The blog is everywhere now, in all the topics!

I have just updated over 500 pages I have written since 2004…

In the Most Recent Articles list just to your left of here, you can see (duh) the articles I have most recently put into this format. Right now those are whatever I happen to be working on, but when the conversion of the site is complete, that list will serve as a blog list for what is newest. You can also use the Archives, further down the page on the left side.

Why am I doing this webiste revision? To make the information more accessible. To offer my own perceptions and stories of Mexico in a time when it is receiving so much bad press — some of it deserved but certainly not all.

Basically, I am revising the site as a thank-you to the many Mexican people who have been so kind to my husband Kelly and to me. There is so much that is wonderful here in Mexico.

Rosana Hart, San Juan Cosala, June 2009

WHERE’S THE BLOG? is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

March 21, 2009 — Those of us foreigners who live in Mexico are getting a lot of concerned phone calls and emails from family and friends in the US and Canada. They are seeing sensational news stories of dead bodies and drug cartel violence here in Mexico, and tend to assume that we are living in a war zone.

They don’t think about Mexico being a very large and diverse country. I wrote back to one worried friend who lives in a small town in the rural American West, that she probably didn’t worry about getting caught in the crossfire of gangs in Brooklyn or LA. I did say it was *almost* but not quite identical here, and she wrote back still most worried. This is typical of what other expats tell me is going on with them too.

Happily, some expats decided to reply with a new website about the truth of what it is like to be here. http://www.thetruthaboutmexico.com is aptly named. It’s got a lot of great articles, and it’s also got a terrific blog list running down the sidebar. So go take a look, and if you are here and dealing with worried friends up north, send them to that website. And you may need to get your spare bedroom ready for guests!

My Blog Makes a Top 10 List for Mexico Blogs!

Manzanillo Blog wrote a few days ago:

There are many great Mexico Blogs out there, and while we are still getting lots of traffic from the Lonely Planet Awards, I wanted to give them a shoutout so they could get the exposure they so much deserve.

I was thrilled to discover that this blog, yep, this very one you are looking at now, was on the top ten list! Here’s the link to the article: http://www.manzanilloblog.com/general/top-10-mexico-blogs/

I knew most of the other blogs on the list, but found a couple of gems I hadn’t seen. Because I’m blogging on several topics besides Mexico, I don’t have time to read widely on any one subject, and I’m always behind on my reading, it seems!

New Book: A Walk Through Mexico’s Crown Jewel, by Doug Bower

The crown jewel is one of my very favorite cities in Mexico, Guanajuato. So I was pleased to hear that writer Doug Bower had done a guide to this compact and steeply-hilled city. I wrote a walking guide to Olympia, Washington, when we lived there, and that left me with an appreciation for the task of guidebooking.

Here’s the info:

This travelogue is for American, English-speaking European, and Canadian travelers who have grown weary of the typical Mexican vacation. It is a travelogue with strong guidebook features about the city of Guanajuato (the capital of the state of Guanajuato). The book features the author walking through the city of Guanajuato and describing the areas of interest to tourists and most importantly saving the unaware tourist from getting lost in a topographically confusing terrain.

Doug Bower is a freelance writer and book author. He’s authored several books on how to expatriate to Mexico and on learning Spanish. He lives in Guanajuato, Mexico, with his wife, where he is a writer for “Ventana” Magazine.

And the book is at Amazon:

Around the Mexican Blogosphere, and a New Book is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Her daily blog, www.mexicotoday.blogspot.com, has just found a place on my browser’s toolbar, so I can be sure to check it often. Here is the blurb at its top:

Mexico Today is your daily dose of news and analysis on current affairs in Mexico. This blog is moderated by Ana Maria Salazar, host of “Imagen News”, the only nation-wide radio news program in English broadcasted from Mexico. Need to know what is going on in Mexico? Mexico Today is the place to go.

A very good way to be better informed.

1 Comment from the old blog:

At November 04, 2007 1:13 PM,  Who is Ana Maria Salazar said…

Greetings from Mexico City. I appreciate you recomending my  blog. Cheers, Ana Maria Salazar
www.mexicotoday.blogspot.com

Ana Maria Salazar’s Great Blog for News is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

You can find the Lifestyle Refuge here.

UPDATE 2009: As I’ve been redoing my site, I’ve had to toss out links to a lot of old blogs that aren’t being kept up anymore. The people got bored, died, or went north, I suppose. But I am pleased to report that Elliott Joachim is still dishing out her well-written and whimsical posts. She’s also got a long, long blogroll of other blogs about Mexico.

I just found myself reading every word of a post comparing Ajijic to a college town, with us expats as the students. Huh? It works!

Another Blog from Lake Chapala is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

On the right is a long list of other blogs about Mexico, so there’s plenty to keep you busy beyond his site! If you go to his links page, there are all sorts of other good things.

I’ve had intentions of getting as well organized as he is about Mexican information, but now I will save my organizational attempts for other projects and just refer you there. Message boards, earthquake information, Spanish language, and much more.

Sparks Mexico: An Informative Blog is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

UPDATE 2009:  It’s still going strong with a lot of good content.  I just read a couple of great articles.

A Blog on the Yucatan is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico

Rolly lives in Lerdo, Durango. His website, www.rollybrook.com, is a mixture of personal and informational, rather like mine. But he’s far more of an expert than I am on many of the practicalities of Mexican life, and he has more patience than I do in explaining them!

Good reading and reference for anyone who’s thinking of living in Mexico or retiring in Mexico, as he has done. Unlike most of us, he lives in the midst of a large Mexican extended family.

Rolly Brook’s Website on Mexico is a post from: Mexico with Heart - Living, Traveling, and Retiring in Mexico