Mayo Disney Travel Agents Near Me

Overview

Introduction

Located between Santa Fe and Taos, Chimayo is home to El Santuario de Chimayo. This unadorned but striking shrine was built on the site where, in 1810, villagers claimed to see a light emanating from the ground. When they investigated, they unearthed a wooden cross. Ever since, Chimayo has been a pilgrimage site where many visitors go in search of a cure. It's sometimes called the "Lourdes of America." The church has been restored, and the site is often flooded with tourists.

Whether you're seeking divine intervention or not, the small church (built in the 1810s) is interesting to look around. The main chapel has simple wooden pews and is usually full of people praying. In a side room, you'll find the faithful crouched over a hole in the floor, digging up dirt that is said to have healing powers. Dozens of crutches are in an adjacent room—ostensibly left there by those cured of their affliction.

Be sure to take a walk down the hill behind the church, where hundreds of crosses fashioned from twigs and grass have been tucked into a chain-link fence. There are several shops and stands around the church that sell snacks, souvenirs and chilies in addition to religious items. During the Easter Holy Week, pilgrims walk to the sanctuary from as far away as Albuquerque.

Founded in 1696, the town of Chimayo is one of the oldest in the Southwest, but today it's spread out along several roads and is unimpressive with the exception of the sanctuary. The village is also famous for its weavers—you can see them at work and purchase their rugs in village shops.

If you follow the High Road (Route 76) out of Chimayo toward Taos, you'll pass through Truchas and Las Trampas, two settlements that date to the 1700s. Las Trampas is the site of a classic adobe church built in 1760 (you'll have no trouble spotting it from the main highway). Be sure to go inside to see the hand-carved altar and the suspended wooden candle holders. The floorboards are so warped and wavy, they may be the originals installed in the 1700s.

Overview

Introduction

The less-visited county of Mayo, in Ireland's northwest, is spectacular—worth at least a three-night visit. Achill Island and Westport are two of County Mayo's biggest draws, but there are plenty of other attractions if you have the time. http://www.mayo.ie.

Drive along Clew Bay to gaze out at the islands, then go inland to enjoy some of the world's most scenic land and to visit Ireland's holy mountain, Croagh Patrick (a perfectly cone-shaped mountain from where St. Patrick is said to have banished all of Ireland's snakes). Another holy site is the Knock Shrine, where a vision of the Virgin Mary was reportedly seen by several local residents in 1879. Today, both the mountain and Knock Shrine are important pilgrimage destinations. There's also a museum in Louisborough dedicated to the legendary pirate-queen Granuaile (Grace) O'Malley. Rockfleet Castle, her home, is in nearby Newport.

Each July, the village of Drumshambo hosts the week-long Joe Mooney Summer School—classes and lectures from some of the finest traditional musicians in Ireland (http://www.joemooneysummerschool.com). But it is at night, in the pubs, that Drumshambo comes alive with incredible music sessions featuring such legends as accordianist Joe Burke.

Movie buffs might enjoy a glimpse of the village of Cong, the setting for John Ford's film The Quiet Man. Cong, just east of the border with County Galway, also offers a splendid collection of caves and an infamous canal system that never worked.

Achill Island, Ireland's largest offshore island, offers superb scenery: fields of heather, dramatic seaside cliffs, and green and rolling hillsides. Best of all, Achill is easily accessible—it's connected to the mainland by a bridge. Allow a day to see the island. Camping facilities are available.

On Clew Bay and in the shadow of Croagh Patrick, Westport offers great deep-sea fishing, stark scenery, friendly people and an annual horse-trading fair, as well as the beautiful tree-lined boulevard known as The Mall, which runs parallel to the Carrowbeg River. Westport House, an old manor house, has a lovely grounds plus the Pirate Adventure Park—featuring a model railway that you can ride—all designed to occupy children who might not share their parents' enthusiasm for stately manors. http://www.westporthouse.ie.

Overview

Introduction

Mayotte consists of two islands—Grande Terre and Petite Terre—and many other uninhabited islands. It is part of an archipelago of four main tropical islands, once known as the Islands of the Moon, in the Indian Ocean off East Africa, between Madagascar and Mozambique. It is more rustic and less visited than the Seychelles, but just as beautiful.

The rich volcanic soil provides fields of cloves and vanilla beans amid swift-running streams cascading down mountainsides to long, turquoise sea beaches with white sand and excellent diving, snorkeling and sailing.

One of Mayotte's greatest charms is its coral reef bordering one of the largest enclosed lagoons in the world. It creates a natural aquarium in which colorful fish live side by side with large sea mammals. Several species of dolphin can be found inside and outside the lagoon, which is also an excellent site for observing sea turtles. Mayotte also offers one of nature's most beautiful sights: humpback whales teaching the rudiments of life to their newborns.

Mayotte has an abundance of endemic fauna and flora. The maki is a type of lemur found only on Mayotte, and the roussette is a type of flying fox that flies around day and night. Baobabs, tulip trees and Takamakas are spread throughout the humid forests. You can also find ylang-ylang and magnificent wild orchids, of which nearly 50 species exist on Mayotte.

For discovering this rich scenery, a hiking trail around 60 mi/100 km long runs around the island, allowing visitors to admire sumptuous views, discover fascinating geological history, immerse themselves in Mahori nature and mix with the inhabitants.

Mazelike Muslim villages with mosques and bustling markets also make up the interior. Mayotte's villages, however, are quite different from those of the other islands. There are few of the walled cities with narrow, winding streets between multistoried stone houses found commonly on the other islands. Instead, villages are primarily composed of wattle-and-daub or tressed coconut-frond huts ranged along wide, open streets. The architecture is more reminiscent of Madagascar than the other islands, a testimony to a historical relationship between the island and Madagascar.

A multifaceted society, Mayotte has inherited a mosaic of cultures: African, Persian, Oriental, Madagascan, European and Arabic. This crossing of several different worlds and civilizations has forged a rich and authentic culture. This means that there are a multitude of annual religious, cultural, folk and sporting events on Mayotte, where a real sense of festivity is cultivated.

An overseas Department of France since March 2011, Mayotte also differs from the three other Comoran islands politically, in that its people are French citizens governed by French law. As a result, it has a large French community of residents and mostly European holidaymakers.

History

The Comoros archipelago was first occupied by native Africans, but Muslim sultans, the Portuguese and ultimately the French ruled the islands until 1975. Following its formal withdrawal from the Comoros, France gave each island a choice in deciding its future.

In referendums in 1974 and 1976 only Mayotte voted to remain with Paris and declined to join Grande Comore, Moheli and Anjouan in the Federal Islamic Republic of the Comoros.

As a result of a March 2009 referendum, Mayotte became an overseas department of France in March 2011. The outcome was a 95.5% vote in favor of changing the island's status from a French "overseas community" to become France's 101st department.

As a department, Mayotte is eligible for expanded French social and economic programs, as well as European Union funds. French social welfare and taxes apply though some of each will only be brought in gradually. The French government also promised financial support to strengthen Mahoran infrastructure.