Having seen and done enough for certification as a low-level expert, I shall now tell you what I think I know about Mexico. Christmas is not as commercialized as in the United States but Santa Claus i... read more

Questions and answers about life in Mexico read more

Let the word go out across all the land, "The Baptists are coming, the Baptists are coming" -- to Mexico. Do what? You say they've been here for a hundred years? On my, cancel the cry. I don't know b... read more

When church groups and civic clubs, north of the border, are seeking something for almost nothing, they sometimes invite me to tell about life in Mexico. Some listeners squirm around and seem dissatisf... read more

As Yogi Berra might say, 90 per cent of the world is changing. The other half is making adjustments. Among relatively recent arrivals to the shores of Lake Lirio (formerly Lake Chapala before water hy... read more

Questions and answers about life in Mexico. read more

Thousands of you missed the Joco boat show, hot attraction at the west end of what was once Lake Chapala, before lirio (water hyacinth) covered it up, marring and scarring the colorful state of Ja... read more

Questions and answers about life in Mexico. read more

Despite hurricanes and earthquakes, political turmoil, higher gas prices and global warming, Mexico's marvelous Bay of Tenacatita remains a sea of tranquility. White gold sand, the soft slope of the b... read more

Ancient Chinese proverb say ox in ditch bad news. Really bad if your ox. Lirio (water hyacinths) on Lake Chapala, in the colorful state of Jalisco, in this magical country called Mexico, is bad news. ... read more

When I am puzzled, when I just don't understand, when I really don't believe what I see and hear, the standard explanation from helpful friends is "Remember, this is Mexico." I'm not sure what that mea... read more

It happens every autumn. North-of-the-border questions make my day. The latest best one was "Isn't it sad to miss Christmas?" Do what? "You go to Mexico each winter. You always miss Christmas." Good... read more

To you motorized snowbirds of the United States and Canada, come on down. Mexico awaits. Tourists are really important to the economy. Mexico hasn't changed much while you were away. Flowers are bloom... read more

Chapala has character. This distinctive town, very near an up-and-down lake with the same name, in the colorful state of Jalisco, in central Mexico, doesn't have enough parking places but it has genui... read more

Some ask why. Others say "Why not?" Seventeen years ago, for some strange and unexplained reason, the beautiful island of Jamaica allowed a cheerful and determined but not particularly talented bobsle... read more

Some ask why. Others say "Why not?" Seventeen years ago, for some strange and unexplained reason, the beautiful island of Jamaica allowed a cheerful and determined but not particularly talented bobsle... read more

This little story of life along Lake Chapala probably belongs in a movie or a museum dedicated to strange and unusual happenings. You can believe it or not. Our kind and gentle friend, Grace Contrades... read more

The majority of Mexicans don't own cars. Very few own airplanes. Passenger trains are extinct. Burros are notoriously slow. This makes bicycles and bus service very important. Something, perhaps need,... read more

May is our primary month for visiting friends and renewing acquaintances in the good old United States of America. It's catch-up time for birthdays and anniversaries, the correct time to analyze Tennes... read more

Because most of our neighbors don't speak English and because our Spanish is at least awful, some strange things happen in our Mexican community. The other evening a woman stopped at our front gate. A ... read more

Back in the previous century, at about the time Albert Gore was inventing the internet, clean air, space stations and probably diet Coke, we got hooked on Lake Chapala. This was an era when Gordon Wea... read more

My exalted editor, spelling coach and inspirational wife of more than 50 years said my chosen subject for this month wasn't very good so we'll skip what I thought was an award-winning essay and go dire... read more

Edd Bissell, 64, almost retired as a Tennessee pharmacist and gentleman farmer, has found a new home, at La Cruz de Huanacaxtle, on the Bay of Banderas, on the left bank of Mexico, in the edge of Nayar... read more

Don Whitehead, distinguished author of "The FBI Story" and twice a Pulitzer Prize winner for reporting on the Korean War, was an early hero of mine. In semi-retirement, Don was a columnist for Th... read more

White Pelicans on Lake Chapala; photo: John Mitchell, Earth Images Foundation Granddaughter Kim couldn't resist. Our slender, pert redhead scampered along the flatland toward the water. Thousands o... read more