Mexico real estate: Beach bargains in Baja Patti Morrow

I looked at him with what could only be described as pure skepticism. "Affordable, direct ocean view Mexico real estate and just steps from the beach?" I said. "Show me." As realtor and expat Max Katz... read more

Crossing to Tijuana: The Blue Line Henry Biernacki

The people waiting at the Civic Center either went to get someone out of jail or take the train to the US-Mexico border. That was life, dia y noche in San Diego and the most charming way to enter Mexico, via Tijuana. read more

border-crossings perspectives travelogue Tijuana, Baja California

Mexican three milk cake with rompope: Pastel de tres leches con rompope Karen Hursh Graber

Tres leches cake, one of the all-time Mexican favorite desserts, is so named because it is made with three kinds of milk. Sweetened condensed milk has been around since the 1800s, when it was developed... read more

desserts Sonora

Liga MAC: Mexicans, Americans and Canadians join forces in San Jose del Cabo Ed Kociela

Photos by Mariah Baumgartle The aroma of chicken over a mesquite grill fills the air on one of San Jose del Cabo's backstreets. Noisy dogs chase each other playfully down dusty, dirt roads nearby. Che... read more

social-issues San José del Cabo, Baja California Sur

San Felipe: Baja California life on Mexico's Sea of Cortez Bob Miller

I had dreamed about moving to Mexico for decades. As retirement approached, I began to look seriously at places to check out. Having lived in San Diego for decades, going to Mexico along the Baja Calif... read more

exploring-tourism San Felipe, Baja California

Living well at the Hacienda Beach Club & Residences Darian Day and Michael Fitzpatrick

Swimming pool at Hacienda Beach Club &amp; Residences in Cabo San Lucas, Mexico
© Darian Day and Michael Fitzpatrick, 2011

The Hacienda Beach Club and Residences is balanced gracefully on the edge of the Sea of Cortez, on the shore of Medano Beach — arguably the premiere swimming beach in all of Los Cabos. Fringed with the white lace of the surf, its waters, transition smoothly to the aquamarines of tropical greens and blues, then recede into the depths of the deeper blues just beyond the boats anchored offshore. Most special, the Hacienda lays claim to what are probably the most stunning vistas of Land's End, Cabo's iconic rugged outcroppings that mark the end of the long Baja peninsula. read more

real-estate travelogue Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur

Rescuing and releasing sea turtle hatchlings in Todos Santos, Mexico Ed Kociela

Photos by Mariah Baumgartle The sun is setting off the coast of Todos Santos, Baja California Sur and, even though we are in the tropics, we are bundled up in heavy, hooded sweatshirts and jeans to pr... read more

ecology fauna Todos Santos, Baja California Sur

Driving the Baja Highway Ed Kociela

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 of the largest concentrations of big, bad cacti on the planet. read more

driving-routes travelogue Baja California Baja California Sur

Driving Baja: A Guide for First Timers Reviewed by James Tipton

This short book tries to answer questions that first-time Snowbirds who are thinking about driving (perhaps with RVs) down the Baja are likely to ask: "…could we really do it? Is it safe to drive there? Are the roads OK? What if the car breaks down? How do we buy food? Can we take the dog? What if we get sick? Can we drink the water?" Baja California is a peninsula, over 1,000 miles long. read more

book-reviews Baja California

Sonora style beef stew: Guisado de res sonorense Karen Hursh Graber

Cooks in Sonora often cut the beef for this guisado into strips, so that it can be rolled into burritos once cooked. This way, the recipe yields a vegetable stew plus beef burritos. In Mexico, ground a... read more

vegetables meat main-dishes soups Sonora

Sweet Spot: A novel about Mazatlan Carnival, Dirty Politics, and Baseball Reviewed by James Tipton

book cover of Sweet Spot: A novel about Mazatlan Carnival, Dirty Politics, and Baseball by Linton Robinson

I've read a lot of novels in the first ten years of this new century, and I must say that Sweet Spot is one of the three or four I like the best.
The story is set during seven spectacular days of Carnival in Mazatlán, the second largest Carnival in the world. A lot happens during those seven days, including scandal, murder, amoral politics, drug lords searching for our protagonist "Mundo," and bed time with a desirable young revolutionary, the amoral Mijares.
Sweet Spot is incredible. Linton Robinson should be catapulted to the top of the pile of contemporary authors. Why didn't this novel win the National Book Award or the Pulitzer Prize? read more

book-reviews fiction Mazatlán, Sinaloa

Back to Baja: Some favorite dishes get a makeover Karen Hursh Graber

Tip of the Baja, Where the Sea of Cortés meets the Pacific.
© Dr. Ilya Treyger

There are few places more relaxing than Baja California, and no time better to go there than winter. This Mexican peninsula that straddles the Pacific Ocean and the Sea of Cortez seems to have been created for relieving stress and renewing the spirit. The "winter blues" are banished here, where the only blues are the sunny skies and clear water.

