Top Ten Reasons to Visit Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo
10. I’m here… And so are a lot of your friends (even a few you haven´t met yet) and more keep trickling in each week … Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo has a fiercely loyal following among visitors who come back year after year and an active thriving community. 9. It’s beautiful! The bay has been especially sparkling lately...
Ajijic & Mazamitla Travelogue
Here’s a two-destination trip offering not only a big change from the Pacific Coast splendor of Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo but vivid contrasts between the two cities themselves: Ajijic and Mazamitla. Both places are located northwest of here in the state of Jalisco, but while Ajijic can lay claim to being the ex-pat capital of Mexico, you might...
Tonala and Tlaquepaque
Tonala and Tlaquepaque….no, neither a singing duo nor a rock group, but sister cities southeast of Guadalajara where you can shop till you drop and do much less damage to your pocketbook than you would have ever thought possible. Some people still consider Tlaquepaque and Tonala “suburbs” of Guadalajara, but with the population of...
Guanajuato, a colonial gem
Guanajuato is yet another of Mexico’s impressive collection of colonial cities. Once you’ve been there, though, the subterranean streets running beneath it for about three kilometers guarantee you won’t confuse this old silver mining town with any other. Trivia buffs know, “Once Upon a Time in Mexico,” was filmed here. Originally, the city was built...
Magic Carpets, Oaxaca’s Master Weaver Preserves a Zapotec Tradition
When you enter The-Bug-in-the-Rug store in Teotitlán del Valle, Oaxaca, you are greeted by the master weaver himself, Isaac Vasquez, a friendly, soft-spoken man with salt and pepper hair. He invites you into his workshop, housed in the sunny courtyard of his family compound. Your eyes are immediately drawn to the carpets on the adobe...
Bus Travel in Mexico
If you’re ready for a little adventure, one of the great joys of traveling in Mexico is going by bus. During the past decade, service has improved by leaps and bounds. Today, you can catch a bus in Zihuatanejo and make it to Cancun in a day and a half. If you’re really determined, you...
Posadas – The Secret to Affordable Travel
For someone who loves to travel but has a limited budget, Mexico offers a dazzling array of options for sleeping cheap while on the road. Despite steadily rising prices during the last decade, two people can still bed down almost anywhere in the country for $500 pesos – or considerably less – per night. When...
Exchanging Money in Mexico
If you’re coming down for a few weeks or even for the entire “high season,” you can convert your funds in three ways. First, you could bring U.S. (or Canadian) cash and trade it in for Mexican pesos at either a bank or a casa de cambio (a money-changing station). Second, you could arrive with...
The Bookstores of Donceles Street, Mexico City
Step into any one of the dozen or so bookstores on Donceles Street in Mexico City´s historic center and you might find yourself in a predicament similar to the following: Do you stick to the game plan, zeroing in on that novel about the Mexican Revolution that you haven’t been able to find anywhere else,...
El Rosario Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary
Locating this amazing natural wonder can be a real challenge and that can make your experience of this spectacle, the sight and sound of millions of “golden” Monarch butterflies, all the more worthwhile. That can also be half the fun. I first came to this relatively remote reserve in 1998 and have been drawn back...
Daytrips – Acapulco´s Fort of San Diego Museum
“Pacific pirates” profiles Sir Francis Drake and tells the story of English and Dutch pirate raids.” If the delicate design of antique Chinese porcelain or the romance of square-rigged sailing ships hold any fascination for you, take a break from surf and sand for a day and visit the historic Fort of San Diego museum in...
Traveling Mexico – Oaxaca City
“Do not miss strolling around the many markets of Oaxaca, so many foods and smells and crafts to delight any traveler.” Mexico is a country that is so diverse, one could spend a lifetime trying to see all the places and peoples and still not know the country completely. Oaxaca City is just another example of the diversity...
