MEXICO

INTRODUCTION

Mexico is popular with travelers from all over the world. They go there for reasons almost too numerous to mention: sunshine, blue seas teeming with fish and coral, crystal-white beaches, lofty mountains and volcanoes, jungles full of exotic wildlife, collectible folk art and the breathtaking remains of ancient cultures. And some go for a less lofty reason: Mexico can be cheap, though you may have to get out of the popular resort areas to enjoy big savings.

We’re compelled, of course, to remind would-be visitors of Mexico ‘s unevenness. It remains a land of baffling contradictions. Just down the

street from a five-star resort, families camp in ramshackle buildings without plumbing. Burros, with rough-hewn carts in tow, amble alongside express highways. Serious pollution problems confront the country, and a huge population strains its resources. There is widespread poverty and a population yearning for a better standard of living. But through it all, Mexico endures.

Languages: Spanish.
Predominant Religions: Christian (Roman Catholic).

Time Zone: 5-8 hours behind Greenwich Mean Time (-5 through -8 GMT). Daylight Saving Time is observed from the first Sunday in April until the last Sunday in October.

Voltage Requirements: 110 volts.
Telephone Codes: 52, country code.

Money & Costs

Currency: Mexican New Peso

Meals

Budget: US$2-8
Mid-range: US$8-20
High: US$20+

Lodging

Budget: US$10-20
Mid-range: US$20-70
High: US$70+

CLIMATE

The best time to visit Mexico is mid September-mid May, though some parts still have a fair amount of rain in October and November. (It rains most during the summer, but usually not often enough to spoil a vacation.)

Mexico City is chilly in the early morning and at night during the winter. Be prepared for higher humidity in coastal areas and at the inland archaeological sites in the Yucatan peninsula. Summer temperatures there can hover at the 100 F/38 C range with near 100% humidity. The average coastal day temperatures year-round are in the 70s-80s F/23-32 C, with nights in the 60s-70s F/15-27 C. Take a sweater and an umbrella any time of year.

ACTIVITIES

The locals’ general lack of interest in outdoor activities doesn’t stop growing numbers of intrepid gringos from trekking off into what Mexicans probably consider absurdly rough country. Trails around the Copper Canyon and Baja California are among the most popular and developed. Sport fishing is especially popular off the Pacific coast and in the Gulf of California . Snorkeling and diving is wonderful in Mexico , particularly at Caribbean coast resorts like Isla Mujeres , Playa del Carmen, Cozumel , Punta Allen and Banco Chinchorro . On the Pacific coast, try Puerto Vallarta , Zihuatanejo , Acapulco and Huatulco . Inland, there are many balnearios , bathing places with swimming pools, often centered on hot springs in picturesque surroundings. Surfing is popular on the Pacific coast. Some of the best surf spots are between San Jose del Cabo and Cabo San Lucas, Bahia de Matanchen , Ensenada , Mazatlan , Manzanillo and the ‘Mexican Pipeline’ at Puerto Escondido. Los Barriles is Baja California ‘s windsurfing capital, and further south Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo can be good too. Veracruz state is the epicenter of the country’s white-water rafting industry. A number of Mexico City-based organizations conduct hiking and mountain-climbing trips on Mexico ‘s volcanoes, including Iztaccihuatl , Pico de Orizaba , Nevado de Toluca and La Malinche.

Attractions

Mexico City

Mexico City is the world’s third-largest metropolis (only Tokyo and NYC are bigger). Mexico ‘s best and worst ingredients are all here: music and noise, brown air and green parks, colonial palaces and skyscrapers, world-renowned museums and ever-spreading slums.

The city’s historic centre is the Plaza de la Constitucion , or Zocalo . The plaza was paved in the 1520s by Hernan Cortes , using stones from the temples and palaces of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan he’d destroyed, and on which Mexico City was built. Its major sights fan out from here.

Acapulco

Maybe it’s the romantic history of spice ships and pirates; maybe it’s the golden beaches, tropical jungles and lagoons; or perhaps it’s the high-rise hotels, glittery nightlife and famous daredevil cliff-divers that have made Acapulco the first and foremost resort town in Mexico .

