Showing posts with label desert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label desert. Show all posts

Monday, January 4, 2010

Desert Sessions: View from the Space

What a better way to start the year than with compliments to the nature. We saw this on Wired, got amazed and just wanted to share it with you.


"Deserts are known for being desolate and lifeless, but they are also quite striking and beautiful, especially when seen from above. Different types of sand, topography, wind and climate combine to form a tremendous variety of landscapes. Shifting dunes are carved into an endless number of constantly changing shapes.


The images in this gallery, taken by orbiting astronauts and satellites, show some of the most beautiful, most haunting, biggest, rarest and most stunning desert vistas on Earth."





Images by NASA. 
Amazing, isn't it?

Thursday, August 14, 2008

Interior design with Mexican flavour


In the past eight months I moved three times. You probably know how it is, boxes in, boxes out, unpacking, arranging, and so on. The most attractive, exciting and challenging for me though is the decorating part.


When I first came to Mexico, there were not so many places where you could buy nice (and affordable) furniture, but things are changing for the better. There are more and more attractive furniture stores opening in Baja, and I was lucky enough to meet Maria Luisa Reynoso, a wonderful person, interior designer and owner of Simmetria, furniture and decoration store in La Paz, which offers a wide selection of Mexican furniture combining colorful tradition and contemporary style, and individual personalized consulting. Malis, as her friends call her, is also an excellent interior designer and decoration consultant, and if you need a tip for what to do to give your home, an office, a store or a hotel, a special touch of your personality, she’s the one to help you with that and beyond. I had an interview with Malis for a Baja California Sur magazine Home, and here is an excerpt from the article.



Living in Baja is like a dream come true. Sunny weather, amazing contrasting nature, oceans, pristine beaches, friendly people and so much more. There is this Mexican flair in the air, which you can bring also to your home with lovely strong colors, exotic details, and a touch of passion and emotions. At my visit to La Paz, Malis took me to see one of her recent projects, a case study and example how a Mexican home can be elegant, classy and comfortable to welcome the family home. We visited a model home of Villas Aguamarina, a development of 28 beautifully crafted Mexican villas in Pedregal de La Paz, a home to which she gave that style and that special Mexican personality.


Malis explains her work: "When thinking about a decoration for this project, I wanted to give the house a touch of elegance, style, quality and simplicity, yet in a Mexican way. It is really important, that the quality of the construction goes hand in hand with the furniture that you pick. And in Pedregal de La Paz, where influence of nature is essential, I was able to focus on natural material and fabrics, which are also my favorite: wood, wool, cotton and leather among others." She continues: "I was looking and thinking about each space individually, I wanted to create an ambient which is cozy, not too crowded, with the right amount of furniture and accessories, so people would enjoy living here."


A model home of Villas Aguamarina feels very cozy indeed, in fact, it feels like a home. It makes you want to pack all your belongings and just move in. The play of colors, materials and details is what you will find fascinating in this home. Colors are very important, says Malis. They give the house a touch of personality, and make the space warm and appealing. "When searching for colors to match the house with the ambiance and environment, I walked the neighborhood around the house, I took a piece of dirt, desert, sand and stone and created my ideas and colors based on them," Malis explains. The composition of the ground in Pedregal de La Paz for example is completely different from the one in Pedregal de Cabo San Lucas, in Cabo it is brown, and in La Paz it is pink, an amazing work of the nature.


Playing with materials and matching them with colors creates a unique combination and connects the space together. And details, which you might not even notice, but would miss them if they were not there, they add the flare to the house, that special something that catches your sight everywhere you turn and bring out the beauty of the house; even if it is for a simple thing like placing a candle in a special place.



Interior of the house has some special features, like a beautiful tall, thin and elegant palm tree in the centre of the house, smart and functional arrangement of rooms (I would say it is family-friendly) and terraces from every bedroom with their own personality, but also matching the adjacent room. Every terrace and outside space has a special ambiance. It is connected with the inside of the house, but different. The concept for the outside spaces has aroused from the imagination what would people like to do outside their rooms. Have a breakfast at the terrace perhaps, or a dinner at the sunset; maybe relax or read a book, or entertain with family and friends at the patio with community pool and palapa, overlooking the aguamarine waters of the Sea of Cortes.



It is true what they say, the home is where the heart is. And by adding to your home your favorite color or some special detail it will make it more personal, more ‘you’. Visit Malis at Simmetria, she will welcome you friendly, show you around her beautiful store stocked with plenty of ideas and many of details you’d love to take home with you immediately. She will share with you stories about her decoration projects, give some valuable and useful advice, and if you want, she can help you transform your house to your special home, too.

Monday, July 21, 2008

Suckers for sunsets

One of the most amazing things about living in Baja California Sur are sunsets... They are incredible, every single day they change their shape, color, intensity... they are different, but always amazing. Our balcony at night becomes a theatre for performances of the dancing sun. And we can never get tired of it.



Sun performance from our balcony, Cabo.



@ Buzzard's beach, San Jose del Cabo.



@ Pueblo Bonito Pacifica, Cabo San Lucas, with a setting for a private dinner at the beach.



@ Pueblo Bonito Pacifica, Cabo San Lucas.



@ San Jose del Cabo.

Wednesday, July 9, 2008

ESCAPES



We all need to escape from time to time. Be it an escape for vacations, summer retreat to your second home, for a weekend, a day, or even just for a moment, escaping into another dimension, another imaginary world, escape into dreams which give us enthusiasm and joy for life.

