Category Archives: Huatulco

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Thirsty Vines: Water, Wine, and the Future of Mexican Vineyards

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By Melissa Lyon—

Mexico’s wine industry is enjoying a golden age, but behind the award-winning bottles and picturesque vineyards lies a challenge that is becoming impossible to ignore: water.

Historically, Mexican wines have thrived in the unique conditions found throughout the country, with lots of sunshine, patient vintners, and just enough water. But what happens when “just enough water” becomes increasingly difficult to find? Across Mexico’s wine regions, from the sun-soaked valleys of Baja California to the high plains of Coahuila and the rolling vineyards of Querétaro and Guanajuato, winemakers are confronting an uncomfortable reality: climate change is reshaping the future of wine.

Of course, wine has always depended on weather. Too much rain, and grapes become diluted. Too little, and vines struggle. Just the right combination of temperatures and precipitation is like lightning in a bottle. The famous Valle de Guadalupe in Baja California, for example, enjoys warm days, cool nights, and a Mediterranean-like climate ideal for grapes. But recent years have brought hotter temperatures, prolonged drought, and increasing pressure on groundwater supplies. Water scarcity, once a seasonal concern, has become a year-round conversation.

Baja is not alone. In Coahuila, home to some of the oldest wineries in the Americas, including the renowned Casa Madero, producers face hotter summers and shifting rainfall patterns. Central Mexican wine regions such as Querétaro and Guanajuato are also experiencing increasing climate variability, including unexpected frosts, hailstorms, and heat spikes. For winemakers, this unpredictability is becoming one of the industry’s greatest challenges. Grapes, after all, are fussy little creatures.

The good news? Mexican winemakers are famously resourceful.

Across the country, wineries are increasingly embracing sustainability, not only because it is environmentally responsible, but because savvy consumers demand it, and survival depends on it. Water conservation has become a major priority. Many vineyards now use drip irrigation systems that deliver precise amounts of water directly to the vine roots rather than wasting it through sprinklers or flood irrigation. Soil management techniques such as mulching and cover crops help retain moisture, reduce evaporation, and improve soil health.

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Some wineries are experimenting with dry farming, allowing vines to survive largely on natural rainfall once they become established. Others are investing in water recycling systems, treating and reusing water from cleaning processes or landscaping. Solar energy is becoming increasingly common as well, particularly in Baja California, where abundant sunshine makes renewable power a practical choice. Sustainability, in many vineyards, has shifted from trendy buzzword to practical necessity.

Then there is the grape question. Not all varieties respond equally well to heat and drought. Some grapes suffer in extreme heat, while others are perfectly happy basking under the Mexican sun.
Traditional French varieties such as Cabernet Sauvignon, Syrah, and Grenache continue to perform well in parts of Baja California, particularly when growers carefully manage irrigation and canopy cover. Mediterranean grapes, however, are gaining increasing attention for their resilience. Varieties such as Mourvèdre, Tempranillo, Carignan, and Italian grapes like Nebbiolo tolerate heat and water scarcity better than more delicate varietals.

White wines are evolving too. In warmer conditions, grapes can ripen quickly, risking overly alcoholic wines with less acidity. To adapt, growers are experimenting with varieties that maintain freshness despite rising temperatures. Sauvignon Blanc, Chenin Blanc, Vermentino, and Viognier are showing promise in several Mexican regions.

Perhaps the clearest sign of climate change arrives during harvest season. Traditionally, grape harvests followed predictable schedules. Today, many vineyards are harvesting earlier, sometimes weeks earlier than in decades past. Rising temperatures accelerate ripening, meaning grapes can accumulate sugar faster. Harvesting earlier helps preserve balance and freshness in the finished wine.

Harvest itself is changing too. Some vineyards now pick grapes at night or during the cool hours before sunrise to protect delicate fruit from intense daytime heat. Workers equipped with headlamps gathering grapes beneath the stars may sound romantic, but it is also practical. Cooler grapes arrive at the winery in better condition, reducing energy needed for refrigeration and preserving flavor. So, what does the future of Mexican wine look like? In a word, optimistic.

Yes, climate change presents real challenges, particularly around water scarcity. But the Mexican wine industry has always been defined by adaptation and innovation. Unlike many European wine regions steeped in tradition and governed by centuries-old rules about what can be planted and where, Mexico’s wine industry has flexibility. Winemakers are free to experiment with new techniques and varietals, and to rethink old assumptions.

As the industry evolves, the wines will too. New wine regions at higher elevations may emerge. Sustainable farming practices will likely expand and take root across the country.
And consumers will increasingly value the story behind the bottle, including how thoughtfully a winery manages its land, water, and resources.

And so, fear not, wine enthusiasts! The future of Mexican wine remains bright, sustained by innovative growers who are learning to make every drop of water count.

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Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Water Does More Than Just Hydrate; It Heals

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By Kary Vannice

Long before anyone measured cortisol in a lab, people were wading into rivers, lakes and streams to let go of what they were carrying. When we think of the health benefits of water, we usually think only of drinking it to stay hydrated. But water does more for us than simply keep us alive. For thousands of years, people have turned to water for more than just survival. They have sought it out for comfort, healing, renewal, purification, and perspective.

In Judaism, the mikvah is a ritual bath used not for hygiene but for spiritual cleansing and transformation. In Islam, wudu prepares the body and mind for prayer through ritual washing. In Hinduism, bathing in the Ganges is believed to purify the soul and release old burdens. Christian baptism symbolizes death and rebirth, the letting go of one identity and the emergence of another.

And here in Mexico, water has played a similarly powerful role.

The Maya viewed cenotes as sacred portals to Xibalba, the underworld, places where communication between worlds was possible. The temazcal, used by the Maya, Aztecs, and Toltecs, combined water, steam, heat, and ritual to support purification and renewal. Throughout Mexico, thermal springs became places where people gathered for both physical healing and spiritual restoration.

