In most places, a straight line is the shortest distance between two points, but not in many parts of Jalisco’s Primavera Forest, located at the western edge of Guadalajara, Mexico’s second-biggest city. In this woods, a person trying to take a shortcut to some spot only 100 meters away may suddenly find himself or herself […]
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Driving up the long rise into Mineral de Pozos, framed by the gray-brown humpbacked mountains once laced with veins of silver and gold, the visitor first sees the stone walls of the cemetery, the panteón, before he enters the town. It seems like a fitting introduction to a city that nearly died itself, sinking from a population […]
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Seven US presidents were born in log cabins. The most notable, of course, was Lincoln. During elections, all of them were quick to remind the public of their humble frontier origins with fulsome references to their roughhewn family cabins. However, the introduction of the log cabin to Mexico is actually a surprisingly recent phenomenon, driven […]
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Petr Myska probably didn’t think that the book he was writing would be threatened with extinction even before some of the species that were featured in his publication. Myska’s work was published in 2007 as A Field Guide to the Amphibians, Reptiles, Birds and Mammals of Western Mexico. In short form, it is known as “Viva Natura.” […]
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I know better, but can’t help it. Helmet off and strapped to my motorcycle, I’ve gotta feel the breeze as I whiz over the foothills and take the soft curves. The deep green waters of the Gulf of Mexico on my right mesmerizes as I head north. It’s too nice. I may not swim, but […]
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The producer of Medicine Man, starring Sean Connery, found Los Tuxtlas, as did Mel Gibson when he filmed Apocalypto. Being the home of the mysterious Olmec civilization, which predated the Mayans, makes it the perfect base for Mexico’s witches and medicine men who still produce curative powders and drinks from native plants based on ancient lore. Beyond historical sites, […]
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I stepped to the front of the restaurant, near the screen, and turned around. From the darkened room, the worst motorcycle gang in southern Mexico stared back. Then I noticed these rough looking, leather-clad and tattooed hombres were enjoying paletas — Mexico’s fresh fruit popsicles. What one can learn about a product as — well as oneself […]
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The glory days of hacienda living are today just an intriguing piece of Mexico’s history. For the newly-arrived Spanish nobles it was a time of great wealth and great expectations that began with their arrival in Mexico in 1524, until the slow demise of the grand estates following the Mexican Revolution of 1910. This land, […]
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David is more than a little disgruntled this morning. He limps out of the bathroom of our Mexico City hotel room and like a disgusted pet owner of a wet and smelly dog that has been too long in the rain. He holds out what he refers to as his “leg,” an unwieldy contraption that is actually […]
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For anyone planning on spending time in Mexico City, the Xochimilco Canals (pronounced: so-chee-MIL-ko) is an experience not to be missed. After a first glance in any guide book, the traveller would be forgiven for dismissing Xochimilco, expecting it to be a little garish perhaps, probably overrun with tourists; a place relegated to the bottom […]
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