Mexico

Jan 07

Day Trip to Valladolid, Mexico

Posted by T.W. Anderson | culture, Mexico | 13 Comments

One of the best aspects of living long-term on the ground in any given destination is that you have more opportunities to explore the surrounding countryside and villages in comparison to backpackers who are just flitting through for a two or three-night stay. It’s the difference between skim-reading the novel and actually reading the whole thing cover to cover.

While I’ve been to Valladolid in the past, our recent day trip over the holidays with Ryan and Angela from Jets Like Taxis along with Devlin from Dream In Reality was jam-packed with over 500 photos shot, 2 hours of video footage filmed (including two Life on the Road entries for International Travel Writers), a massive lunch and two naps in between (there and back again via ADO). The following post is our adventure for the day, complete with a Viajes Con Cristina episode to boot Read More

Dec 04

Streets of Cancun – Local Neighborhoods

Posted by T.W. Anderson | Cancun, Live Like a Local, Mexico | 9 Comments

As I’m fond of saying, if you do a Google search of Cancun the only thing that shows up in the search results are pictures of naked people shit-faced drunk on the beach celebrating Spring Break, as well as plenty of photos of the beaches and all-inclusive resorts, condos and hotels. But what about the mainland, the city that exists beyond the pristine walls of the all-inclusive compounds and their English-speaking staff and American restaurants, plazas and Starbucks?

We live in the real Cancun. That is, the city beyond the tourist attractions. The mainland city where the workers who keep the all-inclusive zone functioning live and breathe and where hundreds of thousands of everyday, middle-class Mexicans have homes, cars, schools, hospitals, grocery stores, parks, plazas and yes, even subdivisions and mortgages and the same style of life that every other Western civilization has. Today’s article takes a look at the local streets and neighborhoods that make up the actual pueblo that has become renowned the world over as one of the top beach destinations for vacation. Read More

Dec 03

Ya Estas! In Cancun

Posted by T.W. Anderson | Cancun, culture, Food, Live Like a Local, Mexico | 8 Comments

There’s good, bad, expensive, cheap, greasy, organic, home-style and chain restaurants to choose from when visiting Cancun. If you stick to the Hotel Zone you’ll only ever come across the American-style chains like the Hard Rock Cafe, Outback Steakhouse or Applebees – tired options that you can have any day of the week while back home. If you are looking for real Mexican food while enjoying a vacation in the tropics, you have to get out of the tourist zone and enjoy some of the places that we eat on a daily basis since we live here. Such as Ya Estas! here in the heart of downtown Centro. Read More

Nov 22

Market 23 in Cancun

Posted by T.W. Anderson | Cancun, culture, Food, Live Like a Local, Mexico | 2 Comments

Fresh fruits and vegetables, spices and herbs, fish, pork, beef, chicken, duck, farm-fresh eggs, hand-made goods, soaps and shampoos, cheeses and beyond, Market 23 is the only open-air local market in Cancun. While it’s located in Centro and is sometimes frequented by tourists, the vast majority of daily traffic here comes from the locals. If you are looking for fresh produce for the table, this is the only place you want to be. Read More

Nov 19

Hotels in Cancun – Ikaro Suites

Posted by T.W. Anderson | Cancun, hotels, Mexico | 6 Comments

I’m a working professional, not a backpacker, and professionals require a certain level of service in order to ensure that their businesses stay afloat, no matter where in the world they happen to be. And if you are going to be in downtown Cancun for a few days and need a solid hotel to hang up your hat, you could do worse than Ikaro Suites. Read More