How to celebrate Cinco de Mayo – eat!
It’s been 150 years since the Battle of Puebla and, like any great David vs. Goliath story, it’s time to celebrate. Cinco de Mayo recognizes the triumph of the Mexican militia’s 1862 victory over the French army during the Franco-Mexican War. Although Puebla is the main party hub, May 5th is an opportunity for communities across North America to celebrate everything Mexican– from mariachi music to pinatas. There’s no better way to celebrate than to tuck into one of the traditional dishes of Puebla. Here’s what to eat on Cinco de Mayo: 1)...
Read MoreSwimming with the stars in Oaxaca’s bioluminescent lagoon
No-one told me the Fountain of Youth was located in a Mexican swamp. I was floating in a boat in the middle of a lagoon under an ink-black night sky when I heard a large splash. Someone in our group had jumped into the water. We were participating in a Phosphorescence Excursion with Lalo Ecotours, an experience offered at special times of the year, when a unique alchemy of ocean currents and water temperature draw dinoflagellate plankton into Manialtepec Lagoon, a deep lagoon located 20 minutes outside Puerto Escondido. Much like fireflies of the north, the half-plant half-animal...
Read MoreLast night I danced with a tarantula
Last night I danced the tarantella, a dance the people of Taranto, a city in the Puglia region of Italy believed would save them from death if they were bitten by a tarantula spider. Their dance involved frenzied spinning and jumping, driving the venom from their bodies, until they dropped to the ground exhausted. My version of the tarantella began around midnight when I spotted a hairy black spider checking out the fern beside my bed. I spun around wildly…thinking I’d grab a coffee table book. .. or something huge to flatten it. Given it was as large as a dinner plate I...
Read MoreThere’s a rooster in my bathroom
When I trained as a real estate appraiser, I was taught to factor in adverse locational influences when determining property value. Nuclear reactors, electrical power lines, noisy highways, they could all impact a property’s appeal. No-one mentioned roosters. They should have. I’m in the process of purchasing a home in Mexico and a two-legged fowl is impacting my quality of life. I haven’t actually seen the damn bird but I’m convinced he’s taken up roost in in our master bathroom. No matter how far I shove the industrial quality ear plugs into my ear canal,...
Read MoreMariachis and mescal
The first time ever I heard a mariachi sing was at a dinner club in Guadalajara, Mexico. I was seated in the front row surrounding a raised wooden stage and every time the mariachi stomped his cowboy boot, I’d feel vibrations ripple across the stage down into my toes. He sang of love, loss and betrayal and looked straight into my eyes. It didn’t matter to me that he was portly, wore a shiny, sequinned shirt and big sombrero, by the end of the first set I was madly in love. My swooning turned out to be the beginning of a bout of food poisoning and I spent the remainder of...
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Amazing Instagram photo by @sethstafford of Oahu's Sean Moody taking on the Mexican Pipeline
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Mercado Global's innovative approach to fighting poverty and empowering indigenous women in Guatemala’s highlands connects their artisan cooperatives to sales opportunities in the U.S. on an unprecedented scale.
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Beautiful Semuc Champey in Guatemala
In 2003, I left the corporate world to try my hand at travel writing. Now, I travel the world, writing about people, places and cuisine. My writing has appeared in over 100 publications and anthologies. 
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