Fredrick Catherwood’s Lasting Legacy

Fredrick Catherwood’s Lasting Legacy


In  the early 1840’s, two haggard men on mules emerged from Mexico’s Yucatán Peninsula telling stories of a lost civilization discovered and unknown cities explored, long before the days when Nikon cameras and National Geographic magazine told us of these things. Between the years of 1839-1842, American John Lloyd Stephens...

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Buying on the Beach

Buying on the Beach

Defining Mexico’s Federal Maritime Zone


  Defining and measuring the Federal Maritime Zone The Federal Maritime Zone is legally described as the 20 meter wide strip of land that is transitable and next to the beach (playa mar). Let’s break this down to make sure we are clear on what we are talking about: 1....

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The Secret to Raising Fish

The Secret to Raising Fish

The Holy Trinity of Resonance


Do some boats raise fish better than others? You bet they do, but why? And, how can a 25 foot Mexican panga raise more fish than a “no expenses spared” 45 foot sport fisher? It is all about the Holy Trinity of Resonance, Vibration and the Horsepower to Weight Ratio....

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Wine and Cheese

Wine and Cheese

Breaking with tradition


The theme of an eternal discussion among sommeliers, the pairing of wine and cheese is without a doubt the most difficult.  This despite the fact that both are a result of the blending of yeast and bacteria.  A good cheese can better a low quality wine or a powerful cheese...

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Pacific Coast Pirates


…a 27 year old English Captain by the name of Thomas Cavendish, was bearing down on him with distinctly unfriendly intentions.”   An account of the Manila Galleon and English pirates off the coast of Mexico The Spanish galleon Santa Ana slowly tracked the coast of Baja California in November 1587 under clear skies and favorable sailing conditions. She was four months out of Manila and only days away from dropping anchor at her home port of Acapulco. She carried in her hold an immense fortune in Oriental treasure: gold, pearls, silks from the China, ginger, cloves and cinnamon from the Spice Islands, jewels from Burma, Indian ivory. Lookouts from the Santa Ana spotted distant sails as the overloaded ship passed by Cabo San Lucas. Captain Tomas de Alzola reduced sail and ordered camouflage netting to be hung. Weapons were issued to those among the 160 passengers and crew capable...

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Latest ADIP Articles
Letter from the Publisher February 2011

Letter from the Publisher February 2011

Dear loyal Paradise readers, The times they are a changin’. That statement is just always fitting, but it feels a little more fitting lately. Here at paradise we are changing with the times! Magazines are undeniably becoming increasingly obsolete as we readers go online for more and more of our information. Much loved by readers...

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February 2011

February 2011

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January 2011

January 2011

Jan-Mar, Whale watching, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo. One secret that the waters off the beach have to offer during winter months is the great whale-watching during their annual migration. In December and early January many of the fishing and sailing boats have already spotted great packs of dolphins, pods of whales with calves and quite a few sea...

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Obsidian Mirror-Travels

Obsidian Mirror-Travels

Refracting Ancient Mexican Art and Archaeology


Jan 1- Mar 27, Obsidian Mirror-Travels: Refracting Ancient Mexican Art and Archaeology, Getty Research Institute Exhibition Gallery, Los Angeles, Ca. From the first moments of contact, Mexico’s indigenous civilizations evoked in their European conquerors an array of unsettling emotions ranging from fascination to fear. Eradicating populations, destroying monuments, suppressing native religions, and collecting and classifying...

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How to Travel Safely in Mexico

How to Travel Safely in Mexico

Canyons, beaches, tropical forests, deserts, and mountains – The Mexican landscape has something for everyone… Beyond the incredible variety of the land, Mexican culture and gastronomy is fantastic and not to be missed! Eat tamales in Oaxaca, mole in Puebla, and corundas in Michoacán. Swim in some of the most incredible beaches in the world....

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ProMexico and Mexico Trade Negotiations

ProMexico and Mexico Trade Negotiations

New Head Appointed for ProMexico President Felipe Calderone has appointed Carlos Guzman Bofil as the head of the country’s investment and export authority known as ProMexico. Mr. Guzman has a bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from Iberoamericana, a Masters in engineering from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) and a Master’s degree in business administration...

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Title Insurance

Title Insurance

The Essential Protection for Mexican Real Estate


Title insurance is available in Mexico. A title policy, issued in conformance with Mexican law, will protect the amount of the buyer’s investment.  Canadian newspapers carried stories recently about the eviction of land owners in an area known as La Manzanilla, located on beautiful Tenacatita Bay, between Puerto Vallarta and Manzanillo on the west coast...

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Interiors: Finishes & Flooring

Interiors: Finishes & Flooring

Flooring may be the last thing you think of when it comes to building a home, but it’s usually the first thing to make an impression upon entering your home.  The first step towards a beautifully finished interior is deciding on a floor that is both appropriate for your budget and fits with your interior...

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Tour Mexico's Monarch Butterfly Preserve

Tour Mexico’s Monarch Butterfly Preserve

Michoacán El Rosario Mountain Sanctuary is a Magical Experience… The present Monarch Butterfly Biosphere Reserve was established in 2000, and consists of more than 138,000 acres of high mountain area along the border between the states of Michoacán and Mexico. More than 150 million Monarch butterflies from North America winter in this area, which can...

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Butterflies of the Zihuatanejo Area

Butterflies of the Zihuatanejo Area

Until recently, only fifty-nine species of butterflies had been formally cataloged by naturalists working in the Zihuatanejo area early in the twentieth century, but thanks to an ambitious college thesis project by Mexico City biology major Ana Luisa Figueroa, that number is up to 155 and still climbing.  Figueroa began her work at El Refugio...

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An "Inside Game" for Sustainable Waters

An “Inside Game” for Sustainable Waters

There is a “new frontier” in fly fishing, right here in Zihuatanejo. It has been here all along. I most certainly did not discover it, but have only just begun to discover its potential with fly rod and reel.  Local pangeros (fishermen) have known of the abundant species of inshore game for many generations. Combining...

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Shopping in Mexico's Markets

Shopping in Mexico’s Markets

Discover the "underlying elegance" among the chaos of a Mexican mercado


Mexican markets can be crowded, loud, hot, and confusing. Shoppers expect low tarp ceilings, uneven floors, and obstructions. Unusual smells and noises are distracting while shoppers dodge dogs and toddlers underfoot. At first glance a market may appear overwhelming… The seeming chaos is masking the underlying elegance of the Mexican market: a place to buy...

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