Jeanine Kitchel If you’ve ever read Dickens’ Great Expectations like I did in high school, the ghoulish side story of Miss Havisham probably lingers in your imagination.  No doubt you recall she was a bride jilted by her groom at the altar, and forever after, refused to remove her wedding  gown, barricaded herself into the [...]

Jeanine Kitchel Amazing as it may seem, the Riviera Maya, that white sand stretch of endless beaches  in Quintana Roo, still has one beach town that has defied the odds and retained a spectrum of that “je ne sais quois”  factor we all hope for in our search for Margaritaville.  It’s small with great beaches, [...]

by Jeanine Kitchel I recently read that middle class families in Mexico are having tiny transmitters placed under their skin so that satellites can locate them if they’re kidnapped.  According to a report, sales of the device have jumped 13 per cent this year after kidnappings rose 40 per cent from 2004 to 2007 in [...]

By Jeanine Kitchel Colonial Mexico is only 3-1/2 hours from Cancun in the form of that grand dame, Merida.  Whenever I need a cultural boost, real Mexican Yucatec food, streets teaming with masses of people, an old mercado where you can find anything and everything, historic mansions brimming with history, and an all day street [...]

By Jeanine Kitchel Known for irresistible beaches, a party crowd and happy hour specials, Playa del Carmen also lays claim to its “Little Italy” section north of Avenida Consituyentes on Fifth Avenue. Five thousand Italians live in Playa, and with their arrival came a number of good Italian restaurants. For Italian food in the Riviera [...]

By Jeanine Kitchel Tropical Storm Dolly passed through the eastern Yucatan Peninsula south of Cancun with little impact beginning 1 a.m. EDT July 21 and exited the peninsula around 7 a.m. enroute to the gulf and points north.  Winds maximized at 49 miles per hour and it appears there have been no damages.  Rainfall was [...]

By Jeanine Kitchel Last week Mexico’s Environmental Agency, Profepa, closed five upscale eco-resorts on the Tulum Beach Road in the Riviera Maya which were allegedly built without proper permits or did not meet proper environmental regulations. The five properties — Diamante K, Tankah 1, Rancho El Jaguar, Caleta Tankah and Mezzanine– insist their paperwork is [...]