Close to home with minimal time change, Mexico and Central America are our neighbours. Beaches, colonial cities, varied geography, interesting history, Mayan and other indigenous ruins, sun & warmth, tasty cuisine, colourful crafts, friendly people ... Central America and Mexico tick a lot of travel boxes! Whether it is a week at the beach or a month of immersion in the culture, this part of the world is a short few hours away and packs a lot of travel punch.

We’ve been to Mexico 16 times. Belize, Guatemala, Cuba, Grand & Little Cayman and Nicaragua in separate trips. We’ve culture cruised in Mexico City and Havana, kayaked in the Sea of Cortez, walked hundreds of beaches, scuba dived dozens of colourful reefs, celebrated birthdays, visited friends, shot tequila, scarfed tacos, lugged home treasures, and always have a next trip, usually to Puerto Vallarta, planned.

This part of the world is a home away from home. PV is a favorite. We’ve been a dozen times. We often stop there for a few days or a week at the beach at the end of a trip to another part of Central America. We will go this year for my 65th birthday. YAY!!

Articles

Find More

Playa del Carmen

Beverly January 3, 2025

We manage to get ourselves organized and out of Guatemala City. A large bag of purchases we don’t want to carry to Cancun is stashed at the San Carlos Hotel. We book a return flight from Cancun to Guatemala City with Volaris and three nights at the beginning of January back at the San Carlos. Kudos to West Jet for …

Semuc Champey

Beverly December 19, 2024

We are in Lanquin, a small town in a deep valley in the mountains of central Guatemala. It is lushly green and full of blooms. Also muddy roads, straw & tin roofed houses, teeny tiendas (all selling the same bags of tortilla chips, coca cola, toilet paper, rice, canned goods and bananas) and skinny dogs. The town itself is unspectacular …

Chichicastenango

Beverly December 16, 2024

We arrive in Chichicastenango after a short but tortuous 2 hour drive, during which I sleep most of the way. I wake up to what appears to be a movie set; it simply cannot be real. The narrow, hilly, cobbled streets, the traditionally clad people, the two white-as-white-can-be churches, the dark stalls filled with produce, textiles, ceramics. Wood and incense …

Quetzaltenango

Beverly December 13, 2024

Our next destination, Quetzaltenango, Xela for short, is a 3 hour drive through more volcanos, cultivated fields and small towns. It’s the second largest city in Guatemala, but still relatively small with about 160,00 inhabitants. I am surprised to learn that Guatemala is the most populous country in Central America. The places we’ve been are not very large and even …

Santiago de Atitlan

Beverly December 9, 2024

Santiago de Atitlan, our next destination, is a three hour drive away. The road winds, literally, through lush countryside, little towns, and numerous pineapple, sugarcane, coconut and avocado fincas (large farming estates). My concern about other places paling in comparison to Antigua was, in fact, prophetic. Situated on the southeastern shore of Lago de Atitlan and surrounded by volcanoes, Santiago …

Antigua, Guatemala

Beverly December 3, 2024

It’s been five years since we’ve travelled outside of Canada. Several moves, a major renovation, a pandemic, a dissected aorta, an aging and ailing cat all conspire to keep us close to home. So when Brent & Heather suggest Christmas in Playa del Carmen we are spurred to add a month in Guatemala. As a bonus the trip is a …

Playa del Carmen

Beverly March 15, 2019

Travel days always feel like a bit of a waste of time, but on long trips in particular they are an unavoidable necessity. Often spent in airport departure lounges or, worse, bus depots or train stations, they are a time of limbo, mostly spent waiting and traveling. Hurry up and wait. We luck out on our last day in Panama, …

El Valle

Beverly March 9, 2019

A new day, a new adventure. We leave Santa Fe a day early and have booked Cabanas Merys on-line for the extra night in El Valle. We arrive at noon after an uneventful 4 hr drive east on the Pan-American carretera. We assume, partly because of the price, that the hotel will be well-signed and easy to find, but it’s …

Santa Fe

Beverly March 5, 2019

We leave Boca Chica Wednesday morning and drive mostly along the Carreterra Pan-Americana, the highway that stretches all the way from Alaska to the southern tip of South America, except for a brief interruption in eastern Panama called the Darien Gap. Darien province is one of the few truly wild places left on the planet and the road has yet …

