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The Eye of the Dragon | Cuernavaca an Excerpt

March 1, 2010 | Leave a Comment

by Rio Guzman

The afternoon sun was beginning to cast the giant shadow of evening upon the dusty downtown streets of Cuernavaca. I walked downhill toward the center of town, leaving behind the crowded bus station filled with bawling infants and angry blaring horns. I walked in earnest with the anticipation of the newcomer, welcoming the new sights and smells, the mouth-watering smells emanating from the “carne asada” and onions frying on ambulatory food stands by the street corners.

Without delay I set up residence in an inexpensive downtown hotel. I remember it was about four o’clock. I remember because the moment I entered my room, I dropped my backpack, grabbed my recently made jewelry and rushed out to find a place to sell my wares before the sun set. In a period of about two hours, standing on a street corner, close to the main plaza, I sold every single piece I had. As a result, I had a good dinner that night, the first of many to come. Read more

THE PEOPLE’S GUIDE TO MEXICO FORUMS: CLOSED!!

January 30, 2010 | 1 Comment

Well, we gave it a try but in the end our attempt to maintain discussion forums just didn’t work.  A few days ago we received the email below and as the saying goes, “the nickel dropped”.  Felipe is a long-time reader and supporter of The People’s Guide To Mexico.  We always appreciate suggestions and advice from our readers — and Felipe’s assessment of the situation we’ve faced with these forums strikes us as absolutely accurate.

So… in the next few days, I’ll pull the plug on the forums and dedicate my attention to this blog.  Thanks to all who participated in the forums!

Carl

Carl and Lorena,

I just checked your blog and it appears that you’ve returned. I was beginning to think that you two were, in actuality, a re-incarnation of B. Traven. Read more

I’m back… I think?

January 13, 2010 | 1 Comment

I apologize for the long absence but 2009 was a chaotic year for me.  As you may have noticed, the long-awaited discussion forums have been totally trashed by spam, so I’ll probably just pull the plug on those and concentrate, hopefully, on keeping this blog more up-to-date.

saludos!

Carl

I spent most of my adult life flying Mexico

March 2, 2009 | 1 Comment

Saludos amigos!

I have truly been blessed. I learned to hang glide 30 years ago and I have spent almost every winter since then flying Mexico. I have seen this country as few gringos- or human beings for that matter- have ever had the opportunity. I have seen Mexico like the halcones and the zopilotes. But unlike our feathered friends- I got to sample the beer too. And sample, and sample and sample… Well, you get the picture.–

Or do you?

I am compelled to try and describe my experiences in an effort to share them with the millions of Mexico fans who will never get to huck themselves off a cliff and disappear into the Mexican back country. It has been an exciting quarter century. The results can be found at my new web site www.TalesFromTheWildBlueYonder.com

I would post a few episodes here if that’s appropriate.

Currently I am camped and flying on the beach in Nayarit.

Carl chimes in:

John, it is great to see your post but you forgot to sign your name… And please, don’t deprive us of further episodes or excerpts from your books.  One of the purposes of this blog and our newly opened Talk About Mexico forums is to provide a friendly soapbox for other Mexico authors and bloggers.  There is so much “fluff” on the internet about Mexico that the really good stuff tends to get lost in the crowd.  Keep it coming!  Adelante!

Here’s a link to John Q Olson’s WildBlueYonder website.  John alsohas some very cool videos of flying along the beach in Nayarit, Mexico on YouTube.

I also encourage anyone interested in flying in Mexico to get a back-and-forth conversation going with John on the forum.  I’ll copy this post to the forums and hope that John is able to pry himself out of his hammock occasionally to contribute some more of his experiences.

A Good Samaritan

January 30, 2009 | Leave a Comment

The only thing worse than coming back from Mexico to Canada in December is leaving behind a friend like LR who remains there til March. Among the regular email updates I get from “Senor Beachbaum” was this…

“I got back to the hotel and our maid was looking a little down and she finally showed me her arm which was swollen and she had no feeling in her finger tips. She was a little scared. It took a lot of coaxing, but she finally agreed to let me take her to the doctor. I covered the costs of the visit and prescription and lab tests tomorrow morning. The doctor told me that I’ve done the right thing by getting her in as she would never have done it on her own.

I’ve since been talking to a few people in the hotel and we are setting up a trust to cover the medical and schooling for her kids for a whole year. It feels so good to be able to make a difference”

The maid is the only maid in a hotel with about 28 rooms and she works six and a half days a week, a plucky little single mom of three.

