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.
read more
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...
read more
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 ...
read more
Rincon de Guayabitos: an affordable paradise
Rincon de Guayabitos on the Nayarit coast is an affordable, beautiful beach side paradise with something for everyone.
read more
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...
read more
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."
read more
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...
read more
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.
read more
September in the Mexican sierra: an abundance of apples
During the late summer and early fall here in Central Mexico, apples are prominent in markets, fairs, and even religious rituals. Starting in late August with the Feria de Manzanas (Apple Fair) in Zacatlan de las Manzanas in the Sierra of Puebla, apples are eaten fresh, preserved as jellies, jams and fruit liqueurs, and used in a number of desserts, chicken and pork dishes.
read more
Sauteed apples and eggs: Huevos zacatlantecos
After the Virgen de la Asuncion has been raised up from her bed of apples, a little bit every hour throughout the night, the faithful make their way home in the wee hours with bags of apples from her bed. This apple and egg dish is a traditional breakfast at this time of year.
read more
Graffiti: the wry humor of Mexico City street stencil art
Most modern art aficionados know that if mysterious British artist Banksy didn't create the urban world's love affair with quirky riddles in stencil art on public walls, then he certainly spearheaded i...
read more
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...
read more
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....
read more
Fiona Dunnett: images of self and death in Oaxaca
Comic strips, a young Canadian's self portraits, and photographs of violent deaths in a Mexican daily newspaper, make strange bedfellows. But they constitute a major part of the driving force for the c...
read more
Culinary travel in the Mixteca Poblana: The avocado route
For generations, the people of the Mixteca Poblana have been creating a regional cuisine out of what seems to be nothing.
read more
Grilled marinated chicken breasts: Pollo atlixquense
"Melting pot" cooking has given rise to innumerable ethnic grocery stores in the United States, and for people who enjoy cooking authentic Mexican food, this means that ingredients are easily available. Dried avocado leaves, essential to several Mixteca recipes, are sold in just about any Mexican grocery store.
read more
Chicken in yogurt sauce: Enjococado
The name of this dish is derived from the Spanish word jocoque, which is sometimes translated as buttermilk, but is really a type of thick yogurt of Middle Eastern origin. In the city of Puebla, with its large Lebanese population, jocoque is sold in most supermarkets, but in rural areas it is homemade and truly delicious. If you can't find jocoque, a mixture of half sour cream and half regular plain yogurt is an acceptable substitute.
read more
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.
read more
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.
read more
Hanal Pixan, Maya Day of the Dead in Pac Chen, Quintana Roo
The monkeys, they tell me, are asleep in a cave across the lagoon. But other than that disappointment, my trip to Pac Chen, a micro sized Maya village in the jungle of the Yucatan Peninsula, is the per...
read more
Aguascalientes' Museum of Death welcomes you
As October draws to an end, a period of profound mysticism dawns in the heart of Mexico, a time to remember the departed but not without joy. In the hometown of José Guadalupe Posada, festivities are already well underway days before the November 2 Day of the Dead.
read more
Seat belt, cell phone and speed limit laws are enforced in Oaxaca
Driving in Oaxaca, Mexico, became a little more difficult in September / October, 2009. That's when federal, state and municipal governments actually began enforcing the law, at least in the City of O...
read more
Corn, beans and squash: the life cycle of the milpa
The milpa, or cornfield, is probably the most important element in the life of the rural Mexican farmer, apart from his family, or maybe alongside his family, because the milpa represents generations of his people working the soil. Even in places where agricultural production has been industrialized to the point of overshadowing any importance a milpa might have had before, the campesino continues to work his plot of land, however small, following the cycle of tilling, sowing and harvesting that his forefathers did.
read more
Case study from Oaxaca, Mexico: Am I paying my staff too much?
Day of The Dead is upon us in Oaxaca, and Juanita's hotel still has rooms available for one of the busiest times of the year. The City of Oaxaca, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Southern Mexico, relies on tourism for its very existence. Juanita is trying to figure out where she went wrong, realizing that Día de Los Muertos should top up her bank balance, just like the Christmas season, the summertime festival weeks known as Guelaguetza, and Easter. Time and again she asks herself, "Am I paying my staff too much?"
read more
Squash vine soup with corn dumplings: Sopa de guias con chochoyones
In Oaxaca, it is a rainy season staple and has been since before the Conquest. The only addition after the Spaniards arrived was the lard in the corn dough for the dumplings.
read more
