November 26, 1922

"What do you see?"

"Wonderful things."

~ conversation between Howard Carter and Lord Carnarvon, following the breaching of the doorway to King Tutankhamun tomb, Valley of the Kings

This was the greatest discovery of the age, reviving an interest in archaeology, Egyptology, spawning a number of horror films from Hollywood, and reviving the "ancient curse of the pharaohs." Although Tutankhamun's tomb had been plundered twice, it is speculated that this occurred shortly after his burial, and that in time the pharoah and his tomb was covered with debris and the pharaoh forgotten. KV62 as his tomb is known was so full of objects, it took Carter 10 years to remove all the items.

The irony of Tutankhamun is that today he is among the most famous pharaohs because of the fabulous treasure; yet within his lifetime he achieved little, died at 19 and was largely forgotten. He was the son of Akhenaten, who had revolutionized ancient Egypt with his move to a monotheistic religion, centered around Aten, the sun god. Tutankhamun's birth name is thought to have been Tutanhhaten, until he returned Egypt to polytheism. He may have done this under pressure from the priesthood; regardless, his name along with his father's was expunged from the official histories.

A busy week for us at Walden Tours

This week has been a very busy week with the number of tradeshows that we have attended.

Monday we went to the Sandals Dinner and Presentation. We met some of the key players at Sandals, but also had the opportunity in meeting the owner and chariman, Gordon "Butch" Stewart. Unfortunaley his son, Adam, came down with the flu prior to the trip and was unable to attend.

Great news!! Sandals is in the process of developing overwater bungalows at two of their resorts and construction will begin in the spring 2011. One of the resorts will be the Sandals Royal Caribbean Resort in Montego Bay, (bungalows will be located near the resort’s private offshore island), while the second will be constructed at the Sandals Grand St. Lucian in St. Lucia. These overwater bungalows will be available by 2012.

Wednesday we attended The Kenya Travel Agent and Consumer Presentation. It was a rather informative evening and after listening to their presentation it really makes us want to add Africa to our bucket list. Perhaps in 2012???

This evening we found ourselves downtown even with the snow covered roads. We enjoyed a lovely dinner with other travel agents and the media which was followed by the evening presentation on Ixtapa/Zihuatanejo. Ixtapa seems to be a very heavily cultured community, but very laid back. This seems to be the place to go if once chooses to spend the time basking in the sun on the beach for some well desired rest and relaxation. Not only did we enjoy the evenings presentation, but Chris won a red silk tie while I won a 7 nights stay at the Krystal Ixtapa Hotel and Resort. We have a year before the offer expires, so, one never knows. We may just hope on a plane one day when the time feels right.

Next week we will be in Playa del Carmen and Cancun. Keep posted for more exciting news as our week progresses. Until then.....

to the Riviera Maya

Karen and I are off to the Riviera Maya for a week in the latter part of November and the beginning of December. We will be staying in Playa del Carmen at the Iberostar, before traveling south to Tulum and the Occidental Xcaret. We will finish in Cancun and will be at the Royal.

It is a working holiday, with site inspections at each of the hotels, we plan on visiting 5th Avenue in Playa and to immerse ourselves within the Hotel Zone of Cancun. We have planned a whole day at the Xcaret Nature Reserve and of course, we will also tour the Mayan pyramids. We have made a committment to spend a little time on the beach and swimming in the sea on a daily basis.

We look forward to sharing our experiences once we return.