Amateur Traveler - The Amateur Traveler is a travel show that helps you find the best places to travel. It includes both a weekly audio podcast and a twice monthly video podcast. It also includes travel news and resources.
Visit the region nearby Oaxaca Mexico with the Amateur Traveler. When I was in Oaxaca I met Felipe Hernandez in the zocalo (main square). Felipe is a 4th generation weaver who has rejected the modern commercial dyes and practices and gone back to traditional zapotec methods and materials. His family speaks Zapotec at home which means that they may have lived in the Oaxaca area for around 2500 years. Felipe volunteered to be my tour guide and took me to see some of the sites including the Zapotec ruin at Mitla. Then we went to Felipe’s house and he and his family showed me the weaving business.
This video will come out in two parts. This second part shows the weaving process, finishes dying the wool from part 1 and shows finished rugs.
Visit the region nearby Oaxaca Mexico with the Amateur Traveler. When I was in Oaxaca I met Felipe Hernandez in the zocalo (main square). Felipe is a 4th generation weaver who has rejected the modern commercial dyes and practices and gone back to traditional zapotec methods and materials. His family speaks Zapotec at home which means that they may have lived in the Oaxaca area for around 2500 years. Felipe volunteered to be my tour guide and took me to see the big tree, the Zapotec ruin at Mitla and the Sunday craft market at Tlacolula. Then we went to Felipe’s house and he and his family showed me the weaving business.
This video will come out in two parts. This first part briefly shows me the tour and then shows how to make a red dye out of insects (the cochineal) and how to cart, spin and clean the wool.
Visit San Francisco’s Embarcadero with the Amateur Traveler: This video shows the ferry building at San Francisco’s embarcadero. The ferry building was built in 1898 and survived the 1906 earthquake. In the early 1900s the pedestrian plaza outside of the ferry building was one of the busiest pedestrian areas in the world but the opening of the bay bridge caused the area to fall into disuse. The embarcadero freeway cut off this area from downtown which increased its isolation. After the 1989 Loma Prieda earthquake the embarcadero freeway was condemned and torn down. Since then the area has been rejuvenated. Now it is the home for restaurants and high end food stores and hosts a farmers market and arts and crafts fair.
Visit the Marin Headlands just the other side of the Golden Gate bridge from San Francisco with the Amateur Traveler. The Marin Headlands area is part of the larger Golden Gate National Recreation Area which is part of the National Park System. From the Marin headlands you can get great views of the Golden Gate bridge. This video also shows the Point Bonita Lighthouse and Fort Cronkhite which was part of a series of forts built to protect San Francisco during world war II.
The Amateur Traveler talks to Zora O’Neil who is one of the co-authors of the Rough Guide in the Yucatan guide book. Zora talks about this very beautiful, very tropical and very isolated part of Mexico. Learn about the beach communities (Riviera Maya - Cancun, Tulum, Playa del Carmen; Costa Maya - Majahual, Xcalak; Isla Holbox), getting around, the food (Xni Pec, Achiote), the colonial cities (Merida) and the Mayan ruins (the Ruta Puc, Uxmal, Calakmul).
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