Posted on

Images of the World: The Children

This is the second in our series of Images of the World taken over the course of the last twenty-five years since the founding of The California Native.

In Mexico’s Copper Canyon, a Tarahumara girl carries her baby sister on her back. In Mexico's Copper Canyon, a Tarahumara girl carries her baby sister on her back.
In Chilean Patagonia youngsters demonstrate traditional dances. In Chilean Patagonia youngsters demonstate traditional dances.
In a remote Laotian village, near the Mekong River, villagers wear traditonal clothing. A young student in a remote Laotian village wears traditonal clothing.
Young monks eating their once-a-day meal in a monastery in Myanmar (Burma). Young monks eating at monastery in Myanmar (Burma)
Boys from a small Laotian village have fun swimming in a tributary of the Mekong River. Boys swimming in tributary of Mekong River.
A mother selling produce in a market stall keeps her baby safe in a cardboard box, in China’s Yunan Province. Lady with baby in a cardboard box in Yunan, China.
In Laos, a boy carries his little brother while his friend balances a ball. In Laos, a boy carries his little brother while his friend balances a ball.
Three young boys, in the Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, pose for us on their way home from school. In Bhutan, three young boys on their way to school.
Posted on

Images of the World: The Weavers

Over the more than 25 years that The California Native has been traveling the world, we have accumulated a large gallery of photos that we have taken around the globe. I thought it might be fun if we arranged a series of them by subject. So here is the first in our series of Images of the World.

I took this photo of a Tarahumara lady with a shy smile, weaving a basket in Mexico’s Copper Canyon. In Mexico's Copper Canyon, a Tarahumara lady weaves a basket.
A weaver in Thailand concentrates on her work in spite of the tourist (my wife) taking her photo. A village lady in Thailand, weaves cloth while a tourist takes a photo.
In a small village in the Mexican state of Chiapas, a pretty young girl laughs as she weaves. In Mexico's state of Chiapas, a smiling lady weaves hand-made cloth.
A man in the remote Himalayan Kingdom of Bhutan, prepares fiber for weaving. In the Himalayan kingdom of Bhutan, a man prepares fiber for weaving.
In Myanmar (Burma), a member of the Long Neck Paduang, a sub-group of the Karen hill tribes, is not inconvenienced by the neck rings she has worn since her youth. In Myanmar (Burma), a tribal lady weaves cloth.
Posted on

The California Native’s Fall/Winter 2008 Newsletter is now Available

The Fall/Winter 2008 edition of The California Native newsletter is now in the mail. The newsletter, published by The California Native since 1984, has more than 10,000 readers (not counting those who download from the web). If you are not already a subscriber to this free newsletter you can signup now.

This issues feature stories include:

CALIFORNIA NATIVES FOLLOW THE TEA HORSE ROADA centuries-old monastery overlooks the town of Shangra-La, along the ancient Tea-Horse Road on The California Native China Tours
“My grandfather dipped his silver bracelet into the water, to make sure it was not poisoned,” related Chen Dong Mei, her eyes sparkling as she related stories of her grandfather who drove horses along the historical Tea Horse Road. The tea horse road, leading from Jing Hong, China, to Llhasa in Tibet, has been a major trade route for almost 5000 years.

THE BOWMEN FROM BHUTANIn Bhutan, the national sport is archery and you can visit this Himalayan Kingdom on The California Native Bhutan Tours
Dancing about and shouting sexual insults at the opposing team, Bhutanese sports fans enjoy their favorite pastime, which is, of all things, archery!

COPPER CANYON TRIPS FEATURED IN NATIONAL GEOGRAPHIC PUBLICATION
A new book, published by National Geographic, features The California Native’s tours through Mexico’s Copper Canyon.

THE LADY OF GUADALUPE
Throughout Mexico, in churches, roadside shrines, restaurants,  and automobile decals, the Virgin of Guadalupe is a sacred icon for both Catholic faith and nationalism.

TELL THEM TO “GO TO XIBALBA”The artifact of a Mayan diety warns us of the Mayan 'Place of Fear' on The California Native Yucatan Tours
It is the darkest place in Mayan lore, the underworld, the Place of Fear. It is ruled by the spirits of disease and death. And archaeologists believe that it actually existed in a series of underground chambers and passages.

THE MISSING SOLDIERS OF ALBERMARLE ISLAND
“The day was overpoweringly hot, and the lake looked clear and blue; I hurried down the cindery slope, and choked with dust, eagerly tasted the water—but, to my sorrow, I found it salt as brine.” So wrote Charles Darwin in The Voyage of the Beagle. Sixty-five years later, in 1904, eleven soldiers disappeared in the unforgiving landscape of Albermarle (Isabella) Island, the largest island in the Galapagos Archipelago.

CALIFORNIA NATIVE ADVENTURES
The newsletter also includes schedules, prices and descriptions of California Native’s tours to Mexico’s Copper Canyon, Peru, the Galapagos, Patagonia, Costa Rica, Yucatan and Chiapas, Myanmar (Burma) and Laos, Bhutan, Yunnan, China, and Ireland.

Posted on

Our 25th Anniversary

Launched in June 1983, our company is celebrating its 25th year leading wonderful trips to unique destinations. ThisCalifornia Native founder Lee Klein silver anniversary comes as a proud moment for our company’s founder, Lee Klein, who continues to scout new locations world-wide in search of new destinations for the active traveler. Klein, a graduate from Loyola Marymount University with a MBA in Management spent more than two decades as a corporate manager and college professor until, while climbing Ayer’s Rock in the Australian Outback, he decided to venture into the adventure travel business. As he did, he took to heart the lessons he taught his students on how to succeed in business: “keep it simple, and learn to do it right before adding new products and services.”

The initial offering from The California Native was a tour billed as “The Other Los Angeles.” This day-long excursion traced the route of the San Andreas Fault from the Mojave Desert to the San Gabriel Mountains without ever leaving Los Angeles County. The tour became so popular that colleges in three California counties offered them as part of their community-education programs. From this, the company expanded its offerings to include tours to the Channel Islands, Santa Barbara Wine Country, Death Valley, and other uniquely California destinations, as well as white-water rafting, ballooning, spelunking (caving), sailplane gliding, and other outdoor adventures. “My family has lived in Los Angeles for generations,” writes Klein in the company newsletter, “hence the name The California Native.”

Satisfying the growing client base led across the border to the development of The California Native’s most popular destination—escorted and independent tours of Mexico’s Copper Canyon. These tours feature the Chihuahua al Pacifico Railroad (labeled as one of the most spectacular train rides in the western hemisphere) and highlight one of the most primitive indigenous cultures still subsisting in North America—the Tarahumara Indians. The California Native has become a major source of information on this remote area of Mexico, and it’s guides are known throughout the area for their work with the Tarahumara.

Today, The California Native offers a wide selection of tours to Costa Rica, Mexico, Patagonia, Peru, the Galapagos Islands, Ireland, Bhutan, Myanmar, China, and Laos, and more destinations are in the planning stages.