Let’s hit the beach! Take advantage of this season and don’t miss swimming or snorkeling with the largest fish/shark in the world! The whale shark, the harmless creature that could remind us how tiny we are… talking about tiny, it has been 71 years since the introduction of the bikini in Paris, can you imagine that the designer had trouble finding a model that would wear it? She posed with a match box, to make sure that people would know how small it was. This month we have an interesting open waters challenge, with up to 550 competitors hitting from Cancun to Isla Mujeres. You might want to witness the dive off or participate in it!

Summer blockbusters are here, War for the Planet of the Apes, Spiderman: Homecoming, Atomic Blonde or The Dark Tower are titles upcoming this month in theaters, you could plan a night out, movie, popcorn and a delicious dinner afterwards –don’t forget the coffee! Pamper yourself!

July is one of the hottest months in Riviera Maya, please take care, enjoy your time, make sure to stay hydrated, wear enough sunblock and spend time early in the morning or at dawn at the ocean! Listen carefully to the waves crashing in the sand and feel the cadence in your breathing.

“The oceans stir the heart, inspires the imagination and brings eternal joy to the soul.”
~ Robert Wyland

Saludos,

One of the most exciting things to do in Riviera Maya, for sure is this experience. One of the most enriching things we all can go through when we travel is witnessing nature giving a beautiful show. Every year, every summer to be more precise, whale sharks visit the shores of the Caribbean Sea looking for warm waters full of plankton to keep surviving.

These huge creatures measure up to 30ft, but are pretty relaxed and absolutely harmless. The whale shark is the largest fish/shark in the world! In fact, excluding the cetacean species, it is the largest living animal in existence. The average male whale shark grows to just over 30 ft in length.

These animals prefer warm surfaces where there are outbreaks of colder water, this condition promote the growth of plankton, their favorite food. Whale sharks aren’t active hunters like other species of sharks which are known to chase, attack and tear their prey apart with their teeth. Whale sharks are filter feeders meaning they consume food by swimming towards it with their mouth open. These sharks have very wide mouths which can reach nearly 5 ft. wide and can contain up to 350 rows of teeth. Among the most exciting activities in the zone is the experience of swimming along these giants of the sea. There are several vendors that offer this unforgettable experience; make sure you choose a regulated tour in order to protect the whale shark, and it is very important to follow the instructions given by your guides.

Coffee did not arrive in Mexico until the late 18th century, when the Spanish brought plants from Cuba and the Dominican Republic. Its commercial cultivation began decades after and it was only after the Mexican Revolution that farmers began to invest in coffee cultivation in a serious way.

Nowadays, Mexico is one of the largest coffee-producing countries in the world, and the largest producer of organic coffee, accounting for 60% of world production in 2000. The vast majority of Mexican coffee, and particularly organic coffee, is grown by small farmers in the southern states of Chiapas and Oaxaca. Coffee is one of Mexico's most important exports and close to half a million small farmers and their families rely on the crop for their economic survival. Veracruz produces mostly lowland coffees. Coffee called Altura (High) Coatepec, from a mountainous region near the city of the same name, has an excellent reputation. Coffee from Chiapas State is grown in the mountains of the southeastern-most corner of Mexico, near the border with Guatemala. The market name (traditionally associated with this coffee) is Tapachula, from the city of that name, but coffee sellers now usually label them Chiapas. Chiapas produces some of the very best and highest-grown Mexico coffees.

A cup of Mexican coffee generally offers a wonderful aroma and depth of flavor, often with a pronounced sharpness. It is an excellent bean for dark roasts and is often used in blends. Mexicans drink coffee to start off the day, after “comida” at lunch time, or at any time during the day. Mexican coffee is really tasty and so enjoyable!

War for the Planet of the Apes is an upcoming sequel to the 2011 film Rise of the Planet of the Apes and the 2014 film Dawn of the Planet of the Apes that was announced on January 7th, 2014 with Matt Reeves returning as the director. In this 2017 Twentieth Century Fox release, after the apes suffer unimaginable losses, Caesar wrestles with his darker instincts and begins his own mythic quest to avenge his kind. Starring Judy Greer, Woody Harrelson and Terry Notary, this blockbuster sequel promises to hit hard again.

Watch the trailer here:

There is some debate as to where the habanero is originally from – some believe that it is native from the Amazon region of South America and others believe that it was originally brought to the Yucatan Peninsula from Cuba. These chili heads believe that it is actually named after the Cuban city La Habana. To add more fuel to the fire, several Mexican horticulturists have noted that the habanero is the only chili in the Yucatán region that does not have a Mayan name, which would also indicate that it was imported at some time.

The Yucatan region is one of the leading producers of habaneros but these chile peppers are also harvested in Costa Rica, Ecuador, California and Texas. Habaneros ripen into one of a variety of colors including red, orange, pink, white or chocolate. The typical size is 1” -2 ½” and 1”-2” in diameter. Habaneros are some of the hottest chili peppers and rate around 100,000 - 350,000 Scoville Units. The habanero's heat, its flavor, and its floral aroma have made it a popular ingredient in hot sauces and spicy foods. In Yucatan and Quintana Roo, Habanero is used in a huge variety of food. It is used in salsas, minced or whole. Watch it, it was listed for a while in the Guinness Book of World Records as the hottest chili, although it has been displaced by a number of other peppers. One of the favorite flavors in the peninsula!

2 JULY 1946 - French designer Louis Réard introduced the Bikini in Paris. The designer found it hard to find a model willing to wear the skimpy outfit. Women used to wear one-piece bathing suites, but Réard noticed that women on French Mediterranean beaches were trying to expose more skin, by rolling the suits they wore. That gave him the idea for the bikini, named after the small atoll where the U.S. began testing nuclear bombs that same month.

The designer chose that name because he expected the world's smallest bathing suit —only 30 inches of fabric — to create levels of shock similar to reactions to the atomic bomb. The suit was worn for the first time at a fashion event at the Piscine Molitor Paris swimming pool, by a 19-year-old French stripper named Micheline Bernardini, who received 50,000 fan letters for becoming the first woman to wear the scandalous outfit.

Swim along the competitors defeating the challenge Isla to Isla, which features three categories: Individual 3.5 km, Individual 7 km and Mixed Relay 7 km with age subcategories: 18-19 / 20-29 / 30-39 / 40-49 / 50 and older. Startup is to be held in Restaurante Flamingos, Carretera Puerto Juárez – Punta Sam Km. 3.5 in Cancun and the finish line at Playa Norte at Isla Mujeres. The startup time is at 7:30am. It’s all about having fun, but keeping safe, here is a very important tip for any open water race: Always swim with someone and know who they are. It’s a great idea to get into open water with a friend and watch each other’s back. Have fun!

Paulina Almeida
VP of Sales
palmeida@taomexico.com


Malú Farell
Marketing Manager
mfarell@taomexico.com

Antonio Jimenez
Communication Manager
communicationsmanager@taomexico.com


Polo Esponda
Deliveries Manager
deliveriesmanager@taomexico.com