Guachimontones: unearthing a lost world near Teuchitlan, Jalisco
Just outside the unassuming little town of Teuchitlán, Jalisco, 40 kilometers due West of Guadalajara, lies one of the most impressive archeological sites in all of western Mexico.
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Zirahuen, Michoacan: Mexico's Walden Pond
When I first set eyes on the pure, crystal blue waters of Lago (lake) Zirahuén in the central highlands of Mexico, my stomach did a nose dive. How could such striking alpine beauty exist in a country ...
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Your beach of dreams: nine towns on the Nayarit coast of Mexico
Whale watching
© Christina Stobbs, 2009
Are you looking for a unique and affordable vacation experience far from the world of all-inclusive resorts? Would you like to experience authentic Mexico a...
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Sayulita: bohemian surf town on the Nayarit coast
Sayulita beach is stunningly beautiful, and most visitors are completely captivated by its charm. The two-mile long beach boasts soft fine sand, warm blue waters, perfect surfing waves and is adorned b...
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Playa San Francisco: San Pancho for music and art
Playa San Francisco is a beautiful wide, sandy beach, fierce and riotous, set in the artsy town commonly referred to as "San Pancho." Like most towns along the Nayarit coast, San Pancho was once a fish...
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Lo de Marcos, Mexico: a friendly, family beach town
Set in a palm-fringed bay, the beach of Lo de Marcos is wide and adorned with soft, deep, almost white sand. The beach is simply gorgeous, resembling Hawaii, especially at its craggy north end, where crystal clear blue Pacific waves crash to the shore.
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Punta Raza, Nayarit: where the jungle meets the sea
Punta Raza is an incredibly beautiful and pristine beach in a spectacular setting. Its two miles of unspoiled beach are a prime example of the incredible beauty of Nayarit beaches where the jungle meet...
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Los Ayala: undiscovered gem on the Nayarit coast
Los Ayala is situated at the foot of the Sierra de Vallejo Mountains. An undiscovered gem, Los Ayala is an authentic Mexican beach town and a fishing village. It is just now beginning to be discovered ...
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Rincon de Guayabitos: an affordable paradise
Rincon de Guayabitos on the Nayarit coast is an affordable, beautiful beach side paradise with something for everyone.
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La Peñita de Jaltemba: Nayarit beach with a turtle sanctuary
La Peñita de Jaltemba means "Place on the sandy shore, across from the cliff." Its beach is not the most beautiful in this area. One might say it is a little rough around the edges, being frequented b...
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Chacala: a Nayarit village on the beach
A splendid tropical beach, Chacala is located about forty minutes north of La Peñita and just a few minutes south of the town of Las Varas. You know you are heading somewhere very special indeed as you drive along the windy road set amidst yet another, lost jungle leading to the town, whose name means, "Where there are Shrimp."
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The beaches of San Blas
The beaches of San Blas are extravagantly beautiful and beckon the adventurer with several palm lined pristine secluded beaches, and hundreds of migratory birds. For Indiana Joe and Jane, San Blas's co...
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An oasis of comfort in Ajijic: Casa del Sol Bed and Breakfast Inn
In Mexico, it is said you never know what's behind the walls. Typical of Spanish architecture, most homes have high walls around them, affording privacy and sanctuary. It is often impossible to tell if it is a small house or a grand estate behind the walls. This is true of the Casa del Sol Bed & Breakfast Inn in the heart of Ajijic — a 16th century village on Mexico's Lake Chapala, just one hour south of the major metropolis of Guadalajara.
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The remarkable road to San Marcos, Jalisco
During twenty-four years of reconnoitering the highways and byways of western Mexico, I have never come across a road as rewarding as the 53-kilometer stretch from Tala to San Marcos in the state of Ja...
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Politics and women's changing role in Mexico
In Talpa de Allende, there is a neighborhood girl who calls me her quasi-godmother. We have studied English together for the past few summers, but I find her attention span jumping about like a monkey....
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Mi Pullman: remodeling a Mexican Art Nouveau townhouse II
This is a story about my love affair with an old house in Mexico. One day I found myself standing in front of a beautiful three storey, art nouveau town house. It was shabby, obviously neglected, and unlived in, but it had certain magic about it, which captured both my imagination and my heart. I knew, in that moment and with great certainly, that one day I would buy it.
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Toyita grows flowers for the Virgin of Talpa
As in so many Latin American homes in the 1800s and on into the nineteenth century, at least one daughter in the family stayed home and never married. That daughter's responsibility was to cook and care for the parents as they grew older and infirm. Toyita chose to play that role in her family.
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Antonia Cruz Rafael: the ceramics of Ocumicho, Michoacan
They crept and crawled, oozed and slithered from the clay, prickly spiders and sneaky snakes and pesky lizards darting from the dark wet dough, turtles swimming to its surface, bug-eyed devils rising from the mud, all brought to life by the magic touch of Antonia Cruz Rafael. Ocumicho is part of a cluster of villages in western Michoacan known for its clay crafts.
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Night in Mina Dos Estrellas, a haunted mine in Mexico
The Dos Estrellas (Two Stars) mine has had a long and checkered history. It was a fabled producer of gold and silver in the 18th century. Then one night more than 70 years ago, the god of the mine vented its wrath, unleashing a tragedy on those who made a living from its veins.
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