An article I wrote for Retirement and Good Living has just been published. Head on over and have a look:
Beyond Beach Resorts and Tourist Towns – finding the real Mexico
Ten places to discover in Mexico beyond Cancun, Puerto Vallarta, and Cabo San Lucas:
Rio Lagartos, San Miguel de Allende, Tlacolula market, San Juan Chamula, Rio Secreto, Campeche, San Cristobal de las Casas, La Manzanilla, the Guelaguetza Festival, and the Chiapa de Corzo Great January Festival.
All words and images by Alison Louise Armstrong unless otherwise noted
© Alison Louise Armstrong and Adventures in Wonderland – a pilgrimage of the heart, 2010-2017.
Adventures in Wonderland 
Excellent.
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Thanks rabirius.
Alison
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Excellent article. It will entice folks to visit some of the lesser known places in Mexico! Well worded with great photos.
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Thanks so much Darlene. I hope it does. Mexico is such a rich and diverse country, with so much to see and experience beyond the beaches.
Alison
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A fine article, Alison, and superb photos. Real Mexico indeed.
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Thanks Tish. We love the real Mexico. We love the beaches too of course, but there’s so much more than that.
Alison
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Congratulations Alison you are kicking goals with publishing on other websites! It’s a great post, great writing adn wonderful photos. I can see there is another article there of yours as well. I love the top photo on this post. The area with all the birds I really would love to go there. I am very behind with my blog reading … as we start moving into the cooler weather here and work and family life settle down, and my FIFO husband back from twelve months plus in Canberra i am hoping to get back into it. Hope you and Don are both well. Louise
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Thanks so much Louise. I’ve written several articles for Retirement and Good Living – six or seven I think. If you go to this latest article and click on my name they’ll all come up. Rio Lagartos – with the flamingoes, and all the other birds, is spectacular – definitely one of the highlights of all our explorations in Mexico. Hope you guys are well too, and looking forward to a frosty Canberra winter 🙂 Meanwhile we’re back in Vancouver and finally today it feels like spring has arrived.
Alison
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Perfect article and the right advice for travellers.
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Thanks so much Peggy. Maybe it will inspire people to explore a little further.
Alison
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Sure hope so.
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Great article, Alison. Hope your words and photos kickstart some added tourism in these lovely and lively spots. As a Mexico aficionado myself, I’ve been to a few of these (and others) and agree so much that the country has much more to offer than its beaches and their all-inclusives (although those beaches are pretty damn nice, too!)
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Thanks Lexie. I do agree the beaches are pretty damn nice, and would never turn down a good beach holiday. We just recently spent 6 weeks at Playa del Carmen and loved it. But, as you know, there’s *so* much more to see! I love the richness and variety of the culture.
Alison
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Well summarized— and punctuated with your fine photos, Alison. Good job. –Curt
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Thanks so much Curt. I like writing, but the photos are most of the fun for me 🙂
There’s so much to explore in Mexico that I find exotic – and that entices me every time.
Alison
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And you write well, Alison. But your photos are always superb! –Curt
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Thanks Curt.
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Very informative and well written. I am also reading the retirement articles and find them intriguing and full of great suggestions. As for this one on Mexico, I absolutely agree – the real Mexico (I would almost say, the only) is away from the beach resorts. So much to explore in the lesser known destinations.
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Thanks Helga.There are many articles in Retirement and Good Living about Mexico, and retiring there. I doubt we would (we love Vancouver too much) but we sure like to visit – especially the lesser known destinations, and the places where the indigenous culture in still thriving.
Alison
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Such a wonderful article, and your photos just keep getting more and more distinctive. La Manzanilla, Huh? Sounds like exactly the kind of place I am looking for – our next journey we hope to stay for a more extended time and sink into the area. Thanks so much for all your little travel tid-bits. Congrats on the article – the site looks really nice, and your article there is fabulous! 🙂
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Thanks so much Susan. Retirement and Good Living’s a good site – lots of interesting and useful information. I highly recommend La Manzanilla. We’ve been there twice, once for 4 months and once for 2 months. If you search here for La Manzanilla you’ll find all the other posts I’ve written about it to give you a better idea of what it’s like.
Alison
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beautiful photos as always – you continue to inspire me! We’ve only travelling a little in Mexico so far, but definitely plan to see more.
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Thanks Danila. I hope you get to explore Mexico further. It’s really amazing. There are a lot of wilderness areas that we haven’t seen yet, as well as many wonderful towns.
Alison
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I don’t think I’ll ever get there – lovely to read your words and see your fabulous photos x
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Thanks Annie. It’s such a long way from where you are, but if you ever decide to cross the ocean again Mexico’s pretty amazing.
Alison
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My sister went this year and definitely wants to go back 🙂
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Congrats on the informative article Alison…yes, I am a Cancun baby. I decided Mexico would be a new midlife escape for me because it is right here below U.S., a few hours away, and affordable. Appreciate the tips! Blessings, Kalisha
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Thanks Kalisha. We stayed in Playa del Carmen for 6 weeks, but only made it to the airport in Cancun. Since you’re close I really recommend checking out Rio Secreto. it was amazing.
Alison
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Great idea giving other future travellers insight into less well known parts of Mexico. Nice to see your post on Retirement and Good Living…we have contributed a few articles for them over the years as well. As always enjoy reading you and seeing your crisp and lively photos!
Peta
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Thanks Peta. There’s so much to see in Mexico. It’s a really diverse country and worth exploring but so many people just go for the resorts.
Alison
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amazing……
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Thank you, and yes, it really is.
Alison
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you’re doing more colors these days, eh…very cool
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Thanks BF, but I’m not sure what you mean. More colours?