Boca Chica

Beverly February 27, 2019

So much of our travel these days is pre-planned. We book flights, figure out a route, reserve a rental car, book hotels, buy a guidebook, read Trip Advisor. And yet, some of the best travel moments happen spontaneously and often serendipitously. Today, for example. We leave Boquete and quickly miss our exit from the 4-lane divided carretera. We could keep …

Boquete

Beverly February 22, 2019

A water taxi to the mainland, a shuttle bus to the airport at Changuinola to pick up a rental car, a drive to Boquete. Just under 250 kms, but it takes 7 hrs. The water taxi is a super fast speed boat. The shuttle bus takes half an hour. The rest of the trip is on a tortuous, hilly, shoulder-less …

Bocas del Toro

Beverly February 17, 2019

It’s 600 kms by land and 40 minutes via Air Panama, from Panama City to Bocas del Toro, but the cultural distance is immeasurable. From sky scrapers to crashing waves, broken concrete to sandy sea shores, terrazas to beach bars. From the urban jungle to the real jungle. What a contrast! The day starts with a panicky jolt when I …

Panama City

Beverly February 12, 2019

The flight to Panama City routes through Los Angeles, takes half a day and all night, and even with our business class seats, it is tiring. Are we getting too old for this kind of ordeal? Maybe, but a deep-seated curiosity about the world drives our appetite for travel. Panama is country #55 for me, more or less the same …

Compleanos in PV

Beverly December 2, 2018

“If you go alone, you go fast, but if you go together, you go far”. This African proverb so aptly applies to my first 65 years. I’ve been blessed with friends all along the way and many were able to join me for a week of bacchanalian fun in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico. Donna, the original, la loca, who I first …

Sun, Sand, Surf & Scuba … and a Few Sharks

Beverly February 9, 2017

George Town, Cayman Islands We wrap up our time in Cuba with two days at a Varadero beach all-inclusive. The beach is truly spectacular. The Varadero Blau resort is fine, but kind of over-priced given the quality of the rooms, the food and, especially, the cocktails and wine. The first and only daiquiri I try (but cannot drink) is an …

Frozen in the Fifties

Beverly February 7, 2017

La Habana, Cuba Havana is an intriguing mix of sensual and lively, Spanish colonial and Russian soviet, Caribbean & African (slave descendants), culturally rich but materially bereft. It is unlike anywhere we have ever travelled. It is a city of over two million with a huge colonial centre. At one time it was the third largest city in the new …

chillin’ in PV

Beverly March 8, 2016

Puerto Vallarta, Mexico A taxi strike, protesting Uber coming to Guadalajara, throws a bit of a wrench into our Tuesday morning departure for Puerto Vallarta. The bus station is a good half hour drive from our hotel and we find out about the strike 2 hours before our bus leaves. Not a lot of time to work around the transportation …

Ole!

Beverly March 4, 2016

Guadalajara, Mexico A very tiny plane to Cancun, then a flight to Mexico city, a short lay-over there and another short flight to Guadalajara makes for a long day and we are glad to arrive in time for dinner with friends Donna and Ron. The second largest city in Mexico, Guadalajara is a cultural and educational centre. We lose count …

Aquatic Safari

Beverly February 29, 2016

Cozumel, Mexico I recover from the ferry ride to Cozumel mostly by collapsing on a lounge bed on the beach, overdosed on Gravol (not that it did much good!), mojito in hand, as the sky clears and the sun comes out. Yay! Cozumel could not be any more different than Playa del Carmen. Instead of designer shops, there are local …

Mayan Riviera

Beverly February 25, 2016

Playa del Carmen, Mexico Yes, we are off to Mexico again! I didn’t even bother to blog about the 5 day trip to Puerto Vallarta earlier in February! This time we are off to the Mayan Riviera, then Guadalajara and finally PV again. A stop in Edmonton on our way to Cancun early Thursday morning gives a better representation of …

Feliz Anos!

Beverly December 30, 2015

Colima, Mexico Cloudy skies our last morning in Manzanillo produce a gorgeous sunrise. An auspicious start to the day! We drive to Colima, where we spend the remaining days of this junket at the Hotel Ceballos, an atmospheric hotel in the “zona historica”. Ornate cathedrals, parks full of lush greenery and colourful blooms, and shaded, arched porticoes grace this part …

Carless in Manzanillo

Beverly December 26, 2015

Manzanillo, Mexico Saturday we walk in sweltering heat for over an hour to be at the Thrifty car rental office a 1 PM sharp to pick up the rental car we had reserved. When we reserved it on Thursday, the friendly girl who made the reservation emphasized the need to show up at 1, not 2 as we had originally …

