State Department website lists where American travelers have died abroad

by Katie Hammel on

The LA Times recently linked to a tool on the US State Department website that allows you to search by date range and country to find out where around the world Americans have died of “non-natural” causes.

The information goes back to 2002. No names or details of the deaths are disclosed, they are only reported as suicide, drowning, drug-related, homicide, disaster, or vehicle, air or maritime accident, and listed according to date. The disclaimer on the site states that the stats may not be entirely accurate however, as they only represent those deaths disclosed to the State Department.

So can this tool tell you where you should or shouldn’t go based on your likelihood of drowning, getting into an accident, or being killed as a tourist there? Not really. Circumstances of the deaths are, of course, not disclosed and there is no distinction between expats or people who have lived in the country for many years and those who are tourists visiting on vacation.

Even countries with high numbers of deaths shouldn’t automatically be crossed off your list. Mexico, for example, lists 126 American deaths in 2009. 36 of those were homicides. Sounds like a big number, but not as big compared to the 2.6 million Americans who fly to Mexico every year. As the LA Times points out, “the odds overwhelmingly suggest that your vacation will be nonfatal.”

Four top-shelf New Year’s Eve destinations (and something else)

by Tom Johansmeyer on

If you plan to make New Year’s Eve memorable, you need to start pulling the trigger now. The best stuff does get snapped up quickly, and even if you have a load of cash at your disposal, you could wind up late to the party. So, if a shortage of ideas is the only thing in your way, check out the five suggestions below. For four of them, be prepared to spend some dough. The fifth is for everyone else.

1. Villa Sancha (Spain)
Head out to the Andalucian valley of southern Spain and make Villa Sanchez your spot for the biggest party night of the year. Enjoy the private outdoor courtyard at this Abercrombie & Kent villa, and be sure to pass a relaxing day at an Arab bath in Malaga. Sip some sherry in nearby Jerez. This sort of luxury isn’t cheap, but it’s worth it: eight adults, one child starts at $6,207 … but a welcome meal is included.

2. Hotel Martinez (France)
This is a disco-lover’s dream. Groove along to tribute band Bee Gees Magic at the Hotel Martinez, which is apparently a hot group for those who are into that kind of thing. Enjoy an amazing gala dinner in the Salon Royal Galuchat, prepared by Chef Christian Sinicropi, and then let the glitter fly. The deal starts at $719 a night, but it includes the New Year’s Eve party (with dinner, champagne and wines selected by master sommelier). For an extra $120 a person, you can celebrate the 80th anniversary of the hotel. Stay overnight on December 31, 2009 in a Superior room, and indulge in a buffet breakfast or continental breakfast served in your room.

3. Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel (United States)
The Renaissance Boston Waterfront Hotel and 606 Congress restaurant next door are ready to help you celebrate the start of 2010 in style. The “New Year’s Eve Beantown Bonus” package includes a night at the hotel, dinner for two at 606 Congress on New Year’s Eve and breakfast the next day and a late checkout. To help you get your motor running, you’ll receive free use of the health club and lap pool … not to mention a Starbucks card loaded appropriately to $20.10. Rates start at $299 a night.

4. Palmasola (Mexico)
This is beyond insane. A staff of 16 will attend to you and up to 17 other guests in a 25,000 beach-front villa. You’ll have a Michelin chef preparing your meals, and a party will be held for you and your friends. And, if that isn’t enough, you’ll have access to the Four Seasons resort not far away, and the Jack Nicklaus golf course. Be prepared to spend: partying at this level will set you back $18,750 a night, for a minimum of five nights.

5. Set yourself up for next year (Anywhere)
Take one last mileage run to see if you can finally hit gold or platinum elite status on the airline of your choice. Do shots of Absolut in an airport bar, and feast on whatever’s left at Au Bon Pain. Hey, this is an investment in the 365 days to come.

The most amazing New Year’s Eve luxury travel experience you can imagine

by Tom Johansmeyer on

Find 17 of your closest frends and bring them to Palmasola. The beachfront estate will deploy its full-time staff of 16 to attend to your needs in this 25,000 square foot paradise, which includes Chef Peter Lodes, who has worked Michelin starred restaurants around the world. He’ll pull together Mexican and Mediterranean flavors for you and your guests, pairing each meal with exquisite wines, which you’ll enjoy in the villa’s dining rooms, verandas or just outside under the moonlight.

The destination’s New Year’s Eve package is designed to give the 18 of you an experience you’ll never forget. It includes all meals for everyone in the estate, a Mexican Fiesta night (with tequila tasting and traditional dance performance), and a traditional piñata party for the kids. Guests get full access to the nearby Four Seasons Resort, which includes a Jack Nicklaus golf course.

Set up on 200 feet of shoreline, the villa has a media room (with home theater), heated pool, Jacuzzi and fitness center. There are two game rooms — one for adults and another for kids — not to mention two residences and two more apartments, adding up to nine bedrooms. Workaholics can spend some time in the business center, which comes equipped with computers and WiFi access.

Ultimate recyling project: Building a soda bottle classroom

by Jamie Rhein on

What happens when Peace Corps volunteers, the non-profit organization, Hug it Forward and a bevvy of school children and teachers in Guatemala recycle plastic bottles and trash? A school classroom.

The collected bottles were stuffed with trash and used to form the walls for a classroom addition at a school in Granados, a small mountain town in the Baja Verapaz region of the country. Amazing.

This video shows how the project was done. The music is a fitting addition to a project that brought the widest smiles to dozens of faces.

Imagine what might happen if similar projects happened on a massive scale world wide. There are a lot of plastic bottles on the planet.

For another version of a building project that fits into travel and activism, check out this gallery on house building with teens, college students and adults in Mexico through Amor Ministries, another non-profit that welcomes volunteers.

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Underwater sculpture garden helps save Cancun’s coral reefs

by Sean McLachlan on

Cancun’s famous coral reefs have been hit hard lately by storms and pollution, and the Mexican government has come up with an interesting way to let the reefs heal while still attracting visitors. They’re creating an underwater sculpture garden that will bring back the tourists and encourage growth of new coral.

It’s the brainchild of the Mexican government and artist Jason de Caires Taylor, who specializes in the beautiful if rather rare art of underwater sculpture. Most of his figures are human forms cast from real people. They’re made of inert, PH-neutral concrete. This concrete doesn’t pollute the water and attracts sea life. The figures then become platforms for coral and various other marine life, making a strange mixture of the natural and man-made.

Mexican park officials hope the sculptures will draw snorkelers and scuba divers away from the coral reefs, allowing the reefs time to heal. Judging from the photos in this gallery, divers won’t want to miss it. The scenes Mr. de Caires Taylor creates are spooky yet strangely alluring, like the plaster casts of Pompeii victims.

It takes only a couple of weeks for green algae to form on the surface of the sculptures, and coral and other sea creatures will start growing within a couple of months. So not only will the original coral reefs be allowed to regrow, but a new one will also start growing to add to the biodiversity on the sea floor.

Like his previous works in Granada, Chepstow and Canterbury (UK), the sculpture garden in Cancun is located in clear, shallow waters to allow easy viewing, although scuba divers will have the best view because they’ll be able to swim around the art at leisure. The first figures have already been put into place off the shores of Cancun. Hundreds more are planned.

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