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Each of these practices emerged independently, in cultures separated by oceans and centuries, often with no contact at all. And yet they kept landing on the same instinct: that water engages human emotion. It changes us and it heals us.

The religious historian Mircea Eliade spent much of his career studying these patterns, and he noted something simple but profound, that across an enormous range of spiritual traditions, water consistently shows up as the element that dissolves, washes away, purifies, and renews.

Only recently has science begun building a vocabulary for what these traditions always knew to be true. Researchers have identified a measurable shift that happens in the nervous system when someone is near water. They experience lowered stress hormones, a calmer body, a different quality of attention.

Marine biologist Wallace J. Nichols coined the term Blue Mind to describe this mildly meditative state. He described water as something that quiets all the surrounding noise and distraction and reconnects us to our own thoughts.

Researchers studying so-called “blue spaces” have reached similar conclusions. These environments, which include oceans, rivers, lakes, wetlands, and coastlines, are increasingly associated with improved mental wellbeing.

Environmental psychologist Mathew White of the University of Exeter has found that people who spend time near water often report greater happiness and lower levels of psychological distress. Some studies even suggest that people who live near coastlines experience higher overall wellbeing than those who live farther inland.

It seems modern-day science is “discovering” what our ancestors knew all along. But water’s influence doesn’t stop with the mind.

Research suggests that ocean swimming can reduce stress, lower anxiety, improve mood, stimulate circulation, and support overall health. Seawater contains minerals that benefit the skin, while ocean air carries microscopic sea particles that contribute to respiratory health and a greater sense of wellbeing.

Thermal waters also offer many health benefits. Long valued by cultures around the world, mineral-rich hot springs can relax muscles, improve circulation, reduce joint stiffness, and ease chronic pain. And people who soak in thermal waters often describe not just physical relief, but also mental restoration and renewal.

Even the sound of water appears to have beneficial effects on us. The rhythmic crash of waves, the gentle fall of rain, the steady movement of a river. These sounds calm the nervous system and promote deeper sleep.

Since ancient times, water has been used as medicine physically, emotionally, and spiritually. What’s telling is not that just a few cultures discovered this, but that nearly every culture has.

The Maya sought wisdom and connection through sacred cenotes. Romans built elaborate bathhouses devoted to healing. Indigenous peoples throughout the Americas used water and steam for purification and transformation. Today, that instinct has simply found a new vocabulary. Doctors in the UK are now writing “Bluescriptions”, as part of a growing program that uses nature to treat anxiety, stress, and other mental health struggles.

Because water is all around us, anyone can write their own Bluescription. Just consider which form of water would offer the most support, drinking it, bathing in it, swimming in it, listening to it, watching it, walking near it, or even just picturing it in your imagination. Each of these has demonstrated real benefits for better health. The idea is surprisingly simple: water doesn’t have to be extraordinary to be healing. It simply has to be present.

Kary Vannice is a writer and energetic healer who explores the intersections of culture, consciousness, and daily life in Mexico.

You may enjoy these articles:

Sound and Breath: Journeys of Healing in Oaxaca

Chronic Silent Inflammation: The Real Enemy of Modern Aging

Skip the Supplement and Order the Mole

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Huatulco

Masters of Flight: The Brown Pelicans of Oaxaca’s Coast

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By Julie Etra—

Brown pelicans (Pelecanus occidentalis) are a common and delightful sight along Mexico’s Costa Chica. I never tire of watching them swoop and glide effortlessly along the coastline, skimming just above the waves as if gravity barely applies to them.
Brown Pelican Basics.

Taxonomy
Based on fossil records, they have been around for at least 30 million years but have remained morphologically and physiologically unchanged. Their seemingly bulky body is perfectly suited to the coastal ecosystems in which they reside, including their feeding habits. Although references vary there are five to seven species of pelican worldwide. The Oaxacan coast is unusual because two subspecies may be found here: the California brown pelican (P. o. californicus) and the Eastern brown pelican (P. o. carolinensis), although most of the birds seen locally are believed to be P. o. carolinensis. Their differences are subtle, so next time you see one pay attention. They rarely venture more than 20 miles out to sea or far inland and are non-migratory.

They are relatively uniform in appearance, with of course the large white pelican being the exception (this is a fresh or brackish water species). They typically live 15-30 years in the wild although mortality is high in the first few years of life and are sexually mature at three- five years of age. Populations have rebounded dramatically from the brink of near extinction due to the pesticide DDT, which weakened the shells of their eggs, and was banned in the United States in 1972. Today their numbers are estimated to exceed 370,000.

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Feeding
Brown pelicans primarily eat fish, particularly sardines and herrings but also an occasional crustacean, egg, or amphibian. When I head out to snorkel at Playa La Entrega and see circling pelicans and cormorants, I know there is most likely a huge school of Pacific herrings, known locally as sardinas (such a beautiful sight to see). They fish by plunge-diving headfirst, with their wings tucked behind their backs, and stunning their prey before they are scooped up. Their big gular pouch is highly elastic and is perfectly suited for fishing. It can hold up to three gallons of water, which it drains before swallowing its prey. The pouch is also highly effective for regulating heat given its elasticity and large surface area.

Reproduction
Nesting ranges from Sinaloa south through Nayarit, Jalisco, and Guerrero, and finally the coastal shores of Oaxaca. They are gregarious birds and nest in colonies.
Nests are a messy but elaborate affair when built in thickets, such as dense stands of mangroves, a platform made of sticks and branches, or a simple version directly on the ground. Nesting typically occurs late fall through early June and is accomplished mostly by the females. Clutch sizes vary but typically consist of two or three oval, chalky white eggs, with both the male and the female sharing incubation and rearing responsibilities. Eggs are incubated under their large, webbed feet for 28- 30 days. The parents feed the young by regurgitating their partially digested catch into the awaiting, gaping beaks. At about 63 days they fledge from the nest and form small groups known as pods. I have never seen a pelican nest, and much to my surprise neither has the expert local guide Cornelio Ramos.

