Mazatlán, (pronounced “maz-it-LAWN”, with the stress on the last syllable), means “place of the deer” in the Nahuatl (Aztec) language,. It is a city of around half a million people, located on a long, flat stretch of the Pacific coast of Mexico, just to the south of the Tropic of Cancer and due east of the tip of the Baja peninsula. It is here that the cool waters of the deep Pacific meet those of the warm, shallow Gulf of California. You might think of Mazatlán as having one foot in the tropics and the other in the dryer, dessert climate to the north.

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(The rates quoted in this article are as of August 1998) When I first started traveling in Mexico in the '60s, it was truly like going back in time. If you wanted to place a call back to the States or... read more

Questions and answers about life in Mexico. read more

Questions and answers about life in Mexico. read more

Although no writer likes to feel that he or she has been read carelessly, or misread entirely, it's a dubious proposition for any of us to respond to any negative criticism that our books have received... read more

"Por favor (please) and gracias (thank you) are the most important words you'll use in Mexico." If I could own only one guide about getting to know Mexico, it would be The People's Guide t... read more

The fall of the Aztec Empire and capture of its ruler Cuauhtémoc (1521), left Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés in charge of a vast and largely unfamiliar land. By 1522 his sovereign, Car... read more

One blazing Baja afternoon, I was sitting inside a palapa restaurant, directly in the airflow of a circulating air fan. The temperature was well over 100 degrees and the humidity was hovering around seventy-five percent. I was trying to work up enough courage to trudge a mile and a half to the beach, when suddenly a middle-aged couple breezed through the doorway. They were attired in crisp tennis whites, and seemingly stepped right out of an advertisement for a Rocky Mountain beer. "Nice day, isn't it?" the man tipped his hat in my direction. "Sure is" I grumbled. read more

This month, I'm interviewing a couple from Alberta, Canada who've come for a six-week vacation. This is the end of their third week. I actually met Julia and Marc over the Internet as a result of this ... read more

One of my readers asked me to describe a typical day here in the Lake Chapala area of Mexico. Others have asked, "What do you do all day?" So, I am inviting you to spend this day with me in the charmin... read more

Is driving in Mexico safe? Can I take my young children in the car? Are the toll roads expensive? There are so many questions and stories about driving in Mexico. Unless you're in Chiapas, driving is ... read more

After Lyn and I left Oaxaca, we drove northeast to Puebla, skirted around Mexico City and spent two and a half days in Querétaro. It's been less than two months since we made the trip, but at my age, ... read more

Harry and Simon are two friends Mary and I met through my Spanish class. Harry hails from South Carolina and has a very faint trace of a southern accent. Simon is originally from England, but he became... read more

Although denied officially and, personally by many Mexicans, racism in Mexico is so evident that most foreigners notice it right away. All you have to do is look at Mexican-produced television programs... read more

Semana Santa gets underway on Palm Sunday when the faithful may join in a special mass and large procession commemorating Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem often precedes the mass. On Wednesday of Holy Week, some churches celebrate a late-afternoon vespers service called "los matines de las tinieblas", in which the disciples’ abandonment of Jesus is recalled. The commemoration of Easter begins in earnest on Thursday, Jueves Santo. read more

...compared to heading west in a Conestoga read more

Mexico is the land of fiestas, and never more than during the month of December, when the feasts are so many that they overlap by several days. Starting on December 3, the beginning of the nine-... read more

  This month's cover proudly displays the work of Ajijic native, Javier Zaragoza. The Artist was discovered by Niell James, an author and pioneer in this area. She also was the founder of the LCS (... read more

It was on December 9, 1531, when Juan Diego, a humble Indian peasant, was crossing the hill of Tepeyac just north of present day Mexico City that — it is said— a beautiful shining woman miraculously appeared to him. Declaring herself to be the Virgin Mary, Mother of Christ, she called Juan her son. He reported his vision to Bishop Juan de Zumarraga, who demanded additional evidence of the divine apparition. On December 12 then, Juan Diego returned to Tepeyac, where the Virgin told him to gather roses where none had grown previously. Then, when the Indian delivered the roses to the Bishop, the image of the Virgin Mary miraculously appeared on his cloak. read more

Table of Contents Strong economy Encouraging tourism numbers City express hotels ... read more

In the early decades of the century past, my grandfather’s grandfather journeyed to the shores of a distant land called Florida to live out the rest of a life spent on Midwestern prairies. It was ter... read more

Questions and answers about life in Mexico. read more

Epstein spent eleven years on a Chiapas coffee plantation. Its fertile landscape seeped into her subconscious and left an indelible impression. read more

The status of World Heritage site is a UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) denomination. The status is conferred on selected sites under the terms of "The Conventi... read more

An Index Page of Articles, Images and Resources.

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