MALDIVES RANGALI ISLAND LAUNCHES‘THE GREEN TEAM’

Forget the ‘A team’, the new ‘Green Team’ at the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island has been equipped with the power to save more than the good guys! The award-winning Indian Ocean resort has implemented a new ‘we care’ course to ensure all team members are equipped withthe environmental awareness to safeguard the future of the Maldives.

Set in a picturesque corner of the Maldives, the Conrad Maldives Rangali Island combines three distinct resort experiences on two islands, linked by a bridge and surrounded by a vibrant coral reef and lagoon. Accommodation includes 50 of the most luxurious Water Villas in the country, 79 exotic Beach Villas and 21 fabulous Spa Water Villas – the ultimate in pure indulgence.

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It is becoming a more and more common policy in the best hotels of Buenos Aires to accept pets in the same suites as their masters. For foreigners wishing to travel to Buenos Aires but reluctant to leave their pets behind, there are options aplenty—and stylish ones at that. According to La Nacion,at some hotels, pets can have their own water and food dishes with their names on them. One hotel now accepting pets is the classic Four Seasons, the ultra modern Vitrum, and the soon to open New Age (NA).Of course there are some restrictions:Vitrum won’t allow pets that are over 10 kilos and no hotel wants a barking dog disturbing the sleep of other guests. Overall, however, Buenos Aires is becoming a pet friendly city indoors and out.

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Despite reports of fog so thick you could not see the waves from the beach, tourists are still flocking to Mar del Plata, one of Argentina’s most popular beach resorts.The past weekend, there were 40,181 tourists visiting Mar del Plata.According to the Clarín, this number is up by 22 percent from 2007, when there were 32,919 tourists that same weekend.Winter break for Argentine’s school children means that places like Mar del Plata should be expecting an even greater number of tourists over the next several weeks.Mar del Plata is ready to receive these hordes of children with events such as Expo 100% Children and the International Puppet Festival; these events will entertain whether the fog lifts or no.

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Beginning September 1st, Joshua Tree Imports will be the American importer for Finca Las Moras, an Argentine bodega.This will be their first Argentine wine among their collection of wines from Australia and California.  According to Market Watch, Las Moras was founded in 2001 as an independent winery.They have vineyards in the three most important valleys in the San Juan region: the Tulum Valley, the Zonda Valley, and the Pedernal Valley.Already a well-known wine, Las Moras is the top Argentine seller in the UK and in Mexico.They offer relatively inexpensive wines, 10 dollars for a varietal, 15 for their reserve wine.Their new business partnership with Joshua Tree in the US should help them experience similar success there.

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Las Abuelas de Plaza de Mayo announced yesterday that that they have found two more children who disappeared during Argentina’s last dictatorship, raising the total number of found “disappeared” children to 92.According to El Nuevo Herald, one of the children was the child of Mexican María Lourdes Martínez Aranda and Argentine Francisco Goya, leftist activists who disappeared in 1980.The other was the child of María Teresa Trotta and Roberto Castelli, who went missing in 1977.The Abuelas are not revealing where these children, now adults, were found, but they say that it is another victory for people still demanding justice for the horrors of the military dictatorship.The dictatorship lasted from 1976 to 1983.

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The long controversy over whether or not Lionel Messi would play soccer in the Olympics or stay with his club team Barcelona is over.Messi announced yesterday that he would be joining Argentina.His decision came after a decision by FIFA against Barcelona; a judge said that Barcelona must act according to FIFA rules that require all under-23-year-old players to be released for the Olympics.Barcelona is contesting the decision, taking it to the Court for Arbitration of Sport.For the moment, Messi plans on joining the Argentine team where they are training in Japan, preparing for the upcoming Olympics games.He says that if FIFA says it is the right decision, he will abide by their ruling and be thrilled to play for his country.

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While the annual livestock show at La Rural, called simply the La Rural Exhibition, is a tradition that feels as old as the city, this year’s show is making people talk about something new: cloning. According to the Clarín, Argentina is one of only three countries with a large number of cloned cows and bulls; the other two nations are the United States and Canada. In the last two years, Argentina has cloned over two hundred cows and bulls, making it possible for livestock salesmen to guarantee their costumers extremely specific traits in their animals. The La Rural Exhibition is showcasing both the number of cloned animals in Argentina and the new database that contains all their information. This database will serve in years to come to monitor this growing but still experimental way of breeding prime cows for prime ribs.

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The Argentine quintet Tangoloco is performing in Buenos Aires every Saturday this coming August.Just back from their international tour, the group will perform songs from their new album “Rock 24.”On this album, Tangoloco makes tango music from national rock classics, fusing some of the best of Argentine music to make a unique new sound.They will also perform a set of Beatles songs redone as tango, called “Tangos de Liverpool.”Tickets can be bought at the café where they will perform (Velma Café on Gorriti 5520) or at Ticketek.They cost 45 to 50 pesos and tickets for this Saturday are already beginning to sell out!

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The new website for the Oceania Sustainable Tourism Alliance (OSTA) has just been launched: www.oceaniatourismalliance.net.

‘OSTA is an opportunity for sustainable community-benefit tourism in the Pacific Islands modeled on the USAID funded program, the Global Sustainable Tourism Alliance (www.gstalliance.org)’ said Steve Noakes, Director of Pacific Asia Tourism Pty Ltd, one of the Founding & Managing Partners of the OSTA.

The other three Founding & Managing Partners are The Foundation of the People of the Pacific International (Fiji), Counterpart International (Washington DC), and Victoria University (Melbourne, Australia)

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Ever since the ski season began, people have been flocking to Bariloche to enjoy the beautiful mountains and delicious chocolate.In response to the large number of tourists and the long lines they create at the ski slopes, the city of Bariloche has asked CAPSA, the company running the ski lifts and ticket offices, to open one hour earlier and close one and a half hours later.According to AN Bariloche, the problem is being caused in part by the lack of snow, making it so that only the highest ski slopes are really ideal for skiing.This is causing longer than usual lines and difficult traffic flow problems.Later today, the Bariloche government will meet with CAPSA to discuss these plans and reach some kind of agreement that will hopefully benefit the business and skiers alike.

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