It does feel good to make a difference. Neither my friend nor the others at the hotel are rich. In a country with a minimum wage of about five dollars or so a day, it doesn’t take much for an old gringo to do right.

I’m Lost… How About You?

January 27, 2009 | 1 Comment

Lorena just left to attend a 45 day Vipassana meditation course in Massachusetts so I’m (temporarily) in charge of both our website and this blog.  It has been too long, as usual, since I’ve added anything here or done basic housekeeping but I’m making a vow, as usual, to be more attentive and to post updates much more frequently.

Coming back to this blog after a long absence points out to me that it isn’t very easy to browse older posts and comments.  I’m not very skilled with WordPress so if there’s anyone out there who would like to offer suggestions on how this blog could be improved, please don’t hesitate.  In fact, you don’t have to know WordPress to make suggestions — Lorena and I really do welcome input from our readers.

saludos!

Carl

A Great Letter!

March 16, 2008 | 2 Comments

Hello Carl and Lorena!

Please send me the costs and details of retirement in Mexico… just kidding!!

I hope this doesn’t sound strange (although I have a feeling you might get this kind of letter frequently), but even though we’ve never met, you both feel like good friends to me.  I stumbled across your Peoples Guide a few years ago when I was getting ready to graduate college and and knew I wanted to take some time off and travel… somewhere.  I hadn’t really thought about Mexico until I found your book, and the effect it had on me was immediate.  I couldn’t put it down, and read it cover to cover in a few days, and then read it a few more times.  My imagination was moving nonstop, and I couldn’t wait to try and experience some of the things I was reading about.  Read more

Por Favor: Introduce Yourself

March 16, 2008 | 14 Comments

Many people who read this blog and our People’s Guide website will email us with questions or comments. Unfortunately, relatively few of them take the time to say something about themselves or to describe their own experiences in Mexico. Back in the good old days, before email, we really looked forward to receiving “real” letters from our readers at the post office, as these were rarely just brief notes or requests for information about Mexico.Today, some of the emails we receive put big smiles on our faces and remind us why we’re still doing this after so many years. I’ll post some of these emails here but I’m writing this now to invite all of you to introduce yourselves, and to say a bit more about who you are, where you’ve been — or anything else that can help all of us turn this blog into an interesting meeting place rather than just a reference source for Mexico information.There is a tendency on the internet to hide behind anonymous screen names and goofy avatars — I don’t want to do that here, so please, feel free to introduce yourself, either by commenting on this post or by sending me an email.By the way: I would never pass private information, including names and emails to another person without your permission. In fact, unless you specifically give me permission to publish your name or email address, I’ll only use your first name and last initial, and if you include it, the city or state where you live as a signature.

One For The Book

February 25, 2008 | Leave a Comment

Dear Carl & Lorena,

I’ve wanted to write you for several years, but, I thought there couldn’t possibly be anything i could say that hadn’t already been said by those more authoratative than  I.  

Read more

Where Are We Now?

February 8, 2007 | Leave a Comment

We are at the Bald Mountain Sasquatch Observatory — our cabin in the North Cascades — doing our best to update our websites and get the garden thawed out after a long, harsh winter. The dogs, as usual, are underfoot.  We’ve been back-and-forth to Mexico and Central America several times since I last posted on this blog, so once again I’m making a strong vow to keep it more frequently updated.

Who are you?

June 20, 2005 | 15 Comments

You are invited to introduce yourself here… and, yes, go ahead and (gently, briefly) mention your business, just as long as it has some value to Mexico travelers. I don’t want to spend a lot of time editing these posts so keep it “on topic” please or I’ll just delete it.

Visitors… I don’t necessarily endorse the businesses, guides, or suggestions made here. Be careful!

Carl

The People’s Guide to Mexico :: News and Updates from Carl & Lorena

June 12, 2005 | 1 Comment

link to our home site: The People’s Guide to Mexico :: News and Updates from Carl & Lorena:

…if you’ve been wondering what we’re up to, or why we haven’t replied to your frantic emails, it’s because we’re just too busy. We try our best but as the website becomes more popular, we continue to fall behind.

If you’re inquiring about guided hikes in Mexico’s Copper Canyon, please write directly to Amy at Adventure Specialists for further information.

Amy’s email address is: discover@adventurspec.com

When booking a hike, be sure to mention our website in order to receive an autographed copy of The People’s Guide To Mexico.

saludos,
Carl and Lorena




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