Photo: Fabiano (LicoSp)

It’s almost May, and that means our friends at Wend Magazine are rolling out a new theme for their Photo Friday contest.

This month, Wend’s looking for shots of extreme weather. Whether you’re a storm chaser or a sun worshiper, Wend wants to see your best weather-related photos.

You can read full submission instructions here.

For now, I’ll leave you tempted with the Photo Friday prizes: Mountain Hardwear shirts (men’s and women’s) and, for the Grand Prize winner, a Mountain Hardwear Stimulus Jacket.

Photo: Esparta

I’m writing from New York City, where, at last count, the Department of Health reported 44 confirmed swine flu cases.

While New Yorkers are being advised not to panic and to go about their normal routines, two schools where students have been diagnosed with flu have closed temporarily and new flu clusters have been identified. Already, local tourism officials are taking measures to ensure that the swine flu scare doesn’t cause travelers to avoid New York City.

Regardless of whether concern is warranted, though, it’s becoming increasingly clear that swine flu is already having a significant impact on travel and tourism.

Here’s a round up of the latest news about how swine flu is changing travel recommendations and plans:

-Argentina and Cuba announced today that they are temporarily suspending flights to and from Mexico, which is currently the center of the swine flu crisis.Similar measures were taken by Canada’s WestJet and Air Canada airlines.

-Mexico City has banned most public events and has closed schools, public pools, gyms and sports clubs, theaters, nightclubs until further notice as a precautionary measure intended to contain the spread of the virus. In Mexico City? Don’t expect to go out to eat; all restaurants have been told they can serve take-out only.

Photo: playadura

-At present, Mexico City’s massive subway system is still running, though the city government continues to evaluate whether shutting the Metro temporarily will help control the crisis.

-Britain has suspended all consular and visa services at its Mexico City office until further notice.

-The European Union issued travel warnings to its citizens, advising them to postpone non-essential travel to the United States and Mexico.

-Swine flu cases were either identified or being investigated in the following countries as of Tuesday, April 28: Australia, Brazil, Canada, Guatemala, Israel, New Zealand, Peru, South Korea, Spain, the UK, and seven EU states. As the number of cases are determined, voluntary travel restrictions to and from these countries may be put in place.

-The governments of Russia, Hong Kong, and Taiwan announced they would quarantine any visitors to their countries who show symptoms of swine flu.

-On April 27, the World Health Organization indicated that it does NOT support the suspension of travel or the closure of borders by national governments. It does, however, encourage travelers without a non-urgent need to travel to reconsider their plans. The WHO also recommended that anyone feeling ill should not travel, and anyone who becomes ill after traveling should seek immediate medical attention.

-To keep track of developments and recommendations for travel to and within the United States, visit the Centers for Disease Control’s swine flu page here. The CDC also maintains a link to swine flu travel alerts.

-To keep track of developments and recommendations for travel elsewhere in the world, read the World Health Organization’s daily updates here.

Community Connection:

Have you changed your travel plans due to swine flu? Are you currently in Mexico? Share your experiences below.

The publishing industry–at least in the United States–is in danger, according to experts.

Sales are down and readers who love the feel of words in their hands worry about the impact the Kindle and other electronic readers may have on traditional books.

Photo: Daniel Zanini H

But there was a flicker of hope last week in the unlikely exchange of a gift between Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez and US President Barack Obama.

When the two presidents met at the Summit of the Americas, President Chavez gave President Obama a book, Las Venas Abiertas de America Latina, by Uruguayan writer and scholar, Eduardo Galeano:

Though the book was in Spanish–and Obama’s press secretary was reported as saying that Obama would be unlikely to read it for that reason–Chavez’s gift spurred a book buying surge… English and Spanish readers around the world caused Galeano’s book, which was published almost 40 years ago, to rocket to the top of bestseller lists after spending decades in the relative insularity of academic and activist circles.

According to the Guardian:

As footage of the encounter appeared on news bulletins, the book rocketed up the US paperback sales chart of the online bookseller Amazon, soaring from number 54,295 to sixth place within 24 hours.

At present, the book ranks #1 in three Amazon categories.

Could Chavez save publishing? Should the “Oprah effect” be renamed the “Chavez effect”?

Even if the impact of the gift only served to buoy the publishing industry temporarily, Chavez’s gesture helped to resuscitate a Latin American classic. You can read more about the book and its significance here.

Lots of celebrities support causes, putting on benefit concerts or performances or donating bundles of cash to communities in need.

Mia Farrow’s done all that, too. As a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador, she has also traveled to different regions of Africa to interview survivors of civil wars:

But now, Farrow is taking her support a step further.

On Monday, April 27, the actress will begin a hunger strike to bring attention to the political, economic, and social crises that have been gripping Darfur, Sudan for years and which have recently worsened. As Farrow wrote on her blog:

“On April 27th I will begin a fast of water only in solidarity with the people of Darfur and as a personal expression of outrage at a world that is somehow able to stand by and watch innocent men, women and children needlessly die of starvation, thirst and disease.”