The beaches are the big drawcard at Acapulco , and most are content to limit their sightseeing to a view of the sun slowly traversing the blue yonder. For variety there are musuems , aquariums, a fun park, and the famous divers of La Quebrada , who plunge into the ocean swell from vertiginous heights.

Baja California

With Tijuana as its frontier post, Baja is the epitome of ‘south of the border’. The peninsula is renowned for its long coastline of fine white beaches, peaceful bays and imposing cliffs, sharply contrasting with the harsh and undeveloped interior. Baja has long been a hideout for revolutionaries, mercenaries, drinkers and gamblers, but these days visitors are attracted by more healthy pursuits like horse riding, surfing and whale-watching. Highlights include Loreto, with its Spanish mission history and offshore national park; the extraordinary pre-Columbian rock-art sites of Sierra de San Francisco, near San Ignacio; La Paz, the laid-back capital of Baja California Sur and known for its equally gorgeous beaches and sunsets; and the hiking paradise of Sierra de la Laguna, a botanical wonderland of coexisting cacti and pines, palms and aspens set beside granite rockpools .

Chihuahua- Pacific Railway

Mexico ‘s most scenic railway connects Los Mochis on the Pacific coast with Chihuahua in the country’s arid inland. The route takes 14 to 16 hours, and includes several stops in the fabled Barranca del Cobre ( Copper Canyon ) – actually a group of 20 canyons, and all up four times larger than the Grand Canyon . The 655km (406mi) train line passes through 86 tunnels and over 39 bridges as it cuts through the Sierra Tarahumara’s sheer canyons, hugging the sides of towering cliffs and offering dizzying glimpses of river beds far below.

The views are stunning, particularly between Creel and Loreto; they’re generally best on the right side of the carriage when heading inland (east) and on the left when heading to the coast (west). Stops along the way include the attractive colonial town of El Fuerte ; Divisadero , with excellent views down into the 2300m (7544ft) depths of Copper Canyon; Areponapuchi , teetering right on the canyon’s edge; Creel, a base for hikers and the regional centre for the local Tarahumara people; and the Mennonite hub of Cuauhtemoc.

Guadalajara

Many of the traditions considered characteristically ‘Mexican’ were created in Guadalajara , the country’s second-largest city. Guadalajara can be held responsible for the mixed blessings of mariachi music, tequila, the Mexican Hat Dance, broad-brimmed sombrero hats and the Mexican rodeo. Part of Guadalajara ‘s huge appeal is that it has many of the attractions of Mexico City – a vibrant culture, fine museums and galleries, handsome historic buildings, exciting nightlife and good places to stay and eat – but few of the capital’s problems. It’s a bright, modern, well- organised and unpolluted place, with enough attractions to please even the pickiest visitor. Highlights include the giant, twin-towered cathedral and the lovely plazas that surround it, the Instituto Cultural de Cabanas and its frescoes by Jose Clemente Orozco, the Plaza de los Mariachis if you’re a masochist, and the twin handicraft-filled suburbs of Tlaquepaque and Tonala .

Oaxaca

This Spanish-built city of narrow streets has a special atmosphere – at once relaxed and energetic, remote and cosmopolitan. Situated in the rugged southern state of the same name, Oaxaca has a large indigenous population, flourishing markets and some superb colonial architecture. Not least of Oaxaca ‘s attractions are the abundant local handicrafts and the conviviality of the local cafes. Centre of town is the shady, arcaded zocalo and the major landmark is the Iglesia de Santo Domingo , the most splendid of Oaxaca ‘s many churches. The city also has a clutch of worthy museums, exploring Oaxacan culture and the lives of famous former inhabitants such as Benito Juarez . There are many fascinating places within day-trip distance of the city, notably the Zapotec ruins at Monte Alban , Mitla , Yagul and Cuilapan .

