ARCHIVES: CENTAL AMERICA

A COLONIAL GEM: Guanajuato, Mexico
As the decrepit bus flies around another corner, I rue my decision to take local transit into Guanajuato from the bus terminal. Is my life worth the few dollars I saved on cab fare? I see nothing that resembles a town as we roar full throttle through a series of tunnels.

THE SIREN OF BARRA DE NAVIDAD: Mexico
I have recently taken a mistress, a bewitching, beguiling siren. She’s quite a lady. Sometimes, I lie beside her and watch the measured breathing of her bosom. At others, I swim in the warmth of her naked wetness. She’s beautiful, and I’m absolutely captivated.

MEXICO: In The Footsteps Of Ancient Mayan
Mayan ruins are each unique in their own way. Chichen Itza, Coba and Tulum are no different. Chichen Itza has two cultures; Tulum is a walled city and Coba is 95% unexcavated. I have visited each of these ruins, and found it very humbling to walk in the footsteps of ancient Mayans.

THE STAR-CROSSED SHANGRI-LA: Guatemala’s Ixil Triangle
After a tortuous bus ride through the Guatemalan highlands, I’ve finally arrived at the village of Nebaj. A cobblestone street is lined with white, adobe buildings, streaks of rain visible against their red, tiled roofs. The damp air smells of pine needles. Panoramic, mist-shrouded peaks barely visible in the distance resemble the coast mountains of western Canada.

THE WHOLE ENCHALADA: Oaxaca, Mexico
Oaxaca, however, brings a taste of everything - art, music, cuisine, culture, handicrafts, architecture, jewelry, museums and monumental history - to the table; and the result is a feast of all things Mexican - all in one delightful place.

THE CITY OF DAWN: Tulum, Mexico
As I start my visit to Tulum, and pass through the low entrance in the wall I’m instantly taken back through a time warp. Once inside the perimeter, I scan across the sixty well preserved buildings within the wall. The Mayans were great stone masons. These buildings are from 500 to 1200 years old and still stand tall.

DISCOVERING ONE OF MEXICO’S BEST KEPT SECRETS: Melaque,Mexico
Oscar bound the hind legs of a long-horned Brahma cow, poured 100%-proof sugarcane alcohol and Ibarra Mexican chocolate into a tin mug, shoved it under the cow’s teat and began milking. Offering us a round of steaming frothy mixture, the farmer chuckled and said: “Good Latte! Si?”

MELANCHOLY AND A DIRT WRAPPED SURPRISE: Antigua, West Indies
I sit crouched in a dirt pit. The relentless heat of the Caribbean sun sears my scalp and sends sweat slithering down my spine. A feeling of pure elation surges through my veins. This would not be paradise for everyone, but for me, it was pure perfection. I am one of about a dozen archaeology students who had chosen to spend a month up to their elbows in grave dirt in Antigua, assisting in the excavation of an 18th Century Naval Hospital Cemetery.