From Cork to Toronto

As someone who flies BA as frequently as I can, at least until Willie Walsh's penny pinching ruins it, I have been following the Nadia Eweida story on and off. Ms Eweida is a BA check in agent at London Heathrow with seven years service. She was wearing a visible cross in breach of BA's uniform policy for employees dealing directly with the public. The existing protocol is that all jewellery or religious symbols which can practicably be worn concealed, should be concealed. An offer of a back office job was made (and rejected) which would have allowed Ms Eweida to wear the cross externally. Exceptions are made for employees for whom the wearing of items is a mandatory requirement of their faith, e.g. Sikh turbans or bangles and subject to health and safety requirements in respect of machinery such as luggage belts. While BA is being hammered for this, other British based airlines such as Virgin and BMI have a similar policy . Ms Eweida did not demonstrate that wearing a c...

From his Globe and Mail column today : This latest alleged bomb plot has thrown international aviation into chaos. Flights are delayed, airline stocks have tumbled. And we'll be forced to drink Air Canada's coffee. Damn you international terrorist masterminds!

Georgian Bay sunset, from the dock of some good friends who hosted us for the weekend.

Our last morning in Xcaret. On the road back to Cancun International, it occurred to me that there are so many bloody speedbumps - little round things - in this part of the world even Michael Walker would be happy, the smog-causing git that he is. Our transport home - Air Canada C-FMWV, a 767-300ER. How do I know? You can see "634" at the very top of the tailfin when you zoom right into the original of this photo, and the Air Canada website supplies the rest . Pretty impressive from about 200 feet diagonal distance from the foot of the forward airstairs. This has less detail to speed upload to Blogger so it's probably not clear on this one.

There is a horse show every evening for about 25 minutes. The Park is almost fully open but parts are still being rehabilitated after last year's hurricane season. The Park also incorporates several sets of ruins, as does the resort next door. Some local performances doing traditional music outside the park's auditorium, the 6,000 seater Grand Tlachco . The show they put on inside the auditorium is spectacular, beginning with various portrayals of Mayan myth, history and games. It was followed by Mexican music and dance from various States. Very little English translation it's easy to figure out what's going on. The packed house of locals who sang along to many of the Mexican songs made it an electric atmosphere nearer the end. The Mayan games were a little weird - think hurling played with a fireball, and playing soccer using your bum .

Some photos from Xcaret Ecopark attached to our resort . As Good Friday is a local holiday as it is in Canada a lot of the local people were in and it got quite busy from about 11am on. Given the heat it's the kind of place that's best to get in early, see a bit, take a rest and go back again. The Park has various endangered plant and animal species, for some of which it undertakes breeding programmes. It also farms mushrooms, orchids and fish (in tanks) some of which are used in the Resort. There's a flamingo pen and on the seafront two areas where you can swim with dolphins. There's a turtle breeding programme, though to Nicole's distress we missed feeding time. Some manatees were transferred to the Park from Tabasco State where they were in danger of being wiped out from pollution. Here's a view from the short river loop which you can take on a viewing raft. The jaguar pen, which has a jaguar , a panther and a puma in residence.

Playa del Carmen's shopping district is the pedestrianised Quinta Avenida , or 5th Avenue, where shops have people posted outside to encourage people in. Mariachis and native performers are also found in the late afternoon. Silver, pottery, blankets, hot sauce, tequila, vanilla and the usual tourist tat to be found here. The town also has ferry services to Cozumel Island but we didn't bother going over this trip.

Tulum is a major Mayan archeological site and Federal park about 45 minutes south of our hotel in Xcaret. As well as the ruins themselves there are good beaches. All seafront beaches in Mexico are public. These are the Pole Flyers or voladores - they climb a pole about 50 feet high, spin around at the top and descend, upside down, by ropes spun outward from the drum at the top. It's as mad as it looks.

Off to Xcaret for a week. Xcaret (approximately pronounced sh-karet) is near Playa del Carmen , about 45 minutes from Cancun International Airport, in the State of Quintana Roo , Mexico. Although that state name does sound more Australian to me...

For any of you who think I think I'm posting dirt about Dick Cheney's old firm , (spelled Halliburton) move along, nothing to see here :) I refer to Haliburton, Ontario , a gorgeous part of the world 220km northeast of here I was fortunate to spend this weekend on due to the generosity of our hosts whose family have a cottage in the area.