In the capital city of Puebla state, you can visit the very first library to be created on the America continent. The construction of it was finished in 1773.
In fact, with the volumes of books continually growing to a staggering 45,000, it soon started to rival the most prestigious libraries in Europe at that time.
At the Biblioteca Palafoxiana in Puebla City, the oldest hand-written manuscript stored there dates back to 1493.
The Palafoxiana Library is located in the downtown district of Puebla City. It is definitely a place to go visit when you are exploring the city and state of Puebla in Mexico.
Our onsite Mexico tour creation team has custom designed 2 excellent multi-day tours in Baja California Sur.
*** BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR ￨ LAND & SEA ADVENTURE TOUR - 11 Days
Geared for active outdoor enthusiasts.
- Surfing lessons, kayaking, spotting whales, snorkeling with whale sharks and sea lions, hiking and more.
*** BEST OF BAJA CALIFORNIA SUR ￨ COAST TO COAST CULTURE & NATURE TOUR - 10 Days
A comfortable and relaxed exploration tour throughout BCS.
- Todo Santos, La Paz, Culinary class, cheese making, beach time, star gazing, spotting whales and more.
Includes upscale accommodations.
Stay tuned - I should have these new tours online with advertised upcoming departure dates within the next couple weeks.
See you in Baja!
HE WAS MEXICO'S RENEGADE REVOLUTIONARY!
The history of PANCHO VILLA is well-known throughout his country.
Visitors to Mexico can walk through his house in Chihuahua City which also has the car he was assassinated in.
There is a great museum in the city of Durango in Mexico which chronicles his life's history through exhibits, painting, and actual photographs.
In the town of Parral in Chihuahua state, people can see the exact location of where he was ambushed and killed. There is also a small museum in the house where his killers waited for him.
Curious and adventurous travelers will enjoy learning about Mexico's colorful and sometimes, tumultuous past.
Included in our 12 day tour to explore the state of Chihuahua, travelers will visit Pancho Villa's home in Chihuahua City and also the location where he was ambushed in the town of Parral.
You can find this tour info here.
https://lnkd.in/gMpj2dhh
Our 2024 dates for this tour are -
Sep 5-16 / Oct 2-14
See you in MEXICO!
"Travel is a search.
And we're all looking for a world that's not like ours.
Where we can see and live things that we never imagined."
For a list of all our exploration tours, click here.
https://mexicovacationtours.com/our-tours/all-tours/
Adventure ON in Mexico!
EXPLORATION TOURS to discover the Back Roads of Mexico cannot really have an hour by hour scripted itinerary.
Why?
Because unbeknownst to the tour guide, unexpected local events might unfold which are definitely worth a closer look.
Example: With a small group of travelers from the US, we were passing by this little seaside village of less than 100 inhabitants on the Gulf of Mexico.
It just so happened that on that particular day they were working in unison to catch fish. With a couple motor boats, a huge net, lots of shared laughter, and the combined strength of women, children, and men, they caught, hauled in this incredibly heavy net, and then shared their catch.
What a interesting chance encounter to happen upon this scene as it was unfolding!
Obviously events like this cannot be planned on an advertised tour itinerary.
And that is the beauty of getting away from the commercialized touristy locations that are so heavily advertised. You never know what interesting sights you may encounter.
If you consider yourself to be a Curious & Adventurous Traveler, then we think you will love getting out into the Back Roads of Mexico.
Our Back Roads of Mexico tours -
https://mexicovacationtours.com/our-tours/back-roads-of-mexico-tours/
IT'S WINTERTIME IN MEXICO CITY!
At an altitude of 7,350 feet/2240 meters, it gets COLD in central Mexico.
So here's a helpful Mexico weather tip -
When traveling to the different colonial cities in central Mexico, bring your warmer jacket. You most likely will need it, especially at night and early morning.
Now you know.
See you in Mexico!
For most of our more curious and adventurous guests, travel is a search to first locate and then go explore a part of the world that's not like theirs.
Mexico is home to 58 distinctly different cultures each with their own language, customs, food, dress, traditions, and history.
Mexico is a BIG country. Its roughly the same geographic size of all the countries in western Europe combined.
In western Europe, travelers can experience many different culture in its many different countries.
In Mexico, over 50 different cultures exist in just one country.
MEXICO! A world of its own.
One of the more colorful kinds of artwork created in México can be prominately found in the state of Oaxaca.
Using cardboard, wire, and bright paint, these figures depict mythical spiritual animals. If you look closer, you can see that many of these works of art are constructed with various parts from different animals.
They are called alebrijes (al-leh-bree-ehs).
They have become so popular that México City has even created a large parade with each float showcasing giant colorful alebrijes.
The country of México has so much more to offer than just enjoying margaritas on the beach and big sombrero-wearing mariachis belting out songs.
México is also filled with many artistic surprises for curious & adventurous travelers to discover.
You've heard the expression, "When in Rome ..."
Intrepid travelers are usually more willing to be open to experiencing different cultures with their ways of living.
In this case, it was eating homemade icecream made fresh outside in a rural tropical jungle setting in a different country where people speak a different language.
FYI: The toppings on the icecream were a squirt of locally-made mezcal and a sprinkle of fried grasshoppers.
When in Rome ...
Adventure ON in México!
On our BACK ROADS OF CHIHUAHUA: DESERT & CANYONLANDS TOUR, you might find yourself sitting on this balcony deep in a canyon with an early morning cup of coffee as you watch the fog slowly dissipate to reveal a most spectacular view of pristine ruggedness.
Adventure ON in México!
Wanna Get High in Mexico?