Puebla

The Spanish colonial flavour is particularly piquant in the old city of Puebla , 125km (77mi) east of Mexico City . Despite the ravages of the 1999 earthquake, Puebla is home to more than 70 churches and a thousand other colonial buildings, many of them adorned with the city’s famous hand-painted tiles ( azulejos ). The town’s towering cathedral is considered one of the country’s best proportioned, blending severe Herreresque -Renaissance and early baroque styles. Local indigenous influences can be seen in the prolific stucco decoration of the Capilla del Rosario in the Templo de Santo Domingo – a sumptuous baroque proliferation of gilded plaster and carved stone with angels and cherubim popping out from behind every leaf. Puebla is also known for its regional cuisine, celebrated and imitated throughout Mexico ; try the mole poblano , spicy chocolate sauce usually served over turkey or chicken.

Not too far from Puebla are two other colonial gems. Some 85km (53mi) south of the capital is Cuernavaca , a retreat for Mexico City ‘s wealthy and fashionable citizens since colonial times, thanks to its spring-like climate. Much of the city’s elegance is hidden behind high walls and courtyards, but a number of residences have been transformed into galleries, hotels and restaurants. Those on a tight budget may find Cuernavaca a bit of a squeeze, but the little luxuries go down a treat with visitors who stay on to enroll in a Spanish-language course.

The old silver-mining town of Taxco , 180km (112mi) southwest of Mexico City, is one of the most picturesque and pleasant places in Mexico. The gorgeous colonial antique clings to a steep hillside, its maze of narrow cobbled streets spooling into leafy plazas lined with engagingly distressed buildings. The entire town has been declared a national historic monument.

Puerto Vallarta

Cobblestoned and whitewashed Puerto Vallarta is one of the central Pacific coast’s best-known beach resorts. Nestled between palm-covered mountains next to a river and an azure bay, the city boasts a setting as ridiculously picturesque as its white-sand beaches and red-tiled houses of white adobe.

The city has mutated from a sleepy seaside village into an international resort so quickly that it is fashionable to deride its spoilt charms, but it’s almost impossible to dislike its lively bars, romantic restaurants, mushrooming gallery scene and bustling marine life.

Patzcuaro

Patzcuaro boasts some particularly stately colonial architecture, but the town’s major claim to fame is its candlelit Day of the Dead celebrations on November 2. The local Purepechas ‘ celebrations have an especially magical quality and notably pre-Hispanic undertones. Graveyards are lit with candles, decorated with altars of marigolds and filled with traditional dancers and musicians.

Patzcuaro has a handsome core of lovely colonial buildings, churches and fine plazas, its streets climbing steeply to Our Lady of Good Health in the east of town. Plaza Vasco de Quiroga , the city’s beautifully proportioned main plaza, is one of the loveliest in Mexico , flanked by trees and arcaded 17th-century mansions. Several mansions are devoted to the display and sale of the region’s notable handicrafts, including copperware, straw goods, musical instruments, gold-leaf lacquer ware, hand-painted ceramics and lace. The town’s market is also a good place to pick up local crafts and textiles.

Patzcuaro is a five-hour bus trip west of Mexico City in the western central highlands. It lies 3.5km (2mi) from the southeast shore of neighbouring Lago de Patzcuaro , which is ringed by traditional artisans’ villages and has four island communities. Isla Janitzio in particular comes alive (so to speak) with its famous Dia de los Muertos parade of decorated canoes.

San Cristobal de las Casas

This handsome colonial town in the pine-clad Valle de Jovel is surrounded by the classic Mayan villages of the Chiapas highlands. It’s a delightful place and a magnet for travellers who want to learn a little Spanish, absorb the bohemian atmosphere and enjoy the lively bar and music scene. Since 1994 San Cristobal has been caught up in the Zapatista struggles. Regional crafts play a large part in the town’s tourism, and dolls depicting the black balaclava’d Zapatista leader Subcomandante Marcos are as typical a souvenir here as the region’s renowned Tzotzil textiles.

San Cristobal has a fine plaza and a swag of churches, the most beautiful of which is Santo Domingo with its pink baroque facade and golden interior. Horse riding is popular in the surrounding hills, and other pursuits include discovering traditional Maya medicine, stocking up at the local weavers’ cooperative, sampling delicious organic coffee at the Coopcafe , visiting the nearby indigenous villages and drinking in the amazingly clear highland air.