Flight
This to me is the most fascinating aspect of brown pelican behavior. I see them flying in V formations, in single file, and sometimes alone, often skimming just inches above the water’s surface. What appears effortless is actually a remarkable combination of aerodynamic strategies that allow these large birds to travel long distances while conserving energy.

Wave-Slope Soaring
Brown pelicans take advantage of wind generated by ocean waves. As wind pushes up against the face of a wave, it creates a small updraft. Pelicans position themselves in this sweet spot and essentially ride the moving air, reducing the effort required to stay aloft. This technique, known as wave-slope soaring, can reduce their energy expenditure by as much as 60 to 70 percent.

Ground Effect
When flying closer to the water than the length of a single wingspan, pelicans benefit from a phenomenon known as ground effect. A cushion of compressed air forms between the bird’s wings and the water’s surface, creating additional lift and reducing drag. This allows them to glide efficiently with minimal wingbeats, producing the elegant, low-level flight that is so characteristic of the species.

V-Formation Flying
When traveling in groups, pelicans often adopt a V-shaped formation. The wingtips of the lead bird create spirals of rising air that provide lift for the birds behind. By riding these updrafts, trailing pelicans reduce their own energy expenditure and flap their wings less frequently.

But how do they decide who leads? The answer is simple: everyone takes a turn. As the lead bird tires, it drops back into the formation, and another pelican takes its place. In this way, the flock shares the workload, making long-distance travel more efficient for everyone.

Watching a squadron of pelicans glide effortlessly along the coast may look simple, but behind that graceful flight lies a sophisticated understanding of wind, waves, and teamwork that has been refined over millions of years of evolution.

What is a flock of pelicans called?
A squadron, a pod, or a scoop. When pelicans are seen swimming or flying together in an organized formation, they can also be called a fleet.

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Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Books to Watch For

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By Carole Reedy—

Partita by Barbara Kingsolver
(publication date October 6, 2026)

The most anticipated fall read, without a doubt, is Barbara Kingsolver’s Partita.

Kingsolver’s previous novel, Demon Copperhead, entertained and educated readers with its smooth narrative of a remote and forgotten part of the US where the pharmaceutical industry introduced addictive drugs. (To understand the facts of this tragedy, read Patrick Radden Keefe’s The Empire Of Pain.) Kingsolver received accolades around the world for her depiction of a modern-day David Copperfield.

This new novel is the story of a farm girl and her unfulfilled musical talent, class barriers, and love. At the heart of the story, however, is the importance of art and beauty.

Kingsolver herself had the talent to pursue the piano as a career, but when faced with the practicality of a life in music changed her college major to biology. She also had aspirations as a writer and studied journalism. As a child she read Tolstoy and played Bach on the piano.

Noted author Ann Patchett, whose new novel Whistler has just arrived, accompanied by rave reviews, on bookshelves, says of Kingsolver’s latest “She means to save us by telling us stories…She comes closer than anyone else I know.”

Country People by Daniel Mason
(publication date July 7, 2026)

Mason’s North Woods, published in 2024, was, for me, a mesmerizing read covering centuries of the inhabitants of a yellow house in a remote part of Massachusetts.

His latest story takes us on a family voyage to Vermont from California.

It’s described by the publisher as a “joyous, absurd, gorgeously-drawn exploration of marriage, family, friendship, storytelling and how people find connection in an increasingly fragmented world.”

We know Mason as a consummate storyteller that can deliver a story in a masterfully fluent manner.

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Ply by Hernan Diaz
(publication date September 29, 2026)

How we loved Diaz’s Pulitzer Prize-winning novel Trust, the story of a “successful” man and his wife told in three parts, the last part putting in perspective the first two in a most shocking way.

Though his previous novels dealt with the past, this one takes us to the distant future and questions the role of technology in our lives. It is a Dickensian-style family drama in addition to being a scientific thriller.

The novel takes place in a US city where the protagonist, an orphan, steals energy to feed the city’s vibrant music scene. This high-risk life shifts when he becomes involved in a scientific project that could change reality itself.

The Dying Light by Anne Cleeves
(publication date October 8)

Few of us will forget the isolation of the pandemic of 2020 for the gift of time that allowed us hours more to read. During the following three years many of us discovered various book series and authors that entertained and allowed us to get through those difficult days.

One such author was Anne Cleeves. Cleeves is a prolific writer, but the most striking aspect of her writing is the characterizations she creates. These people become part of the reader’s life. It may sound corny, but during the pandemic I talked by phone to friends in the US about characters in the novels as though we were discussing our own friends.

Cleeves’ Shetland series became so popular that it was made into a television series. The lure of an unknown part of the world added mystery to the mysteries! Tourists started putting the Shetland Islands on their travel bucket lists.

Cleeves recently introduced the Matthew Venn series (also called the Two Rivers series), which takes place in Devon England, where detective Venn lives with his husband. Again, the magic of these books lies in their characters rather than the plots.

Cleeves knows and understands her characters so well that she seems to describe them from memory rather than imagination.

Agrippa by Robert Harris
(publication date August 27, 2026)

Harris has always been recognized for his ability to combine personal drama and political machinations. His Conclave gripped book lovers as well as movie fans.

In Agrippa we return to the Roman Empire, where there is plenty of drama for writers. After the death of Julius Caesar, the 17-year-old Octavius becomes heir to the throne. His closest friend is Agrippa. For 20 years they rule the empire together.

Agrippa stirs up the past in his memoirs, which he is writing at age 50. Power and friendship: can they coexist? That is the question and theme.

Robert Harris’ books are very readable and offer glimpses into the political yet personal aspects of the histories he writes. I have become a recent fan of this prestigious writer of histories. His Pompeii hooked me as a new fan and follower.

