The lovely complex has both deep and shallow pools. The park is perfect for family fun in Mexico. © Julia Taylor 2008

Family fun at Parque Aquatico Oaxtepec near Cuernavaca, Morelos

As soon as you walk in the gates of PAO (Parque Aquatico Oaxtepec) you know that everyone in your family is going to have fun. Right in front of the entrance is a sparkling pool with child-accessible water slides under towering palm trees surrounded by an impeccable lawn. All the paths are swept and, if […]

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Arches from the original Mexican hacienda's structures are exceptionally beautiful. © Julia Taylor 2008

Play to Your Heart’s Content at the Ex-Hacienda de Temixco in Morelos Part Two: A Long and Varied History

Julia Taylor Ex-haciendas have a feeling of elegance that you can experience only in Mexico. ( Part One: 32 Acres of Aqua Fun) As if the water park weren’t enough, the buildings of the hacienda still stand and have been converted into lovely gardens, providing an elegant area that can be rented for a mere 84,000 […]

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This ceramics shop in 3 de Mayo offers Mexican ceramics, porcelain and resin handcrafted figures. Clusters of tiny wicker baskets hang in the open doorway. © Julia Taylor, 2008

Handmade Mexican Art from 3 de Mayo, Morelos and getting it home in one piece

If you are planning a trip to the state of Morelos in central Mexico you’ll probably want to enjoy a fun day of shopping in the small colonia of 3 de Mayo. (Yes, they spell it with a real number “Three.”) Spending some of your time and money on any of the distinctive products for […]

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Patzcuaro: the soul of Michoacan’s Meseta Purepecha

Texas has the Alamo, New York has its Empire State Building, but only Michoacán has Pátzcuaro. Every travel poster extolling Michoacán 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 José María Morelos, hand reaching to the sky. That’s Pátzcuaro’s […]

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Ignacio Punzo Angel

Santa Clara del Cobre and Erongaricuaro: Mexican craft towns on Lake Patzcuaro

James Metcalf, Stephen and Maureen Rosenthal and Vasco de Quiroga have a lot in common. Each was a foreigner who came to Michoacan’s hills and dales surrounding Lake Patzcuaro, married art with commerce, infused heritages from around the world with local custom, emphasized training of artisans, and raised the utility of ordinary objects to art […]

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Where to stay in Santa Clara del Cobre and Erongaricuaro

We weren’t sure what to expect as we wheeled into Hacienda Mariposa’s entrance, greeted by German Shepherds. Of course, we’d visited the website, https://www.haciendamariposas.com, but we knew how deceptive some sites can be. Rounding the bend past the nursery, the property came into full view, and sure enough, the website was deceptively understated. What lay before […]

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Live Better South of the Border and Spas and Hot Springs of Mexico

LIVE BETTER SOUTH OF THE BORDER, by “Mexico” Mike Nelson. (USA: Roads Scholar Press, ISBN 1-889489-02-6, 2nd ed., 1997, $16.95) Available from Amazon Books: Paperback SPAS & HOT SPRINGS OF MEXICO, by “Mexico” Mike Nelson. (USA: Roads Scholar Press, ISBN 1-889489-26-3, 1997, $16.95) Available from Amazon Books: Paperback Visiting Mexico is one thing. Living here is another. Basking amid […]

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Mexico’s Monte de Piedad – more than household finance

The Monte de Piedad, or National Pawnshop, bears little resemblance to the usual perception of the tawdry pawnshop, bordering the bail bondsman’s office in a not-so-savory part of town, patronized by the luckless, amid the milieu of Sidney Lumet’s film “The Pawnbroker.” A respected government institution, it represents more than the mere lender of last […]

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