Travelogue
Senior editor Pamela Colloff, writer-at-large Suzy Banks, and others talk about this month's cover story, "Down Mexico Way."
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texasmonthly.com: How long did you work on this story? What type of research did you do?
SB: I probably spent a full week looking for information on the Web, in magazine archives, and in guidebooks, but info was rather limited. Michoacan may be the most ignored area of Mexico, which is so surprising given its incredible beauty.
JNP: I did about two weeks of research before going—more talking to people than reading up on the subject—and spent another week after the trip following-up and writing.
PS: I was in Puebla for almost a week, mainly eating. Before leaving, I visited several Web sites on the city in general. (Just go to google.com, and type in "Puebla Mexico.") I also talked to people I know. Marilyn Tausend was one; she does culinary trips to Mexico and she can be reached at cul_adv_inc@attglobal.net. She is also the author of the cookbook Mexico the Beautiful. I bought the Lonely Planet travel guide to Mexico and found it very helpful.
SH: I went on the basic Sunday through Thursday trip that the package-tour companies offer.
texasmonthly.com: What was the most difficult aspect to working on this story? Why?
SB: The Spanish language, because I maul it when I try to speak it and I go daft when I try to hear it. I can order a beer like a native, however.
JNP: Not knowing how the place would check out. If it didn't work, I would have had to either pan it or hustle up or down the coast to check out my backup choices.
PS: I felt like I had fallen down on the job because I only tried about eight different restaurants for mole poblano. If I had been writing a longer story, I would have visited fifteen. Food stories are hard because you can never finish a meal—you're always saving room for the next one. Sometimes I've been so paranoid about overeating that I've ended up hungry at the end of the day—this after two lunches and two dinners.
SH: My challenge was to both experience the grand beach life of the resort—the Mexican beaches in the Mayan Riviera area south of Cancun are absolutely stunning—and to get me and my family out of the resort to experience real Mexico. On one hand, there was such a relaxing feel to the resort that we had a tendency to want to hang out there around the gigantic pools and the beach. But as I explain in more detail in the Texas Monthly story itself, by making the effort to rent a car and explore, even though I know a smidgen of Spanish, I had a far more interesting time, seeing old ruins, finding out the way to restaurants and bars. We jumped on a ferry to spend a day in Cozumel, and we hit a Mexican theme park that featured the area's naturalistic attractions—all very simple stuff to do.
texasmonthly.com: What was the best thing about working on this story? Why?
SB: The best thing was getting to go somewhere I've never been before. After having written Texas travel pieces for several years now, I sometimes feel like I'm just penning the same story over and over again. This was a chance to chew on some fresh material.
JNP: Sitting on the beach and getting up every now and then to jump in the water. Looking at that view.
PS: Well, paradoxically, eating so much was the best and worst part. But I just liked walking around the city and drinking in all the wonderful eighteenth-century architecture and tile-covered buildings (the weather was beautiful when I was there). And the people were lovely to us—they are very proud. Everybody wanted to tell us their favorite mole recipe.
texasmonthly.com: What was the worst thing about working on this story? Why?
SB: Limiting my visit to three days and limiting my article to two thousand words. I needed two weeks and the entire magazine to do the place any justice. Other than that, the huge number of dead dogs along mountain roads was heartbreaking.
JNP: Kris getting stung by a jellyfish, followed by my son Jake. That's no fun.
texasmonthly.com: Did anything unusual happen to you while you were in Mexico? If so, what?
SB: Where should I start? When we were touring the crafts villages, it seemed like the first three or so we visited were in the throes of some saintly festival or another. In Capula, we walked the streets, which were packed with temporary booths selling food and things like kitchen tools and cheesy doodads. The celebration had obviously begun the night before because the place was ankle deep in party garbage. Chickens were being plucked and a pig lay on a table being butchered. In the courtyard of the cathedral, a raucous salsa band was playing while little piles of garbage burned here and there. The inside of the church, however, was pristine and filled with flowers. I found the contrast between the street and the church overwhelmingly sad for some reason.
JNP: The glowing plankton. I'd never seen that before. It was as magical as the northern lights, which I've witnessed once in my life.
PS: I thought my friend Gini was lost at one point because we misunderstood each other about when she was coming back from a side trip to Veracruz. I reported her missing to the local police and the American Embassy. I wasn't sure she was really missing, but I thought that if she was, I didn't want to be the one to tell her mother I had dillydallied around for a day before calling the authorities. The embassy was extraordinarily efficient and concerned. They have a procedure all worked out for disseminating the name of a missing person to other embassies so that they can be on the alert (Americans must disappear a lot down there).
PC: We caught a case of tourista—not in Mexico City, but from the food on the plane home! Beware.
texasmonthly.com: Would you go back to your assigned destination on your own for vacation? Why or why not?
SB: Yes, I'd love to go back to the area and explore some of the national parks and natural wonders—hot springs, mountain hikes, the butterfly sanctuary. I loved the fact that the place wasn't overrun by U.S. tourists.
JNP: We're talking about Christmas, although now that I've blown Yelapa's cover, a room might be tough to book.
PS: I would certainly go back.
SH: I would try a different resort—not because mine was disappointing (it was not), but because there are so many resorts now on the Mayan Riviera south of Cancun, all of which have different feels. Moreover, the more comfortable you feel with Mexico, the less you need a resort that does everything for you. It's far more adventurous—and cheaper—to start creating your own vacations.
PC: Definitely, especially as Mexico City recovers more and more from the economic problems it has had in the past decade. It's a world-class city that is regenerating and transforming.
texasmonthly.com: Have you had much experience traveling in Mexico?
SB: I've made quite a few trips to Mexico, beginning in the seventies—visiting the Yucatan, Veracruz, Chiapas, Oaxaca; traveling through the Copper Canyon; and wandering border towns.
PS: I have been to Mexico a dozen times or so.
SH: I've been to a couple of these types of resorts over the years.
texasmonthly.com: Was Mexico what you expected? Why or why not?
SB: I am always surprised by the country's huge litter problem.
SH: I never once felt unsafe. I never once felt uncomfortable. Yes, I was in areas that catered to tourists. I never went off the beaten path. But, you know, there are few of us who do take real exotic trips to unknown Mexico. So for those of you like me, come on down, the water's fine.
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