A Closer Look Tours

12/13/2024

🤩 Experiences you'll enjoy on our 9-day Copper Canyon with Chepe Express tour, part 879.

🏃‍♀️The Rarámuri women of Mexico's Copper Canyon practice a traditional sport called "Rarájipari" or "Ariweta." This stick and hoop game blends athleticism with cultural significance. Players use wooden sticks to propel small hoops made of yucca fiber or woven pine needles along mountain trails.

⭕ Typically, two teams of three to five women compete, wearing traditional dresses and sandals. The goal is to keep the hoop rolling continuously over several miles without letting it fall.

🏑 Rarájipari is more than just a game in Rarámuri society. It serves as a method for dispute resolution, harvest celebration, and physical fitness maintenance.

🇲🇽 For over 30 years, A Closer Look Tours has taken travelers to Mexico for authentic experiences and unforgettable journeys. Visit us at www.acloserlooktours(dot)com for more.

📸 Rodrigo R.S.

12/12/2024

📍 Jardín del Tepeyac, Ciudad de México

🙏 The story of Juan Diego is central to Mexican Catholicism. In December 1531, Juan Diego Cuauhtlatoatzin, a man of the Chichimeca people, encountered the Virgin Mary on Tepeyac Hill. She instructed him to ask the bishop to build a church there. When the bishop demanded proof, Juan Diego returned to the hill, finding Castilian roses blooming out of season. He gathered them in his tilma (cloak). Upon presenting these to the bishop, an image of the Virgin appeared on the tilma.

⛪ December 12 marks the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe, commemorating this miraculous event. It's one of Mexico's most significant religious and cultural celebrations. Millions of pilgrims visit the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe in Mexico City, where Juan Diego's tilma is displayed. The day features colorful processions, traditional music, and heartfelt devotion.

🇲🇽 A Closer Look Tours takes you up close and personal with Mexico’s culture, history, gastronomy, and folklore. 🔗 www.acloserlooktours(dot)com 📧 info@acloserlooktours(dot)com 📞 602-938-0951

12/11/2024

📍 Mexico City, Mexico

⛪ During your visit to the historical heart of Mexico City, you'll note how the Templo Expiatorio de Cristo Rey, better known as the Old Basilica of Guadalupe, stands out for its domes and extraordinary architecture.

⛪ Completed in 1709, the temples have four octagonal towers and an eye-catching dome, decked out in vibrant yellow and blue Talavera tiles. You'll be wowed by the gleaming white Carrara marble altar, a 19th-century addition. (Fun fact: The altar's canopy is held up by Scottish granite columns weighing 4 tons each.)

⛪ The temple's had its share of makeovers over the centuries, morphing from Baroque to Neoclassical style. In 1904, it got a promotion to basilica status, cementing its place as a national religious site.

📸 Charly Pérez

🇲🇽 A Closer Look Tours takes you up close and personal with Mexico’s culture, history, gastronomy, and folklore. 🔗 www.acloserlooktours(dot)com 📧 info@acloserlooktours(dot)com 📞 602-938-0951

12/11/2024

Happy ! Here's something yummy for your tastebuds. Champurrado is a rich, warm Mexican drink that's perfect for chilly evenings or festive occasions. This chocolate-based beverage has its roots in pre-Hispanic Mexico, where cacao was revered by the Aztecs and Mayans. When the Spanish arrived, they introduced new ingredients like milk and sugar, which were incorporated into the traditional drink, evolving into what we now know as champurrado.

Champurrado is traditionally enjoyed during Las Posadas (the nine days before Christmas - more on that soon!) and often paired with tamales. Its thick, comforting texture comes from the masa harina, making it more substantial than regular hot chocolate.

Recipe:

Ingredients:
- 4 cups water
- 1/2 cup masa harina (corn flour)
- 2 cups milk
- 1 disk of Mexican chocolate, chopped
- 1/4 cup piloncillo or brown sugar
- 1 cinnamon stick
- Pinch of salt

Instructions:
1. In a large pot, whisk the masa harina into the water until smooth.
2. Add the milk, chocolate, piloncillo, cinnamon stick, and salt.
3. Heat over medium heat, stirring constantly until the chocolate and sugar dissolve.
4. Simmer for about 10 minutes, stirring frequently, until the mixture thickens.
5. Remove the cinnamon stick and serve hot.

