Manzanillo has had many names over the last 500 years. The Nahuatl Indians, one of the oldest surviving tribes, whose language is still being spoken and taught today, called it Cozcatlan in the 1400s. Cozcatlan means “Place of Pearls.” Another tribe called it Tlacotla, while Caxitlan became its name in the early 1500s. In 1527, […]
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Acapulco is world-renowned for its lovely beaches and year-round sunshine. It is the most popular tourist resort on the west coast of Mexico. For sure, more celebrities visit this charming city than any other in Mexico. Its reputation is well deserved. But today, a first-time visitor to this Mexican “Jewel” might well pose the question, […]
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In December 2000, I watched the sleepy fishing village of Puerto Escondido wake up from its summer slumber. When I arrived during the first week of the month, this beach town south of Oaxaca city hadn’t even begun to yawn and stretch from its months’ long, low-season nap. You could shoot a cannon down the […]
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Puerto Escondido is a travelers’ and vacationers’ market right now. Tourism is down this year to perhaps a third of its normal level. One government official told us that if it were not for “old timers like you we would have no one here.” [ Aside: The “old timer” comment referred to the fact that we’ve been […]
Continue ReadingMexico Notes – part 5 Breathless foam Starfish-laden scaly crest of wave Balloons of stinging jellyfish The crush of birth called beach. Journal, Mayo 27, 2003 We headed southwest, towards the ocean, through gargantuan agri-business fields and tractors to rival my Iowa birthplace. As boring as this was, I was glad to be gone from […]
Continue ReadingI have had a vacation home in Acapulco since 1991, and love the city. There are many unknown opportunities there, and some pitfalls to avoid. There are things you can assume, and things you should not assume. YOU CANNOT ASSUME THAT ACAPULCO IS JUST AN OLDER VERSION OF CANCUN Cancun was created about thirty years […]
Continue ReadingMazatlan has the virtues and vices of any tourist destination. But all the bad stuff – or good, depending on how you plan to spend the evening – is buffered by the decency and solidity of a working town. Unlike the hotel cities dreamed up by governments beholden to tourist dollars, Mazatlan, the second city […]
Continue ReadingPosted by Thom on January 04, 1997 My wife and I just returned from MONTH in Mexico, the better part of which we spent in Mazatlan. We have been to Mexicoís other Pacific coast resort areas several times, but for some reason, we had never been to Mazatlan. We booked our flight and the first […]
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