Traveling Mexico's Mountainside like a Local

Traveling Mexico’s Mountainside like a Local

Michelle Rodrigues
2 April 2010

This article was first published by our friends at The International Ecotourism Society, who have agreed to its republication here. View the original article on their Your Travel Choice blog.

Ever since the swine flu fright and the recent economic downturn experienced throughout the world, there has been a drastic drop in tourism to Mexico. But this doesn’t stop everyone. Mexico is still optimistic and thriving with the continuation of its beautiful colors, traditions and cultures.

Initiatives like La Ruta del Tequila and the public awareness of World Heritage Sites in Mexico have been able to release knowledge and understanding of the deep history Mexico holds. Another such project – Project:Exposure – has been piloted off in the fun and lively town of Tequila, Jalisco, Mexico. The team and I went to Tequila for a week for the project, which is hosted by WHL Consulting.

The courtyard of the Hacienda El Carmen, located between the towns of Teuchitlan and Ezetlan in Jalisco, Mexico

Add a little Mexican fun into the work mix and you’ve got an experiential travel story to tell the grandchildren. Experiencing local travel is the whole fun of traveling in the first place. What’s not to like about tacos al pastor and a few laughs with charros over palomas?

Sunday Funday

Sunday is no day for resting in Tequila, but for enjoying, eating, dancing and singing. The town’s center square is lined up front, back and side to side with street carts offering tacos of every variety. A local favorite, al pastor, similar to that of Greek gyros, is pork-based and mixed with a touch of pineapple. Add to that a touch of grilled onions and cilantro and you have pure satisfaction. Complete with a staged concert and a little bit of dancing, Sunday was a fun day for local activity.

Tequila?

Being what most people believe to be the birthplace of tequila (the drink), Tequila (the town), Jalisco, Mexico, is in no shortage of it. Even having your gas pumped at the local gas station prompts the question, “Excuse me, would you like some tequila?”

One night during the week, the team and I went to a local bar that we passed by during the day. Within minutes we were right in the middle of it all with the locals. Being the welcoming people Mexicans are, our local friends took us under their wing and guided us to the best tequila (most argued for Los Abuelos), to the full serviced delivery tacos (al pastor, of course), to the variety of drinks tequila is used in (which is absolutely everything, but my favorite was a paloma – grapefruit soda, splash of lime juice and white tequila).

There were even a couple of true charros in the house. The charros were champions in their day of charrería, the national sport of Mexico. These traditional Mexican horsemen won trophies in the Mexican rodeos and proudly told stories of successes and even failures.

Project:Exposure helps local, small accommodation providers do just as its name says: expose

Exposure Yourself

Project:Exposure has been launched by WHL Consulting as a program to help local small accommodation providers do just as its name says: expose. Tequila is more than just the ever-so-popular alcoholic beverage; it is also host to many local hotels with a traditional Mexican flair and contemporary accommodations.

What’s Involved

After an intensive market-readiness assessment, Project:Exposure determines each local hotel’s readiness for the international market and the tourists it brings along. For the market-ready and nearly-market-ready groups, an experienced market copywriter (my role) and photographer (represented by 360 Cities) chime in with a content collection segment to assemble the necessary pieces for presence on the Internet.

Inclusion in these two groups is determined by different focus rankings, such as the level of completion of the property, any available literature and the condition the property is in. With content collected, I was able to write the true story about these small and medium hotels surrounded by their contribution to their community, the environment and the betterment of the tourism industry in Mexico. Fortunately, we’ve partnered up with 360 Cities to provide these accommodations with completely spherical virtual tours that can be embedded in any website.

A Hacienda I’d Like to Call “Home”

Through this trip I’ve learned that Mexico really is full of the beautiful small hacienda hotels I imagined. What I had in mind were home-like hotels placed in the mountains with beautiful views, traditional Mexican décor with hardwood furniture, those little metal star lanterns and bright colors tastefully placed. These haciendas were just that and more.

An ancient ceremony at the Guachimontones ruins

The last night of the trip we stayed at Hacienda El Carmen in between the towns of Teuchitlan and Ezetlan. This amazing getaway is tucked in the mountains with a beautiful spa, gardens and rooms decorated with traditional Mexican motifs.

Mexico is full of activities and local travel experiences, too many to accomplish in one week. Thankfully I was able to experience an ancient ceremony at the Guachimontones ruins, have drinks and tacos with a champion Charro, tour a tequila distillery and have breakfast tortillas made fresh every morning by a woman who has been making them for years. With that, I can’t wait to go back.

The International Ecotourism Society

The International Ecotourism Society (TIES) is a non-profit association committed to promoting responsible tourism practices that benefit conservation and communities. Representing the voices of stakeholders from all corners of the world, TIES' global network supports and is supported by members from over 90 countries, who are leading the vital efforts to make travel and tourism more sustainable. Your Travel Choice Blog is an interactive platform supporting TIES' mission to engage, educate and inspire everyone to make travel choices that make a difference.