QUESTION: A friend and I are interested in visiting Mexico, with an emphasis on Frida Kahlo sites. Any recommendations?
ANSWER: Although it's possible to create a Frida Kahlo itinerary on your own, we found a small travel agency in Castroville, Texas, that offers visits to sites related to Kahlo and her husband, Diego Rivera, as part of a seven-day trip to Cuernavaca in November.
Tierra del Sol (www.mexicoprograms.com), an agency owned by former college professor Ward Albro, offers “A Day with Diego and Frida,” with visits to the Frida Kahlo Museum in the Mexico City suburb of Coyoacan, the Diego Rivera Studio Museum in San Angel, and the Dolores Olmedo Museum in the Xochimilco district. All have examples of her paintings.
The Kahlo Museum, also known as Casa Azul (Blue House), is the home where Kahlo was born and lived most of her adult life. The museum has a number of her works but also contains her diary, jewelry, wheelchair, body cast and examples of the colorful clothing she often wore. Visitors see the formal living room, dining room, kitchen, bedroom and studio. The museum, at 247 Londres, is open from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesdays through Sundays. Admission costs $2.
Tierra del Sol also has day trips to Tepoztlan to visit a crafts market and to Taxco to peruse its many silver shops. Lodging, meals and transportation within Mexico are included in the price, which starts at $1,200.
We're planning a trip to Egypt, Jordan and Israel. Our tour company, which is handling the Egypt-Jordan portion, will leave us at the Israeli border. What's the best way to reach Jerusalem from there?
There are several crossing points, but you'll probably want Allenby (known as the King Hussein crossing on the Jordan side). It's less than a half-hour drive to Jerusalem, and you can choose three modes of transportation.
First, you'll have to pay a $30 border-crossing fee. Then, you'll have your choice of a special service taxi (basically, it's a private taxi) for about 250 Israeli new shekels (ILS), about $54; a shared taxi for 25 ILS, about $5.50 per person; or a bus, which transports passengers to and from Jerusalem but takes a bit longer than a taxi. The bus stop is about 100 meters from the terminal on Road 90.
Details: Check www.iaa.gov.il, the Israeli government's airports and borders Web site.
We're looking for a company in western Utah that can take a group, with pack horses or llamas, into the mountains for camping and fishing. Any ideas?
Western Utah is mostly desert, so think about trips to other regions. We found three outfitters that offer trips with horses or llamas for some fishing and camping in the summer.
Utah Valley Llamas (www.utahvalleyllamas.com), in Spanish Fork, about 40 minutes south of Salt Lake City, will lease you two llamas and packs for $30 a day ($150 for a week) and can deliver and pick them up from the trail head in the Wasatch Mountains. They'll also provide an orientation for packing and handling llamas, although you should have some experience with large animals such as horses. If not, you'll have to hire a wrangler.
If you're into fly fishing, Rosebud Llamas Utah (www.rosebudllamasutah.com) in Fruitland does three-day, two-night trips into Browns Park in the northeast corner of the state, with fishing in the Green River. Cost is $390 per person. A guide is included in the price.
Michael Martinez writes for the San Jose Mercury News. Write to him at travelqamercurynews.com.
