Edd Bissell, 64, almost retired as a Tennessee pharmacist and gentleman farmer, has found a new home, at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, on the Bay of Banderas, on the left bank of Mexico, in the edge of Nayarit, not far north of Puerto Vallarta, between the last range of the Sierra Madres and the Pacific […]
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Granddaughter Kim couldn’t resist. Our slender, pert redhead scampered along the flatland toward the water. Thousands of white pelicans immediately got the message. After a second or three of awkward, cumbersome struggle, they got the heck out of there. Aloft, these majestic birds are among God’s most handsome creations. Big. Graceful. Glorious. Soaring. Gliding. Circling. […]
Continue ReadingThe first time was in New York, along Seventh Avenue, near the intersection with Broadway, where the streets come together to make a piece of pie. No doubt I was gawking. Might as well have carried a sign saying “Country bumpkin at the county fair.” A dapper little gentleman, who, in real life, could have […]
Continue Reading2004. It’s showtime in Athens. The Greeks are all stirred up about the Olympic Games, worrying about terrorist threats and who’s going to pay the bills when the party is over and everybody goes home. Thirty-six years ago, it was a lot like that in Mexico City. Before you read what I remember about those […]
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As Yogi Berra might say, 90 per cent of the world is changing. The other half is making adjustments. Among relatively recent arrivals to the shores of Lake Lirio (formerly Lake Chapala before water hyacinth took over the top), only Tony Burton and a few astute historians can begin to describe the changes a few […]
Continue ReadingSome ask why. Others say “Why not?” Seventeen years ago, for some strange and unexplained reason, the beautiful island of Jamaica allowed a cheerful and determined but not particularly talented bobsled team to enter the Calgary Winter Olympics. The athletes were on a proverbial shoestring budget. They borrowed a sled, solicited donations and sold sweatshirts […]
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Waiting for the crowds, umbrellas frame a popular snorkling location at Tenacatita on Mexico’s Pacific coast. © Gerry Soroka, 2009 Despite hurricanes and earthquakes, political turmoil, higher gas prices and global warming, Mexico’s marvelous Bay of Tenacatita remains a sea of tranquility. White gold sand, the soft slope of the beach and shallow water gently […]
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Ancient Chinese proverb say ox in ditch bad news. Really bad if your ox. Lirio (water hyacinths) on Lake Chapala, in the colorful state of Jalisco, in this magical country called Mexico, is bad news. Because the ugly green carpet spent too much of the winter at our end of the lake, it’s really bad — […]
Continue ReadingArtist James Vitale, owner and operator of El Encanto, a boutique eco-hotel or maybe a healing place or perhaps a vibrant retreat for creativity and education, came onto his verandah to say “Good morning, Mexico.” Living in peace and tranquility in the pueblo of Santa Cruz de Miramar, between San Blas and Tepic in the […]
Continue ReadingIn my younger days, when I was relatively fearless or disturbingly dumb, I occasionally operated a motor vehicle on the mean streets of New York City, in broad daylight and at night, and once the wrong way on a one-way. Without hesitation, I ventured onto Los Angeles freeways at rush hour, through interstate construction zones […]
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