Pacific Coast

PE - Surf

Here’s where you’ll find the some of the best surfing beaches in the world.  And, the well-known, glamour beaches, like Acapulco, Puerto Escondido, Puerto Vallarta, Mazatlan and, of course, the surfer haven of Sayulita. The Pacific coast of Mexico is rugged terrain falling into beautiful, and sometimes dangerous, beaches.  If the ocean is your bag, [...]

Bat-building by committee!

Flying-bat 1

By Jorge Bergin, Feature writer It will come as no surprise to you that the dominant religion of the inhabitants of this little Mexican pueblo where I live is Catholicism.  I, however, maintain a slightly different view of the “Almighty.”  I lean toward the theory that, while he was creating things, he had help.  He chaired a [...]

Mazatlán

Mazatlan - symbolic picture

Mazatlán is the second largest city in the state of Sinaloa. It was founded in 1531 by the Spaniards and local Indian settlers.  Prior to the arrival of the Spaniards the area was occupied primary by native Indians attributed to the abundant fresh water from rivers, excellent fishing and wild game in the area. In the early [...]

Puerto Vallarta

puerto-vallarta church

Average Lifestyle Rating: B (range C- to A+) Founded in 1851 (or 1859, depending on your source), prior to the 1960s, Puerto Vallarta was a small coastal village with ties to the mining industry of the Sierra Madres. For decades, its land properties were tied up in legal disputes that required rulings by the Mexican [...]

Adios, Amigos! (The Road to Bali)

sayulita surfer

by Justin Henderson, ex-pat writer and surfer-extraordinaire When I moved here a few years ago with my family, the first friends we made came from two subcultures of the Sayulita community: Costa Verde International School (“CVIS”) parents, and surfers. There were a few characters who bridged the gap between those two worlds, as I did. [...]

Campeche

Campeche 5 (2)

Breaking the tide of the Gulf of Mexico, Campeche (Com pay CHAY) is one of the oldest colonial cities in Yucatán Peninsula, founded in 1540. In golden years, it thrived as the major port; trading timber, dyewood, silver and gold. An elegant city soon emerged behind the harbour, patterned with baroque style townhouses and ornamental [...]

Izamal

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Known as the “Yellow City,” Izamal may be  the oldest colonial settlement in Yucatán state, located only 45 minutes from the capital, Mérida. It was founded in early 16th century, atop the pre-existing Mayan city of Izamal. As was the strategy of Spanish conquest, temples and buildings were destroyed, and a colonial township constructed from [...]

Sian Ka’an (a glimpse into regional flora and fauna)

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In peaceful slumber, on the eastern coast of the Yucatán Peninsula, is the Sian Ka’an (see-an CAAN) Biosphere Reserve. Over 500,000 hectares of tropical forest, wetlands and coastal dunes, its remarkable biodiversity includes jaguar, howler monkey, and even the American flamingo. Its eastern region expands across the Caribbean Sea, where it shelters a section of [...]

The Old Man in the Sea

Sayulita

by Justin Henderson, ex-pat writer and surfer-extraordinaire In 2010, my first year in Sayulita, I made friends with a couple of other Costa Verde International School parents, and ended up surfing with them a lot. We surfed almost every day, it seemed, as the fall/winter/spring season of 2009-2010 offered up week after week of solid [...]

Uxmal

Uxmal 4

Almost 80 km south of Mérida, the present-day capital of the Yucatán state, is the ruin of Uxmal (OOSH mal), an influential Mayan metropolis of the late classic period (AD 600 to 900). In its heyday, Uxmal’s influence spread across northern Yucatán and included subjugating the neighboring settlements of Labná and Sayil. Today, it is [...]