A big reason that I'm a weather-chaser, is because I love getting outdoors in the natural world. Preferably on my own two feet, breathing the air, seeing and hearing the birds. In Utah, there are hikes near where I live in the gorgeous mountains. But I have to drive to get to them. In Mexico, I just walk outside my door and walk through the neighborhoods to the nearest park.
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| Comitan, Chiapas, evening at the central park downtown |
Every town I've lived in Mexico has many parks and tree-lined streets lined with sidewalks for people to walk safely. People walk to shop, they walk to work, kids walk to school. Everywhere you go, people are outdoors walking from place to place. There are plenty of cars too, but vehicles and pedestrians coexist in courtesy.
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| Also in Comitan, a small city with so many beautiful parks. |
Mexico is also filled with natural wonders and national parks. This one is near the Mexico/Guatemala border.
In Veracruz where I lived the longest, there is something called a malecon that runs along the coast for miles and miles. There are several long piers reaching out from it to the sea, where you can view crabs, a variety of birds, colorful fish underwater. I walked along the malecon every morning, often at dawn to enjoy the sun rising over the water.
In Mexico, outdoor life is rich and varied. Taken for granted, actually. It's such a beautiful country with perfect weather to enjoy the natural beauty in any season. Following are pictures I've taken while enjoying nature as offered all throughout Mexico.
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| And sometimes nature gets indoors, like this really big butterfly resting on our curtain. |
What a beautiful country, with such a wonderful variety of wild life.
ReplyDeleteThe one time I ventured into Mexico (in 1996) was a day trip on a bus from San Diego, which I was visiting, to Tijuana. That drive definitely was not beautiful and we were warned to stay on one particular avenue and not venture elsewhere. We heeded that advice. Your descriptions of parks and walkable towns is exactly what I would want in a place I visit. I grew up in New York City which is a city where you do a lot of walking if you live there, and I've never lost the habit.
ReplyDeleteI traveled that route with my family nearly 20 years ago, from San Diego through Tijuana and on to the Baja Peninsula. Tijuana looked awful to me, scary and ugly. I've never been in any other Mexican city that looked that bad.
DeleteI, too, love nature. In fact, I like to wander about the woods.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures! Love the sunning lizard!
ReplyDeleteIsn't he beautiful?
DeleteSuch a beautiful place!
ReplyDeleteSome decisions made here with regards to cars and traffic really did us a disservice. Things should be more walkable. It sounds like where you're at made better decisions.
ReplyDeleteOur towns and cities should have a lot more parks, to begin with. I could go on and on about car culture, but also North America doesn't have as good a climate, and on bad days a car is way more comfortable than walking.
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