12/09/2024

📍 Cathedral of Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception, Campeche

👉 Here's an example of the unique blend of ancient and modern you'll experience when you visit Mexico. Here, in front of the city's iconic Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, local designers have set up a fashion runway for an evening event—a juxtaposition of today's world set against the backdrop of this 16th-century marvel, part of the city's UNESCO World Heritage site. ¡Bienvenidos a México! 🇲🇽

🇲🇽 A Closer Look Tours takes you up close and personal with Mexico’s culture, history, gastronomy, and folklore. 🔗 www.acloserlooktours(dot)com 📧 info@acloserlooktours(dot)com 📞 602-938-0951

📸 Manuel Jurado

12/09/2024

Interesting read! 🙏

Our Lady of Guadalupe is a significant religious figure who signifies hope and protection for countless Latinos in the U.S. and abroad. For photographer Amanda Lopez, she's an emblem of home.

12/08/2024

📍 Basílica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, CDMX

⛪ Delegations from every part of the country visit the Basilica in Mexico City all month long. This group of Chamula authorities, shown here, is an Indigenous Tzotzil Maya group that came to pay their respects to the Virgin of Guadalupe from as far away as Chiapas, Mexico.

⛪ The Chamula people maintain a unique blend of pre-Hispanic and Catholic traditions. Known for their distinctive white wool tunics and colorful embroidery, the Chamula fiercely guard their autonomy and cultural practices. Their religious ceremonies, held in their iconic San Juan Chamula church, incorporate pine needles, candles, and other local products.

⛪ Visiting Mexico City and the Basílica during December is an unforgettable experience, which we offer through our custom "Juan Diego and the Virgin of Guadalupe" tour every year. Contact us to put your own small group tour together for 2025!

🇲🇽 For over 30 years, A Closer Look Tours has taken travelers to Mexico for authentic experiences and unforgettable journeys. 🔗 www.acloserlooktours(dot)com 📧 info@acloserlooktours(dot)com 📞 602-938-0951

📸 Bacho López

12/07/2024

"To travel is to live." ~ Hans Christian Andersen

Such a simple phrase! 📖 But... There's so much to it, don't you think? This quote captures the essence of travel as a life-enriching experience. 😍 It exposes us to new cultures, ideas, and perspectives, expanding our understanding of the world—and can lead to personal growth, increased empathy, and a deeper appreciation for the diversity of human experiences. 🫶

📸 Manuel Jurado - Popocatepétl volcano, "Juan Diego and Our Lady of Guadalupe" custom tour

12/06/2024

📍 Chichén Itzá, Yucatán

Did you know...

🏛️ Chichén Itzá features the largest ball court in Mesoamerica, measuring an impressive 551 feet long and 230 feet wide. This was where ancient Maya played a high-stakes game that sometimes ended in human sacrifice.

🏛️ The acoustics in Chichén Itzá's main ball court are remarkably engineered; a whisper from one end can be heard clearly at the other, 554 feet away, demonstrating the Maya's advanced architectural knowledge. (Try it! It's pretty amazing...)

👉 You'll visit the marvels of Chichén Itzá on our custom "Legacy of the Maya" tour. A Closer Look Tours takes you up close and personal with Mexico’s culture, history, gastronomy, and folklore. 🔗 www.acloserlooktours(dot)com 📧 info@acloserlooktours(dot)com 📞 602-938-0951

📸 Julia Miller

12/06/2024

History:

"oday it is known that the Olmecs discovered the process of vulcanization 3500 years before Charles Goodyear, that Teotihuacan was larger than Imperial Rome, that Texcoco was a cultural capital of the Nahua world, a city similar to Athens for the Greeks, it is known that Tenochtitlan had 700 thousand inhabitants, that is, was 16 times larger than Seville at that time, it is also known that education among the nahuas began from childhood and that was obligatory, public and universal, unlike the Europeans, who only educated children of nobility, we know the today that the Mayans built observatories and that designed the only Venus calendar in antiquity and that in the city of Ek Balam founded the most important painting schools of their culture, it is known that the wixarika and the raramuri learned to connect their heart and his thinking with the earth and his essence thanks to plants and avoiding physical diseases healing the mind first."

Just over 5 centuries ago, the natives in Mexico stopped feeling pride, their children and their children's children never knew that their grandparents had built an impressive civilization...
Details in comment
Today, more than 500 years after the arrival of those men who possessed a strange way of seeing the world, Mexicans begin to discover things that for decades were sorely omitted in textbooks.
Today it is known that the Olmecs discovered the process of vulcanization 3500 years before Charles Goodyear, that Teotihuacan was larger than Imperial Rome, that Texcoco was a cultural capital of the Nahua world, a city similar to Athens for the Greeks, it is known that Tenochtitlan had 700 thousand inhabitants, that is, was 16 times larger than Seville at that time, it is also known that education among the nahuas began from childhood and that was obligatory, public and universal, unlike the Europeans, who only educated children of nobility, we know the today that the Mayans built observatories and that designed the only Venus calendar in antiquity and that in the city of Ek Balam founded the most important painting schools of their culture, it is known that the wixarika and the raramuri learned to connect their heart and his thinking with the earth and his essence thanks to plants and avoiding physical diseases healing the mind first.
There were so many wars to impose religion and its customs or simply conquest of our territory. Here there were already scientific advances but history imposes it and is written by the conqueror, it's time to really know who we were before we were invaded.
We know so much that today it is possible to leave behind that belief that Europeans discovered a continent and that in addition civilized it, because as you could appreciate, civilization here already existed.”— Carmelo Morales.

