With over 300 specialists and the necessary infrastructure, Puerto Vallarta has become a reference for hospital and medical care.

Do you ever wonder why so many people brag about visiting Puerto Vallarta?

Well, there are plenty of reasons, starting with the friendliness and warmth of the people who live there, the deliciousness and quality of the food and restaurants, as well as the many different activities you can choose from; horseback riding, scuba diving, beaches, romance, jungle adventures, and of course the lovely year round tropical weather. There is a growing retirement community, who go there to escape the cold winter months. Whatever you prefer, you can find it in Puerto Vallarta, so try this great and popular destination.

Enchanted Old Town – “Zona Centro”

This lovely colonial town, filled with cobblestone streets, is located north of Rio Cuale (Cuale River), here you can wander around the main plaza and admire the Presidencia (Town Hall) and the main church “Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe (Our Lady of Guadalupe). Zana Centro is alive day and night, as you can spot several events by the shore. Another nice area to stroll and relax is the Malecon (promenade) where you can admire some sculptures and catch some art exhibitions along this half-mile board walk. The Malecon is a great place to catch a view of the sunset, here you can stop and sip a delicious coffee, while waiting for the perfect moment to capture the best picture.

Romantic Zone in Vallarta

One of the favorite areas for tourists is this Romantic Zone, located in the South side of town. The name of “Romantic Zone” came from the romance originated, or discovered here between Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton back in the 60’s. Here you’ll find a handful of bars and restaurants with many different options to please international taste buds. Los Muertos Beach (Beach of The Dead) is the main point in this area for tourists. Don’t let the name fool you. It is a lively beach with a good mix of locals and visitors, and you’ll surely enjoy the new pier. You can also find a Pier for fishing boats. Take a day trip out into the Pacific to try to snag a local catch of marlin, snapper, sailfish, or tuna. If you love shopping, here you can find several market booths along the walkway where you can find several beautiful handicrafts. Playa Olas Altas (High Waves Beach) is the second city center beach, where you can relax and spend some time working on your tan. Climb to the Matamoros Lighthouse, from where you’ll be able to catch a breathtaking and complete view of the Bay.

Jungle Colorful and rich in biodiversity

This is considered a newly discovered jewel, as it’s a great feature of Vallarta. There are several ways to explore this jungle surrounding Vallarta, as you can take advantage of many tours offered by professionals, where they can show you and explain to you the different species that you’ll find along the way. Some of the species you can find are ocelot, over 300 species of birds, iguana, jaguar, badger, monkey, armadillo, and many orchids. If you are the adventurous type, there are many exciting options to choose from. Zip lining, rappelling down waterfalls, or speedboat ride, are all packed with lots of adrenaline.

[readon1 url="http://weholi.com/blog/cosmopolitan-and-chic-puerto-vallarta/"]Source:weholi.com[/readon1]

The landscape of social media is ever changing. With new stats coming out constantly, it can be difficult to stay on top of trends. Over the past few years, we’ve witnessed a move from generalized websites to specialized mobile sites to specialized apps. Smartphones have become ubiquitous. Even this year a lot has changed, especially in terms of how social media drives traffic to outside pages and where interaction with brands happens.

In this article, I’ll go over some of the latest social media statistics from reports across the internet and what they mean for social media marketers as we start looking to 2015. It’s critical to stay on top of changing social media trends to ensure you leverage each network effectively. Below, I’ll break down some important stats about social media in general, and then dive into the specific statistics and recommendations for each site.

Social Media Statistics: Overview

Social media is a marketing and publishing platform that businesses can leverage to increase engagement with their content and drive leads and sales. In order to do that, marketers need to know which sites are driving traffic, and how media is shared over the various networks. In terms of content engagement, knowing where interactions come from is also key.

So, here are some quick stats on social interaction (Data is pulled from Shareaholic and Digital Insider studies, unless otherwise linked):

If you want to dig in a little bit with the traffic data, check out the results from Shareholics traffic study below:

Percentage of internet traffic driven per social network, from March to June 2014; Shareaholic 7/14

What’s It Mean?

