Writing about writers can be a challenge. Most are civil enough. They know you can't do it as well as they do but they are forgiving and generally polite. Writers understand interviews but seem reluctant to part with good lines. I think they think they are saving them for themselves. Not so Jenny McGill. She tells it like it is. read more

Two years ago, I would've been leery about driving out of Mexico alone. Well, "everyone says" that the drive to Nogales (from Puerto Vallarta) is a drag: long, flat, boring, and nothing to see - somet... read more

John Keeling's 2009 Restaurant Guide (Fifth Annual Edition) is not just for residents of the north-shore towns along Lake Chapala.

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The ship's embracing water is as still as the prevailing silence while I watch the sun rise from behind the Sierra Madre Mountains. Its glorious rays begin to rebound off red-tiled roofs of hillside bu... read more

Here's a rather odd novel from the author of "The Bridges of Madison Country" and "Slow Waltz in Cedar Bend". I've always thought of Waller as a writer of romances, going only by the titles of his books. This one, however, is a quite suspenseful "chase" story - complete with a rather bloody ending - as well as being a travelogue of at least one area of Mexico. The two leading characters are rather unlikely people to be involved in such a tale. read more

I just returned from an all-inclusive five-day trip to Puerto Vallarta. Many of us expats leave at this time of year. First, because it's Thanksgiving and our families are elsewhere; and second, becaus... read more

For the past number of years during our months of Mexico we have been traveling to Melaque-San Patricio-Obregon, a former fishing village on the Pacific coast about five hours by bus south of Puerto Vallarta. Known collectively as Melaque, the Mexico beach community is stable now at about 8,000 persons, and flourishes during December-March upon the arrival of several hundred tourists who pop up in the streets like alabaster mushrooms in a rain-stirred meadow. read more

It is no secret that Canadians love Mexico; for years, thousands of Canadians have been fleeing cold winters to the warm beaches and colonial towns of Mexico. Over the past few years, more and more Canadians have called Mexico their home.

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After multiple trips to Puerto Vallarta I think I am becoming Mexican. I look Mexican, so when I jump into a cab, I have to politely say "No hablo Español” when the driver rattles off a breat... read more

The coast south of Cabo Corrientes, the southerly arm of our Bay of Banderas, is known as the Costa Alegre, Happy Coast, all the way down to Manzanillo. Barra de Navidad and Careyes are two of the better known spots. Directly west of El Tuito, the civic center of Cabo Corrientes, lies its bulk — a broad, hilly and ravined stretch of scrub and farm country that is separated from the Pacific by swaths of mile-long beaches and turquoise waters that have remained remarkably pristine. read more

Last Monday Mary and I decided to take a vacation in the Mexican coastal town of Puerto Vallarta. Two years ago, shortly after Mary and I first met, Mary had flown to Vallarta to vacation with her long... read more

Table of Contents Streamlining the tax system Domestic tourists' spending power Free trade with Uruguay ... read more

I like this book, but I don't like the title: Drama & Diplomacy in a Sultry Mexican Beach Town. The book is not about "drama & diplomacy." It's about one person's life in Puerto Vallarta... read more

In 1985, there were four Americans living in Talpa. Guy and Bill invited a small group living in Puerto Vallarta to share a weekend with them. The flight usually was about eighteen minutes long, but when folks used to ask me about the flying time, my answer was, "Long enough to say ten Our Fathers and fifteen Hail Marys, if you pray fast." read more

Mexico Connect Forum Discussion Threads Posted by Ann Bice on June 29, 1997 We are planning to check out the Guad-Lake area for potential retirement-it sounds too good to be true. Anyway, we can g... read more

To annotated Photo Strip 191 (Each image below clicks to an annotated enlargement.) ... read more

From Letters To My Granddaughters The author shares a typical day from her life in Puerto Vallarta and her techniques to reach contentment anywhere. Directed to her grandaughter... read more

Here's a book of travel essays from a man who obviously admires this country. He's covered Mexico from coast to coast and from north to south in a criss cross journey that's well described here. Thus we get informed accounts of places like Cuernavaca, Puerto Vallarta, Oaxaca, Mazatlan and so on, along with a lengthy look at Mexico City. But rather than simply giving us the usual guidebook account of a place, Butler finds all kinds of interesting facets and people, too, wherever he goes. Along the way you're also treated to history, politics and whatever attractions are available locally. read more

A delicious and economical way to use just about any firm, white-fleshed fish, this is a common meal along Mexico's Pacific coast, especially in Baja California and the Puerto Vallarta area. The alb... read more

Southbound gringos of retirement age have the uncanny ability to immediately identify changes that should be made in Mexican lifestyle. Maybe you've heard the laundry list. "Punctuality is in desperat... read more

An adventurous English couple builds a boat, sails toward Oregon to buy horses, but settles on Mexico's Bay of Banderas in La Cruz de Huanacaxtle where they run a restaurant and promote Huichol art. read more

Recently, I had the pleasure of interviewing Efren Gonzalez at his home in Ajijic, a home he is building entirely from the sale of his paintings. For years he has struggled with the dream of living and... read more

Chapala: A Formal History ...Ah! Chapala you have the magic of a story book stories of sunsets and earthenware, of romantic moonlit nights Peaceful Chapala, your la... read more