In Baja California Sur we have many places we love to escape to - and that's what this magazine is all about. ESCAPES is a magazine - or better your getaway guide to Baja - which I am doing with my company Grupo Riveras.


I hope you like it. Next issue is coming out in September, your comments are welcome.

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Beautiful, exotic and magical Mexico

Mexico lindo, exotico, mistico

A place like no other



There are many places in the world we desire to see, visit or even live there. But there is only one place in the whole world so unique that unites an incredible history, rich nature, inspiring flora and fauna, colorful culture and opportunities to live your life fully. Experience Mexican free spirit in Baja.

It was the daunting combination of arid land, the scarcity of water and the hostility of the natives towards the Spaniards who were searching for famous pearls of the land that made the colonization of Baja California Sur extremely difficult. Baja’s first inhabitants are thought to have arrived to the peninsula at least 11,000 years ago. In around 1700 B.C. four different ethno linguistic groups were encountered, Pericú in the south, between Cabo San Lucas and La Paz and on several islands in the gulf; the Guayacura from La Paz to south of Loreto; the Monqui, around Loreto; and the Cochimí, in extensive areas throughout the middle of the peninsula. You can still catch some of their spirit in caves at Cueva de Palma, San Gregorio, Sierra de San Francisco and Sierra de Guadalupe.

The European discovery of Baja happened in 1530-ies, by Fortún Ximénez, Hernán Cortés and others. Over the next century and a half many of explorers and pearl hunters came to the shores of peninsula, but had no lasting impact until late 17th century, when a missionary in Loreto was established. Later, in 1768, Franciscans took over the control of Baja California Sur, and in 1773 Dominicans. Their influence had a significant effect to a decrease in the population of the indigenous people.

After the Mexican War of Independence (1810-1821), Baja was divided into four municipalities. Loreto, the oldest settlement of the region with more than 300 years of history, served as the capital until 1830, when heavy rains destroyed the city and forced the government to be moved to La Paz. The territories of Baja California Sur and Baja California were formally established in 1888, and Baja California Sur became a state on October 8, 1974. That year the first trans-peninsular road was completed, followed by the airport and … you know the rest. Beautiful but remote Baja came within reach and in the last two decades it has become the most rapidly developing area in all Mexico. Once a fisherman’s dream, beautiful, exotic and mystical Baja became one of the unique places in the world we can never get tired off.

Some of the amazing facts about Baja (and that’s only some of the reasons why I love it):

· Extreme desert conditions of Baja have produced thousand of endemic species of plants and animal life found nowhere else in the world.
· El Vizcaino Desert with the average rainfall 5 cm (2 in) per year is the largest wildlife refuge in all of Latin America and certainly the most diverse. (virtual tour)
· Baja California Sur, bordered by two seas, has the longest coastline of all Mexican states at more than 2,000 km (1,243 miles).
· Baja features more islands than any other Mexican state. Although most of the islands are located in the Gulf of California, the largest one is Margarita Island, on the Pacific side.
· Sea of Cortez is the most biologically rich body of water on earth. So much in fact, that Jacques Cousteau proclaimed it “the World’s Aquarium”.
· The cardón cactus, the world’s largest species of cactus, grows on the Baja California peninsula. It can reach heights of 21 meters (70 feet).
· Rock shelters in the Sierra de Guadalupe and Sierra de San Francisco feature larger-than life cave paintings of humans and animals.
· Every year from mid-December to mid-April, hundreds of grey whales arrive off the coast of BCS from the Alaska shores. Whale-watchers are proud to see whales jumping up to 40 feet in the air.





Monday, June 16, 2008

Stormy weather



Following the storms, which were affecting the US last week, we also got a few raindrops last Thursday - something rarely to happen in Cabo at this time of the year. And on Friday, on our way to La Paz for an opening event of Villas Aguamarina in Pedregal de La Paz, we were followed by a big dark cloud above the Pacific. It looked as we're going to be swallowed into the dark. It reminded me of good Etta James and her song Stormy weather.

Sunday, May 11, 2008

On the sunny side of the world

This week I'm celebrating my first 6 months of living at the end of the world, or more precisely, at Land's end. I changed my beautiful European country Slovenia for something spatially much bigger and larger - Mexico.



I get many questions about Slovenia, so let me explain in short who we are: no, we are not Eastern Europeans, we were not a part of Russia nor Checkoslovakia. We are proudly located in the Centre of Europe, connecting West Europe to the East and Balkans. We were part of Yugoslavia (some of you might remember Tito, and we are neighbours to Italy, Austria, Hungary and Croatia. Currently we are leading the presidency of EU. There are only 2 million people living in Slovenia, and you can cruise the country from sea-side Primorska to the very north-east part in Prekmurje in some cozy 3 hours drive. We have the sea, mountains, lakes, beautiful green plains, lots of forests, and so much more. The whole Europe in one country!



There are many things that Slovenia and Mexico have in common, except for those few Slovenians that live here. Our history started many years ago in times of Habsburg monarchy, when we shared the same emperor, emperor Maximilliano.

I now live in Cabo San Lucas. The weather is perfect, sunny all the time (in fact we have only about 15 rainy days). I live by the ocean, as I always wanted. The landscape around here is amazing, desert clasping into the ocean, or more exactly two oceans, Pacific and Sea of Cortes. You can see the dolphins and whales swimming by the shore...
But, I'm still tripping for all that urban & European vibes (design, fashion, music, architecture, photography ...), all the things that make your heart beat faster. On these pages I will share them with you.

Hasta la vista!
Enjoy,
Romana

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