The French Illusion by John Grisham
(publication date September 29, 2026)

Faithful readers to the genre have been reading John Grisham’s legal thrillers since 1991 when The Firm became an overnight sensation, spending 47 weeks on The New York Times best-seller list. I remember vividly when it hit the shelves, touted as different and sketching new material and characters for a novel. Law school admissions may have risen at this time.

Grisham’s latest veers a little off the legal thriller genre, being more an international suspense novel. It’s clear Grisham enjoys reading the spy stories of John Le Carre, Ken Follett, and Robert Ludlum. This is his first attempt in following the “craftsmanship of some of these international suspense novelists.”

This new plot starts with the kidnapping of a newlywed couple in the French countryside, which rapidly turns into an international espionage plot.

The Disappearers by Marlon James
(publication date September 1, 2026)

It would be difficult to forget James’ A Brief History of Seven Killings, which brought James the recognition he deserved when his novel won the Man Booker Prize in 2015. This new story continues in the genre. Again taking place in Jamaica, it begins with eight gay men in Jamaica during the 1980s.

These eight men, actors, are unfamiliar to each other but share the experience of being gay, including the hatred and bigotry they endure. How they handle it varies among them: some try to forget, others embrace their rage, and still others simply vanish.

James’ novels are enormous in every aspect.

Switzy by Emma Cline
(publication date October 9, 2026)

What is a life? What remains when your goals and accomplishments have been realized? These appear to be the unanswerable questions Cline explores in this story of an aging man.

It is quite an original story, probing the depths of human consciousness, “revealing what a man is left with when the accomplishments and compromises that have defined him, and the illusions he’s relied on, vanish.”

The book follows its main character, David, with his thoughts and memories, as he flies to Zurich with stops in Paris, England, etc. The unusualness of the premise is alluring, especially when tackled by a writer as deft as Cline, who we remember for her novel The Girls, which was based on the Charles Manson entourage of the 70s.

The Newer World by Sebastian Barry
(publication date September 8, 2026)

My book club in Mexico City, whose members represent a number of nationalities, enthusiastically embraces any book written by the Irish writer Sebastian Barry. His novels appeal to not only the Irish and Brits, but also to Americans and Mexicans.

Barry is a consummate storyteller. His newest takes place in the 19th century, starting in rural Tennessee where the main character, a Confederate soldier and wanted man, heads for Nashville but finds himself on a detour to Victorian England. It’s a story of how we survive and at what cost along the way.

Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
(publication date September 15, 2026)

This timely novel by the noteworthy author of Station Eleven and Sea of Tranquility should gain widespread attention in the literary world this fall.

Starting out in Los Angeles 2031 with the collapse of the US, the story continues not only from a splintered America but also expanding to include Paris and Greece and a colony on the moon.

Story is the lifeblood of a novel, and this year appears to be packed with novels that are faithful to this premise.

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Huatulco

Red Clay Ceramic-producing Maestras of San Marcos Tlapazola

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By Amber Dunlap—

For nearly twenty generations, the potters of San Marcos Tlapazola have been hand-crafting comals (flat griddles used to make tortillas) and other cookware from their local supply of iron oxide-rich clay. Their Barro Rojo (Red Clay) ceramics are sought after the world over and a draw for travelers seeking to experience yet another slice of the rich artisanal landscape of Oaxaca’s Central Valley.

Every February, just after the corn harvest, the 300 or so potters of San Marcos Tlapazola (all women) make their way up into the hillsides to expertly select all of the beige- and red-tinged earth they’ll need for the year ahead. It’s a trek that is both grueling but necessary. Under the hot Oaxacan sun and the exposed hillside, they hack at the earth with pickaxes and shovels, scooping up and adding heavy clods of earth to the sacks they’ll eventually tie to their backs and lug back down the mountain.

Once back at their workshops, they soak this collected earth in water, sift it, then knead it, and ultimately lay it out to dry under the sun for many hours, waiting patiently for it to become just the right texture. Once ready, they mix the prepared clay with water to soften it into a buttery smooth consistency and add sand to avoid any cracking during the firing process.

Grabbing a scoop of this now ready clay, the Maestra gets to work. The clay is shaped and transformed with an expert touch, one well-honed since childhood when she likely learned from the chair beside her mother and her mother’s mother. Not a potter’s wheel in sight, she picks up tools of smooth leather, the shell of a gourd, and a dried-out cob of corn to shape and smooth the clay into forms both familiar and fueled by inspiration in the moment. Within minutes a two-handled pot appears or a curved vase with a mouth and nose. It’s as if these flawless forms appear straight out of thin air.

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Once the piece has been shaped to the Maestra’s liking, it’s then dipped in a glaze made of red clay and water and set aside to harden and dry for burnishing. Burnishing is yet another astounding piece of this remarkable San Marcos Tlapazola tradition. The smooth river stones used to polish the dried clay pieces are typically passed down from mother to daughter through the generations. If you’re lucky enough to hold one in your hands, it’s possible that you are holding a stone from that Maestra’s original pottery-producing ancestor.

This process is repeated over and over again until a sufficient collection of pots, plates, and platters have been created for a firing.

The firing process is delicate. If a rogue rain shower happens to dampen the wood or the wind that day is roaring a bit too strongly, the entire collection could be ruined. For this reason, many of the Maestras do their firing in the morning hours. They prepare an area of their yard, following a very distinct layering process of first stacked brick or stones, then a metal sheet or bedsprings to create an elevated bed for the pottery to rest on. From there, they add the pottery and surround it with twigs, logs, and pieces of broken pottery before covering it all again with yet more rusted sheet metal. Additional twigs and logs are then layered on top along with cow dung and dry organic matter. Then it’s all set aflame with a match. The pottery fires for about 45 minutes. Once done and the fire has died out, the pieces, hopefully unbroken, are cooled, dusted off, and packaged up for the Maestra’s next trip to market.

