For an unusual winter break, how about a Mexican train ride? The Reader’s Digest called Mexico’s famous Copper Canyon railroad trip, “the most dramatic train ride in the western hemisphere”. Even that description fails to do justice to the spectacular scenery and sightseeing along the line. The railroad was originally built to give southern Texas […]
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We jounce for five hours in a pickup truck heading west from Tampico over the dusty Mexican plain to the Sierra Madre, up and up into a green world-peaks as sudden as the mountains of Moorea, tree-covered jagged ranges huge enough to be the molars of God, past coffee plantations, ramping bougainvillea, banana trees, crashing […]
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Several small towns in northern Mexico offer a welcome respite and interesting overnight stop for tourists bored by the long and monotonous stretches of desert driving on their way south. One such destination is Sombrerete, mid-way between the cities of Durango and Zacatecas. According to some, there was so much silver in this area that […]
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Here is San Miguel de Allende – the town, its people, its fiestas – celebrated through the eyes of thirty talented photographers, in a visually exciting book published by Dean and Luna Enterprises. “Foundations of Greatness”, the first of four sections, opens with a wonderfully atmospheric untitled black-and-white photo (Bill Begalke) showing the town center emerging from […]
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The lovers of the curious will find plenty to whet their appetite (and satisfy their thirst) in the small western Mexico town of Tequila. The town lies in the shadow of an imposing 9000 foot volcano which has the distinction of being “drive-in” by virtue of a cobblestone road built for access to the shortwave […]
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The seat sale prices for flights to Puerto Vallarta were simply too good to pass up, and the weather at home too cold and miserable to buoy our spirits. Time for a short winter break in the sun! Arriving in Puerto Vallarta in the mid-afternoon, we hired a small car at the airport and took […]
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“An earlier article on the easy-going beachside town of Guayabitos focused on the services the town offers and on activities within easy walking distance. Most people staying more than a few days begin to get itchy feet and wonder if there is anywhere worth visiting a little further afield. This article suggests some possible side-trips […]
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Loreto Bay, a 3-billion-dollar, 6,000-home development in Baja California Sur, may be the most eco- and socially-aware resort project anywhere in the country. At first sight, this is rather strange, given that Loreto Bay, eight kilometers (five miles) south of the town of Loreto, was originally conceived by the Mexican Tourism Development Agency, Fonatur, which […]
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Three towns in Baja California Sur offer a relaxing alternative to the frenetic pace of life in the pricier and more touristy Los Cabos area: Loreto, Mulegé and Santa Rosalía are very different to one another, and all well worth visiting. This is a trip that combines some sun, sand and snorkeling with some museums, […]
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Every two years, the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) awards the Equator prize (worth 30,000 dollars) to communities that have shown “outstanding achievement in the reduction of poverty through the conservation and sustainable use of biodiversity.” One of the winners of the 2004 Equator prize was the indigenous community of Nuevo San Juan Parangaricutiro, in […]
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