Traveling the world will take you to many places and in some of them you may even find treasures. But treasures are not always made of gold or diamonds. Treasures are also made of copper. And in Santa Clara del Cobre in the Mexican state of Michoacán you will understand why treasures are also made of this modest and noble metal.

Copper, the 29th element, is believed to have been mined for about 5000 years now accompanying humanity and civilization through most of his great technological accomplishments. In modern times copper is an ever present element in the electrical and electronic industry. But that’s not the only area of our modern lives where copper is present. Since ancient times Mexican artisans have used copper as a valuable material to fabricate beautiful and intrincate artisan works, among them there is one branch of artisans that combine practicality and art in their work. They are those dedicated to fabricate beautiful raw copper sinks in Santa Clara del Cobre.

These sinks are fabricated entirely by hand using the same ancient techniques of their indigenous ancestors. Even gas is forbidden to heat and soften the metal, they use only charcoal in small fires in the shops and helped by their inseparable hammer artisans give life and form to the copper plates placed into the fire. But this is not all, after getting the desired shape, the sinks surface has to be treated so that they will last and look like new for many years. For this they use a process called “patination” which is done under heat and that gives the surface of the copper sinks its characteristic color and durability.

Many people may think that copper sinks are soft or fragile but that’s not so. They are sturdy enough to substitute a regular, series made, stainless steel sink. It is sturdy enough that even bathtubs are fabricated entirely on copper. And due to the “patination” process they won’t acquire a greenish color or get rusty as those old pennies that didn’t have the luck of being “patinated”.

The charming town of Santa Clara is full of shops that work day after day to bring to life this wonderful pieces that are considered a national art. They are so proud of their skills that every corner is adorned with copper, even street lamps have their share of this noble metal. If you ever have the chance to visit Mexico, make plans and include Santa Clara del Cobre in your schedule. Who knows and you may even end cooking in a copper pan and relaxing in your own copper tub while your dinner is being cooked under a copper kitchen hood.

Omar Ferro is a freelance writer and webprenur who lives part-time in Mexico and the United States.

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Cancun is known for its diverse shops and festive malls catering to a large number of international tourists. From large, air-conditioned malls to T-shirt stands and open-air markets filled with Mexican handicrafts, Cancun provides shoppers a delightful experience. Despite the surrounding natural beauty of the beaches and jungles, shopping has become a favorite activity of Cancun visitors.

There is no shortage of stores in Cancun to purchase one-of-a-kind items. In the Hotel Zone, the malls are spread out along the Zone’s 21 kilometers, so no matter where you stay there is a mall nearby. The malls in Cancun are quite nice and sell most anything you can think of. The malls could also be thought of as tourist attractions since they all try to outdo each other by including entertaining attractions. Each mall usually has at least one large nightclub and a few restaurants. Cancun malls contain many up-scale shops where you will find the latest American and European fashions, expensive perfumes and lots of jewelry. You also find a large number of stores selling Mexican crafts.

Plaza Kukulcán is an extraordinary shopping center offering a wide variety of services from shopping, fine dining, movies and bowling, to contemporary art exhibits and international film festivals. This mall is home to the famed “Luxury Avenue”, with the best of upscale shopping from the top designers. Plaza Caracol is a two-story mall with marble floors and attractive plant-filled atriums designed by internationally renowned architects. Plaza Caracol features shops, boutiques, restaurants and galleries. There is a Cartier Jewelry store located here. Flamingo Plaza is an excellent spot for shopping and eating. Restaurants such as Outback Steakhouse, Planet Hollywood and Pat O’Brien’s are located in this mall. Plaza Forum by the Sea includes various shops but is mostly popular for its food and bars, including the Hard Rock Cafe and the Rainforest Cafe, which stay open after midnight. La Isla Shopping Village is the newest shopping center in Cancun. This is a very nice outdoor shopping mall and has a large variety of boutiques, restaurants, and an interactive aquarium that is a hit with kids. Guess, Swatch, and Benetton have stores located here.

There are two notable open-air markets in the Hotel Zone. La Fiesta Market, a small market center with Mexican crafts and silver ornaments, located in the hotel zone by TGI Friday’s restaurant. Mercado Coral Negro, located across the street from Plaza Forum by the Sea, is a small open-air market with souvenirs, locals arts and crafts, henna tattoos, hair braiding and more.

