Explore
A Cooking Class in Oaxaca Should Teach More Than a Recipe
Oaxaca is an easy place to become overconfident about food. A few days of mole, tlayudas and mezcal can make a visitor…
Explore
Mexican Food Is Regional Before It Is National
Calling something “Mexican food” is useful until the meal arrives. Then geography takes over. The country’s cooking changes with climate, agriculture, migration,…
Explore
Fourteen Days in Mexico Means Choosing One Mexico
Mexico is not a two-week route. It is a country large and varied enough to contain dozens of them. The old itinerary…
Explore
Day of the Dead in Oaxaca Is Not a Costume Party
Oaxaca during Day of the Dead is easy to romanticize. Marigolds cover doorways, candles flicker beside photographs, brass bands move through the…
Explore
Budget Travel in Mexico Starts With Geography
Mexico can be affordable, but calling it a cheap country is not much of a plan. A week in a beach resort,…
Explore
Bazaruto Is a National Park, Not an Empty Paradise
Bazaruto is often sold with the usual island language: untouched, undiscovered, empty. It looks good in a brochure, but it is a…
Explore
Diving Mozambique Requires More Than Warm Water
Mozambique’s coastline is long enough to make the phrase “diving Mozambique” almost meaningless on its own. Ponta do Ouro in the south,…
Explore
Swimming With Whale Sharks Is a Privilege, Not a Promise
A whale shark encounter is usually sold through one perfect image: clear blue water, a vast spotted animal, and one swimmer suspended…
Explore
Ten Days in Mozambique: Pick a Coast and Leave Room
Ten days in Mozambique sounds generous until the map starts asking questions. The coastline runs for thousands of kilometers, roads can be…
Explore
One Week in Mauritius Is Enough If You Stop Racing
Mauritius looks small on a map, which encourages a particular kind of itinerary: breakfast in the north, snorkeling in the east, a…