Teotihuacan (pronounced teh-oh-tee-wah-KAHN or teh-oh-tee-WAH-kan — experts differ on which is correct) is an archaeological site some 50 kilometers north of downtown Mexico City but still in the Valle de Mexico (the bowl surrounded by mountains in which Mexico City is on the southwest side). To get here go to the northern bus station from […]
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As you drive the winding road into town, you catch glimpses of it perched like an eagle’s aerie on a ridge of the mountains that ring the valley. The small archaeological site, which overlooks Malinalco, is probably the best-preserved Aztec site in Mexico, but this charming town, set amid spectacular scenery has a lot more […]
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The small fishing town of Tecolutla straddles the Gulf of Mexico and the Rio Tecolutla in the northern part of Veracruz State. Apart from school vacations and the annual fishing tournament nothing much happens around here – which is why we like it. One has the feeling of being lost in another time and place […]
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From many streets away, we could hear the band playing the distinctive music. It was Carnival in Tepoztlán, and the Chinelos were dancing. We headed in the direction of the music to a small clearing outside the entrance to the church where children, dressed in spectacular costumes and wearing bearded masks, were jumping and hopping […]
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Chalma, about an hour and a half by car from Cuernavaca, is a rather grubby little town, which few foreigners visit. Yet on weekends and holy days, the place is packed with pilgrims, who come to worship the Dark Lord on the cross. Drawn by its magical spirit, they come by bus, car, bicycle and […]
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One of the prettiest towns in the state of Jalisco is Mazamitla, set high in the pine-clad mountains near the Michoacán border. Among its many attractions are some fine restaurants specializing in Mexican food, more of which later, as well as waterfalls and gardens. Mazamitla is definitely a very old town, dating back at least […]
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For an unusual winter break, how about a Mexican train ride? The Reader’s Digest called Mexico’s famous Copper Canyon railroad trip, “the most dramatic train ride in the western hemisphere”. Even that description fails to do justice to the spectacular scenery and sightseeing along the line. The railroad was originally built to give southern Texas […]
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Several ancient civilizations developed astonishingly accurate calendars. Even so, occasional adjustments were needed to bring the calendar back in line with solar events. Archaeologists studying the site of Xochicalco, just outside the city of Cuernavaca in central Mexico, believe that a major conference of astronomers was held there in the eighth century A.D. in order […]
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Several small towns in northern Mexico offer a welcome respite and interesting overnight stop for tourists bored by the long and monotonous stretches of desert driving on their way south. One such destination is Sombrerete, mid-way between the cities of Durango and Zacatecas. According to some, there was so much silver in this area that […]
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Here is San Miguel de Allende – the town, its people, its fiestas – celebrated through the eyes of thirty talented photographers, in a visually exciting book published by Dean and Luna Enterprises. “Foundations of Greatness”, the first of four sections, opens with a wonderfully atmospheric untitled black-and-white photo (Bill Begalke) showing the town center emerging from […]
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