Facebook: In what might seem like the most obvious statement of the year, Facebook continues to be the best place for social media referrals. Yes, organic reach has declined and the Facebook Like is declining in importance, but there are other reasons to stay active on the social media giant.

Facebook’s algorithm is ever-changing, but one consistent trend is that the News Feed is moving toward valuing engagement over timeliness. This means that you don’t need to worry so much about time decay on articles. However, it also means that you need to post high quality, engaging content in order to be seen. Ask questions, post high quality images, and share relevant content from other sources, and you’ll be well on your way to taking advantage of Facebook’s engagement dominance.

Takeaway: Facebook is showing no signs of slowing down – the amount of traffic it’s driven this year has increased dramatically, and it’s audience continues to grow. Posting engaging and highly visual content, as well as running sweepstakes and lead capture campaigns, is the best way I’ve seen to leverage this social network. Note, however, that if you are just starting out, building up an engaged audience takes time; don’t jump in with a Sweepstakes if you’ve only got 100 fans. Focus on your content and fan engagement first before running a campaign.

Pinterest: Pinterest is growing, and growing fast. According to Danny Wong from Shareaholic, Pinterest is “barely out of training wheels” and is still trying to figure out the balance between promoted pins and organic reach, but it’s still a contender in terms of sharing traffic and engagement.

Don’t ignore the power of the Pin – even Shareaholic’s internet reports have Pinterest pin options on every graph available. Pay special attention to that repin metric – Pinterest runs on sharing other users’ content. Create high quality visuals or infographics on your boards, tag your content appropriately, and repin other user’s content to drive engagement for your business.

Takeaway: If you have a strong female fan base, it’s time to hop on the Pinterest train. Not only are you likely to find your current audience there, but you’ll be able to easily market to possible new leads. Just remember, visual content is Queen on Pinterest, so keep their posting format in mind and only pin large, high-quality images and infographics. For more information about businesses and Pinterest, check out our article on How to Make Pinterest Work for You.

Twitter: Twitter holds a steady third in terms of driving traffic, according to Shareaholic’s data. It’s lost traffic at a rate of 18% since 2013.

Twitter’s loss in traffic shares can be attributed to the feed itself, which, for users, is a wall of text. There may be a picture or link in there somewhere, but users don’t see them in their feeds. This makes it difficult to get click throughs, even if your content is stellar.

What you’re facing with Twitter is competition; you will need to be more aware of the timing of your tweets than with other social networks. My recommendation? Be active. Tweet at fans when they mention your brand and tweet in response to other brands (#BendGate is a great example of leveraging another brand’s mistake to your advantage).

Takeaway: Twitter is still an excellent place for branding and reaching out, if you are active! The key is to find a balance between overwhelming your followers with content, and tweeting infrequently enough to get lost in the constant stream of text. Pay attention to #hashtags and current events, get engaged and make sure to respond promptly to tweets. You’ll be a master of the Twitter sphere in no time!

LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a bit of an anomaly – some experts believe it will be come one of the most important publishers for brands, while the data says that sharing content on the platform has plummeted since last year. That said, it drives engaged users to content, with the average user seeing 2.32 pages. The platform also has a bounce rate of 51%.

Here are some of the latest figures for the site:

LinkedIn is definitely a networking gold mine ready for the savvy B2B company to take advantage of, and a place where you can cultivate a network of new users. Take advantage of groups and your business page and share your professional content – it may not share as well as it used to, but you’ll have a better chance at connecting with engaged users.

Takeaway: Don’t abandon LinkedIn – as I mentioned before, a lot of experts think that LinkedIn is an invaluable publishing tool. If you are a B2B business, LinkedIn is an especially crucial publication platform because you can post directly to focused groups and individuals based on interest. So, keep an eye on LinkedIn.