Teotihuacan

Some of Mexico ‘s best attractions are only a day trip from Mexico City . If there is any ‘must see’ in this region it has to be Teotihuacan, just 50km (31mi) northeast of the capital. Teotihuacan was Mexico ‘s biggest ancient city and the capital of the country’s largest pre-Hispanic empire, boasting 200,000 inhabitants at its peak in the 6th century. If the hawkers don’t get the better of you, a day here can be a mind-blowing experience.

The site’s main drag is the famous Avenue of the Dead, a monumental 2km (1.2mi) thoroughfare lined with the former palaces of Teotihuacan’s elite. To its south is the pyramid-bedecked La Ciudadela , believed to have been the residence of the city’s supreme ruler. Enclosed within the citadel’s walls is the Quetzalcoatl Temple , with its striking serpent carvings. Heading north, the avenue passes the world’s third-largest pyramid: the awe-inspiring, 70m (230ft), 248-stepped Pyramid of the Sun. The pyramid was originally painted a suitably sun-drenched, bloody red. The avenue terminates at the Pyramid of the Moon, flanked by the 12 temple platforms of the Plaza de la Luna. Nearby are the beautifully frescoed Palace of the Quetzal Butterfly, the Jaguar Palace and the Temple of the Plumed Conch Shells. Teotihuacan’s most famous mural, the Paradise of Tlaloc , is in the Tepantitla Palace , a priest’s residence northeast of the Pyramid of the Sun. The site has a museum to help make sense of it all; bring a hat, water and your walking shoes.

Yucatan Peninsula

Cross the Rio Usumacinta into Yucatan , and you enter the realm of the Maya. Heirs to a glorious and often violent history, the Maya live today where their ancestors lived a millennium ago. Yucatan has surprising diversity: archaeological sites galore, colonial cities, tropical forests, peerless snorkelling , seaside resorts, quiet coastlines and raucous nightlife. The region’s famous Mayan sites are particularly impressive at Uxmal and Chichen Itza , near the Yucatan state capital, the attractive colonial city of Merida (home of the hammock). The coastal state of Quintana Roo attracts plane-loads of sun-loving tourists to its islands and white-sand Caribbean beaches, particularly Cozumel , Playa del Carmen and, party central, Cancun . The stunning cliff-top ruins at Tulum , overlooking a palm-fringed beach and turquoise sea, attract their fair share of visitors too.

Alamos

This tranquil little town in the foothills of the Sierra Madre Occidental has been declared a national historic monument – for very good reasons. Back in the 18th century Alamos was a silver boom town of gorgeous mansions and haciendas, but by the 1920s it had declined into a forgotten backwater. An injection of expat norteamericano funds gave the dilapidated ghost town a much-needed facelift, and today Alamos ‘ Spanish colonial buildings have been beautifully restored. Much of the architecture has a Moorish influence, thanks to the Andalusian artisans who originally built the city.

Alamos ‘ narrow cobblestone streets are lined with colonial mansions, concealing courtyards lush with bougainvillea. You can get to see inside several of these old mansions too, as they’ve been converted into hotels and restaurants. The whole town has a distinctly peaceful, timeless feel. Sunday evenings in particular are reserved for that traditional pastime of strolling and people-watching on the Plaza de Armas .

Alamos is on the border of two very different ecosystems of desert and jungle. Hordes of nature-lovers swoop on the place because of its 450 species of birds and animals (including some endangered and endemic species), and more than 1000 species of plants. Horse riding, hiking, swimming and dining in opulent colonial mansions are also on the Alamos menu. The obvious souvenir to buy while in town is a bag of brincadores , or Mexican jumping beans, as Alamos is the jumping bean capital of the world. Actually they’re seed pods, not beans, and they jump because they’re inhabited by moth larvae.

