One of the prettiest towns in the state of Jalisco is Mazamitla, set high in the pineclad mountains near the Michoacan border. Among its many attractions are some fine restaurants specialising in Mexic... 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

I'm driving fro Guadalajara to PV and back. I would appreciate comments on routes and places to visit and things to see. Via Manzanillo ? Via Tepic, San Blas ? Hola!!!

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I am curious about this place. I have heard it described in relation to the gringos at least, as a rather bitchy art colony but students come and go. What is the nature of the more permanent expat community?? Can any help?

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I'm interested in information on the small "native" Jewish community in Venta Prieta, Hgo. (just outside of Pachuca) and would be grateful for anything that anyone might know about it.

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He's stranded in Real de Catorce. His broken-down vehicle is without license plates, his Mexican tourist visa expired four months ago, and he has no money. A 20-year-old Alaskan tattoo designer of an... read more

Critics assess the Net as being a mile wide and an inch deep. And, yes, too many Mexico-related websites reflect that same kind of superficiality. But as we head into a new year, it's the time to issue... read more

The mangrove swamps of Mexico’s Pacific Coast shelter a seldom-visited jewel of a day-trip destination. Legend has it that the man-made island city of Mexcaltitan, was Aztlan, the ancient home of th... read more

Both the name and the coat-of-arms of San Luis Potosi recall the tremendous importance of mining to Mexico's economy. Called Potosí in emulation of the mines of that name high in the Bolivian Andes, t... 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

The following article is reproduced with the kind permission of the Consul General in Austin Texas. It first appeared in their : September 1996 - Austin, Texas - Ye... read more

For a city named Peace, it has a rather grim history. A Spanish expedition sailed into the bay in 1533; the leader and several of his soldiers were killed by the indigenous residents soon after, by som... read more

The rugged Baja California peninsula and the Sea of Cortez, or Gulf of California, have been bewitching hardy visitors for decades. Some of the early fans were John Steinbeck and Earl Stanley Gardner, ... read more

Early in 1980, exploring various off the beaten track areas of Mexico looking for potential geography fieldwork sites, one fateful Saturday morning found me standing in the main plaza of the small Mich... read more

Juan Mata Ortíz is a small village of potters, farmers and cowboys in Northern Chihuahua. About 30 years ago, an unschooled artistic genius, Juan Quezada, taught himself how to make earthenware jars i... read more

November is a festive month here in Ajijic, beginning with the celebrations of All Saints Day and Day of the Dead, and ending with the feast of the village's patron, San Andrés. Invariably the most l... read more

In response to all the positive feedback on my Day of the Dead article, here are a few related activities you might pursue in the Guadalajara - Lake Chapala area during late October - early November. I... read more

Excerpt from a work in progress "Have Pets, Will Travel" Curiosity can kill a cat, but in my case, it got me a parakeet. When I first arrived in Mexico, everything fascinated me. In this particular c... read more

As you walk toward the main square from the bus terminal in Dolores Hidalgo, it's hard to imagine the impassioned frenzy that heated this Mexican village on September 15, 1810. Here, on the balcony of ... read more

The Aztecs called it tianquiztli, Nahuatl for the marketplace". Modern Mexicans refer to it as the tianguis, mercado sobre ruedas ("market on wheels" - a term used mostly in Mexico City), ... read more

Northern Mexico often gets short shrift in the tourist literature. Several guidebooks recommend one blast south as quickly as possible because there is "nothing but empty desert in Chihuahua, Coahuila or Nuevo Leon." Au contraire!

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Whenever I'm travelling in Mexico and I arrive in a new town, the first thing I want to see is la plaza de armas, the heart of almost every Mexican village, town or city. The way it is laid out, maintained and used tell me more in a few moments than I'm likely to learn in hours of exploring the town itself. I always favor hotels on or near the zócalo and, after dinner, I'm inclined to find a bench to just sit and watch the swirl of humanity in the warm evening light.

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What a thrill it would be to climb to the uppermost bell of this magnificent cathedral, I thought. read more

Situated about 300 miles north of Mexico City at an elevation of 6,200 feet, San Luis Potosi doesn't suffer the high summer temperatures and humidity of coastal areas. Although it's out of the Colonial Circle of cities such as San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Morelia, and Patzcuro, SLP, too, is rich with colonial architecture and history.

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Texas has the Alamo, New York has its Empire State Building, but only Michoacan has Patzcuaro. Every travel poster extolling Michoacan has a shot of fisherman wielding the famous butterfly net. Look closely, and you'll spy a tiny cone-shaped island, topped by a statue of Jose Maria Morelos, hand reaching to the sky. That's Patzcuaro's jewel: Janitzio. read more