If Mexican cuisine ranks as one of the world’s great cuisines (it was the first cuisine to receive UNESCO culinary heritage status), it’s certainly aided in part by what goes on in the kitchens of Oaxaca. Oaxacan food: roasted, subtle, rich, layered. Moles, chocolate, tiny avocados that taste faintly like licorice, giant balls of quesillo cheese ribbons, … [Read more...]
Mexico Travel Articles, Photos and Panoramas
A Turtle Liberation: A Sad Story with a Happy Ending
This is a story about a baby turtle and how we helped to set him free. It's also a tale of working together and conservation gone right. … [Read more...]
Panorama of the Week: Mayan Ruins of Palenque, Mexico
Tucked into the folds of the jungle in Mexico's Chiapas region stands the mostly buried and only very partially exposed Mayan ruins of Palenque. If you haven't already experienced this place or you've come to feel ruin fatigue in this part of the world, consider a visit. For us, it's become one of our favorites. … [Read more...]
An Amazing Scene We Were Forbidden to Record: An Indigenous Easter Celebration in Chiapas
Have you ever experienced something exceptional you’d hoped to capture and share, but you were forbidden to photograph or record it? That was the Easter celebration in the village of San Juan Chamula in the Chiapas region of Mexico.This was no ordinary Catholic church, nor was this an Easter celebration like any we’d ever seen. … [Read more...]
Panorama of the Week: Mazunte Beach, Mexico’s Pacific Coast
When you imagine your ideal beach, what do you see?Ours might feature an open stretch of coast, no crowds and a few small establishments -- the type of place where if you wake up early you may even have the entire beach to yourself.And this is what we found in the laid back town of Mazunte along Mexico's Pacific Coast last week. Open the panorama to see for … [Read more...]
A Long Weekend on the Riviera Maya: 14 Memories
Mexico has ruins, Mexico has beaches. But the only place in the country where you'll find them both? That's the Riviera Maya.Our visit to Riviera Maya was short -- only five days – but it was chock full, not only of beaches and ruins, but of tasty local cuisine, lush jungle, psychedelic jellyfish, and even some afternoon karaoke. When I think back, here are … [Read more...]
Panorama of the Week: Natural Springs at Hierve el Agua – Oaxaca, Mexico
Just when you've been spending too much time on your laptop, you catch a ride down the road, up a series of switchbacks, and you land at a place like this: the natural springs at Hierve el Agua.A place that feels wide open with blue skies, ripples and cascades that all say "jump in."Then you do. … [Read more...]
When the Walls Danced: Living Through an Earthquake in Mexico
I remember earthquakes from when I lived in San Francisco. Fortunately, they were relatively infrequent and insignificant. Yesterday, I experienced a real one. … [Read more...]
A Yucatan Afternoon in Four Courses (or, How I Finally Found My Puerco Pibil)
This is the story of a perfect afternoon in Yucatan, including relaxing in the ruins of a hacienda, eating a traditional Yucatecan lunch, swimming in a lush collapsed sinkhole, and perhaps most importantly, satiating my six-year long curiosity about something called puerco pibil.“For lunch, everything is local,” Julia, our host, explained as she walked us about … [Read more...]
Panorama of the Week: Carnes Asadas at the Market – Oaxaca, Mexico
Carnes Asadas at the Mercado 20 de Noviembre in Oaxaca, Mexico. It's an institution!When you first enter the market, follow your nose towards the smoke and aroma of grilled meat and you'll find yourself in the Carnes Asadas (roasted meats) hall. Vegetarians beware: this is full-on meatatarian territory. … [Read more...]