Health and Safety in Mexico

Taxco, in the state of Guerrero, only about two and a half hour's drive from the capital, makes for one of those magical day trips that combines many fantasies of what Mexican mountain towns should be like - and has excellent shopping.

The discovery of silver deposits in central Mexico in the 16th century gave rise to cities that were to become some of the nation's most important. And by also establishing themselves as state capitals and centers of commerce and education, silver mining cities such as Guanajuato, Zacatecas and San Luis Potosí were able to remain viable through the ensuing political and economic turmoil of Mexican history.

A priority for many visitors - even if they are only staying one or two nights in Mexico City - is going to Teotihuacán, the most visited of Mexico's archeological sites. Visitors will find these pyramids to be some of the most striking in Mexico, and within easy reach of the city.

Valle, with its clear, pine-scented air, is being restored to a nobler, historical look. Like other attractive inland towns, it is getting rid of ugly advertising posters and the black strands of electric cables that spoil the views of beautiful facades, old buildings, trees, and clear skies. Along with Mexico City’s historic center, Valle seems to be one of the first places where this process is nearly complete.

Valle de Bravo resounds with the happy tapping of hammers, the staccato rumble of road drills and is coated in sawdust and the fine grey dust of concrete. The lakeside town in the Estado de Mexico also has some new, young faces in the tourism office, opposite the sixteenth century campanario (bell tower).

Holbox means black hold in the Maya language. But the island's ominous name is belied by the shimmering turquoise waters that lap its soft, sandy beaches, and the bold azure skies that look down on its almost perfect isolation.