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My sister and I drove down the 1600 km long Baja peninsula from LA to the tip at Cabo San Lucas. Its a wild and desolate place of mountains, rocky deserts and cactuses.  Mexico (6/98).

If you visit Baja in mid-summer desert heat of June, you will have it all to yourself, if  you can handle the plus 100 F heat and searing sun.  Baja California (6/98).

Sea kayaking is definitely the best thing to do in the magnificent Sea of Cortez. The summer waters in this huge protected gulf is even warmer than in the tropics of SE Asia. There were loads of fish, seals and manta rays to keep us company and not a single other tourist in sight.  Isla Blanca in Bahia Conception off the coast of Mulege, Baja Mexico (6/98).

Mexico is a country rushing towards modernization and first-world status but somehow still maintains a lot of old-world charm. Elaborate Aztec rituals at the Zocalo, Mexico City's main square (11/02).

I never knew how many varieties of chillies there were until I visited a Mexican market.

Chulepa is a cross between a taco and a pizza. This type of "street food" can't be found in proper sit-down restaurants. Oaxaca (11/02).

Mexico City used to be a huge lake.  It was slowly drained throughout the past few centuries to make way for a city of now over 20 million. The canals and waterways of Xochimilco are the only remnants of the city's past natural state. Mexico City (11/02).

It can really add to the experience if you know a local, especially in a huge impersonal city of 20 million people. Raul and Diana were fantastic hosts and great company for our visit to Mexico City.  Pyramid of the Sun, Teotihuacan (11/02).

The Spanish conquistadors smashed to pieces almost all trace of the magnificent ancient empires of Central America. Thankfully, they left Teotihuacan alone for us to enjoy today. The pyramids here have a base area as large as the famous ones in Egypt.

Outside of Mexico's well-known developed beach enclaves, tourism in the country consist almost solely of local Mexicans. The middle-class are avid tourists inside within their own country. Also, the weak Peso makes foreign travel too expensive for most.

The history of Mexico as told by famous muralist Diego Rivera. The above mural depicts the ancient civilizations before the arrival of the Spanish. Palacio National, Mexico City (11/02).

The Spanish beat the Aztecs with their superior weaponry............

................then enslaved the defeated Indians.

Puerto Escondido is home to the famous "Mexican Pipeline" surf-break. All this is of no use to a shitty surfer like myself.  Messing about the beach break at La Punta, Puerto Escondido (11/02).

Crocodile and bird sightseeing in the freshwater mangrove swamps of Playa Ventanilla. Mazunte (11/02).

Turtle sanctuary in Mazunte (11/02).

The young . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . and the old.    Oaxaca (11/02).

Oaxaca is easily the prettiest and best preserved old colonial city I have seen in Central America. Unlike some others, which are mostly tourist towns, Oaxaca is a lively place of 500,000 people and serves as the provincial capital and commercial center of Oaxaca State. (11/02).

Ruins at Mitla date back to 200 AD. Oaxaca's dry climate has preserved the ancient Zapotec ruins remarkably well. 

Dusk on the city streets of Oaxaca (11/02).

Central courtyard, a common feature in colonial architecture. 

Street food (literally) in Oaxaca's Zocalo.

Early morning.  City streets of Oaxaca (11/02).

Convent at Cuilapan, a small village in Oaxaca (11/02).

Lots of fascinating architecture in Oaxaca's streets (11/02).

Vegetarians will have it tough going in Mexico. With the exception of beans and guacamole, there's hardly any vegetables in most Mexican dishes. After 3 weeks here, I was truly taco'ed out !

Oaxaca's most famous landmark, Santa Domingo church. There's a 400 year old church in every other block in Oaxaca City.

Silver, crafted the old-fashion way. Taxco (11/02).

Zapotec woman in Oaxaca still dress in traditional ways.  Tlocolula (11/02).

Mexico advertises its sand and sun to western tourists and as a result, 90% of all tourists to Mexico pour into a handful of famous beach resorts such as Cancun, Acapulco etc.  That's a real pity since outside of these "Las Vegas on the beach" places, you would discover a land with a rich history, fantastic cultural sights and beautiful landscapes.  Hiking in the remote Sierra Madre mountains of Oaxaca near Benito Juarez, Mexico (11/02).

A Monarch Butterfly. El Rosario Sanctuary (11/02).

A few hundred Monarch's keeping close to the ground for warmth.

Every winter, 500 million Monarch Butterflies migrate from all over North America to just 5 forests in Central Mexico. When the morning sun warms the trees, they all wake up and fill the entire airspace. Its the single most incredible wildlife/animal spectacle I have ever seen.

A 200m climb to the top of a hill gives a panoramic view of Taxco. As with all Mexican towns, the center always has a large cathedral. Taxco (11/02).

Taxco's narrow windy streets look more like a Tuscan town than Mexican.

For me, traveling with no company is better than bad company but traveling with your best friends is the most fun of all. For the entire 3 week trip, we just laughed, told jokes, ate, took way too many pictures and got to see one of the most beautiful and fascinating  parts of Latin America.  From the left : Lee Chai, May and Dave.   Viewpoint overlooking Taxco (11/02).

Date: Thu Nov 21, 2000

Date: Mon, 2 Dec 2002

Here is my best of : 

1) Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary – can you believe it...Me, who is usually Mister I-don’t-really-care-much-about-animals, rates a mountain pine forest with butterflies as the number one highlight ??? There’s lots of places in the world to see huge mountains, pristine beaches or beautiful towns, but to have millions and millions of orange/black/white butterflies filling up the entire airspace around you is an unforgettable sight. It is by far the most amazing wildlife/animal spectacle I have seen, easily surpassing others such as Komodo dragons in Indonesia or grizzlies in Alaska (Stacey LJ and other animal lovers....better put this on your list). 

As a background, the Monarch butterfly spends most of the year in northern USA and southern Canada but in the winter months, they migrate to just 5 pine forests in Central Mexico. 500 million of them cluster around trees so thick that you can’t see green anymore. When the morning sun hits the trees, they wake up and fly about. The whole forest hums with the sounds of the millions of wing-flaps. Its like going to the northern BC forest in July except that every mosquito is a beautiful big butterfly who is not afraid to land on your head (if you stay still and keep quiet). 

2) View from the Torre LatinoAmerica skyscraper of the world’s largest and most sprawling metropolis. From the observation deck on top (The Torre is a 42 storey building in the middle of Mexico City), the city lights for our sunset/night-time view went as far the the eye could see to the horizon. That’s approx. 25 million people (almost the whole of Canada) from one roof-top view....what a sight !!! 

3) Honorable mentions go to Oaxaca City, possibly the nicest colonial Latin American town I’ve seen.....and Mazunte, a beautiful quiet, tranquil beach on the Pacific Coast far far far away from those huge resort hotels.

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