I'd been working on a science fiction novel, where I want some
badguys to get involved with illegal biotechnology research. You know,
Frankenstein's Monster kind of stuff. I had the idea to place the book
in Mexico, where illicit activities might thrive better than in the USA.
Already, for example, pharmaceutical companies wanting to explore
genetically modified vegetables do research in Mexico. Who knows
what else they might do in 25 years?
At the same time, Amy and I had been dying for a vacation. Except for our trip to the UK that summer, neither of us had travelled internationally for 10+ years. So! Off we go to Mexico, both for tourism and for research. Hopefully we'd get to meet some real Mexicans and get knocked off our assumptions about life South of the Border. Amy knows a little Spanish, and for the rest we'd rely on arm-waving and our Spanish phrasebook. Click the right arrow to begin. Click on any photo for an enlargement.
Mexico City, the obvious destination, was right out because of travelers' advisories warning about theft. And we didn't think a resort place like Cancun or Tijuana would be a good setting for the book. We wanted someplace more remote and gritty, less touristy.
We decided to go to Merida, located in the State of Yucatan to the southeast, and to Oaxaca city, in the State of Oaxaca to the south. Later on, I ended up going to San Cristobal in the State of Chiapas, high in the mountains between Yucatan and Oaxaca.