"Wait," she protested. She bent over the crouched photographer busily framing the pleasant scene for posterity, his camera at the ready, shutter cocked. She spoke loudly into his ear. "Wait!" On the v... read more

They are known as the missions of the Sierra Gorda.

There are others he constructed, to be sure; the California missions are famous around the world. But the most splendid of all of Serra's missions, the ones in Mexico, are themselves a paradox.

These particularly marvelous monuments rest among the mountains in Queretaro state, all within a few minutes drive of each other. They are the crowning jewels of the pueblos of Jalpan, Concá, Tilaco, Landa, and Tancoyol.

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Mexico's Highest Volcano (Citlaltepetl) PART ONE: ORIGINS PART TWO: GETTING THERE PART THREE: PIEDRA GRANDE ... read more

IF YOU GO . . . TRANSPORTATION ARRANGEMENTS AND ACCOMMODATIONS REFERENCES Alongside the railroad trac... read more

It all began last Christmas when my husband and I had a delightful dinner out with his two sisters. One sister lives near us in Southern California and the other was visiting from Seattle. The conversa... read more

Today Mary and I set out to drive completely around Lake Chapala, Mexico’s biggest lake. It’s quite an undertaking, about a 180-mile drive. Before hitting the road, we went to “Sanborns” fo... read more

The Fiesta de Cristo Rey has become as famous as many of the Day of the Dead rites in other communities around Mexico. It's the peak of the flower growing season in Michoacán and the residents not only gather the flowers to decorate the streets but they also paint the streets with incredible and startling floral designs. read more

"It's this heat... this heat... that scorches every cell of my body that kills me about this place," the Texan says while sipping his drink. "I'm going to be a linguistic genius with that phrase ... read more

The most important visual image in the classic film, " Close Encounters of the Third Kind," was not the alien spaceship, but the imposing stone monolith chosen as the site of the encounter. In an att... read more

"My editor wanted me to write about life here in the region where we live. At that time, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato and Querétero ranked a page or two each in the guide books, day stops or overnighters on a tour of the ‘silver cities,’ the subject of an occasional tourist piece in a Sunday travel section, the ‘charming little town hidden away in the Mexican mountains.’ Don’t put a gloss on it, the editor said. Tell what life is really like, the good and the bad. Tell the truth a good fiction writer knows.” read more

Mexico City, Querétaro, San Miguel de Allende, Guanajuato, Morelia, Guadalajara and Puerto Vallarta Posted by Bill on Mayo 12, 2000 Some of you might find the following article interesting in whic... read more

The Saturday movie-matinee feature of pre-television history introduced my entire generation to the mystery and adventure of lost cities lurking in the dank depths of the world's remote jungles. Great ... read more

San Patricio/Melaque, on the Pacific Coast of Jalisco draws its name from Saint Patrick. Legend goes that Saint Patrick brought Christianity to Ireland and drove out all the snakes to boot. Locals say ... read more

From Stephenville, Texas to Baja California, Mexico March 7, - March 30, 2000 AD   Dodge Minivan 1994 Modified for a wheelchair ramp. Passengers: Luther Butler...........Backseat... read more

This is the first coffee-table book I ever reviewed and I have to say right off the bat that it's a winner. It is made up of some 200 photographs from all parts of Mexico - all of them taken from a high elevation, either an aircraft or mountaintop or, occasionally, a tall building. At first it sounds like a rather limited concept but in execution the "godlike" perspective works beautifully to highlight the uniqueness of this country. What this handsome volume delivers is a treasure trove of striking views of deserts, cities, villages, volcanoes, mountain ranges, desolate beaches, crowded beaches, jungles, individual buildings and other striking images. We look down on huge elaborate temple ruins in the midst of lush jungle or on abandoned haciendas in arid desert country, as well as on vast populated modern cities and luxury resorts. read more

Of all the most endearing and enduring charms that draw travelers back to Mexico, the effect that the country can have upon a sense of humor is the most magical. It arises out of an initial attitude o... read more

One hour north of Manzanillo, Colima, the Primero Plus gave one final jolt in front of Melaque’s bus station. From air-conditioned comfort, we stepped down into the afternoon warmth. By arriving mid ... read more

I should confess right off the bat that this one is out of print. Amazon.com doesn’t have any copies. However, I’m sure it’s still available in libraries or used bookstores. In any case, it’s worth looking for. It’s a collection of essays and travel pieces that resulted from Lawrence’s visits to Mexico and New Mexico in the early 1920s. Some wonderful descriptive writing is to be found here. read more

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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On a surf-pounded beach in Baja California Sur, I sat with my family of five, in a circle of campers around a crackling bonfire. The flickering flames cast each storyteller’s face in turn with a rudd... read more

“Watch out, Mom!” yelled Rose as the metal hulk of a city bus bore down upon the busy street corner. Hopping instantly back onto the curb, I choked on gasoline fumes while litter swirled in the bus... read more

Bruce Berger is an excellent guide to the Baja. He’s been going there since the mid '60s, having driven the length of the peninsula at least three times when that meant travelling more than 1,000 kilometers of single lane dirt road. One could drive for a day and meet only one other car. And you would never dream of leaving without taking plenty of food, water and gasoline plus whatever extras and spare parts you might need to fix auto problems along the way. read more

“Everything about Colima smacks of the sea or the sierra,” I said appreciatively, gazing from the balcony of travel-writer Susan Dearing’s condominium. The sun rose like a great gold marigold abo... read more

The curving expanse of the Bahia de Navidad greets a rocky headland at the west-end of Melaque. The tranquil cove is sheltered from the open sea behind a tier of craggy sea stacks. Around the rocky hea... read more

Valentine's Day brought me face-to-face with the shady 'lady' hidden in Acapulco. Not only did I meet the 'lady'; I was mistaken for her! Acapulco is one of Mexico's oldest coastal tourist destination... read more