin from S&G picked us up at 0930 and we were off on the tour. He was very accommodating to our needs and was helpful and we saw all the key sights – waterfall, lake, mission, Valley of the Monks, and caves.

Day 6
Check-out, train transfers and check-in to Mirador all worked out great. Hotel Mirador lives up to the pictures. I took two great hikes for a couple of hours, unguided, and loved it. Dinner was excellent.

Tarahumara indians at an overlook
Tarahumara indians at an overlook

Day 7
Great breakfast and lunch. Had time for a couple of great hikes – not a cloud in the sky. Check-out seamless as was the transfer to the train. The staff at Mirador were excellent and very professional.

Again, thanks for making it happen and especially for your flexibility in our tour modifications and the personal contact to arrange everything.

Steve Donaldson
Calgary, AB, Canada

There’s Plenty To See In The Land Of Green!

Spring has sprung and what better time to visit Ireland, “Land of Green” than now. On our bicycle and walking adventures, you’ll travel down country roads past neolithic stone ruins, medieval castles, Iron Age forts, and prehistoric burial sites. Ireland has rugged mountains, sea-battered cliffs, quiet woodlands and beautiful lakes, and each time you turn a corner the scenery changes. In this fairy tale environment, it’s not hard to imagine that a leprechaun is watching you from just behind an ancient stone fence.

The mild climate, quiet country roads and wandering trails make bicycling or walking perfect ways to explore this colorful island country, where there are no language barriers, and the friendly Irish people make you feel at home. Whether walking or cycling we spend our nights at small family-run hotels and charming B&B’s and, of course, we enjoy the music and good cheer of Ireland’s famous pubs.

So join us on one of our bicycle or walking tours of Ireland.

Walking through the beautiful Irish countryside.
Walking through the beautiful Irish countryside.
i bike 1
California Native president Lee Klein bicycling through Ireland.
i bike 4
Poulnabrone, a megalithic passage tomb in the Burren
i bike 3
After a fun day of travel you’ll enjoy traditional Irish food and drink.
So many amazing castles to see in Ireland!
So many amazing castles to see in Ireland!
So many amazing castles to see in Ireland!
Friendly Irish people make you feel at home

 

i house
Traditional Irish cottage
I walk 3
Traditional Irish “Step Dancing”
Many beautiful and tranquil places to visit in Ireland
Many beautiful and tranquil places to visit in Ireland

 

Keep Making Your Excellent Itineraries

We appreciate it when our guests share their stories, comments and photos with us and allow us to post them on our blog. Recently, Sandy and Harry Scott, from Asheville, North Carolina, traveled with us on our Copper Canyon 11-day Independent Tour to the Bottom and had this to report:

Keep making your excellent itineraries, everything was so easy! We loved having reservations made. Not needing to get taxis was a welcome luxury to have. All our needs taken care of. Going the extra mile exceeded our expectations – example: having the driver take us to our Air BnB at the end of the trip. Laurie was particularly helpful. Participating in the Christmas Posado was very meaningful, I was very positively and emotionally impacted by the experience. We will call you again!

Sandy & Harry Scott
Asheville, NC

Sandy Scott at an overlook in Copper Canyon. Photo by Harry Scott
Sandy Scott enjoying the spectacular view of one of the many canyons in Copper Canyon. Photo by Harry Scott
Snowy covered canyon in Copper Canyon. Photo by Harry Scott
Snowy covered canyon in Copper Canyon. Photo by Harry Scott
Copper Canyon has so many amazing canyon views! Photo by Harry Scott
Copper Canyon has so many amazing canyon views! Photo by Harry Scott

An Unexpected & Very Sweet Surprise!

We appreciate it when our guests share their stories with us and allow us to post them on our blog. Carol Schlafly, from Nashville, TN, wrote us about her recent escorted adventure in the Copper Canyon:

It was all just wonderful, food was great, all arrangements were just great, the hotels were great too! Rob [California Native guide] is wonderful — whatever we needed, he made it happen. Our al fresco lunch on the way to Batopilas was an unexpected and very sweet surprise.

I thought the prep work was great — wonderful info, all arrangements were very smooth, instructions were good. All the local guides and drivers were wonderful. A+ for all, lunch on the beach after petting the dolphins was great!

It was an adventure, we saw and did things I would not have ordinarily done, we saw some amazing terrain and some excitement along the way! Very exciting!