Alison
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Alison I didn’t realize you did freelance work. Fantastic article and how lucky they are to have you as a contributor! When we are retired and have time to do an extended trip I will refer back to your article for locations.
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Thanks Sue. I hope you get to exploring Mexico. It’s quite amazing and we haven’t even seen all that much of it. The freelance work is pretty minimal, but fun anyway. I only occasionally seek it out. Sometimes it just comes to me.
Alison
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That’s wonderful if it comes knocking at your door Alison. Glad it’s fun.
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La Manzanilla looks so peaceful and appealing in your photos, Alison. A nice side to Mexico. 🙂
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La Manzanilla is really beautiful – one of our favourite places.
Alison
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Hi! Are you talking about La Manzanilla, Jalisco?
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Yes! It’s a wonderful town. We’ve been twice, each time for a few months.
Alison
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It’s a great article !
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Thanks so much Jean. It was fun to put together.
Alison
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Excellent article Alison…congratulations!
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Thanks so much LuAnn. I guess you can tell that we like Mexico 🙂
Alison
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Congrats! Great writing, as always. Glad you’re sharing it with more readers. 🙂
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Thanks Felicity. I hope people find it useful and go exploring further afield in Mexico. It’s such a diverse country
Alison
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Congrats, great article Alison! I am sad to say that I have only been to one on the list: Rio Secreto. They all look amazing but San Miguel and San Cristobal are highest on my list. Having said that, guess where we are going in a couple of weeks: Zihautenejo. Our son, who is just finishing his first year at U. of Waterloo, has requested an easy-going beach holiday. It will be a nice family get away and hopefully Mike and I will get to travel beyond beach tourist towns another time (though not complaining about a week of sun and warmth in Zihua). I love Mexico!
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Thanks Caroline. Rio Secreto’s pretty amazing eh! I think I’d like Zihua, just because of curiosity created by seeing Shawshank Redemption lol. But I have read that it’s still a pretty laid back small town. Have a great time!
We must get together soon, but not ’til later next month – got lots going on which I’ll write about eventually.
Alison
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Ya it was amazing; all three of us loved Rio Secreto. I’ve been to Zihua and it is a laid back town with a nice vibe. Didn’t know about the Shawshank connection (my son will get a kick out of this). I’ll look forward to getting together whenever you’re ready.
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Great article Alison! I was so excited to see you included San Juan Chamula and the Mayan Hospital on your list of places to go since it’s really off the beaten path. Our experience there definitely stayed with us for a long time and was one of the highlights of our time in that region. I remember vividly entering that dim “church” and the scent of the pine needles and hundreds of flickering candles. I think, besides actually watching the Shamans practice their healing magic by circling the afflicted with eggs or a chicken, our favorite part was the “bad” saints by the entry door, facing the wall, with their hands cut off since they’d failed to deliver on their promises. Your posts on Mexico have made me think more than once about going back again – such as amazing country! Anita
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Thanks Anita. We spent several hours in the Chamula church, and had a shaman do a healing for us. The whole thing was a very moving experience. I’m so glad we went there – such an authentic slice of Mexico to experience. I’ll write a post about it eventually. We’ve been pretty blown away by Mexico. Every visit we see a bit more and it’s always been amazing.
Alison
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Congrats on the article Alison. We’ve been to Mexico a few times, and agree that the smaller, off the path places are the way to go. ~James
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Thanks James. Yes, away from the beach resorts you have a whole other experience of Mexico. We love the rich culture.
Alison
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Love this post so much Alison! It is fabulous. Thanks for writing it!
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Thanks so much Nicole. We’ve so enjoyed Mexico. It’s such a diverse culture. There’s always something new to discover.
Alison
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I’ve got to explore more of Mexico! Someday
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Yes!
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I like your article, very inspiring and thank you for your post
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Thank you very much, I’m glad you liked it.
Alison
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Thanks for promoting My Country.
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You’re so welcome. We love Mexico.
Alison
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A wonderful list. Bookmarking for a future visit. Fingers crossed that will be sooner than later.
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Thanks Madhu. I hope you get there. There’s so much to see and do.
Alison
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Like the photos! Greetings! 🙂
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Thank you so much!
Alison
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You are welcome!
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When I was 12 years old, I lived in Mexico City for almost four months. Years later (in the 1970s) I went back for a more wide-ranging visit. It seems that times have changed. Back then, some of the leading tourist towns were Acapulco and Taxco — the latter of which I loved — and places like Cancun, Puerto Vallarta and Cabo were unheard of.
Of your “Ten places to discover,” I’ve seen only San Miguel de Allende, which I agree is a treasure (as is your post). 🙂
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Thanks so much mistermuse for your kind words. I’d forgotten about Acapulco! Back in the late 70’s when I first went to Mexico I remember the big tourist towns being Acapulco and Mazatlan. I wonder if they’re still popular? I got horrendous food poisoning because I ate prawns in Mazatlan. I’m only vaguely familiar with Taxco.
Alison
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Amen! Travel is most rewarding away from fellow travellers! And Mexico I imagine is a fantastically rewarding country.
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I must admit I like a bit of a mix in that I’m not going to miss out on something like say the Eiffel Tower or Uluru just because there will be many other people there. On the other hand I do love it more when we get to the lesser known places and explore the reality of every-day life rather than the main tourist places. I think one of the best examples of this is Venice where millions crowd the main streets and the Grand Canal and never bother to explore elsewhere. In a way I’m glad it’s so – we spent many idyllic hours exploring the back streets and side canals and got to see how ordinary Venetians live without the crowds, even down to canal garbage collection boats.
We always go looking for whatever is out there beyond the main tourist areas.
And you are right – Mexico is a fabulously rewarding country, and so much more than beach resorts.
Alison
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