12/06/2024

Nature at it's finest... 🦋

World of Butterflies/ Mexico, Mariposas Monarcas 🦋
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12/04/2024

📍 Plaza Mariana, Mexico City

⛪ The Plaza Mariana in front of the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe transforms each December, welcoming millions of pilgrims for the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. The celebrations peak from December 8 to 12, culminating in the Feast of Our Lady of Guadalupe.

⛪ In 2022, a record-breaking 12.5 million devotees gathered, many traveling on foot and camping in the basilica's courtyard. The site houses the revered image of Our Lady of Guadalupe on Juan Diego's cloak, central to the Mexican Catholic faith since 1531.

⛪ The square fills with colorful decorations, traditional offerings, and the sounds of devotional songs and dances. Mexico City mobilizes extensive support for pilgrims, providing food, water, and medical care.

👉 Ask about our custom 7-day "Juan Diego & Our Lady of Guadalupe," which takes you through Mexico City's historic district and allows you to witness one of the country's most beloved traditions.

🇲🇽 For over 30 years, A Closer Look Tours has taken travelers to Mexico for authentic experiences and unforgettable journeys. 🔗 www.acloserlooktours(dot)com 📧 info@acloserlooktours(dot)com 📞 602-938-0951

📹 Manuel Jurado

12/04/2024

📍 Uxmal, Yucatán

🏛️ The ancient Maya city of Uxmal, with its massive Pyramid of the Magician, is one of Yucatán's most-visited ruins and a stop on our "Legacy of the Maya" custom tour. With its unusual elliptical base, the Pyramid of the Magician is 131 feet high, challenging conventional pyramid design. Nearby, the Governor's Palace sits on a 39-foot platform—its alignment with Venus reveals the Maya's astronomical skills. Stone mosaics with serpents, jaguars, and human figures adorn the buildings, revealing Maya mythology and social order. And, the city's acoustic design makes it even more amazing—the way it was built allows sounds to carry quite efficiently across its plazas and structures. 🎤

For more information on our custom "Legacy of the Maya" tour, visit 🔗 www.acloserlooktours(dot)com 📧 info@acloserlooktours(dot)com 📞 602-938-0951

📸 Julia Miller

12/03/2024

This sexy beast? One of the many gorgeous iguanas that call the ruins of Uxmal in Yucatán home 😉🦎 He's a poser... And he knows it! 🎤 🤣

📸 Julia Miller

12/02/2024

🔥 SALE EXTENDED THROUGH DECEMBER 8, 2024!🔥

👉🏼CyberWeek savings are on!👉🏼New guests save 20% on thee exciting 2025 tours while returning guests get $100 off per person. Explore our new Culinary Tour in Mexico City, the Baja Whales & Wine adventure, or the unforgettable Monarch Butterflies experience. Book now to secure your spot with only $200 down!


Click for more info! 👇🏼 https://conta.cc/3CPrKnj

11/30/2024

📍 La Condesa, Mexico City

🌳 The neighborhood of La Condesa, lovingly known by its residents as "La Fondesa" because of its many eateries ("fondas"), is one of the city's most vibrant neighborhoods. Lush green parks like this one on Avenida Amsterdam are part of its charm, as are the many beautiful buildings that surround them.

🍽️ La Condesa is part of our new 7-day Culinary Tour, which departs on June 2, 2025, and includes experiences in Michelin-starred restaurants, private cooking lessons, private mezcal tastings, and tours of the magical capital metropolis known as CDMX.

👉 This tour is on sale through Travel Tuesday (Dec. 3) - 20% off for new guests and $100 off for return guests! 🎉

🔗 www.acloserlooktours(dot)com 📧 info@acloserlooktours(dot)com 📞 602-938-0951

11/30/2024

📍 Restaurante Bajlum, Palenque, México

Our guests in Palenque enjoyed a Thanksgiving meal of wild turkey (guajolote - gwa-hoh-LOH-tay) and wild squash soup 🦃 🍲

Located in the shadow of Palenque's ancient Mayan ruins, Bajlum is a culinary time capsule just 1.7 miles from the archaeological site. This unassuming eatery, helmed by the passionate duo Francisco and Ilda, served as a gastronomic gateway to pre-Hispanic Mexico for our guests, inviting them to explore Mayan cuisine beyond the ruins, one adventurous bite at a time.

📸 Julia Miller