Google+: Another oddball in the social media sphere, Google+ continues to have a small presence, though some predict that it will surpass Facebook in share traffic by 2016. Here are some of the latest stats for Google+:

As Google continues to integrate its social media platform with search, it will be interesting to see how this social media network grows.

Takeaway: If you’re in the tech industry, you need to be on Google+. It’s not the ghost town everyone believes it is, and fans of the social network are very engaged, so if you’re not there, you’re missing out on potential fans. Remember, if you’re just starting out, building a fan base on a new network can take time. Start with some +1 buttons on your best content and really building up your business’ profile before attempting to market through Google+.

Emily Goodrich is a Technical Writer at Heyo. She is a Senior studying Creative and  Professional Writing at Virginia Tech.

[readon1 url="http://blog.heyo.com/social-media-statistics/"]Source:blog.heyo.com[/readon1]

When you’re moving to Mexico, it helps to get the scoop on your new home city from expats who live there. They’ve already figured out which plumber is most reliable, which carpenter does the best work, and which market has the best produce and prices. They may also become your first friends in your new home. But where do you find the expats?

There are lots of ways to seek them out. For instance, a useful first step is to search online before you ever leave for Mexico. One good source to start with is interest groups about Mexico, such as International Living’s community site. Here community experts—including expats already in Mexico—can steer you toward local expat groups and tell you how to contact them.

Many expat havens already have local English-language websites and newspapers about the area. These include Mérida, with sites like Yucatán Today and Yucatán Living; Puerto Vallarta, with its Banderas News; and Lake Chapala, with the Guadalajara Reporter. You can glean useful information from all these sources.

Expat Communities

Beach towns like Puerto Vallarta make it easy to integrate with ready-made expat communities.

But these are all “virtual” contacts. Once you’re on the ground in Mexico, it’s time to get physical. Most large or long-established expat communities have an expat center of some sort—a physical location where expats can meet others and find resources. Often it’s a library. That’s the case in Mérida, with its Mérida English Language Library; in San Miguel de Allende, with its Biblioteca Publica; and in Oaxaca, with the Oaxaca Lending Library.

Lake Chapala, the largest community of North American expats in the world, goes one better. The Lake Chapala Society sits on acres of lovely, landscaped grounds. In addition to a library, it offers a range of facilities and more than 80 interest groups that expats can join. (Many other so-called expat “libraries” offer more than just books, including café facilities and bulletin boards. But the scale of the Lake Chapala Society is what makes it stands out.)

In beach towns like Playa del Carmen and Puerto Vallarta, many real estate agencies are owned by expats or employ them. In Manzanillo, which is on the Pacific Coast, and on the Yucatán’s Costa Maya, you’ll find expats running tourist businesses like scuba shacks, as well as expats with real estate companies. In other towns it may be expat-owned restaurants or cafés, like Guanajuato’s Café Tal. All these people may know which restaurants, cafés, and nightclubs local expats frequent.

Puerto Vallarta is the second most popular destination in Mexico for food culture and restaurants, second only to Mexico City.

Visitors and residents will find it hard to find a truly bad dining experience here along the Pacific coast, since the view is usually superb and the fish and seafood almost certainly guaranteed to be fresh. Deciding which eateries are the best comes down to degrees of goodness — a mix of ambience, quality of service, coldness of the beer, vantage point on the beach and an indefinable feeling of balance — that for an hour or two, there’s no place on earth you’d rather be. Of course we all have our favorites where we are welcomed back each time like family. And new places are continually joining the restaurant scene, which is becoming more international and global. http://www.TripAdvisor.com is a great resource for restaurant information online.

