Civitatis, the leading platform in online distribution of guided tours, activities, and excursions in Spanish language across 160 countries worldwide, this week the company has reached one million reservations from Mexican users, with 94% of those travelling abroad outside Mexico. During its participation in the 48th edition of the Tianguis Turístico in Acapulco taking place in Mexico, Civitatis took the opportunity to announce its exponential growth in the country and the desire of Mexican travellers to explore countries outside the country. In terms of countries that Mexicans are visiting, Spain holds the first position, followed by Italy, France, and the United Kingdom and the USA. This ranking indicates the trend of Mexicans travelling towards Europe and the USA, which is ahead of other LATAM destinations such as Colombia or Peru. Meanwhile, the top favourite outbound cities for Mexicans are Paris, Rome, Madrid, Barcelona, and London, with most reservations concentrated in those cities. Breaking down further the one million reservations from Mexicans, 28 percent made a reservation as a couple, while 17.8 percent were solo travellers.
It’s like travelling back 700 years: healthy pleasures in rural Andalucía
26.03.2024 - 14:47 / theguardian.com
On our first morning in Atalbéitar, I walk into the kitchen to make coffee and wonder if I’m feeling the effects of the previous night’s festivities. Then I remember it’s not me; it’s the kitchen floor, which is on a gentle slope. I have to be careful carrying the coffee back to bed as the steps are at different heights, and the doorways are small enough to bump your head on. As I lie there, beneath a ceiling constructed of woven chestnut branches and stone slabs, I survey my surroundings, and come to the pleasing conclusion that there’s not a single right angle in sight.
We are staying in a Moorish house in this Andalucían village, and I may as well have travelled back the 700 years to when it was first built. I’ve been visiting Spain for years, as my husband leads wilderness tours here and we’ve travelled from one end to the other, seeking out hidden corners and mountain trails. But arriving in Atalbéitar at night, negotiating its tangle of passageways, ducking under ancient covered walkways while spring water rushes past our feet, we both agree, we’ve never been anywhere quite like this. The village gives the impression of having grown out of the land, rather than been imposed upon it. Its streets are too narrow for cars, the village cats roam freely, and the only sound is the occasional bleating of goats across the slopes. As I look out over the valley on this crisp winter’s morning, the sun is blazing in a solid blue sky and early almond blossom adds splashes of pastel pink to the rocky hills. Everything is still and silent.
Atalbéitar is part of La Tahá, a group of seven villages in the Alpajurras region of Andalucía. It’s a tiny speck on the map of Spain, on a southern slope of the Sierra Nevada overlooking the deep gorge of the Trevelez River. Settled by the Nasrid dynasty of Granada, the people who built its Alhambra, the whitewashed villages of Pitres, Atalbéitar, Capilerilla, Mecina, Mecinilla, Fondales and Ferreirola have retained their Moorish feel thanks to their unique architecture and remote location. Access into the valley is by a winding mountain road that passes through Pitres, the main town, but all the other villages are reached by spurs off this road, so there is no passing trade.
In Atalbéitar, this is no cause for concern. There is no trade to be had. It has a population of 31, and no shop or restaurant, although there is an improvised social club/bar, run by village stalwart Jesus, who opens up his home on the main square when the mood takes him. That’s not to say there isn’t a lively social scene. La Tahá boasts a busy calendar of festivals, many of them relating to Easter and various Saint’s days, but some are specific to the region, such as an autumn chestnut festival
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