Unlike Cozumel with its abundance of dive shops, Cancun is home to only ten. But, as I discovered, this city has much to offer a diver looking for a unique diving experience. Located twelve miles from Cozumel on the mainland, Cancun is home to some of the best diving found anywhere. While many people know […]
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Every winter, more than one hundred million monarch butterflies fly into Mexico from the U.S. and Canada. On arrival they congregate in a dozen localities high in the temperate pine and fir forests of the state of Michoacán. As a species, monarchs are native to North America, but they subsequently island-hopped their way around the […]
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An earlier column, “Microwaves (with a view)”, examined the scenic delights to be found by following the “Microondas” road signs that puzzle many first-time visitors. That column probably didn’t appeal to any passing historians, but another road-sign abbreviation, “EST”, could easily have been invented just for them. EST stands for Estación. In some contexts, this would […]
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The battle in question is the Battle of Calderon Bridge (Batalla del Puente de Calderon), fought just outside Guadalajara in January 1811 as part of Mexico’s fight for Independence. The decisive battle was waged on the morning of Thursday, January 17. Imagine the scene. One side, led by Ignacio Allende, had some eighty thousand ill-equipped […]
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Photographs by Bill Begalke Last year, Conde Nast Traveler listed the colonial city of San Miguel de Allende (SMA) as the 7th best travel destination in the entire world! In my book, it’s NUMBER 1. It’s also more than a travel destination. It’s where I live. SMA is a small city of about 90,000, located […]
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Start with an endless array of fabulous dishes from the greatest chefs in the Americas. Add a lavish serving of wines born in regions from Napa Valley to the fields of Chile. Sprinkle with warm, sun-splashed days, beckoning beaches and spirited nightlife. The result: The tempting event called the Cancun-Riviera Maya Wine & Food Festival, staged in […]
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Though most of the town is lovely, it’s the historic section, dating back to when the town was founded in 1536 and centered around the Rafael Paez Garden, that creates a feel of wandering back into time. Rectangles of queso fresco, cheese made that morning from the milk of cows grazing on the ranches that surround Jerez, […]
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The rugged Baja California peninsula and the Sea of Cortez, or Gulf of California, have been bewitching hardy visitors for decades. Some of the early fans were John Steinbeck and Earl Stanley Gardner, who took time out from Perry Mason to produce a magnificent photo book on the Sea of Cortez and its villages. Until […]
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“If you’ve ever traveled the mainland side of the Sea of Cortez, just south of the town of El Golfo de Santa Clara, you may have had lunch at a beach restaurant called “Johnny’s Place,” which is located on a long stretch of sand known as “Johnny’s Beach.” You might have wondered about the name; […]
Continue ReadingA surprising percentage of Mexico’s land area is protected in one form or another. A very large number of sites of archaeological or historical importance are managed by the National Institute of Anthropology and History, more commonly known by its acronym INAH. In theory, all buildings more than 100 years old have some degree of […]
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