Mexico City. This fifth largest world city at 23 million, often conjures up fear among many people...of crime, of chaos, of congestion of crust-moving. (Yes, there are a lot of earthquakes, of which we even experienced several small tremors during our short time there). But, in fact, this dynamic city has morphed significantly into a true treasure, even since Greg…
Newsflash....You don't have to go to Egypt to see pyramids. In fact the Americas, starting with our neighbor to the south, actually contain more pyramid structures than the rest of the planet combined (more than 2000!) This is thanks to ancient civilizations like the Olmec, Maya, Aztec and Inca, which all built pyramids to house their deities, as well as…
Tucked into the mountains of central Mexico, Las Grutas Tolantongo is an aquamarine hot springs Garden of Eden, which is arguably one of the most dynamic and entertaining natural thermal experiences we’ve ever dipped our toes in. The cliffside travertine pools reminded us a lot of Pamukkale (Turkey), except even more extraordinary because you could plop yourself down into the…
From Bernal, we decided to take a day trip to another pueblo magico of, Tequisquiapan, which the locals have acceptably and graciously nicknamed “Tequis.” The town has a 300-year heritage as a colonial town and was populated mostly by indigenous people. Like Bernal, it’s predominantly a tourist town, bedecked with shades of pink, on the famous Vino & Queso route,…
In the year 2001, the Mexican tourism board did something brilliant. They began recognizing pueblos mágicos, which are small “magic towns” that truly offer something a little different, whether it’s fantastic architecture, cultural curiosities, stunning natural wonders or even just exceptional regional food. Now of the 132 Pueblo Magicos in Mexico, and the 19 at least one of us (Greg)…
We couldn't have loved our two weeks in Queretaro (pronounced Kay-ret-ta-row) more. It’s not the most vibrant and rousing city like Guanajuato, the most elegant city like San Miguel de Allende, nor does it have the gorgeous beach like Lo De Marcos. But what it does have, is a feeling of our former Portland, Oregon home and is just...very livable.…
Arrive early on a weekday (they open at 7) to La Gruta Spa to get this shot and avoid the crowds. When you’re staying in San Miguel de Allende, it’s easy to slip into something more comfortable by heading up to one of the area’s many thermal hot springs. We chose La Gruta Spa, famous for its man-made otherworldly cave…
After five weeks in Ciudad de Guanajuato we bussed onward to the expat hot spot of San Miguel de Allende. Although it was only a 90-minute journey what we found there was an entirely different flavor of Mexico. Because we’ve got ice cream (nieve) on our brains a lot these days, we’ll say it was like licking your way through…