Feliz Navidad

Beverly December 25, 2015

Manzanillo, Mexico As Craig makes his next Scrabble move, I sit on the balcony of our hotel room, overlooking Manzanillo Bay, with a full moon coming up over the eastern horizon, looking very orange as the sun is just setting in the west. Soon we will wander down and have a tasty feast of quesadillas and guacamole, washed down with …

Black Rock, Belize

Beverly November 3, 2014

We fly from San Pedro to San Ignacio, a town on the western border of Belize, close to Guatemala. Our resort, Black Rock, is off the grid, on a river, in the jungle. We are greeted by greenery, tropical flowers and colourful toucans. Being November, it is the rainy season and we are in the rain forest. The wettest day …

San Pedro, Belize

Beverly August 3, 2014

Isla San Pedro sits off the north coast of Belize, very close to southern Mexico. It is reputed to be the island that Madonna sings about in her song “La Isla Bonita”. And it is bonita indeed. Very pretty. We learn to scuba dive here. Chuck and Robbie’s dive shop is within walking distance of our hotel, the Casa Cayes, …

Baja

Beverly February 1, 2014

When I get an email from Donna, forwarding an invitation from Lars and Marianne, about a kayaking trip in the Sea of Cortez, I jump at the opportunity. And sign on immediately. Black Feather tours has a trip in February. A one week excursion in kayaks, paddling around Isla Espiritu Santo. Island of the Holy Spirit. The scenery alone is …

Mexico 2013

Beverly November 25, 2013

I’m turning 60. As hard as this is for me to believe, math does not lie. I was born in 1953 and the current year is 2013. It’s not been the best year on record. More than a year. Beginning with Craig’s stroke in Budapest in July 2012, followed by a ski fall the next winter, and then the Boston …

Puerto Vallarta 2012

Beverly November 25, 2012

November 2012. We’ve survived Craig’s Budapest adventure and my family’s drama over Paris. I am turning 59 at the end of the month. My friend Donna suggests a trip to Puerto Vallarta. Gets a suite at the Sheraton. Invites Seonag. Off we go for a girls’ week. Britta is there as well. She and her buddy, who has a condo …

Puerto Penasco 2011

Beverly November 25, 2011

November 2011. Donna’s neighbour Vivian is driving her van down to Puerto Penasco, Mexico. On the northern shore of the Sea of Cortez or, as some call it, the Gulf of California. The beach for Arizona. A short drive south west from Phoenix, across a pokey border crossing, through Organ Pipe National Park. Into the Sonoran desert. Nowhere have I …

Mexico Feb 2011

Beverly February 25, 2011

February 2011 is, as usual, overbooked. We are in the midst of listing our half duplex on E 14th for sale in order to provide funds for the E 2nd Ave project. An interim move to E 19th is tempting. We give the main floor tenant notice so we can move in, list the duplex for sale and give the …

Latin America 2009

Beverly February 22, 2009

It is February 2009 and I’ve been retired a month. Time for a trip!! Wanting to visit Steve & Lisa at their beach house at Ponoloya, Nicaragua, we fly to Managua, take a bus to Leon and cajole a taxi driver to take us to Ponoloya. He doesn’t want to go because the road is so very bad and he …

Mexico 2006

Beverly April 25, 2006

April 2006. Puerto Vallarta. Costa del Sol Sur. A big group: Donna, Ron, Jeanne, Don, Seonag, Debra, Sharon, Ray, Bruce, Syl, Craig & I. An early celebration of Craig’s 50th. Jeanne’s too. This time Seonag is the first to arrive and has been drinking, starting with the greeting margarita, and then a few more to keep the first one company. …

Mexico 2003

Beverly November 25, 2003

It is 2003. I’m turning 50 soon. We haven’t had a major trip since Spain, two years ago. In between my dad died. The twin towers came down. Work finishing our cottage goes on and on. We build a suite in the top floor of E 19th. Buy a development property in our ‘hood, down the hill on E 14th. …

Mexico 1993

Beverly November 25, 1993

November 1993. I am turning 40. Wow! In the middle of a masters degree at UBC. Living still at 1235 E 20th Ave. Our first house. Purchased in 1988. A few renovations. Two cats in the yard. Micheal and Ann-Marie in the basement suite. A month long trip to the Yucatan to celebrate my milestone birthday. Cancun. Merida, Chichen Itza, …

Central America/Mexico

Articles