All the world has been told that tequila, the drink was born in Tequila — the town located 45 kilometers northwest of Guadalajara — but is this really a fact? Curiously, the famed Tequila Express train has, for years, been carrying tourists straight to a small town called Amatitán, and not to Tequila at all. […]
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Three beautiful options for your tropical garden in Mexico are bamboo, banana and bird of paradise. Family: Musaceae Use: Banana is a tree-like plant (actually a herb), closely related to plantains. It produces edible fruit that grows in clusters. There are many fruits to each tier, which is called a hand. Bananas are the staple starch in […]
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Three beautiful options for your tropical garden in Mexico are the bismark palm, bottle palm and blue agave. Family: Areceae Use: The bismark palm is prized as a landscape specimen, singly or in rows. Its height can vary from 40 to 70 feet, and branched reach up to 15 feet across, with a crown of spiky fronds. […]
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Santa Clara is the town that produces copperware and copper crafts of all kinds. For 5 pesos from the Patzcuaro bus station it is an easy part of the day trip. There are many shops that sell copper products and if you walk to the rear you can watch items being manufactured. Although you have to […]
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Chalma is a rather small pueblo tucked into the east end of the Malinalco valley. Due to the miraculous appearance of an image of Christ in 1533 the place has ever since been a pilgrimage site for Mexicans but otherwise lightly traveled by foreigners. The image (statue) was found in a cave but was transferred […]
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Three beautiful options for your tropical garden in Mexico are bougainvillea, breadfruit and bromeliads. Family: Nyctaginaceae Alternate Name: Paper Flower Use: Bougainvillea is an ornamental climber for covering fences and walls. It is also seen as a sprawling shrub. The paper flower can be grown in pots, or trimmed as border hedge. It has thorns, bright green heart-shaped […]
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Three beautiful options for your tropical garden in Mexico are the buttonwood, calabash and butterfly palm. Family: Combretaceae Alternate Name: Button Mangrove Use: Both the green and silver (C. erectus sericeus) varieties are available as ornamental trees, and have been cultivated as bonsai. The heavy wood is durable, taking a fine polish, and is used for boats and […]
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Three beautiful options for your tropical garden in Mexico are the celosia, century plant and coconut palm. Family: Amaranthaceae Alternate Names: Cockscomb, Chinese Wool Flower Use: Celosia is a showy, fast-growing annual with red, gold, yellow, or pink flowers, lasting up to two months. They make excellent cut flowers. Raise celosia in a greenhouse or a conservatory in […]
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Puebla is an industrial city of the first order. Though the downtown architecture is virtually exclusively colonial style, you still have the feel that you are in canyons of buildings due to their proximity. The zocalo is the heart pumping with activity, often demonstrations, since this is also the state capital. On your route to the […]
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Three beautiful options for your tropical garden in Mexico are the coffee tree, swamp lily and heliconia. Family: Rubiaceae Use: The beans produce a beverage and stimulant used widely for at least 1000 years. There are about 60 species in the wild, about 10 species under cultivation. The most valuable are arabica and robusta. Flowers: Coffee flowers are small, white, star-shaped […]
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