By Kristin Eckland This is the second in a series on chest pain and chest pain emergencies. You’ve developed jaw pain and profuse sweating, and a sense of dread. You know something is wrong. Now what?!! Well, that depends on where you are. If you are in a rural area, you may not have a […]
San Cristóbal de las Casas
by Candice Carboo-Ofulue, Travel Writer Sombreros and tequila may be what first comes to mind when we think of Mexico, but it’s the colorful colonial cities which are the foundation of contemporary Mexican culture and in the highland hub of San Cristóbal de las Casas, you’ll find its beating heart. Located in the southwestern state […]
Meet Kristin Eckland!
By Kristin Eckland I never meant to end up in Mexico! At least, it wasn’t in the grand scheme of things to do in my life. But sometimes things don’t follow our best laid plans and it all works out just fine. A couple of years ago, I had a steady practice in my native Virginia […]
Kristin Eckland, aka "Traveling NP"
Kristin Eckland is an acute care nurse practitioner in cardiothoracic surgery, originally from southern Virginia. After fielding a growing number of inquiries regarding medical tourism from her patients, and discovering an alarming lack of regulation and quality control for overseas medical travelers, she decided to embark on her own investigation regarding the quality of care provided by facilities, […]
Chest Pain Emergencies!
By Kristin Eckland, Nurse Practioner and feature medical writer; blogs on thoracic surgery at www.cirugiadetorax.org and general surgical information and travel at www.cartagenasurgery.wordpress.com This is the first in the series on chest pain emergencies. During this series we will talk about recognizing symptoms, where to go, what tests or treatments to expect, and what medications […]
Uxmal and Chocolate
By Ron Burdine We got a late start from Tulum for our getaway weekend to Uxmal. The estimated drive time was about 4.5 hours and we were making good time as we passed through Valladolid. As we started out of Valladolid, the sun had just set on an unseasonably cool day at the end of […]
Palenque
The ancient city of Palenque (pa-lenn-KAY) is like no place on earth. Clutching the foothills of the Sierra Madre de Chiapas, where the sultry tropical air gently reverberates sounds of the jungle like a slow-beating ceremonial drum, Palenque’s elegant structures have allured visitors from across the ages. One such figure was Count Jean-Frédérick Waldeck, an […]
Coba Ruins
Overgrown with tropical forest, the Coba ruins (pronounced coh-ba), the once great city that for a time, dominated ancient Mayan society in northern Yucatan is almost forgotten. Aside from a gentle stream of explorers flowing through each year the ancient city is one of the few visited ruins that has been left relatively untouched. Some, expecting a […]
Visit Campeche
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
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 […]