Here are some suggestions for some interesting activities for foodies:

20th Annual Festival Gourmet Internacional – Nov 13 to 23. Promoting Puerto Vallarta’s vibrant and excellent restaurants on the world stage. The 10-day event highlights Puerto Vallarta’s gastronomy on the local and international scene. Full details at: www.FestivalGourmet.com
The Old Town Farmers Market-Tianguis Cultural – Check out the organic scene at this “producers only” Saturday market in Parque Lazaro Cardenas, it is one of Puerto Vallarta’s most popular weekend attractions. Browse a great selection of locally grown farm-fresh produce, artisan foods, handmade crafts, art, jewelry, clothing, community education and live music. All products are made, baked, grown and sold by vendors living within 75 kilometers of Puerto Vallarta. Full details at: http://www.OldTownFM.com

Vallarta Eats Food Tours -Are you looking for something fun and different to do in Puerto Vallarta’s Old Town/Romantic Zone? And educational to boot? Take a culinary tour and learn about the great food that Mexicans love to eat. Vallarta Eats is a guided tour that will allow you to discover Puerto Vallarta’s most popular foods while getting a taste of Mexican culture and history. Come hungry and ready to have a fun adventure. Visit places the locals love and sample some of the authentic food Puerto Vallarta is famous for. Vallarta Eats is #1 ranked on TripAdvisor.

Enjoy!

[readon1 url="http://www.timothyrealestategroup.com/blog/puerto-vallarta-food-lovers-paradise/"]Source:www.timothyrealestategroup.com[/readon1]

TGIF, AirwaysNews readers! Below we take a look at stories that didn’t make the list on the website, but that we felt still were worth a mention. They include remarks on regulation by IATA’s Tony Tyler, Lion Group getting an A320 delivery and new flights for Southwest Airlines and British Airways.

And don’t forget to look at all the stories we covered this week, including an exclusive High Flyer interview with Randy Tinseth, vice president of marketing for Boeing Commercial Airplanes, an analysis of Virgin America’s IPO and Routehappy inking a major deal with online search engine Expedia.

Too much passengers rights: IATA Director General Tony Tyler used a speech before the ALTA Airline Leaders Forum to express concern about a rise in the region of passenger rights regulations becoming increasingly prescriptive, making it more challenging for airlines to comply with countries’ differing requirements. ALTA represents Latin American and Caribbean carriers. As an example, he cited a proposal in Mexico that would increase compensation for cancellations to 300 percent of the ticket price, with compensation of $1,500 for extended delays on long-haul flights. IATA believes in basic protections and urged regional governments to strike the balance between protecting passengers and ensuring industry competitiveness. Read Tyler’s complete speech here

Your dream job just got posted, and you’re super excited. There’s just one problem: You literally (and I actually mean literally) have zero relevant work experience. Whether you’re a career changer or a new grad with no internships under your belt, what can you actually put on your resume that makes you look as qualified as possible?

Fret not. There are a few different things you can include, as well as a couple of formatting tricks, that will help you present yourself in the best light possible.

Relevant and Transferable Skills

Most resumes will begin with relevant work experience (or education followed by relevant experience if you’re a new grad). That becomes a problem when relevant experience isn’t your strong suit. But rather than waste that prime real estate on your resume on things that will just confuse the recruiter, start instead with your relevant skills.

And don’t tell me you don’t have any. There must be a reason why you think you can do this job. You might have transferable abilities from a previous, unrelated experience, or maybe you developed skills while in school doing academic projects. In any case, if you’re a career changer, try tying all your skills together with a summary statement at the beginning of your resume. New grads, pop your skills section from the bottom of your resume to the spot right under your education.

Related Side and Academic Projects

Speaking of academic projects, it’s important to note that those are fair game and should definitely be included in your resume. The same goes for side projects that you’ve tackled outside of work or school. As long as you are clearly labeling this experience as project work, there is nothing preventing you from including it in your resume—and you absolutely should! Don’t make the assumption that only full-time, paid experiences can be on your resume. One way to do this is to create a “Projects” section. Here, you would write about your project work the same way you would for work experience. Think about the experiences you’ve had that helped you realize your career interests. Was it a class project? Maybe you volunteered to help with something that ultimately sparked your newfound career goals—that’s experience that you can include on your resume under a “Projects” section. Format it similarly to help the recruiter understand that this, too, is valuable experience that should be evaluated when considering your candidacy for the position you are interested in.

