We sit crushed together, moist and miserable, in the back of the battered old VW van as we do every day about this time. Interesting odors assail our noses. We would rather not know what it is we are smelling. The mid-afternoon heat is beyond depressing; it is defeating. Eleven of us wait to go […]
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The day starts early here in Copoya. Hours before a bright pink sun rises over the eastern mountain, the roosters, pigs, and braying burros compete noisily with horn blowing little colectivos speeding down into the great mercados of the city, slowly awakening below. The much less exotic sounds of dogs barking and kids playing will soon follow. The bell in the […]
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We could hear the faint sound of drums from our condo. As we walked in the tropical twilight toward the parade the music became louder. We heard a mixture of calypso, reggae, flamingo and pop, each distinct but blending into a cultural mix like the people of Cozumel. Cozumel is well known as one of […]
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“Would you like to carry the casket?” I blinked vacantly, thinking perhaps the 104-degree heat was melting my brain-or maybe my shaky Spanish was failing me (that seemed more likely). “¿Como?” I asked, scarcely believing my ears. The young Zapotec Indian straining under the load motioned again to the small coffin. “Would you like to help carry […]
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As a child, I had heard some stories about my ancestors, in particular, about clashes between Pancho Villa and a distant relative, something about someone “being strung up by their thumbs”. However, as a young boy, growing up in San Diego, California, the stories didn’t mean anything to me, and they were stored deep within […]
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This is a story of how my wife, Teresa, and I realized our dream of owning a sailboat here on the Caribbean side of Mexico. Being former coastal Californians with 10 years of sailing experience under our lifejackets and now living on the Caribbean coastline of the Yucatan Peninsula, we wanted a sailboat at our […]
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Located just 20 minutes south of Cancun on the Riviera Maya, Puerto Morelos is a haven of peace and solitude. It is possibly the last vestige of an authentic, small fishing village on the entire Caribbean coastline of Mexico. People come here to avoid the high prices of Cancun and Playa del Carmen. My wife, […]
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The trouble with writing about a hidden gem of a place is that once the information is out the place will still be a gem but it will no longer be hidden. The little village of Tenacatita is such a little known treasure. Soft white sand on a two mile beach, mild waves, laid-back atmosphere […]
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Sitting in bathtub-warm water in the middle of the desert looking at the surrounding mountains under a deep blue sky is a delightful experience. We are in the Cuatro Ciénegas Nature Preserve just outside the town of Cuatro Ciénegas, northwest of Monclova in the state of Coahuila. This Area of Protection of Flora and Fauna […]
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We woke to the sound of gunshots – six in rapid succession. My husband levitated off the bed shouting “What! What was that?” The shots continued, punctuated by long black silence between them. Eventually we braved getting out of bed and peeking out the window. Behind the brick wall of a nearby church courtyard, we […]
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