A wee malarkey about Melaque, a beach town on the Mexican Pacific
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 ...
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The Road To El Dorado
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...
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Mexico, a Higher Vision: An Aerial Journey from Past to Present by Michael Calderwood
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.
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Aqui es México
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...
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Our Mexico hotel in Melaque
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 ...
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Mornings in Mexico by D. H. Lawrence
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.
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Easy living in Mazatlan, the Pearl of the Pacific
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.
read moreA dream in Baja California Sur
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...
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Mexican machismo and a Canadian tourist
“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...
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Almost an Island: Travels in Baja California by Bruce Berger
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.
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Colima: Langostino in the sierras
“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...
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Hike to Cuastecomate, Jalisco
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...
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A date with the shady lady on Acapulco
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...
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A day in Oaxaca = Two thousand years: Monte Alban and the Zimatlan Valley.
(Part 1: The America's Oldest Urban Center)
Having reached Monte Alban and entered the site, on your right as you stand at the corner of the main plaza is the North Platform, the site of th...
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Colimilla, Colima: The freshest seafood in Mexico
"When you return from your friends in Guadalajara, I will take you to the freshest, finest seafood in Colima!" promised Nestor, as we left the hotel that he managed in Melaque, Jalisco. Well, I do no...
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Xalapa, Veracruz: city of flowers
I’m puzzled as to why Xalapa hasn’t become more of a permanent residence for Americans and Canadians. Of the six cities my wife and I visited – Morelia, Cholula, Puebla, Xalapa, Vera Cruz and Queretero – Xalapa is for us the hands-down winner.
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Traveling in Mexico: Security of mind
How safe is tourist travel in Mexico? This question rates among the most controversial on any Internet forum about Mexico. Crime is a complex subject woven deep in any country's social fabric. The foll...
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Iguanas in Mexico fly at midnight
It was Nestor's gold capped smile that greeted us in the lobby of a small San Patricio Melaque hotel. At 2 a.m. his warm greeting enhanced his offer of the last available room on a busy holiday weekend...
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Mañana at the lighthouse: Bahia la Ventana in Baja California Sur
Mañana is a Mexican word that I struggle to understand. I continue to learn more about this word every time that I travel in Mexico. One of my earliest lessons was learned at the lighthouse that prote...
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Letting go in Mexico: Young teens on their own
Josh, fourteen, and Rose, twelve, were keen to discover Mexico in their own way in San Patricio/ Melaque. As they were six and eight when last they frolicked in the waves, they now felt mature and open...
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Train times in Mexico
"TRAIN TIMES" IN MEXICO
By "Blaise"
Introduction by Wendy Devlin
One of the great pleasures of traveling is the infinite variety of people that I meet at every turn in the road. The internet which i...
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Cenote daydreams, Yucatan, Mexico
Recollections of stunning ruins, fantastic snorkelling,
exquisite food and friendly people.
The Yucatan is unlike any other region of Mexico. It has unique terrain, climate, cuisine and peop...
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Huitussi, Sinaloa, Mexico
Have you ever tried to do a "good" deed and found that you had difficulty pulling it off?
It happened to me on my second road trip to Mexico. From the previous year's journey through the Baja, I knew ...
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San Patricio Melaque revisited
Five years ago, I visited the Mexican sea-side resort of San Patricio (Melaque), Jalisco. I arrived with my family and small trailer to join an amiable colony of recreation vehicle campers at the free ...
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Driving from Guadalajara to Laredo and back
My wife and I have driven from the Lakeside area to Laredo a few times on what always seemed to us, looking at the map, to be the shortest route, taking Highway 23 to Zacatecas and highway 54 from there to Saltillo, finishing the trip on Highway 85 via Monterrey. Starting early in the morning, it was easy to make Saltillo by early afternoon. Laredo was an easy hop the next morning. However, a couple of experiences on that route made us reconsider.
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