This tradition, and this way of life in San Marcos Tlapazola, is one that many of these women are born into and expected to carry on, but it’s one that many, including the Maestra I met, truly find peace and life-giving satisfaction in practicing. That is a sight to see.

How To Experience This Ancestral Red Clay Ceramics Tradition in the Flesh

Tour Option
Join ‘WSE Travels Red Clay Pottery Experience to explore the rich traditions of Macrina Mateo Martínez’s renowned red pottery, also in San Marcos Tlapazola. The experience includes a hands-on workshop from Martinez herself, as well as insights into the village’s vibrant culture. Martinez will share her story of leaving her village and founding a local women’s empowerment co-op. Like all of WSE Travel’s experiences, this isn’t just a tour; it’s a celebration of art, resilience, and community.

Price: $145 USD
Duration: About 6 hours, depart at 9am and return by 3pm
How Often? Wednesday through Sunday weekly
What’s Included?:
– Pre-trip information to educate and prepare you for the experience
– English-speaking guide
– Translations + demonstrations with local food vendors
– Transportation to/from your Oaxaca Hotel
– All meals and snacks (except alcoholic beverages)
– A small gift to take home with you

For more information and to book: http://www.wheresidewalksend.com/travel/oaxaca-red-clay-pottery-tour/

The Do-It-Yourself Option
San Marcos Tlapazola is about an hour and ten-minute drive from Oaxaca City. If getting there by colectivo, you’ll first have to go to Tlacolula and then from there catch a second colectivo or taxi to San Marcos Tlapazola. The colectivos from Oaxaca City to Tlacolula leave from the second-class bus station near the Mercado de Abastos.

Once in San Marcos Tlapazola, you can wander the main street of Matamoros and poke your head inside any open home workshop studios or collectives that are accepting visitors. Though I haven’t been myself, the female-run shop Mujeres del Barro Rojo is said to be a good starting point for your San Marcos Tlapazola adventure.

Alternatively, you could plan to shorten the trip by timing your visit to Tlacolula for its Sunday Market when many of the potters from San Marcos Tlapazola make their way to this market to sell some of their Barro Rojo ceramics. They’re easy to spot by the red clay ceramics laid out in front of them and by the colorful pinafore-style aprons embellished with floral embroidery that they wear.

The benefit of going all the way to San Marcos Tlapazola, however, is that the selection is much bigger and better, as some of their heavier and more elaborate pieces often don’t get carried to market. That and the fact that you just might be lucky enough to witness the clay-making or firing process in action.

Amber Dunlap is a travel writer and the founder of No Maps or Foot Tracks, where she shares off-the-beaten-path guides and deep dives into living traditions, artisan crafts, and community-rooted tourism throughout Mexico and around the world. Read more of her stories at No Maps or Foot Tracks and follow her adventures on IG at @nomapsamber.

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Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Mexico Water Trivia

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By Marcia Chaiken and Jan Chaiken—

Water, water everywhere and many types to enjoy. Here are some facts and personal hints about bodies of water in Mexico.

Lakes

There are 95 freshwater natural lakes in Mexico recognized by the federal government, compared to about 29,000 in the United States. Canada contains more natural lakes than the rest of the world combined.

Lake Chapala in Jalisco is the largest lake in Mexico, but its size shrinks and expands depending on seasonal rainfall. Noted for its temperate year-round climate, it has become a home for many expats from north of the border.

Lake Avandaro in the Valle de Bravo is the go-to weekend retreat for many Chilangos from Mexico City and other Mexicanos. Ringed by mountains with pine forests, it provides opportunities for water sports and hiking.

Lake Patzcuaro is on the itinerary of many bus tours of Mexico. It is surrounded by colonial villages producing beautiful crafts and is home to Isla de Janitzio with souvenir shops lining the path to the top of the island. Visit early in the morning before hordes of tourists hit.

Gulfs

Gulf of Mexico: The name first appeared on a map drawn by a Spanish cartographer in 1544. The body of water was referred to by that name in the writings of explorers earlier than that and was based on the name of the indigenous Mexica (aka Aztecs). Although the shoreline is in both Mexico and the US, Mexico has the longest portion.

Gulf of California: This gulf separates the Baja Peninsula from mainland Mexico. The name California was given in the 16th century and reportedly came from a popular novel published in 1510. It is also known as the Sea of Cortez. A ferry from La Paz in Baja California to Mazatlán across the Gulf started running in 1970. The ferry is not recommended for those subject to seasickness.

Gulf of Tehuantepec: Meaning jaguar hill, this gulf is separated from the Gulf of Mexico by the Tehuantepec isthmus (just called “The Isthmus” in Huatulco). The gulf is infamous among sailors because of its perpetual fierce difficult-to-navigate winds – also called Tehuantepecs. Even driving across the Isthmus in these winds can be a challenge.

The Mexico coastline and lagoons

The coastline is more or less 5,800 miles (9,330 kilometers) long. Most of the west and south coast borders the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of California. The rest borders the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea.

Over 100 coastal lagoons, separated from the open ocean or sea by reefs, islets or sandbars, can be found in states all along the coast. Among the most famous are the brightly colored Laguna de Bacalar in Quintana Roo, the huge refuge for migratory birds Laguna Madre in Tamaulipas, and Las Coloradas – interconnected pink lagoons in the Yucatan. Our personal favorites are the lagoons and Mayan canals that make up the Sian Kaan Biosphere Reserve in the Yucatan. Floating supine down one of the largest canals while staring up at brightly colored birds and remains of Mayan villages is an unforgettable experience.

Rivers

Mexico has about 250 named rivers, compared to about 8,500 in Canada and 250,000 in the United States.

The longest river at about 1,900 miles is the Rio Bravo del Norte (aka the Rio Grande) that forms much of the northern border with the U.S.

The Usumacinta River, named after the howler monkey, is slightly less than 700 miles long and forms part of the border between Mexico and Guatemala. A noisy night spent on the river bank makes clear how it got its name. A mysterious trip down the river in the dawn fog is highly recommended.

