Category: Everything (Potpourri)

A Day Trip to Dolores Hidalgo

I recently blogged about my four-day trip to San Miguel de Allende, a small colonial city a few hours north of Mexico City. San Miguel, which for decades has attracted older Americans and Canadians – many of them retirees – instantly shot towards the top of my list of favorite places in all of Mexico.

Many foreigners own vacation homes in San Miguel, so the city is not cheap, in comparison with other highland cities and towns in Mexico. As such, many backpackers visit it as a day trip from either Querétaro or Guanajuato, larger cities that are just an hour away by bus. I recommend staying longer, not just because San Miguel casts an enchanting spell, but also because the city itself makes a great base for day trips to various points of interest.

I spent several hours day tripping from San Miguel to Dolores Hidalgo, a Pueblo Mágico (magic town) and the one-time residence of Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, a not-so-humble priest who lived here when he kick-started the Mexican Revolution (one of several revolutions in Mexico’s turbulent history, but, alas, the ultimate one) against Spanish rule. I suspect that most visitors hit up the Museo Casa de Hidalgo, the house-turned-history museum about Hidalgo’s life and times, and then leave. But while a far cry from being the most exciting Mexican town, Dolores Hidalgo is a pleasant place and deserves a bit more exploration than just the museum.

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Photo Locale of the Month – May 2017

Of all my travels around the world, I don’t think I have ever been to any country with as much history and with so many jaw-dropping sights as China. I was fortunate enough to visit the PRC three times, and to visit Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan as well. (I will leave it up to you, Loyal Reader, to decide whether or not those last three destinations are part of China or not.)

I still haven’t made it to Tibet, home to the North Face of Mount Everest, and to the Potala Palace, which looks stunning in pictures. One day. I have, however, explored several sections of one of the New Seven Wonders of the World, the Great Wall of China.

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Comparing the “Alien” Films

I sometimes pepper the travel content of this blog with movie critiques. See, I was a movie geek long before I became a travel geek, and both activities appeal to the dreamer inside me. (I have even penned a few screenplays – of varying degrees of ineptitude.)

The “Alien” films, which began with 1979’s simply-titled “Alien,” comprise one of my favorite movie universes. Not only do they generally have above-average writing and acting, but their art direction and creature design are state of the art. And what kind of traveling journeyman hasn’t dreamed of spending months or years in peaceful cryo-sleep, en route to a new world?!

This past weekend marked the release of “Alien: Covenant,” the sixth film in the franchise. So far, it has all the hallmarks of a box office disaster, although it will still turn an eventual profit following its overseas release. I don’t consider the cheeky “AVP” (“Alien vs. Predator”) movies part of the immediately family, but I will share my thoughts about the six core “Alien” films in the following paragraphs.

Yes, there will be SPOILERS.

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Cuba: The Food

This is pargo. Pargo – snapper, for the non-Spanish speakers reading this – is a common dish for both tourists and locals in Cuba. I mention this distinction because during my travels through Cuba this past March, I learned that the diets for Cubanos and extranjeros are, with a few exceptions, worlds apart.

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Four Days in San Miguel de Allende

The colonial cities and towns of Mexico, with their leafy public squares, Baroque churches, vibrant markets, and colorful architecture are quite special. Oaxaca, Querétaro, Guanajuato, even much bigger Guadalajara…all are worth visiting. For years, the small city of San Miguel de Allende, acclaimed by countless travel writers as among the very best, alluded me. One planned visit was canceled after I caught the flu. Another was aborted following a schedule change at work. But this past March, I finally made it to San Miguel de Allende…

…and it was worth the wait.

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A Sunday on Doll Island

I had the opportunity, during my recent February trip to Mexico City, to make a return visit to Xochimilco, the canal district and delegación that has much to offer visitors and Chilangos both. Xochimilco is most famous for its canals, tranquil (albeit polluted) waterways that zig-zag through largely agricultural acreage. This was my fourth or fifth trip to Xochimilco, but rather than take the tren ligero (light rail train) to the market-church-and-canal trifecta that I call Xochimilco Town, I opted for a longer, spookier trip. My destination: Doll Island.

La Isla de las Muñecas (Doll Island) is a small island in a remote section of Xochimilco’s waterways that, as its name suggests, is home to children’s dolls. Hundreds of them. Decaying.

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Photo Locale of the Month – April 2017

It has been five years since I last visited Europe, and six years since my first, and thus far only, visit to Spain. I visited with a friend in April, 2011, and flew into Barcelona for two days, which was not enough time by half. The Catalonian capital was enchanting enough, and the unseasonably warm weather instilled us with high hopes for how the rest of the trip would go.

Alas, eight days of late-season rainfall swept in a few days later, dampening our spirits (no pun intended) to the point that we hightailed it out of Spain one week earlier than expected. We finished the trip in Paris, which is a delight to visit in any climate and which was greeted by an early summer. One city we did visit in Spain before the worst of the weather moved in was Granada, a mid-sized Andalucían borough with roughly 235,000 people. As regards tourism, Granada has one mainstay, the massive, UNESCO-protected Alhambra.

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Cuba Photo Gallery: The Propaganda

It is no secret that Cuba, for many years a no-go destination for most Americans, is rife with propaganda. Much of it is anti-American, or anti-Capitalist, and an equal amount of it is pro-Castro, or pro-revolution. Throughout my travels to China, Russia, the Ukraine, and Syria, I have always found a certain kitschiness in images of Mother Russia, of the working man sowing fields “for the people,” of that great hammer-and-sickle, of the Fearless Leader. Even Mexico has its share of anti-colonial propaganda, from urban graffiti to the murals of Diego Rivera and David Alfaro Siqueiros. Some of these images are impressive, artistically-speaking, while others make me laugh. The key, I think, is to take them with a considerable grain of salt.

Here is a gallery of Cuban propaganda as photographed by yours truly. They are in no way a reflection of my political beliefs; I don’t condone the violence that accompanied Cuba’s revolution.

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Cuba Photo Gallery: The People

I have not, historically speaking, been good at photographing people. From time to time, I’d notice a person during my travels who had that photogenic something that I knew needed to be captured, and – after getting their permission – I would try my best to photograph them, being cognizant of their time and any cultural sensitivities. I always made it a point to show them the picture afterwards, and frequently offered to email them a copy of the image.

The results were mixed, however. That gap-toothed Asian woman along the Jinshanling section of the Great Wall?  I captured the smile but didn’t zoom in enough. The curious boy standing near the Istanbul tram that ran through Sultanahmet? He posed, soldier-like, but I forgot to crouch down to his level, and his head appeared the size of a giant pumpkin.

I have gotten better, however. I felt especially brave – and as curious as that young Turkish kid – while exploring Cuba, and snapped dozens upon dozens of pics of Cuban locals going about their business. Fishing, singing, selling, relaxing. The camera gods smiled upon me those three incredible weeks. Here are some of my favorite shots, along with any relevant commentary:

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A Reunion of Amigos

Q: What do an entrepreneur, a human resources executive, a high school English teacher, a middle school history and science teacher, and a graduate student have in common?

A: They live in Mexico City, and they are my friends.

My long-awaited (for me, at least) return to “CDMX” was a resounding success. I didn’t get to see everyone I wanted to see, nor was I able to hit up every one of my former stomping grounds, but on the whole, I was able to stroll through some of my favorite neighborhoods and spend time with old friends – even if it was just for a quick drink.

Would you like to meet them? (Apologies in advance to mis amigos for posting these pics – although I don’t think the content is anything too compromising.)

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