An Enthusiastic and Specific Cover Letter

Okay, this isn’t technically part of your resume, but I am a firm believer of always coupling a resume with a strong cover letter. This is especially important if you have no relevant experience or a winding career path. As career expert Ryan Kahn explains, “find a way to connect your passions and life experiences with the company, then explain how that will translate into you hitting the ground running once you’re hired. You’ll find that link is exactly the kind of experience employers are looking for from recent grads.”

This is true for career changers, too, but you also have a little bit more experience to work with. The cover letter is the perfect opportunity for you to connect the dots between the company’s needs and the skills you’ve built across your eclectic career. Be specific here. You want to really spell it out for hiring managers and explain why your non-traditional background might even be an asset, so that when they’re done with your letter they have a good understanding of why it makes sense for them to hire you.

Breaking into a new career is hard work, especially since many entry-level jobs are now asking for two or three years of experience. The trick to overcoming this is to really tease out those details like relevant skills and related side projects, and break out of the resume “rules” that are preventing you from including them front and center on your resume. Add on a riveting cover letter and, with a combination of networking and some luck, you’ll be sure to pique a hiring manager’s interest soon.

[readon1 url="http://www.forbes.com/sites/dailymuse/2014/11/13/what-to-put-on-your-resume-when-you-have-no-relevant-work-experience/"]Source:www.forbes.com[/readon1]

Wellington - For the past four years, Fr. Eloi Arsenault of St. Chrysostome has spent his winters in warm Puerto Vallarta, Mexico.

But he’s not roaming the sandy beaches and staying at world-class resorts.

The retired priest is living among the poorest of the poor and, with help from back home, working to make a better life for the children of Mexico.

“Otherwise, I would just be there to walk on the beach or go to movies. I would not have been too happy about that.”

For the past two years, Arsenault has collected cash donations to help an impoverished school near Puerto Vallarta, the Volcanes School.

He’s collected almost $32,000, mostly from the Evangeline area, all of which goes to help the school and its almost 500 students.

It began in 2010 after Arsenault retired. He decided to head south for the winter.

Shortly after arriving he got involved in the Volcanes School Project.

He and a small group of volunteers have been working since then to provide children there with an education, teaching them English and computer skills.

“Before that they didn’t have a school that was fit to go to,” said Arsenault. “The children were called the children of the dump. After Grade 2 or 3 they wouldn’t go back to school; they were just working with their families to survive.”

He was asked, after that first year, to fundraise to help pay salaries of the eight teachers, each of whom earns a mere $2,500 American.

“It gives them hope for a job in Puerto Vallarta since it is a tourist city,” Arsenault said. “Otherwise, without English and computer skills they could not have a job in boutiques and stores and restaurants.

“With this, they know that they might have a better chance in life.”

Before returning the next year, Arsenault went to the community he grew up in and had served 18 years as a priest.

The response — $11,000 in donations — was overwhelming. Last year, that number grew to $20,600 and five new computers for the school’s library.

“There is a lady that gave me $3.52 before I left. That’s all she could give and was a poor widow with no money,” said Arsenault. “That really touched me as much as the $1,000 I received from the Legion.”

The group is not only helping the students, their parents are also benefitting.

That library, with its five computers, is used by mothers who are learning English and by older students in high school.

And the group, thanks to a large private donation, has established a sewing school, where women are taught to sew, a skill that will help them provide for their families.

Arsenault has enlisted the help of Erma Arsenault, Cecile Gallant and Bella Bernard, who help stuff envelopes with letters to be distributed, asking for support.

“If a new family comes, everybody pitches in,” said Erma. “When we see the chance to help that much, we will do it.”

Fr. Arsenault returns to Mexico December 5 and hopes that, again, with the community’s help, to have with him more donations for the school.

“The goal is to simply bring whatever people will donate,” he said.