You may have your own favorite lake, lagoon, or river – there are so many in Mexico to explore.

Drs. Marcia and Jan Chaiken have been married for 62 years and have published many justice system research reports together.

Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Mexico’s ‘Little Cornwall’: Cradle of Mexican Football

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By Sharron Schwartz—

Nine minutes into the opening game of the World Cup 2026, Julián Quiñones scores the first goal of the tournament to give Mexico, one of the three host nations, the lead against South Africa.

The iconic Azteca Stadium in Mexico City erupts in joy, and I shoot from my seat in a bar at Gatwick Airport, arms aloft, punching the air with a loud cheer. I am undaunted by the bemused looks of onlookers, for I have skin in this game.

I am Cornish and for over two centuries, my people have played a significant role in Mexico’s silver mining industry. In 1824, the first Cornish mineworkers arrived at Real del Monte, a small town in the picturesque Sierra Madre Oriental in the State of Hidalgo. They were employees of the British-capitalised Real del Monte Mining Company and one of those men was a distant cousin to me.

The Cornish did not just bring their innovative high-pressure steam engine technology and mining know-how, which helped to revive the flooded mines of Real del Monte, but also their culture.

This included their Methodist faith, Cornwall’s signature dish – the pasty – and sports, including cricket and football.

All of these left an indelible imprint on the mining settlements of the Comarca Minera de Hidalgo, also known as Mexico’s ‘Little Cornwall’.

Along with the humble pasty, adapted to suit the Mexican palate and now a dish as famous throughout Hidalgo as barbacoa, the Mexican people embraced football. Mexico is the first nation to host the World Cup three times.

With the spotlight firmly on Mexico’s footballing pedigree, attention has turned to the history of the sport in the country, with several places claiming to be the cradle of Mexican football.

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Prior to the late 1880s, the game was not mentioned in the Mexican press. In 1887, the employees of the General Offices of the Central (a railway) in Mexico City, were reportedly trying to set up a football club.

In November 1891, a match was played at San Cristóbal between ‘Pearson’s Wanderers’ (of the British construction firm S. Pearson & Sons) and the ‘San Cristobal Swifts’. The Swifts were defeated 1-0. The game was still relatively unknown in Mexico at this point:

“Many of the Swifts had never played at football before, and consequently were at a disadvantage, but they played remarkably well considering that the Wanderers had just returned from a trip to Europe where they had practiced for some months.” Daily Anglo American, 3 November 1891.

In September 1892, The Two Republics newspaper reported that a football match was being arranged in Mexico City for the inauguration of the Mexican Athletic Club’s ground on the Paseo, “the first game between two organised clubs ever played in the vicinity”.

British schools in Mexico City undoubtedly played the game at this period, but it did not take off due to lack of competition.
However, competitive football was being played in Mexico’s Little Cornwall several years before the abovementioned games.

It is only by chance that a report of one of those matches, the earliest documented in Mexico, found its way into El Minero de Pachuca in May 1889.

A football match between men from El Rosario Mine in Pachuca (managed by Cornishman, Richard Rule) and those from La Joya Mine in neighbouring Real del Monte, was abandoned.

The game, played on the sport’s field of the Railway Racetrack in Pachuca, descended into a free fight when the referee awarded a penalty to El Rosario, which was winning 7-4.

The players from La Joya disagreed with his decision and attacked their opponents, causing serious injuries to two players. Fourteen people appeared in court for involvement in the brawl.

In the mid-1860s, one quarter of all British subjects in Mexico were resident in Hidalgo’s mining settlements. This critical mass of people and the ‘friendly rivalry’ between Cornishmen in Real del Monte and Pachuca, echoing the fierce sporting rivalries in Cornish towns such as Camborne and Redruth, undoubtedly led to the success of football in Hidalgo.

Pachuca had established a football club by late 1892, as an anonymous letter in Mexican newspaper, The Two Republics, revealed. The Pachuca Football Club had lately degenerated to a great extent and was being reorganised. This was due to a schism between the players at Pachuca and the “mountain men” (the Realmontese):

“This must be attributed to the lack of energy of certain members of the above-named body. We may in particular refer to certain so-called football players who live in the mountains and who are so egotistical as to imagine that without their mighty efforts the club would not but expire.”

Besides the deep rivalry between the two mining settlements which made competitive football attractive, was the fact that organised sport already existed in the form of cricket.

In August 1888, Cornish newspaper, the Cornishman, reported that the Pachuca Cricket Club was over 20 years old. Mining entrepreneur, Frank Rule, Pachuca’s most famous Cornish resident, had served with the club for 21 years. Crucially, the Pachuca cricket team played against established teams in Real del Monte and Velasco.

Pachuca’s first football squad was built from its cricket team and included William Retallack, Sydney Ludlow, Charles Grenfell, John Mayne Rule, W.C. Rule, and some enthusiastic recent arrivals from Cornwall.

By the early 1890s, football was growing in popularity throughout Mexico’s British enclaves. Clubs had been formed in Mexico City, Orizaba (State of Veracruz) and Puebla. In 1894, Mexican newspaper El Nacional explained that football was a team game played with a rubber bladder covered in leather.

In 1895, a meeting was held at Hacienda La Luz in Pachuca to agree on the amalgamation of the Pachuca Cricket Club, the Velasco Cricket Club and the Pachuca Football Club, to create a stronger competitive entity: the Pachuca Athletic Club.

A large field belonging to Hacienda La Luz was given over for a sports field. The officers and committee were all Methodist Cornishmen, so no games were to be played on Sundays. The team chose as its strip, the historic dark and light blues of Oxford and Cambridge, with blue shorts.

In February 1902, a hotly contested international between Scotland and England was played on the Reforma Club’s grounds in Mexico City, watched over by the British Consul, which England won 3-2. The game between the two ‘auld foes’ was not without controversy, with Scotland claiming the referee had made an error that awarded the game to England!