Rob Aikins is amazing. I could write a book on all the things he handled & how patient and understanding he was. His knowledge of the area and the contacts (he knows everyone) are fabulous. I would definetly recommend this tour to friends.

Carol Schlafly
Nashville, TN

Enjoying a picnic in Copper Canyon!
Enjoying a picnic in Copper Canyon!

New Life in the Galapagos!

For the first time in more than one hundred years, researchers have found newborn baby tortoises on the tiny Galapagos Island of Pinzón. Good news indeed since the population has struggled after being nearly decimated by human impact.

Whalers and invasive rats devastated the species when they arrived aboard ships in the 17th and 18th centuries; the rats then spent more than a century preying on the island’s hatchlings, according to the Galapagos Conservancy.

Tortois on the beach in the Galapagos.
Tortoise on the beach in the Galapagos.

The tiny turtle find validates more than 50 years of conservation efforts, which have included growing hatchlings in captivity until they are large enough to be released without falling prey to rats, as well as a push to eradicate the rodents. The arid island was finally declared rat-free in 2012.

The Galápagos Islands, home to the giant tortoises and many other unique species were first discovered in 1535 by Tomas de Berlanga, the bishop of Panama, when his ship drifted off course while on its way to Peru. He named the Islands Las Encantadas, “The Enchanted,” and marveled at the thousands of giant tortoises living there. Because of these tortoises, the Islands became known as the Galápagos—the Spanish word for tortoise.

Sailors—explorers, pirates and whalers, saw the huge tortoises, which weigh up to 550 pounds, as a convenient source of fresh meat, for the tortoises can survive long periods of time without food or water, and can live in the hold of a ship for up to a year. When British naturalist Charles Darwin visited the Galápagos in 1835, aboard the HMS Beagle, the islands’ residents showed him how to tell which island a tortoise belonged to by the shape of its shell. Pondering the causes for this localized diversity led Darwin to develop his Theory of Evolution.

Galapagos tortoise
Galapagos tortoise

At the time of his visit there were around a quarter of a million tortoises living on the islands. Today less than 15,000 remain. Of the original 15 subspecies, only eleven are left—three have become extinct and the fourth has only one individual left. Thousands of the animals were slaughtered by the crews of sailing ships and, when the islands were colonized in 1832, pigs, goats, rats and other animals also arrived, eating eggs and young tortoises and destroying nests and food supplies.

It is believed that the tortoises, who can float on the sea for several days, came to the Galapagos from the South American mainland. Once on the islands they encountered no enemies. Each of the islands presented its own unique environmental challenges, and the isolated tortoises evolved to take advantage of these differences—tortoises on islands with taller vegetation have longer necks.

Because of the tortoises extreme longevity, visitors to the Islands may unknowingly photograph some of the same tortoises that Darwin himself observed back in 1835.

There are so many strange stories, landscapes, and creatures on these islands which inspired Charles Darwin to discover the principles of evolution. Please join us on our Galapagos Islands tours.

“Thanks for a Great Trip!”

We appreciate it when our guests share their stories with us and allow us to post them on our blog. Charlie Stephens, from Olympia, WA, wrote us this short letter about his independent adventure with us in the Copper Canyon:

Thanks for organizing a wonderful trip for us in the Copper Canyon (we took the 5-day independent.) It was just the right “taste” of this spectacular and fascinating area. My 72 year old mom, who’s a little hobbled, had a great time, and didn’t have too much trouble getting around. Accommodations and food were great too. Thanks for a great trip!

Best Wishes,

Charlie Stephens
Olympia, WA

Arareko Lake just outside of Creel
Lake just outside of Cerocahui.

 

California Native Attends ATMEX 2015

Last month California Native founder and president Lee Klein, again attended ATMEX, the premier Adventure Travel event in Mexico held in Chiapas, quickly becoming renowned as the adventure capital of Mexico. It was a great opportunity to meet again with adventure tour providers in Mexico and develop future partnerships for providing California Native adventures in this exciting and beautiful state.

Along with friends in the adventure travel industry, Lee visited Santiago Comaltepec, village of Chinantla, Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, Rio Soyolapam and the pyramids in Palenque.