Being a man of faith, does he believe the vacation turned vocation was in God’s plans?

“I think so,” Erma quickly says.

Arsenault is somewhat reluctant in his answer.

“I had no idea it would happen. It just happened that way,” he added. “It gives so much more meaning to my retirement.”

A few facts

• Volcanes School is in Puerto Vallarta, Mexico

• About 500 children attend the school, grades 2 to 6

• The project began four years ago

• Last year, $20,600 collected from 120 donors

• In 2012, $11,000 was donated

• 80 per cent goes to paying eight teachers each $2,500 a year

• 100 per cent of monies donated go to the school and its students

• To donate, call Fr. Eloi at (902) 854-3531, Erma at (902) 854-2742, Bella at (902) 854-2723, Cecile at (902) 854-2473

• Donations also accepted at the Evangeline Credit Union

[readon1 url="http://www.journalpioneer.com/News/Local/2014-11-07/article-3932530/A-vacation-with-meaning%0D%0A/1"]Source:www.journalpioneer.com[/readon1]

The International Friendship Club (IFC) has offered Spanish classes from November until April for quite a number of years. They have been blessed to have a large classroom area and some amazing instructors. This year they have a new teacher, Adriana Bedolla.

Adriana was born and raised in Cuernavaca, México where she studied Special Education at the State University of Morelos (UAEM). After graduating, she obtained a post-graduate degree in teaching Spanish as a second language. Adriana joined the founding team of the Spanish Experience Center in Puerto Vallarta where she taught students and also teachers of all levels for nine years. Her professional accreditation includes keeping current on her continuing education credits and professional licenses.

Adriana also loves to practice Yoga and is also a Yoga instructor. She likes to read, to walk on the beach with her dog and spend time with friends. Adriana also says she loves to eat and loves to travel.

This year Adriana will teach at the IFC on Tuesday and Thursday. The class times are as follows: Intermediate 1, 9:00; Intermediate 2, 10:00; Advanced 11:00; Tourist Spanish, 12:30 (Beginners, short term vacationers, or anyone who wishes to drop in). Cost: Intermediate 1 and 2 and Advanced - packet of 4 classes - $220 pesos IFC members / $300 pesos non members. Tourist Spanish - $60 IFC members / $80 non members per class.

The large variety of classes offered should suit all levels. The IFC welcomes you!

The International Friendship Club is a registered charitable organization in Mexico listed as Club Internacional de la Amistad de Puerto Vallarta A.C. It is located at the northeast corner of the Rio Cuale Bridge above the HSBC Bank, Colonia El Centro, Puerto Vallarta, Jalisco, Mexico, 48300. Phone: 322-222-5466. Website: ifcvallarta.com. Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

Janie Albright Blank

Cockroaches may be seen as pests to most people, but to North Carolina State University researchers, they possess a combination of size and resilience that make them perfect biobots – cyborgs controlled by tiny gadgetry installed on their backs.

The biobots could be especially useful in disaster zones as they could be equipped with tiny microphones. In one scenario, a single multi-dimensional microphone would transmit information wirelessly to first responders, according to The Atlantic. In another, microphones could be used to “detect the location of the sound to innately direct the biobot in that direction.”

According to Dr. Alper Bozkurt, an assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering at NCSU, “in a collapsed building, sound is the best way to find survivors.”

Bozkurt and his team still have a way to go in refining how cyborg cockroaches can actually prove useful in the field.

“The goal is to use the biobots with high-resolution microphones to differentiate between sounds that matter, “ Bozkurt said. “Once we’ve identified sounds that matter, we can use the biobots equipped with microphone arrays to zero in on where those sounds are coming from.”

Cyborg cockroaches drew the ire of the People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) last year when a company sold RoboRoach kits as a learning toy for $100, according to The Atlantic.