This galvanised interest throughout the expat communities and later that year, several Scottish footballers involved in establishing the Orizaba Club, suggested setting up an Association League. In 1902 the Liga Mexicana de Football Amateur Association was formed among the English-speaking community.

The teams of the new league were the Reforma Athletic Club, the Mexico Cricket Club, The British Social Club (all three based in Mexico City), the Pachuca Athletic Club and the Orizaba Athletic Club.

League football benefitted from the Porfiriato’s improved communication and transport links, particularly the railways, which made it easier to travel to opponents’ grounds for matches. English language newspaper, The Mexican Herald, published upcoming fixtures and devoted column inches to detailed reports of the various matches.

Pachuca’s first league game was played at the Velódromo Pachuca against the Reforma Athletic Club. The game began at 4.00pm and was well supported and hotly contested, watched by the Hidalgo state governor, Pedro L. Rodriguez, and all the principal families of the area.

The only drawback was the strong wind that interfered with kicking, which occurs each afternoon in Pachuca, La Bella Airosa!

“The scene on the ground was made picturesque by the presence of a large number of ladies in most beautiful costumes, many of them wearing the colours of the Pachuca club, dark and light blue.” Mexican Herald, 2 November 1902.
Both teams played “with dash”. The game ended in a tie: three goals apiece. Orizaba won the first league of 1902.

Pachuca AC won its first amateur title in the 1904–05 season and also won the Copa Tower twice (1907–08 and 1911–12).

Football was deemed modern, encompassed British cultural imperialism, and became fashionable in societies wishing to emulate the British sense of fair play. In 1908 the first Mexican, David Islas, became a Pachuca club member.

Alfred ‘Fred’ C. Crowle (1889-1979), the Pachuca-born son of Alf Crowle, a Cornish miner from St Blazey, was a key player during this era. He was eventually promoted to team coach and freely admitted Mexicans from all backgrounds to the team, blurring class and ethnic boundaries.

Under Crowle, Pachuca won two more amateur league titles (1917–18 and 1919–20). He later went on to found Club Necaxa before becoming the national coach in 1935, enjoying a 100 per-cent record during the year he was in charge.

The Mexican Revolution (1910-20) and WW1 affected the team, as players moved away. Pachuca-born Johnnie Vial, a cousin of mine, signed on as a gunner with the Royal Field Artillery. He died at the Somme. In the 1920s, the club folded.

The Pachuca club, ‘Los Tuzos’ (The Gophers, honouring the city’s mining legacy), was successfully revived in the 1960s and currently plays in Liga MX. Pachuca prides itself on being the spiritual home of Mexican football and boasts the interactive museum, Mundo Fútbol.

I will continue to follow ‘El Tri’ with gusto during this year’s World Cup. Next time you see La Ola (the Mexican Wave) ripple through a stadium, remember the role that Mexico’s ‘Little Cornwall’ played in popularising the beautiful game in this football-mad nation.

Born and bred in Redruth, Cornwall, Sharron Schwartz completed her PhD at the Institute of Cornish Studies, University of Exeter. She is the pre-eminent authority on Cornish migration to Latin America and is a Bard of Gorsedh Kernow.

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Huatulco, San Miguel de Allende

Editor’s Letter

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By Jane Bauer—

“Our true nationality is humankind.”
— H.G. Wells

We are in the midst of World Cup fever. What is more Mexican than El Tri? And yet, when we dig a little deeper, we discover that football itself is an import. The game arrived in Mexico with Cornish miners in the nineteenth century and was gradually adopted, adapted, and embraced until it became something undeniably Mexican.

At what point do the blurry lines of otherness disappear? I find myself thinking about this often. Maybe because I have spent so much of my life living somewhere other than where I was born. Over the years I have been called a tourist, a traveller, an immigrant, and occasionally the word that makes me cringe the most: expat. What is the difference, exactly?

An immigrant moves somewhere permanently. An expat plans to leave? A traveller keeps moving? A displaced person had no choice? The definitions seem straightforward until you start looking closely. Then they begin to fall apart. Is it intention that matters? Money? Privilege? Time? And what about the rest of us?

Aren’t we all being displaced constantly? We move across countries and continents, but also through relationships, careers, beliefs, identities, and stages of life. The person I was at twenty is not the person writing this today. Sometimes the biggest migrations happen without ever crossing a border.

Perhaps movement is not the exception. Perhaps it is the human condition. The World Cup offers a fascinating reminder of this. National teams are presented as symbols of identity and belonging, yet many of their players have roots stretching across multiple countries and continents. Some were born in one place and represent another. Some hold dual citizenship. Some choose to play for the country of their parents or grandparents rather than the one where they were born.

These teams reflect a deeply interconnected world shaped by migration, colonial history, family ties, opportunity, and choice. And yet we remain remarkably attached to the question of origin.

Where are you from? Sometimes even when someone answers, it is not enough. “No, where are you really from?” As if birthplace alone could explain a person.

In this age of rapid technological change, global travel, and lives that increasingly unfold across multiple places, I sometimes wonder why we continue to use the location where someone first slipped into the world as one of our primary measures of identity.

Who are you really? Perhaps that is the more interesting question. The World Cup reminds us that identity is rarely as simple as a flag, a passport, or a place on a map. We are all shaped by where we come from, but also by where we go, who we love, what we learn, and the communities we choose along the way.

The older I get, the less interested I become in where people are from and the more interested I become in who they are.

Have a great July!

Huatulco

More Books to Anticipate in 2026

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By Carole Reedy—

There’s something especially satisfying about the second half of the reading year. The dust has settled and it’s time to relax and read! From long-awaited novels by favorite authors to a handful of surprises that will no doubt find their way onto nightstands everywhere, the months ahead promise a rich and varied season. Here are the books to look forward to as 2026 continues to unfold.

