The backroads of Mexico often offer adventure, perhaps a bit of excitement, sometimes a touch of the dramatic and, occasionally, a hint of danger. We thought we’d found all four on a deteriorating 10-kilometer connector between Highway 200 and the Pacific beaches, to and from the almost dead community of El Tecuan, an hour north […]
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Please pardon me. I have neglected Mexico City. It has been years since I have told you how much I love it. Don’t laugh. For much of our time in Mexico, the really big city has meant life-threatening smog, bumper to bumper deadlocks and keep your hand on your wallet. Careful on the metro and […]
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An old gringo and his still-lovely bride returned to Mazamitla the other day after several years in other exciting places. The intriguing mountain town, one of Mexico’s pueblos mágicos, seemed much as we remembered but the approach was startling — cabañas everywhere with workers rushing to complete more. Never would I have expected to find […]
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Intriguing writer Michael Dickson, aka Felipe Zapata atop his famous blog, once said of San Miguel de Allende: “It’s a great place to live if you want to ‘live in Mexico’ without actually living in Mexico.” It is sometimes difficult to tell when Felipe is serious and when he is just stirring the pot but […]
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The wedding was an exciting reason to do Cabo San Lucas. Glamorous “Glee” star Naya Rivera and actor Ryan Dorsey were to take their vows. An area acquaintance, part-time bookie and fishing guide, said come on down, that my fame as a writer and his international influence could get us an invitation to the party […]
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You may have already heard that Mexico is a big nation. It is bigger than big. It is vast — and diverse. There are many places to go and many different things to see. For 17 years we have been here and there, and done this and that, and are still looking. Once, on our […]
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The Pueblos Mágicos program was launched in 2001 by Mexico’s Secretariat of Tourism in conjunction with other federal and state agencies to promote towns chosen for natural beauty, cultural riches and historical relevance. You have been spared by one. The colorful village of Chapala, beside the big lake of the same name, in the exciting state of Jalisco, […]
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If you bundle old news, riding the bus sounds very dangerous. The toll from a bus crash outside Ciudad Juarez was 28 dead and 21 injured. Authorities said the driver was speeding when he collided with a tractor-trailer. The overnight between Guadalajara and Tepic veered off a bridge and plunged 330 feet into a ravine. […]
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As a child, I sometimes read comic books for entertainment. I did not believe in flying dragons but they certainly stimulated the imagination. As an old-timer, older than dirt, I read travel writers just for fun. I do believe some write at great length about Mexico without ever visiting. Case in point: Smarter Travel magazine […]
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It works! Advertising actually works. Mexico’s tourism board kept pouring millions of pesos into splashy ad campaigns featuring white sandy beaches, turquoise blue waters, Maya ruins, fresh fruit and genuine hospitality. Americans, Canadians, Europeans and several from the Orient ignored dire warnings, bought the sales talk and came to see for themselves. OK, there are […]
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