In April, my two sisters and I traveled to the Lake Chapala area for an opportunity to celebrate the future, specifically the upcoming nuptials of our youngest sister, Dorian. Our trip also allowed us an opportunity to connect to our past, retracing the footsteps of our grandparents, Jean and Ralph Carmichael, who had wintered in […]
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Giovanni strode across the courtyard of the hostel with a glint of excitement flashing in eyes that until then had only gazed placidly. Onto the table at which I had been lazily drinking another coffee, he unfolded a large detailed map of Mexico. It was a much larger and more detailed map than the ones […]
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Mexico is a country of extraordinary contradictions, a country in a state of always becoming; the heartbeat of a thousand beginnings: half built casas, crumbling stone fences, walls, piles of rocks coming from nowhere, leading nowhere, trailing off into nothing. A place where the sacred and the profane co-exist in this timeless. immutable landscape. It […]
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It is pushing midnight on a Thursday, but you’d never know it by the looks of Maternity Park in the central historic district of Merida, Mexico. Cafes on the square are jammed, shops bustling, the streets electric with energetic life. In this open-air setting, young sweethearts sip cocktails and entire families gather for late al […]
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Cogan’s Reviews Mornings in Mexico is a collection of essays and travel pieces that resulted from Lawrence’s visits to Mexico and New Mexico in the early 1920s. Some wonderful descriptive writing is to be found here. Lawrence was a good traveller in these parts and he spent a lot of time carefully observing the Indians […]
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Alongside the railroad tracks at Divisidero, two Tarahumara Indian ladies silently weave pine needle baskets. Pine scent permeates the air. The tracks begin to vibrate. Soon the Chihuahua-Pacifica train screeches to a halt. For 15 minutes, tourists rush past the Indians and the maze of souvenir and burrito stalls to catch a glimpse of interlocking […]
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By “Blaise” Introduction by Wendy Devlin One of the great pleasures of traveling is the infinite variety of people that I meet at every turn in the road. The internet which is much touted as the information highway, serves as an imaginative substitute for adventure travelling. I meet many new and interesting people along every […]
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Cogan’s Reviews The first thing I should say about this book is that it was originally published more than half a century ago, in 1953. I mention that out front just so no reader assumes it is yet another recent travel book about Mexico. However, it’s a good one and it’s easy to see that […]
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“Por favor (please) and gracias (thank you) are the most important words you’ll use in Mexico.” If I could own only one guide about getting to know Mexico, it would be The People’s Guide to Mexico, by Steve Rogers, Lorena Havens and Carl Franz. Oakland Tribune agrees with me: “It’s the best guide to visiting and living in Mexico that has […]
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Huamantla, Tlaxcala – As the bull charged towards me I lost my footing and fell backwards. As I leaped off behind the wooden fence, the bull began to butt against the plywood. Once, twice, three times. I hold my breath. Every year in this town, on the first Saturday after August 15, 20 bulls are […]
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