The News From Dublin by Colm Tóibín
The publication of this new book of short stories by Tóibín was mentioned in the March issue of The Eye, and now that I’ve read each emotionally charged story I can unreservedly recommend it.

Every story in this collection is unique in location (Dublin being just one of them), and the stories are diverse. What sets Tóibín’s work above others is the emotional turmoil he’s able convey, coloring his brilliantly crafted characters with fluid descriptions of pain, uncertainty, and anticipation.

The final story, The Catalan Girls, a novella, is the book’s crème de la crème. Uprooted as children from Catalan to Argentina, three sisters mature over the decades. Each plays her own colorfully depicted role within the family structure, stirring in the reader pity, rage even, and possibly acceptance. The finale is wrapped up neatly. We feel satisfied.

The Guardian identified A Free Man as the standout selection. A man alone, released from prison, his crimes and reactions presenting moral dilemmas. It is challenging under any circumstances for a writer to address the issue of child abuse. Joyce Carol Oates achieved a brilliant depiction in her last novel, Fox. Tóibín succeeds here also.

The collection overall is a subtle, honest observation of people in new places and/or situations, voluntarily or not.

London Falling by Patrick Radden Keefe
This is one of the most anticipated books of the year. Readers know Keefe as the author of the unforgettable tome Say Nothing, which took us full stop into the heart and soul of the troubles in Northern Ireland. Disguised as a novel, the pace and details of the six counties so emotionally distant from the rest of Ireland made for compelling reading. From the IRA to the Union forces, readers remained entranced, fascinated, and shocked by it.

Now Keefe gives us London Falling, whose subtitle, The Mysterious Death in a Gilded City and a Family’s Search for the Truth, offers a hint that the story is not simply about a devastated family searching for answers to their son’s shocking death after falling from a balcony. It also implies the decadence of a city.

In 2019, teenager Zac Brettler mysteriously fell to his death from a luxury apartment balcony into the Thames river. An investigation into Zac’s final days reveals his double life, one in which in which he was the son of a wealthy Russian oligarch.

The investigation will expose the shady underworld of a grand city and the son’s secrets.

Keefe has a talent for writing nonfiction that is as readable and enjoyable as a novel. Quite a feat.

The Keeper by Tana French
French’s readers will rejoice at the publication of this, the third novel in the Cal Hooper series. It’s one of the most anticipated books of the year in publications such as The New York Times and Washington Post. And it is already on the bookshelf of your favorite bookshop.

If Sarah Lyall’s comments from The New York Times Book Review don’t compel you to rush out and buy or download this novel on your Kindle, I wonder what will.

“I would crawl across a field of glass to get my hands on a new Tana French book…You don’t have to read the previous two—The Searcher and The Hunter—to appreciate The Keeper. But if you start here, I bet that you’ll want to go back, if only for the chance to fill in the characters’ back stories and to luxuriate some more in French’s prose. Open this book to any page to see what I mean.”

Villa Coco by Andrew Sean Greer
We remember well Greer’s Pulitzer prize-winning novel Less from 2018. This time around the clever, poignant, and provocative word artist entertains us in Tuscany, bringing a smile as we imagine what marvels he will create with the locale and ambiance of Italy.

The delightful premise is that of an undistinguished young man who takes a position as an all-purpose assistant to a flamboyant 92-year-old Tuscan Baronessa. The publisher describes it as a bawdy Mediterranean tale of becoming what we want to be. And rumor has it that Greer knows a lot about focaccia!

Beginning Middle End by Valeria Luiselli
I’m surprised at the number of avid readers who aren’t familiar with this multi-talented young woman, who was born in Mexico City and carries a fully stamped passport.

Luiselli worked with Central American immigrant children in New York City, from which blossomed the short but emotionally charged Tell Us How It Ends. This sad short accounting of the children’s experiences will stay with you, as it did with her own children who wanted to know “how it ends.”

Luiselli’s newest tale is set in irresistible Sicily. Dare we call it a mother/daughter road trip? We saw a type of road trip theme in her award-winning Lost Children Archives. This time she tackles the idea of memory along with a mother in the beginning stages of dementia.

Where do we begin, how to start again, what if we got it wrong the first time?

Now I Surrender by Alberto Enrigue
Valerie Luiselli was married to and has a daughter with everybody’s favorite Guadalajaran writer, Alberto Enrigue. His recent You Dreamed of Empires was one of my favorite 2025 reads and had one of the most startling unforeseen endings ever written.

He also has a new novel just published this year, Now I Surrender. Enrigue is a master of wit and the surreal. This time he gives us a 400-page+ epic about the Apache wars, with a modern-day road trip by Enrigue himself tucked neatly inside. Not surprisingly, the story is a mix of history and myth.

If his past is representative of the future, this promises to be a delightful and surreal romp.

Exit Party by Emily St. John Mandel
Here we have an eagerly awaited new novel by the author of Station Eleven and The Glass Hotel.

Starting in the year 2031, with a party in a nation unrecognizable to us, the Republic of California is born. A celebratory gathering that will prove unforgettable is in process.

Skip ahead many years later to Paris, where repercussions of that night will haunt the main character.

In the publisher’s words: “Exit Party is Emily St. John Mandel’s electrifying new novel about freedom and surveillance, art and survival, love and loss in a broken world.”

Reissued novels
This year, popular novels of the past are being reissued by various publishers. One example is Beryl Bainbridge’s renowned An Awfully Big Adventure, being reissued by McNally Editions in the US and Daunt in the UK. It was made into a movie with Hugh Grant and Alan Rickman in 1995.

The goal of this new release is to highlight Bainbridge’s reputation as a “queen of comic darkness” whose work remains relevant today.

Bainbridge, who died in 2010, is a five-time Booker Prize nominee. Her novels are brilliantly rendered, dark and sardonic. I love them and am thrilled she will be brought to life once again.

There are many more novels coming our way in the next few months. Until then, I leave you to your hardback, paperback, or Kindle…and a comfy chair!