Farrow has long been concerned about social problems in Africa, and has used her blog and other multimedia tools, such as her Flickr photostream, to raise awareness and call for action from people of privilege in other countries.

Photo: hdptcar

But she seems to feel the hunger strike is the most effective action she can take to draw attention to a worsening crisis the rest of the world is all to eager to ignore. She wrote:

“I undertake this fast in the heartfelt hope that world leaders who know what is just and right will call upon the Government of Sudan to urgently readmit all of the expelled agencies or otherwise insure that the gap is filled, giving aid workers unimpeded access to the populations before they begin to die in numbers that could dwarf the Rwandan genocide. I also call upon President Obama and other leaders with influence to help build a credible peace process that can end the suffering in Darfur.

I hope human rights advocates and citizens of conscience around the world will join me in some form of fasting, even if for one day. And when I can no longer continue, I pray another will take my place, and another– until finally there is justice and peace for Darfur’s people.”

Photo: garryknight

Whether you’re an amateur or professional photographer lugging your gear around on your travels, you’re probably interested in sharing your photos and getting recognized for memorable images.

If that’s the case, then this news is for you.

The 2009 international travel photographer of the year competition (TPOTY) is now open.

From the press release:

TPOTY 2009 winners will go to some highly photogenic locations, traveling to China, Costa Rica and Morocco with Intrepid Travel and to Slovakia’s Tatra Mountains with Mountain Paradise.

[E]quipment prizes… include a 26” NEC Spectra View monitor, an Apple MacBook Pro with Aperture 2 software, Wacom Cintiq 12WX interactive pen display and new Intuos4 pen tablets, Adobe CS4 Web Premium, Photoshop CS4 and Lightroom software, a total of £1,000 to spend with Jacobs Digital Photo & Video, Plastic Sandwich leather portfolio books, HARMAN PHOTO and ILFORD PHOTO paper, prints and darkroom products, LEE filters, Lexar CF cards and card readers, Photo Iconic photo courses, and £300 to spend with Linhof Studio.

This year, there are three entry categories: Homeland, Natural Wonders and People of the World, and “One Shot.” Submissions in this last category must be related to the theme Festival, Fiesta and Celebration.

You’ve got plenty of time to get your submission in; the deadline isn’t until September 22, 2009.

Complete entry details can be found on www.tpoty.com.

For information about last year’s winners, check out this article.

For the past few months, the US media have been obsessed with violence in Mexico.

Photo: tuxmemento

From FOX to NPR, the evening news has been awash with reports of blood-splashed streets, out of control crime stats, and a police force so impotent that federal military intervention is required.

It’s frightening stuff, alright, so much so that lots of travelers have changed or canceled their Mexico travel plans. People have even formed organizations calling for travel boycotts.

But outside of the drug-running hotspots of Tijuana and Ciudad Juarez, is traveling to Mexico really dangerous?

We talked to some frequent Mexico travelers and looked at some data to answer that question.

Matador contributor Misty Tosh is a regular visitor to Mexico. She hosts annual retreats on Isla de Mujeres and has driven Baja–alone–a dozen times. She recently wrote:

“I cruised down extremely dusty backroads, took precarious routes along the Sierra Madre’s, and swam along lonesome stretches of sandy beaches. Never did I fear for my life. Not once did I think I was gonna catch some trouble cause I was alone. Stay away from Mexico? As if. You’d be crazy if ya did.”

Travel writer Eric Lucas, who has had his passport stamped in Mexico more than 25 times, also travels south feeling at ease. In response to the travel boycott, he had this to say:

“Actually, it’s safer there than here. For example, the murder rate in Mexico is about 11 per 100,000 people a year. In New Orleans, it’s almost seven times worse, 71 per 100,000. Atlanta, Cleveland, St. Louis—all have higher murder rates than Mexico.”

Eric’s correct. As author David Lida–an American expat living in Mexico City for almost 20 years–explained in his excellent book, First Stop in the New World:

“In 2004, there were 710 homicides in Mexico City, as opposed to 218 in Washington, D.C. Yet there are close to twenty million people in Mexico City and only 572,000 in the U.s. capital. Therefore, your likelihood to get murdered in D.C. is far greater than it is here–equally true in many U.S. cities, among them Detroit, Philadelphia, St. Louis, Phoenix, Dallas, and Las Vegas (according to 2004 statistics from the FBI). In 2006, New Orleans…with a population smaller than 1 percent of Mexico City’s–had a murder rate nearly equal to the D.F.”

Lida concludes that the persistent problem with the portrayal of violence in Mexico is one of misinterpretation and lack of contextualization. 710 homicides sounds like a lot… if you’re not considering total population and if you’re comparing that statistic to the statistics of a city with a significantly lower population.