Several different Mexican states have some great outdoor soft adventure activities . . . from river rafting to rappelling to waterfall jumping, and so much more.
I shot this video clip of a traveler from the USA.
With no advanced experience necessary, she was flying high and fast over some beautiful terrain in the state of Morelos.
What fun!
Adventure ON in Mexico!
A Meal at Petra's House is a True Mexican Experience -
In this short clip, we are in a very small coastal village with a couple travelers.
There are no hotels here. No formal restaurants. Two small stores.
Very weak internet.
That's it!
It's just the villagers living in a lush tropical rural environment close to a semi-deserted beach next to the ocean.
There is absolutely nothing "touristy" about this place.
Our "Curious & Adventurous" travel guests love places like this. They really like the intimate experiences they can have on our tours with the local folks.
On our Back Road of Mexico tours, we strive to introduce our guests to real Mexican experiences . . . like eating at Petra's place.
Feel free to contact us if you are interested to know more?
This is Mesmerizing to Watch!
Compliments of thousands of "Mexican Jumping Bean" fish.
Location:
Gulf of Mexico - just off the coast of Veracruz state in Mexico.
Adventure ON in Mexico!
A UNIQUE ARCHAEOLOGICAL RUINS SITE IN MEXICO -
It's off-the-beaten México tourist routes.
It has no pyramids.
It's not huge.
It sits on a high bluff overlooking an ocean.
It's the Quiahuiztlan ancient city and burial site for the Totonac people located in México's Veracruz state.
After exploring this site, one of our travel guests from California who already had the opportunity over several years to visit a dozen or more archaeological sites throughout México proclaimed to me that now Quiahuiztlan would go into his top 5 most interesting ruins sites in México.
For curious & adventurous travelers, this might definitely be a place of interest to explore.
FYI: There are 2 more interesting archaeological city ruins site ls to visit in Veracruz state.
Intrepid travelers who sign up for our History, Traditions & Ancient Ruins of Vercruz Tour (7 day/6 nights) will get to visit all 3 ruins sites plus more locations throughout Veracruz which have historical significance.
Find more info about this tour, go online to MexicoVacationTours and look under Festivals & Specialty Tours.
Adventure ON in México!
The state of Veracruz is recognized as "Mexico's Outdoor Adventure Playground."
The playground in this vid clip is obviously not in Veracruz. But it's kind of cool that this Illinois suburban town parks & rec department put this ride in one of its playgrounds for kids.
Happy Wednesday!
Adventure ON in Veracruz, Mexico!
There are some 1,600 beaches dotting the coastlines of the country of Mexico. Yet only a very very small percentage of them (think single digits) are even visited by foreign tourists. Of course, these beaches are associated with the highly commercialized/Americanized beach resort locations.
Each year, millions of pleasure seekers flock from countries worldwide to enjoy these selected over-advertised Mexico beaches.
My tour company's philosophy is to mostly STAY AWAY from those touristy beach places.
Instead, we introduce our CURIOUS & ADVENTUROUS TRAVEL GUESTS on small group tours to enjoy the more out-of-the-way coastline beaches. Usually the only other people on the beach are local Mexican families.
This video clip showcases one of Mexico's "hidden" beaches.
Adventure ON in Mexico!
SOMETIMES "STUFF" HAPPENS - THE RAFT FLIPPED!
Tours in more remote areas of the world are Not The Same As Disney World.
As a participant, you have to listen to your trained guide and do exactly what he or she tells you. You have to be "in the moment."
In the case of a rafting trip, the safety of everyone depends on a total team effort. If one person is not doing as they are told, accidents could happen.
Remember - The World Was Created WILD!
In this incident, the raft went over the falls at an angle and not straight.
Did one or more of the participants not do what their rafting guide told them to do or was it the fault of the rafting guide?
Several other rafts (including the one I was on) came over that falls without incident. I am sure the guide in the flipped raft had most likely gone over that waterfall dozens or more times in the past and knew how to do it. He was trained how to do it.
But as I said in the title, "Stuff Happens!"
You should know, everyone in that flipped raft made it safely onto another raft. No one was hurt. A little shaken but not hurt.
My small camera was on a strap around my neck as the people in my raft were rapidly instructed to paddle as hard as we could against the current of the falls to rescue those who went into the water. That's why this footage is so shaky.
The Big Takeaway from watching this Mexico Moment in the state of Chiapas is this - ALWAYS LISTEN TO YOUR GUIDE AND DO WHAT THEY TELL YOU TO DO WHEN THEY TELL YOU TO DO IT!
What Fun!
PARENTS GET TO PUSH THEIR KIDS DOWN A STEEP HILL!
In this MEXICO MOMENT video clip, a family from Italy signed up for a day of sliding down tall sand dunes with the warm tropical waters of the Gulf of Mexico shimmering as an idyllic backdrop.
Later, this family went for an ocean banana boat ride, ate at a local palapa restaurant on the beach, and then later, played together in the gentle ocean waves.
It was a great day of "Family Togetherness Fun."
Adventure-ON in Mexico!
Location: Veracruz, Mexico
HOW DO YOU REALLY GET TO KNOW THE "VIBES" OF ANOTHER COUNTRY UNLESS YOU PURPOSEFULLY STRAY OFF THE WELL-WORN TOURISTY PATHS?
One way is to go and eat the same foods alongside the local folks in their markets and at their sidewalk food stands. To interact with them, even if you don't speak their language. Smiles, friendly gestures, and shared laughs can help bridge any cultural differences.
As European travel guru, Rick Steves always tells his travel guests, "Become a temporary local."
This short video clip showcases one of those up-close "Mexico Moment" experiences.
