Frosty mornings in the sierras: healthy lifestyles in a small Mexican town
A perfect Mexico camping spot on the Costa Esmeralda of Veracruz
The term Costa Esmeralda covers a stretch of highway about fifteen miles long from Hotel Riachuelos to Casitas. Five tiny beach towns, occasionally broken by cattle farms and small rivers running down to the sea, enliven the stretch. These Mexican Gulf beaches are veritable tropical gardens. The location is 259 kilometers south of Tampico and 205 kilometers north of Veracruz on Highway 180.
read more
Pilgrimage from San Miguel de Allende to San Juan de los Lagos in 1967
Founded in 1542, San Juan de los Lagos is set in the Los Altos region of Jalisco, an area distinguished by its devotion to the Roman Catholic faith. The Cathedral there is home to the diminutive image of the Virgin of the Immaculate Concepcion. Late in January, pilgrims on foot can be seen thronging toward the town for the celebration of Candlemas on February 2.
read more
Free riding the roads of Mexico
Mexico has one of the most extensive highway systems anywhere, providing convenient and indispensable connections among villages, towns and cities.
read moreThere's a lot to see and do in Veracruz, Mexico
Rafting on the
Pescado River in Veracruz
Veracruz offers some awesome adventure sports in a pristine area near the village of Jalcomulco, about 90 minutes from Veracruz City....
read more
December guava fair in Calvillo, Aguascalientes
When I first saw guava fruit I mistook it for lemon.
It happened on my first trip to Aguascalientes during the summer rainy season when a tree — its branches loaded with tiny round yellow fruit in t...
read more
Durango's colonial architecture: eleven quarry stone gems
Many of the city of Durango's important architectural gems, some dating back to the 16th century, still stand today; they provide a colonial backdrop for Durango's strolling residents and tourists alike.
read more
Mazatlan: why snowbirds keep coming back
The closest of Mexico's Pacific beach resorts to the U.S. West Coast, Mazatlan is a favorite winter destination for snowbirds who love its casual, sometimes gritty atmosphere, low prices, fresh seafood and miles of golden beaches. Many Canadians and West Coasters return year after year, settling in for a couple of weeks or half a year.
read more
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.
read more
Mexico's Día de Muertos celebration: Is it dying?
"Every year there are more and more tourists. They're not coming to see our tradition, they just want another reason to have a fiesta. It gets worse later, when they start urinating on the candles."
read moreHanal 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
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...
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
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
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