Ken Cooke
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8948
Registered: 2-9-2004
Location: Riverside, CA
Member Is Offline
Mood: Pole Line Road postponed due to injury
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SF Chronicle: Mexico off the beaten path
Link to article
Predictions of apocalypse may be nonsense, but 2012 may indeed be a portentous year – in the positive sense of the word – for Mexico's tourism
industry and for longtime travelers to Mexico.
For fans of "Old Mexico," the obsession with beach chairs and all-inclusive resorts that Cancun's birth has wrought has been an escalating
frustration. But this has been a good year, not only for travelers who prefer simpler, authentically Mexican experiences but for the villages,
family-run lodgings and restaurants and local guides who serve them. Tourism Secretary Gloria Guevara engineered a new emphasis on the country's
less-traveled destinations rich in history and culture, while buzz about the misnamed "end" of the Maya calendar introduced what, for many, was a
novel concept: Mexico has a vast world ripe for exploring beyond its hugely successful beach resorts.
What better time to offer our list of favorite underrated destinations in Mexico? Some are close enough to be day trips from large, popular tourist
destinations (but merit consideration as destinations unto themselves); others are more of a challenge. We've included destinations in areas currently
besieged by drug-trafficking violence because we trust they will one day be safe again. All have one thing in common: They have been unjustly
overlooked during Mexico's frenzied ride on the luxury train.
La Paz
Until Los Cabos was born, La Paz looked to become the next Acapulco. The unassuming capital of Baja California Sur remained a relaxed city of Mexicans
going about their business, while only a smattering of U.S. tourists joined vacationing Mexicans to enjoy the Mission-style downtown, traditional ways
and long, palm-lined malecon. That's begun to change already. First, Costa Baja opened just outside of town, the first resort that would meet the
expectations of travelers accustomed to the likes of Cabo or Cancun. The City formed a tourism board and began to toot its own horn. In San Jose del
Cabo, Puerto Los Cabos has just opened a new boutique hotel, Hotel El Ganzo and announced that JW Marriot and Secrets are on the way. Now that Highway
1 has been expanded to four lanes from Cabo San Lucas to La Paz, the capital is 1½ instead of 2½ hours away, making it an easy ride from the Los Cabos
airport and a viable day trip for those tied to Cabo. For those watching these developments with dismay, La Paz's essential nature hasn't changed, at
least not yet. But the new road will also take you more quickly to Todos Santos or the rugged East Cape's hiking, kayaking, surfing, cave paintings
and hot springs. And that's a good thing.
La Paz
Until Los Cabos was born, La Paz looked to become the next Acapulco. The unassuming capital of Baja California Sur remained a relaxed city of Mexicans
going about their business, while only a smattering of U.S. tourists joined vacationing Mexicans to enjoy the Mission-style downtown, traditional ways
and long, palm-lined malecon. That's begun to change already. First, Costa Baja opened just outside of town, the first resort that would meet the
expectations of travelers accustomed to the likes of Cabo or Cancun. The City formed a tourism board and began to toot its own horn. In San Jose del
Cabo, Puerto Los Cabos has just opened a new boutique hotel, Hotel El Ganzo and announced that JW Marriot and Secrets are on the way. Now that Highway
1 has been expanded to four lanes from Cabo San Lucas to La Paz, the capital is 1½ instead of 2½ hours away, making it an easy ride from the Los Cabos
airport and a viable day trip for those tied to Cabo. For those watching these developments with dismay, La Paz's essential nature hasn't changed, at
least not yet. But the new road will also take you more quickly to Todos Santos or the rugged East Cape's hiking, kayaking, surfing, cave paintings
and hot springs. And that's a good thing.
Parras de la Fuente, a bucolic town in northern Baja California, is home to the oldest continuously operating winery in the Americas.
For the vast majority of the English-speaking world, "wine" and "Mexico" intersect in just one place: northern Baja California. In fact, the oldest
continuously operating winery in the Americas is in Coahuila state's Parras Valley, in the bucolic town of Parras de la Fuente (fittingly translated
as "grapevines of the fountain"). Casa Madero, in fact, exported the grapes that started the Napa Valley's wine industry, when California was still a
province of Spanish Mexico. The palatial, 24-bedroom hacienda was founded in 1597 as Hacienda San Lorenzo, and its wines are still found alongside
Baja's finest on connoisseur's lists and among the winners of international competitions. The warm days, cool nights and low humidity are just as
favorable to tourists as they are to grapes, but it is usually only the most ardent oenophiles who find their way here from other countries. The
unassuming town's springs and pecan orchards create an oasis in the arid highlands. Little-known fact: The Sam Peckinpah classic "The Wild Bunch" was
filmed in Parras.
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mcfez
Elite Nomad
Posts: 8678
Registered: 12-2-2009
Location: aka BN yankeeirishman
Member Is Offline
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Txs Ken.......good clip.
Old people are like the old cars, made of some tough stuff. May show a little rust, but good as gold on the inside.
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