ATMEX Convention 2015
ATMEX Convention 2015
ATMEX Convention 2015
ATMEX Convention 2015
Church in the village of Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, Oaxaca
Church in the village of Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, Oaxaca
Friendly locals in the village of Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, Oaxaca
Friendly locals in the village of Santa Cruz Tepetotutla, Oaxaca
Rio Soyolapam
Rio Soyolapam
Los secretos de chinantla, oaxaca - The secrets of chinantla, oaxaca
Los secretos de chinantla, oaxaca – The secrets of chinantla, oaxaca
Lee visits the waterfalls at Santiago Comaltepec
Lee visits the waterfalls at Santiago Comaltepec
The waterfalls at Santiago Comaltepec
The waterfalls at Santiago Comaltepec
Pyramids in Palenque
Pyramids in Palenque

The Highest Ancient Palace in the World

California Native’s Lee & Ellen Klein in a group standing in front of the Potala Palace.
California Native’s Lee & Ellen Klein in a group standing in front of the Potala Palace.

The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet, was the chief residence of the Dalai Lama until the 14th Dalai Lama fled to India during the 1959 Tibetan uprising. It is now a museum and World Heritage Site. This amazing palace has the honor of being the highest ancient palace in the world, with its highest point 12,300 feet above sea level, towering 300 feet above the city of Lhasa. This 13-stories-high palace has over 1,000 rooms, 10,000 shrines and contains about 200,000 statues. The stone walls measure 10 feet thick on average.

The palace is named after Mount Potalaka. The 5th Dalai Lama started its construction in 1645 after one of his spiritual advisers, Konchog Chophel, pointed out that the site was ideal as a seat of government, situated as it is between two monasteries and the old city of Lhasa.

The Palace contains two sections, the White Palace and the Red Palace. The first White Palace was built during the lifetime of the Fifth Dalai Lama and he and his government moved into it in 1649. It was extended to its present size by the thirteenth Dalai Lama in the early 20th century. The palace contained the living quarters, offices, seminary and printing house. A central, yellow-painted courtyard known as a Deyangshar separates the living quarters from the Red Palace, which is the part of the Potala palace that is completely devoted to religious study and Buddhist prayer.

The California Native has been leading tours to exotic destinations for more than 30 years and people are always asking what our favorites are. One of our favorite trips is this wonderful journey which begins in Beijing, China, travels through Tibet and hits its high point at Mount Everest Base Camp at the top of the world. California Native’s own Lee & Ellen Klein recently revisited this adventure which visits The Potala Palace.

 

Lee Klein climbing the entrance steps to the palace.
Lee Klein climbing the entrance steps to the palace.
Yellow-painted courtyard known as a Deyangshar separates the living quarters with the Red Palace.
Yellow-painted courtyard known as a Deyangshar separates the living quarters with the Red Palace.
Ellen Klein walks among a group in the beautiful palace grounds.
Ellen Klein walks among a group in the beautiful palace grounds.
This large stone is dedicated to the Dali Lama and the palace.
This large stone is dedicated to the Dali Lama and the palace.

New Copper Canyon Add-on in Topolobampo Bay & Los Mochis

Most travelers miss out experiencing historic Los Mochis and scenic Topolobampo Bay. This tour and boat trip adds an additional day/night to the beginning of any of our Copper Canyon escorted adventures, or to either end of our Copper Canyon independent tours.

What’s included:
Historical Botanical garden tour
Topolobampo tour
Bird Island and Dolphin Encounter tour
Free time to relax at Marviri’s Beach
Special Mariscada Lunch (special seafood lunch)
Soft Drinks and snacks
Hotel night in Los Mochis
Private transfer to or from El Fuerte with bilingual guide

$290 Per person, double occupancy

*Note: Prices subject to change without notice.

Los Mochis is a city founded in 1893 by the American pioneer Benjamin F. Johnston, who started planting sugar cane and building a sugar empire. Over the years this area has become the most productive agricultural region in Mexico and the final western destination of the Chihuahua-Pacific Railroad (El Chepe), better known as The Copper Canyon Train.

The Historical Botanical Gardens were part of Johnson’s mansion, La Casa Grande. Formerly private, the Sinaloa Botanical Garden is full of both native plants and specimens from abroad, plus a large variety of bird species.

Topolobampo Bay, on the Gulf of California is about a 20 minute drive from Los Mochis. Its beaches with calm waves are ideal for aquatic sports. Nearby, Playa el Maviry is a super spot for swimming and home to a bat cave. Visiting Playa el Maviri is an experience in itself as this is where the locals dine, a seafood lovers paradise.

On our cruise in Topolobampo Bay you will visit Bird Island, see many species of birds, sea lions and dolphins in their natural habitat and enjoy the clear blue waters of the Sea of Cortez.

Beautiful Toplobampo Bay
Beautiful Topolobampo Bay