[readon1 url="http://dailydigestnews.com/2014/11/are-cyborg-cockroaches-the-future-of-disaster-response/arassment/"]Source:dailydigestnews.com[/readon1]

Twitter announced a partnership with nonprofit advocacy group Women, Action, and the Media (WAM!) last week, which changed Twitter’s policy on online harassment towards women.

Jaclyn Friedman, Executive Director of WAM!, spoke on behalf of the organization, saying it was “thrilled to be working with Twitter” to make the platform a safer place for women.

25% of women between the ages of 18 and 24 have experienced online sexual harassment, according to the Pew Research Internet Project. 26% of women in the same age bracket experienced online stalking.

In contrast, the study found 13% of 18 to 24-year-old men experienced online sexual harassment, and 7% experienced online stalking.

“The disproportionate targeting of women online results in them removing their voices from the public conversation,” Friedman said. “We’re so glad that Twitter recognizes that the best way to ensure equally free speech for all users on their platform is to ensure that all users are equally free to speak without being targeted by harassment, abuse and threats.”

Before the partnership with WAM! Twitter did have its own reporting system. It allowed individuals to report other users under the categories of posting offensive content, violent threats, private information, spam or otherwise engaging in harassment.

But WAM!’s reporting form is radically different.

For one, it’s tailored towards combating the type of abusive behavior women are more likely to be subjected to. It allows women to report impersonation, violent threats, doxxing, false information, hate speech, revenge porn and the encouragement of people to harass via offline methods.

WAM!’s form also allows women to enter multiple Twitter handles at once, different from Twitter’s form.

If a woman was verbally attacked by several people at once, like Jessica Valenti was for asking about countries with free or subsidized tampons, she could report several users at once, rather than filling out one form after another.

The form is a big step in promoting women’s safety on social media.

Some observers think Twitter is not pulling its own weight — and at the moment the form is only available through WAM!’s website.

WAM! is working with Twitter to look at how harassment and gendered harassment intersect — and how Twitter can develop responses to that.

Katherine Park is a multimedia journalist and a junior at Rutgers University.

[readon1 url="http://college.usatoday.com/2014/11/09/twitter-now-allows-women-to-report-online-harassment/"]Source:college.usatoday.com[/readon1]

A beach in Mexico as beautiful as this can be found — and can be yours.
(Photo: Getty Images)

When I was 9 years old, my family got in our big yellow station wagon nicknamed the Banana Boat and drove from Sonoma County, California, to the southern tip of Mexico. It was an experience we’d repeat in later years, and even though not every minute was idyllic (yes, we drove through abject poverty, as well as lightning storms and stifling tropical heat), those were some of my best childhood vacations.

To this day, although I love Los Cabos and Cancun — the spectacle, the party atmosphere, the theme parks, and the luxury resorts — the funky little beach towns of Mexico call to my true inner escapist.

For cultural adventurers, surfers, and vacation junkies, Mexico can still be a low-key paradise, if you know where to look.

Surfer girl in Sayulita (Photo: Corbis Images)

Pacific Coast

A good place to start is Sayulita. Beloved by California road trippers and artsy expats as far back as the ’90s, this beach village outside of Puerto Vallarta was a colorful boho getaway when adjacent mega-resort destination Riviera Nayarit didn’t even exist. And yet, in the shadow of Riviera Nayarit’s mega all-inclusives, somehow funky little Sayulita, with its taco stands and surf schools and inexpensive rental condos, continues to thrive — with personality intact. From the gated mansions on Gringo Hill to the inexpensive beachfront flats, lodgings span the star-rating spectrum, but they’re never generic chain resorts. (For those, Punta Mita holds the five-star torch, and Nayarit offers everything else.)

Relaxing in a palapa by the beach (Photo: Getty Images)

Farther south, a short drive from overdeveloped Zihuatanejo, on Manzanillo Bay (roughly midway between Acapulco and Puerto Vallarta), the village of Troncones offers everything that adventuring gypsy-surfer adventurers want in a beach retreat. It’s an eco-tourism destination that thus far has avoided the eye of major developers. Instead, haciendas and small inns like Hacienda Eden and Present Moment cater to a barefoot, suntanned, and eclectic crowd.

