New This Week & New Mexico Trip Review
Wow, there are so many exciting things going on this week! Here’s a bit of a snapshot…
Robin’s hosted Canada New England cruise is getting close to capacity…if any of you have been looking at the exclusive hosted cruise and tour, the time is now! Give Robin or Liz a call before we sell out.
We have a huge OCEANIA cruise sale starting today, and running through to end of June. Check out the offer contained in this email and look for a minimum $150 onboard credit for each Oceania cruise booked in this time frame. In addition, singles benefit with an extraordinary 25% single supplement on two Oceania fall European sailings.
More Oceania…Since there are too many great offers to cover it all in this email, look for a special Oceania Only email in your inbox.
Princess’ 3 day sale starts June 2 – this is always a great deal!
I promised some more detail this week on my recent trip to New Mexico, so here goes….
New Mexico, A Place to Return to….
First of all, getting there was relatively easy from the “left” coast. My husband David and I left from Vancouver on a very civilized schedule that departed at about 1 pm. We had a short layover in Salt Lake City and then arrived in Albuquerque at about 6 pm.
Ensemble Travel Group had organized our conference. We were based at the Hyatt Regency Tamaya Resort and Spa wonderfully located in the middle of nowhere, at the end of a winding road. The road truly emulates the path that would have been taken to an ancient pueblo and is about a ½ hour drive from the airport in Albuquerque.
The resort is on 500 acres bordering the Rio Grande and the Tuyuna Mesa. It will never be built up, so the serenity it offers now will remain. In fact, Tamaya means a quiet and special place…and this place lives up to that billing. The building itself reflects and respects the pueblo architecture and culture; it is difficult to imagine any other type of structure in this land.
There is something different about the light in the high desert. I don’t know how to describe it, but as you take in your surroundings, the clarity of the scenery is apparent - the details seem to come alive. I immediately understood part of why this area is such a mecca for art and artists.
Upon entering the Hyatt Tamaya, the first thing you see is “The Living Room” – designed to make you feel at home, and where you can immediately see the vista of the Sandia Mountains. The beautiful scenery, the exceptionally warm reception from ALL of the staff, and the resort itself made this experience memorable.
We were so lucky to have some time there – you can relax by one of three pools, golf, ride a bike or horse, go hiking or hot air ballooning, spend time at the spa, or just soak up the scenery. All of the above, anyone?
We also got up to Santa Fe. I had heard much about it over the years, and very much enjoyed walking around the Old Town and seeing the historical sites. The culture and history are so intricately interwoven in this place. Speaking personally, it would be difficult to have a real appreciation of the culturally focused shopping without gleaning some of the history of the area first. That in mind – I loved it.
Food was one of the highlights in Santa Fe. For lunch a bunch of us hit The Bench in Old Town, and it was absolutely fabulous for the southwest cuisine that the area is known for. Margaritas, anyone? We also toured and had dinner at the fabulous La Posada de Santa Fe Resort & Spa. Many of us would have liked to move in for awhile…. It also is definitely on my “return to” list.
For me, one of the most striking aspects of this visit was to see many of the same plants in the gardens as what we grow on Vancouver Island. Most of the drought resistant plants in my garden also reside well there; peonies, roses, lavender, sage, thyme, columbine….just to mention a few. They were all very striking against the backdrop of the stark desert colors and landscape, vs. the lush green of the landscape here.
If this made you want to go…give us a call! We can set you up with hosted tours for the cultural aspects, and we know that if you are looking for a place to unwind, this is area will appeal.