Traveling into Cancun City, you will find it just like any other city, filled with stores catering to the people who live in Cancun. Also known as Centro, this downtown area is a nine-block square connected to Cancun Island by a causeway. The commercial heart of Cancun, Centro is where you’ll find lots of restaurants and some nice little shops, particularly along Yaxchilan Avenue. Flea market lovers might want to visit the mercados, where silver items, handicrafts and bottles of vanilla are abundant. Mercado 28 is the most popular, while Mercado 23 is a little less tourist-oriented. Ki Huic Market, on Avenida Tulum, is the city’s oldest crafts market, as well as the closest to the Hotel Zone. Souvenir shoppers will find a variety of serapes, blouses, shirts and curios at Ki Huic. Numerous duty-free shops also offer excellent values on European goods. The largest is UltraFemme, on Avenida Tulum in downtown Cancun, specializing in imported cosmetics, perfumes, and fine jewelry and watches. Shopping Malls are not limited to the Hotel Zone, however. Plaza Las Americas is a nice downtown mall with big stores such as Liverpool, Sears, Sanborn’s and JC Penney’s, along with numerous smaller boutiques, electronic shops, and a supermarket. This mall also offers 18 screens in two movie theaters, a big food court and several restaurants. This is where the locals go when they want to go to a large Mall. Plaza 2000 is the place to go for inexpensive footwear and clothing. Mostly locals shop here, and deals are plentiful.

Cancun truly is a shopper’s paradise, as well as a natural one. Since the best part of a vacation is bringing home trinkets to remember the trip by, Cancun, and its unique shops and malls, won’t disappoint even the most discriminating shopper.

Lee Breeze is a Cancun expert and a Content Associate for bookit.com BookIt.com – the Internet Travel Company Offering Discounted cancun.bookit.com Cancun Hotel Rooms and Vacations with “No Booking Fees, Ever!” Visit BookIt.com Travel Guides for Additional bookit.com/travel_guide-m0000-Cancun.html Cancun Travel information including Articles, Reviews and Helpful Travel Tips.

If you are traveling to Nashville you might be planning on going to the normal attractions in the city such as the Grand Ole Opry or the Country Music Hall of Fame. These are popular but there are other things to do in the city that are not related to music. One of those attractions is one that you might not expect. Nashville happens to be home to a full size model of the Parthenon. Believe it or not it is true. Read this article to learn about this unique local attraction.

The Parthenon replica was built in Centennial Park for the Tennessee Centennial Exposition held in 1897. It was the main attraction and centerpiece of the event. The replica was originally supposed to be only a temporary attraction but it quickly became a popular destination for locals and tourists so the city fully restored it in 1931. The buildings designers have attempted to recreate the original in every way. Inside it you will find an identical layout to the original including a statue of Athena Parthenos and a set of doors that are identical to those found at the original. These bronze doors weigh in at over 7.5 tons each and are the largest pair of matching bronze doors in the world. As you can see, the Parthenon replica in Nashville is an interesting destination for sure. It makes for a pleasant break from all of the music related tourist attractions. So give it a shot the next time you visit Nashville, you will be glad you did.

If you would like to visit the Parthenon when you are in Nashville Tennessee you can find it at West End and 25th Avenue in Nashville. Before going you should call and get current hours and admission prices. The information line is 615-862-8431. Have fun.

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Other animals besides man are often consider to not be intelligent life merely because they do not build skyscrapers, computers or build aircraft. This is a silly notion indeed. As they are highly adapted to their environment and they do not need these things. Why would they? What good is a computer when you are a Chimpanzee hanging out all day with your friends in the tree tops eating your favorite fruit, having sex and just enjoying life? Consider that for a moment.

Now tell me who has the easier life, both man and chimps are at the top of their food chains and for chimps besides mankind they really have no serious enemies they cannot deal with, other than their own wars with neighboring troops or hungry guerillas occasionally. Awe but you say they are unintelligent?

Well hey now, let us be fair to the animal which is extremely adapted for its environment already, what we teach it is often silly and not needed. Generally higher order mammals or species with long evolutionary periods are fully adapted to their niches. The designated boundaries are clearly defined and those problems have been solved, what can we possibly teach them of any value that nature has already taken care of? They do not need to build houses, as they bodies are adapted to the climate. Many times they do not need tools or to make them as they have claws and adapted bodies, which suffice enough to get them what they need [food, shelter, safety from predators]. Consider all this in 2006.

“Lance Winslow” – Online WorldThinkTank.net/wttbbs/ Think Tank forum board. If you have innovative thoughts and unique perspectives, come think with Lance in the Online Think Tank and solve the problems of the World; WorldThinkTank.net www.WorldThinkTank.net/