Relax in one of the many hammocks at Hacienda Eden. (Photo: Hacienda Eden)

Margarita time at the beach in Troncones (Photo: Getty Images)

Man cuts open a coconut in Huatulco. (Photo: Lorena Pajaras/Flickr)

And then there’s Huatulco. Ask Latin America travel experts to name their perfect Mexico resort town, and they will likely name Huatulco with a sigh: “It’s better than you even know.” Truly, many U.S. vacationers will never go that far south down the Pacific Coast — all the way to the state of Oaxaca — but those who do will fall in love with the culture, the food, and the spectacular beaches. It’s a region rich in culture and cuisine, while the town of Huatulco is a movie-set-caliber beach paradise, laid-back and lovely at the foot of the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range.

With no fewer than nine bays for beachfront resorts, this region is distinguished by golden sands, private coves, and clear water. The jewel of luxury resorts in the area is Secrets Huatulco, flagship property of Mexico’s most successful hotel group, AMResorts. This adults-only all-inclusive resort offers open-air rooms and incredible views of Conejos Bay, perfect for enjoying unlimited premium cocktails at sundown.

The Secrets Huatulco resort (Photo: Secrets Huatulco)

Caribbean Coast

Only 10 years ago, Puerto Morelos was a tiny, unglamorous fishing village whose only tourist attraction was a crocodile park. It was 45 minutes outside of Cancun — 45 uncertain minutes of winding roads through thick mangrove forest. If you were staying at one of the few resorts, your options were to remain on-property or taxi into the fishing village for cheap, simply prepared seafood followed by karaoke with the locals.

Scuba diving in Puerto Morelos (Photo: Corbis Images)

The fishing village still remains, but Puerto Morelos has turned into the development Cinderella story of the Cancun area for multiple reasons: Puerto Morelos Reef, located just offshore, is a national park renowned among divers and snorkel operators. And the nearby fishing isn’t just good — it’s international tournament caliber. Finally, Puerto Morelos’s beaches are simply stunning. The overall area of Puerto Morelos is larger than one might have guesstimated — large enough to enfold a dozen mega-resorts like Azul Sensatori and the soon-to-open Royalton Riviera Cancun within its jungle setting.

Couple walks along the harbor in Puerto Morelos (Photo: Corbis Images)

The massive Azul Sensatori resort (Photo: Azul Sensatori)

Baja

As heavily touristed as Cabo San Lucas is, multiple beach towns in Baja California Sur have retained their natural charm while benefitting from Los Cabos’s tourism overflow. Everyone knows the hot spot, so now regular visitors are looking for the next “it” place. Experts predict that it might be Todos Santos, a town 45 minutes north that’s home to a burgeoning arts and wellness scene. This fall, an ambitious “mindful village” holistic community — featuring residences, a boutique hotel, and farm-to-table restaurants — will begin to roll out under the umbrella brand Tres Santos.

Woman meditates overlooking the beach in Todos Santos. (Photo: Getty Images)

Sustainable tourism professionals also recommend La Paz, located 2.5 hours north of Los Cabos and still quite sleepy in terms of development: “Protected areas harbor great wildlife including visiting whales, whale sharks, and a resident sea lion community,” reports local adventure tour company RED Sustainable Travel.

So there you have it. Whether you’re seeking a surf getaway, an artistic coastal villa, a jungle retreat, or a beachfront shack selling cervezas for a dollar, Mexico’s still got it. Like a tabloid star who has seen glamorous times and scandal and even fallen into the gutter a time or two, this beauty continues to dazzle once you give her a chance to show you something new.

Kayaking in La Paz (Photo: Getty Images)

Lena Katz is a writer, sometime book author, and development producer for unscripted TV. She goes cuckoo for big characters and stories that seem too wild to be true. She’s never where you think she is.

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