Jason Holland, collaborator of InternationalLiving.com, recently published an article titled “Turning a Passion for Mexico into a Lucrative Tour Business”.
You never know where you may find Helene Kahn on any given day. But you can be sure she’ll be somewhere in the heart of Mexico’s Colonial Highlands, home to historic towns full of centuries-old homes, churches, cathedrals, and public buildings.
As a solo tour guide, she leads groups of visitors to see historic sites, locales of cultural significance, and natural wonders. Watching an indigenous artisan create textiles just as their ancestors did. Walking down narrow cobblestoned streets once traversed by elegant gentlemen on horseback.
It’s a well-received approach that has kept her tour business, Helene Kahn Tours, thriving since 1992. And Helene has relished the job that lets her spread her love of Mexico.
(Google)
“I like to expose people to authentic culture. The people I meet are my favorite part. I love seeing these places through their eyes,” she says.
Her home base is the artistic town of San Miguel de Allende. A UNESCO World Heritage site, San Miguel has drawn expats attracted to the vibrant arts and culture scene since just after World War II. The historic centro is well-preserved and meticulously refurbished to historical standards, using a palette of shades of yellow, orange, and red exterior paint.
Other popular spots with her guests are the small colorful village of Dolores Hidalgo, famed for its ceramics, and the Santuario de Atotonilco, outside San Miguel, which is known as Mexico’s Sistine Chapel. Her favorite destination is Lake Pátzcuaro, in the state of Michoacán. The lake is ringed by artisan villages specializing in woven reed goods, carved wooden masks, sombreros, pottery, and copper crafts.
“I feel restored when I go there. I’ve gotten to know some of the artisans. That’s a chance for people to see real Mexico,” says Helene.
Source: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/