Dining

Mexican cuisine is much more than just tacos and burritos. Depending on the region, it can share similarities with Caribbean , Spanish and even East-Indian cooking. In the coastal states – Yucatan , Campeche and Veracruz , for example – the emphasis is on fresh seafood (shrimp, crab, squid, octopus, redfish, snapper). The Yucatan also boasts wonderful sopa de lima (soup with tortilla strips, chicken and limes) and pollo pibil (chicken marinated in sour orange juice and cooked in a pit in banana leaves).

The state of Michoacan is known for the tart-piquant flavors of such dishes as salpicon de res (shredded beef cooked with pickled serranos , cilantro and tomatoes), while Oaxaca boasts a number of different moles (sauces made with unusual combinations of ingredients such as chocolate, raisins, peanuts and pumpkin seeds).

Elsewhere, poultry, beef and pork dishes are featured. In Colima , try tatemado (pork baked in a clay pot over an open fire); in Tampico , try tampiquena (fillet of beef, usually with refried beans, fried tortilla chips and guacamole on the side). The basic bolillos (crispy bread rolls) and tortillas are magnificent because they’re usually prepared fresh daily.

Be sure to try chiles rellenos ( poblano peppers stuffed with cheese or meat, then fried in egg batter); crepas de huitlacochle (corn fungus); papadzules (a dish of tortillas in pumpkin-seed sauce – its antecedents go all the way back to the Mayan Age); chicharrones (fried pork skin); and the different kinds of tamales (wrapped in corn husks, banana leaves or even Swiss chard).

Among the ingredients you’ll find in Mexican markets are recado (a reddish paste flavored with achiote seed and bitter oranges), epazote (the herb that gives black beans their distinctive flavor and de-gases them), avocados, tomates verdes (green tomatoes), plantains (a variety of banana that’s not sweet and is always cooked before eating), limes, nopalitos (cactus) and, of course, the many, many varieties of chili, ranging from the mild poblano to the smoky chipotle to the hotter-than-Hades habanero.

Shopping

The operative law for shopping in Mexico is caveat emptor – let the buyer beware. With that in mind, shop for almost anything you fancy. Mexico has everything from stuffed frogs (in various poses and costumes) to high-quality silver work. Handicrafts, clothing and folk art vary regionally in style: Pottery, woven fabrics, hammocks and baskets are often good buys. Folk art from Oaxaca and Michoacan remains our favorite. Don’t ignore the highly popular hand-painted wooden animal figures, called alebrijes . The motifs in their designs usually represent a mix of myths.

Copper, onyx, straw, lacquer and leather goods are also available, but pay close attention to quality if quality is what you want. High-grade silver is stamped “.925” (by law) – but learn how to double-check for plated silver anyway. Learn the difference between synthetic colors (bright) and natural colors (more subtle) when buying wool blankets. It’s fun to shop for locally made toys, but safety regulations are not particularly strict – make sure there are no loose pieces or sharp edges if the toys are intended as gifts for children. Be on the lookout for good buys on musical instruments (particularly stringed or rhythm instruments).

Use caution if buying designer-name items at very low prices – some are made without the permission of the manufacturer. If that’s the case, the items may be confiscated by customs agents when you return home. Turtle, tortoise, alligator and jaguar products will also be confiscated upon arrival in many countries. Products containing quetzal bird feathers or tortoise shells or any derivative from turtles, such as oil, are illegal in Mexico as is any type of archeological artifact. Penalties can include stiff jail terms.

Liquor is cheap, but be aware of your country’s duty restrictions before you buy.

Note : Green or brown glaze on pottery often contains lead – don’t use any of these ceramics for storing food or drink.

Shopping Hours: Generally Monday-Saturday 9 am-8 pm . Many smaller stores close for a few hours in the afternoon.

Banking Hours: Generally Monday-Friday 9 am-1:30 pm . Some branches in larger cities may be open on Saturday and until 5 pm during the week.

Travel Tips

If you are a woman, expect to encounter quite a bit of machismo. It can be extremely frustrating, but try to minimize it by ignoring the perpetrator (any attention at all may be misinterpreted). Men will also insist on such old-fashioned behavior as opening doors, paying the bill at a restaurant and walking on the outside, near the curb.

Don’t wear T-shirts and shorts in the big cities unless you want to advertise that you are a foreigner.