TIJUANA Want the ultimate insider's tour of Mexico?
None other than President Felipe Calderón explores that country from end to end in a television program called "Mexico: The Royal Tour" airing on KPBS on Tuesday at 8 p.m.
The one-hour program is hosted by CBS News travel editor Peter Greenberg, who informs viewers at the outset that their guide is highly qualified to take them not only to the famous sites but also less-known ones that are no less interesting.
Calderón takes him to Chiapas, Yucatán, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico City and Baja California Sur.
In San Luis Potosí, the president and Greenberg rappel down the Sótano de las Golondrinas (Cave of the Swallows), where the floor is a 1,094-foot drop from the cave opening. Along the way Greenberg chats with the president about the history of what is the deepest known cave shaft in the world – as well as some of Mexico's current challenges.
"While we explore some of the country's little-known gems, President Calderón also talks about his situation, what it's like to live under maximum security, and discusses the war against the drug cartels and what that really means for tourists," Greenberg said in the show.
"We have been given extraordinary access to this country and its leader in a crucial moment in Mexico's history," Greenberg added.
Like all expert guides, Calderón participates fully in each of the locations he visits, from scuba diving, riding a horse, pedaling a bicycle, rappelling, zip-lining above a rain forest and even rowing.
In Baja California Sur, he visits Laguna Ojo de Liebre (also known as Scammon's Lagoon), near Guerrero Negro, where hundreds of gray whales give birth to their calves each year.
PBS is sponsoring six episodes of "The Royal Tour" the first one exploring Mexico. Although the other destinations are not yet known, each tour will be led by each country's leader.
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"Mexico: The Royal Tour" airs on KPBS on Tuesday at 8 p.m., and Thursday at 2 a.m. More information visit their site.
The show explores these locations:
Los Pinos, the official residence of Mexico's president in Mexico City; Palenque and La Villa de Metzabok, Mayan ruins in Chiapas; Chichén Itzá and the Temple of Kukulcán, the legendary Mayan ruins in Yucatán; Cenotes Dos Ojos, 42-mile long subterranean river; the tropical forest near Puerto Vallarta; and in Michoacán the monarch butterfly reserve, the president's hometown of Morelia.
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