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TEQUILA

In his poem Tequila: Panegyric and Emblem, Alvaro Mutis wrote:

Despite its huge sales in the US, tequila is still the most misunderstood and maligned liquor. Most people only know tequila through drunken encounters with low-quality ('mixto') tequila in their youth. But on my site you can discover the 100% agave tequilas or the gentle tequilas aged three years in oaken casks (virtually, at least). 

You can have the virtual pleasure of sipping the rare tequilas made entirely by hand in small distilleries, using 200-year-old methods, fabricas that don't even have electricity but still produce tequila as they have for generations. And at www.ianchadwick.com/tequila/ you can learn all about the history, production, culture and lore of tequila, with notes on buying and tasting. And you can learn about mezcal and pulque (in recently expanded and revised sections). There are links to other resources, books, magazines and a lot more. Plus you'll have a chance to purchase my handy Pocket Guide to Tequila.

News of the crisis in the agave harvest - agave shortages and diseases. Tequila producers are importing agaves from Oaxaca. 100% agave products are being made into mixtos! Distillers are closing or cutting back. Armed guards patrol agave fields. Check this site for details. Updated and revised in March 2001.

IXTAPA & ZIHUATANEJO

My wife and I have a special place in our hearts for Mexico, especially the west coast. We'd like to move there and open a business, or at least retire there. Check out my comments on Zihuatanejo, Mexico, one of our favourite places to visit. You'll learn about our friends Johnny and Lorna who run a small bed and breakfast down there - and who operate the Amistad Cafe (the best place for breakfast in Zihua). Plus you'll read other comments on the community and town.

And here are a few words on the resort community at Ixtapa.

MEXICO & CRIME

Also read my comments on crime in Mexico, too. Sensationalist news articles don't always convey the truth. Mexico doesn't always get the most sympathetic press in North America. Canadian and American writers have a poor understanding of Mexican history, culture, economics and society.

Every traveller to Mexico should read The People's Guide to Mexico. by Carl Franz. It's entertaining, funny, informative and very, very human. Even if you don't go to Mexico, this is simply the best travel book I've ever read and simply a good read in general.
Now available in its 30th anniversary printing.