My guide book tells me that it’s exactly 1,000 kilometers from Guadalajara to Oaxaca. That’s about 660 miles. I know of people who say they’ve driven the distance in one day and I have to concede that it’s possible. The only way you can do it is to take toll roads the whole way, start […]
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The Baja 1,000 is considered one of the most dangerous, but exciting, races in the world. It winds through mountains and desert in the most remote parts of Baja California with drivers dodging Mother Nature’s homespun hazards like rugged dry washes and rapid changes in altitude. They also deal with free-roaming livestock, rattlesnakes and one […]
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Gallery: Discover the magic of papelmalecho in Tapalpa “Mexico has colorful folk art traditions,” says the diminutive woman in white, pointing to a series of papier mache creations. “Ours are always amiable or nice, like a pleasant dream.” Patricia Villalever flashes a smile and adds, “So when you write about us, more people can share […]
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Gallery: Tapalpa: Land of colors Tapalpa is an alpine town south of Guadalajara. Surrounded by forests, lakes and streams, Tapalpa beckons visitors to its restful landscape. One winter weekend, as my van snakes up the Sierras, I stare at the valley falling away… fast. At 2200 meters above sea level, it is no wonder that […]
Continue ReadingMathieu de Fossey was born in France in 1805, and educated in Dijon. Politically disillusioned following the end of the reign of King Charles X in 1830, Fossey responded enthusiastically to an intriguing pamphlet he read publicising the challenges and opportunities for French settlers in the Isthmus of Tehuantepec, Mexico. At that time, most Europeans […]
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Situated about 300 miles north of Mexico City at an elevation of 6,200 feet, San Luis San Luis Potosí doesn’t suffer the high summer temperatures and humidity of coastal areas. Although it’s out of the Colonial Circle of cities such as San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Morelia, and Pátzcuro, SLP, too, is rich with colonial […]
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Five years ago, I visited the Mexican sea-side resort of San Patricio (Melaque), Jalisco. I arrived with my family and small trailer to join an amiable colony of recreation vehicle campers at the free beach located at the far north end. My impression of Melaque could be summarized in one word… mellow. Graphic rocky hills […]
Continue ReadingWhen tourists visit tropical Mexico, they are sometimes invited to visit a coffee plantation. My invitation came when I was camping with my family near Aticama, a small village on the Nayarit coast, 10 miles south of the pleasant sea-side resort of San Blas and approximately 100 miles north of Puerto Vallarta. Beyond the village […]
Continue ReadingMañana is a Mexican word that I struggle to understand. I continue to learn more about this word every time that I travel in Mexico. One of my earliest lessons was learned at the lighthouse that protects the eastern point of Bahía la Ventana in Baja California Sur. The beacon guards boats from danger in the […]
Continue ReadingThe curving expanse of the Bahia de Navidad greets a rocky headland at the west-end of Melaque. The tranquil cove is sheltered from the open sea behind a tier of craggy sea stacks. Around the rocky headland nestles another small cove called Cuastecomate. Six years ago I visited this spot by driving the three miles […]
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