Mexico isn’t crime-free, but neither is the US. Yet if we focus enough on our neighbor to the south, maybe we’ll distract ourselves from our own problems. And perhaps that’s what’s really behind the sudden obsession with Mexico’s crime.

Photo: Gret@Lorenz

So don’t cancel that Mexico trip. Unless you’re planning on Spring Break in Juarez, you’re just as likely to be as safe in Mexico as you are in your own home town.

Does anyone besides me find everything having to do with taking your cell phone abroad to be an absolutely maddening experience?

Photo: FaceMePLS

Despite all the models and service options that exist, there are no fewer than one million frustrations I experience when traveling with my cell phone. There’s SIM card switch out. Roaming fees. Spotty service.

And that’s just for starters.

But I guess I should be grateful that I’m not Alex Dobson.

Dobson, an 18 year old Canadian who traveled to Peru last year, didn’t intend to take his phone with him at all. When he reached into his pocket and realized he hadn’t left it at home, he threw the phone in the bottom of his backpack and didn’t think anything else about it.

That was until he got home and learned that he had a $13,000 cell phone bill.

Dobson’s phone was stolen along with the rest of the contents of his pack. The thief apparently had lots of friends or relatives outside the country. Making calls to the tune of $3.49 a minute, he racked up a bill that eventually totaled more than $24,000.

Though Dobson canceled his cell phone service and reported the theft to his service provider, Bell Canada, the company continued to send him bills for calls the thief was making. After “investigating” the matter, Bell Canada decided that since the situation didn’t involve fraud (huh?), Dobson was liable for all of the existing charges.

And I thought these shenanigans only happened in the US.

Dobson’s mother, though angry, says “If we’re eventually held to have to pay it, we’ll have to pay it.”

Would YOU pay the bill for calls you’d never made? Share your response below.

Community Connection:

Want to forgo cell phones altogether but still need to keep in touch while you’re on the road? Check out “5 International Phone Plans for Telecommuters” and “Pimp Your Skype Experience” to learn more about Voice over Internet phone (VOIP) options.

Here at Matador, we’re big fans of unusual festivals.

Photo: www.viajar24h.com

Matador Trips co-editor Carlo Alcos recently featured several of Finland’s strangest celebrations.

Contributing writer Michael Ward penned a guide to running with the bulls in Pamplona, Spain.

Matador member Christine Gilbert blogged about La Tomatina (also in Spain) and I’ve written about a local bullfight festival in Colombia.

No matter where you roam, these types of events immerse you in local life in a way that few other experiences can approximate.

So we’re sad to hear that New Zealand is considering canceling future Running of the Sheep events, a tradition akin to the running of the bulls.

Photo: Richard Gifford

After this year’s run, which resulted in the injury of a spectator when a sheep jumped off course and into the crowd of onlookers, officials called for a safety review of the event. Animal rights advocates also chimed in, adding that the sheep wouldn’t have jumped the barriers intended to keep them on the running course if the conditions weren’t so anxiety-provoking for them.

My own opinion? If you’re going to one of these events, you know–and accept–the risk. But what’s your opinion? Should some of the world’s most unique, unusual events be discontinued for safety purposes? Share your comments below.

Photo: swimparallel

The UK-based Bradt Travel Guides has announced a travel writing competition open to all writers over the age of 18.

Applicants can submit a well-written 800 word essay responding to the contest theme, “Destination Unknown,” in one of two categories: unpublished travel writer or published travel writer.

A first-place winner will be awarded a trip for two to Colombia. In addition, his or her winning essay will be published in The Independent on Sunday, a newspaper that will also grant the winning writer a commission.

A second winner will be awarded a travel writing course in Spain, courtesy of contest partner, Travellers’ Tales.

Full details can be found here.

Photo: Brayan Collazo

There’s been a lot of talk about changing US policy toward Cuba, and since President Obama took office it’s clear the administration has been taking steps to re-establish some formal diplomatic ties with Cuba.

Today, those steps became tangible as the Obama administration announced that it has officially reversed the travel and money remittance policies that were strengthened by the Bush administration.

Cuban Americans can now visit Cuba as often as they’d like and will be allowed to send more than $300 every three months, which was the previous limit.

In addition to these changes, which were expected, President Obama indicated that the US government will provide licenses to American telecommunications companies in order to extend cell phone and Internet service on the island. Cuban Americans will be able to purchase service for their family members on the island once the basic infrastructure has been improved and expanded.

Now that this part of the arcane US foreign policy has been reversed, perhaps it’s just a matter of time before the Freedom to Travel to Cuba Act–which proposes permitting all Americans to travel to Cuba–is passed.

Community Connection:

Regular Matador contributor Audrey Scott just published a thoughtful article on why it makes sense to travel to “rogue states” like Cuba over on Brave New Traveler. Check it out and join the conversation!