Shrimp in damiana and tequila sauce: Camarones al damiana y tequila Karen Hursh Graber

Damiana is a small, yellow flowered shrub that grows wild in Baja. The leaves and stems are picked fresh when the plant is flowering, and dried to make liqueur. It is used frequently with tequila, and ... read more

seafood main-dishes Baja California

Traveler's Guide to Camping Mexico's Baja by Mike and Terry Church James Tipton

Rolling Homes Press, 2008 Available from Amazon Books: Paperback Available from Amazon Books: Paperback A while ago, I reviewed for Mexico Connect another useful book by Mike & Terri Church: T... read more

Baja California

Mazatlan: why snowbirds keep coming back Carolyn Patten

The closest of Mexico's Pacific beach resorts to the U.S. West Coast, Mazatlan is a favorite winter destination for snowbirds who love its casual, sometimes gritty atmosphere, low prices, fresh seafood and miles of golden beaches. Many Canadians and West Coasters return year after year, settling in for a couple of weeks or half a year. read more

beaches exploring-tourism lifestyles Mazatlán, Sinaloa

El Fuerte in Sinaloa, Mexico, was once the capital of Arizona Tony Burton

Prior to the founding of San Juan de Carapoa (later renamed El Fuerte de Montesclaros) by Francisco de Ibarra in 1564, relatively little is known of the early Indian peoples living in the Fuerte valley... read more

exploring-tourism history El Fuerte, Sinaloa

US postage stamps and Tijuana, Mexico's Seabiscuit connection Maggie Van Ostrand

Seabiscuit Stamped Envelope (44 cents)
© United States Postal Service, 2009

In 1934 during the depths of the Great Depression, horse trainer Tom Smith was living out of a stall at Mexico's Agua Caliente racetrack in Tijuana. Flat broke, Smith shared the stall with Noble Threewit, who trained horses for a friend of Charles Howard. Howard was seeking a trainer for his new horse, Seabiscuit, a seemingly incorrigible Thoroughbred. Seabiscuit looked and behaved "like a train wreck." read more

horsemanship perspectives Tijuana, Baja California

Cejas and the great escape: Dog rescue in Tijuana Maggie Van Ostrand

A warm-hearted missionary rescues a Tijuana street dog and smuggles him across the border to a new home in California. read more

border-crossings social-issues Tijuana, Baja California

Overfishing in the Sea of Cortez: Are sustainable fish farms the solution? Molly McHugh

Fish farms could target the intended species for sale, rather than destructive fishing practices that incidentally kill thousands of forms of sea life in great numbers in pursuit of it. Fish farms are not a problem-free solution, but they are a viable alternative to commercial overfishing in the Sea of Cortez. Farmed fish could meet the demand for at-risk species whose wild stock is being depleted read more

ecology Baja California

Mazatlan: Tequila, tans and working stiffs Gerry Soroka

There are different views of Mexico, as diverse as the numbers of observers.

Did you know? Los Mochis and Topolobampo are both examples of "new towns". Tony Burton

The city of Los Mochis ("Mochees", as locals call it) in the northern state of Sinaloa, is one of Mexico's newest cities. It dates back only as far as 1872, when a U.S. engineer, Albert Kimsey Owen (18... read more

culture-customs history Los Mochis, Sinaloa

Beautifully Arranged George Bergin

In the United States those who live on the streets are called homeless, but Martín had a home. read more

original-fiction social-issues Cabo San Lucas, Baja California Sur

The Calling George Bergin

The money kept rolling in because those who saw the boy went away in a state of euphoria. When they returned to their homes, ranches, they would tell their friends and family all about the boy Jesus, the cave. read more

original-fiction La Paz, Baja California Sur

Alamos: Still a boom to bust town, but with everlasting charm Gerry Soroka

There is magic in the wind and change in the air. The historic pueblo of Alamos, Sonora, like most Mexican silver towns, has descended to bust from boom more than once in its fitful existence. As long-suffering as a campesino, the community nevertheless has survived those roller coaster read more

exploring-tourism Alamos, Sonora

Border disorder: passages into Mexico Gerry Soroka

I tell my friends that the only thing I have had stolen by Mexicans was my unwavering fealty to Canada: I have even considered living fulltime in Mexico. We are approaching the border crossing about half a mile off. There are no distinctive read more

border-crossings exploring-tourism Sonora