Costa Esmeralda is miles of sand beaches and palms about three hours north of Veracruz. When the surf is up the waves are good for body surfing, and they are always good for a swim. We will spend two laid-back evenings here, staying at a beach-side hotel.

Xalapa, in sharp contrast to the rest of the places we'll be playing, is cool (avg. 68F) and often misty. This is a hip city with three excellent Universities and a cultural life fitting for a University town. The city is located on the lush gulf slope of the Sierra Madre at an elevation of 4,700' and surrounded by coffee plantations and dairy farms. There are galleries, cafes and restaurants a-plenty. En route to Xalapa we will visit El Lencero Hacienda and while in Xalapa we'll spend the morning at the Museum of Anthropology, which some call one of the best in the world. There are also interesting villages near the city such as Xico and Coatepec, as well as Texolo Falls where 'Romancing the Stone' was filmed. And with many rivers draining the humid forests of the gulf slope there are opportunities for white water rafting day trips.

"Cascada de Texolo", near Xalapa image courtesy merkaweb.com.mx

LINKS

An excellent page of links for Xalapa, from cyber-cafe's to science and ecology.

Enticing photographs and additional links for Xalapa.

Images from the world-class Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa, including the colossal carved stone Olmec heads.

These excellent photographs by Edward Dawson provide a tantalizing glimpse of the treasures in the Xalapa Museum of Anthropology.

Xalapa Museum of Anthropology image courtesy Sole