North America

North America

Submit a travel story

Isla Mujeres

Sail away from Cancun crowds.

Isla Mujeres, once home to occasional pirates and Mexican fishing families, has become a popular off-the-beaten-path destination for tourists and divers as well as an expat art colony. Many tourists visit the island as a ...

Mexican public servants watch porn on the job

Computer filters yet to be implemented

More than a third of government workers in Baja California are using their office computers to access pornography while at work, the Tijuana daily El Mexicano reports. Citing a study conducted in the Mexican state ...

Tasty Prince Edward Island

A visit to foodie heaven.

Prince Edward Island, Canada, is called the birthplace of Canada – it was the site where they became a confederation in 1864. In 2014, they will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the Charlottetown Conference leading ...

Río Lagartos — The Yucatan's Natural Side

Wildlife-rich wetlands preserve two hours from Cancun.

When you're in Cancun – and are tired of white sand beaches and turquoise water – drive to Río Lagartos, where you have a chance to see bright pink flamingos, sea turtles, rare birds and ...

Celebration of Life at Day of the Dead, Oaxaca

See the real Mexico in its traditions.

“The word death is not pronounced in New York, in Paris, in London, because it burns the lips. The Mexican, in contrast, is familiar with death, jokes about it, caresses it, sleeps with it, celebrates ...

Caution: Whales at Work

Up close and personal with gray whales in San Ignacio.

Our whale-watching excursion in San Ignacio, Mexico, turned into a close whale encounter in the literal blink of an eye. On the Pacific side of the Baja peninsula, there is a large lagoon where gray ...

Road-tripping Canada: The Maritime Provinces and Back

5,000-mile trek by way of the Trans-Labrador Highway.

Generally, I travel alone. I like to explore at my own pace and in my own time. I'm not big on planning, either. I leave myself space to explore a different direction or seize an ...

Chichén Itzá: It's the End of the World as We Know It

(And I feel fine.)

December 21, 2012, marked the milestone of not just another candle on my birthday cake, but also the Apocalypse: when the Maya's "Long Count" calendar indicated the end of a 5,126-year era. Forget America’s “fiscal ...

Lucha Libre, T.J. Style

The Mexican wrestling spectacle goes off Friday nights in Tijuana.

“Did that really just happen?” A lucha libre wrestler had tried to roll into the ring, miscalculated, and slammed down hard on the concrete. Instantly, the arena erupts in laughter, and the wrestler begins yelling ...

Vamos a Las Gaviotas, Baby

Quality surf, cheap lodging, tequila y más.

Here’s what you will do: head south to the land of Baja California, where tumbleweeds run like wild desperados under the tangerine glow of a nuclear sun. Hard work is commended, yet siestas are encouraged. ...

Borderlands: Two Days in Ensenada

We drove through downtown San Diego in a state of anxiety, paranoia and excitement. It’s hard not to be affected by the constant media deluge of horrors from south of the border: decapitated heads, mutilated ...

Polar Bear Season in Churchill, Manitoba

Our plane knifed through the dark grey clouds and plunged into a driving snowstorm. As the wheels touched down on the tarmac we could distinguish the hulking remains of previously crashed planes lining the runway. ...

We went to Mexico to get ahead. We smuggled cheese to get back.

An American couple moves to Tijuana to avoid the high cost of living in the U.S. They become food smugglers for Mexicans living in the U.S.

Christmas, island style

A memory of a Christmas spent on Mexico’s Isla Mujeres

At my desktop computer, I have clicked over to YouTube and typed in “Christmas music.” First up is, “Christmas Music Playlist Part Two For Your Christmas Party.” I click again. The party begins with Elvis ...

Mexican lawmaker urges database to track young border crossers

Over 237,000 adolescents returned by U.S. in 2011

In a December 17 posting on El Sol de Tijuana’s website, it was reported that a member of the PRI political party stated that a reliable database must be created to keep track of children ...