Drive Mexico Magazine

Category: Destinations

  • Uxmal: The Maya City the Dwarf King Built in a Single Night

    The tallest thing at Uxmal isn’t shaped like any other pyramid in the Yucatán. Instead of straight sides and square corners, the Pyramid of the Magician rises out of an oval base, steep and rounded, like something poured rather than built. The Maya who lived here clearly meant it to stand apart, and centuries later, it still does.

    Five Temples, One Pyramid

    What you’re looking at isn’t one building — it’s five. The Maya practice of superimposition means each generation built a new temple over the last rather than tearing anything down, and archaeologists have traced five distinct construction phases packed inside this single structure. The oldest, at the base, dates to the 6th century and carries the hook-nosed masks of Chaac, the rain god, in the blocky Chenes style. The newest, capping the whole thing, went up around the 9th century in the more refined Puuc style Uxmal is famous for. Four hundred years of building, one pyramid.

    The Legend

    Ask locally how it got built, and you won’t hear about labor gangs or centuries of construction — you’ll hear about a dwarf. The story goes that a witch hatched him from an egg, and when the ruling king challenged him to build a pyramid overnight or be put to death, he did exactly that, and became king himself by morning. It’s a folk tale, not a historical record, but it’s told for a reason: nothing about this building looks like it happened at a normal, human pace. The five-temples-in-one truth is almost stranger than the myth.

    A City, Not Just a Pyramid

    Uxmal held something like 25,000 people at its peak between 600 and 1000 AD, and the Pyramid of the Magician is only the introduction. The Governor’s Palace and the Nunnery Quadrangle — a name the Spanish gave it, not the Maya — carry some of the finest stone mosaic work anywhere in the Maya world, latticework and geometric patterning cut directly into the facades rather than painted on. UNESCO named the whole site a World Heritage location in 1996, and it earns it.

    The Video

    Photography by Bill Bell. Produced by Dorothy Bell.

    Planning to drive there yourself? We’ve laid out the logistics — the drive from Mérida, hours, admission, what to know before you go — over on our sister site: Visiting Uxmal: The Logistics.

    If you’ve climbed the Puuc route and stood in front of this one, what struck you — the scale, or the strangeness of the shape?

  • Santo Domingo de Guzmán: Oaxaca’s Golden Baroque Church

    In the heart of Oaxaca City, behind a stone facade the color of old bone, is one of the most extravagant church interiors anywhere in the Americas. We’ve walked through it more than once over the years, and it still stops us every time.

    The Templo de Santo Domingo de Guzmán was started by Dominican friars in 1572. It took the better part of four decades before it was formally dedicated in 1608 — and even then, the building wasn’t finished. Its richest addition, the Rosario Chapel, wasn’t begun until 1724, more than 150 years after the first stone went in.

    It Wasn’t Always a Church

    The building’s history isn’t a straight line from construction to congregation. Through much of the 1800s, during Mexico’s wars and internal conflicts, the complex was occupied by whichever faction controlled Oaxaca at the time. By 1859 it had been formally converted to military use, and by 1866 Catholic worship here was suspended altogether. It wasn’t returned to the Church until 1902, under President Porfirio Díaz, and restoration took decades after that.

    Walking In

    None of that turmoil shows on the inside. Step through the doors and the nave is covered almost floor to ceiling in gold leaf — walls, arches, the vaulted ceiling, the retablo behind the altar. It’s Baroque decoration taken about as far as it can go, and photographs genuinely undersell it. The side chapels get the same treatment: gilded canopies, carved saints in niches, centuries of devotion layered on in gold leaf.

    Outside, the twin bell towers and tiled domes form one of the most photographed skylines in Oaxaca. The plaza in front draws street painters working the same view over and over, along with tourists and locals just cutting through on their way somewhere else.

    Visiting

    It’s free to enter, no ticket required. The adjoining former convent now houses the Regional Museum of Oaxaca, worth an hour on its own, and the old monastery garden behind it has been replanted as an ethnobotanical garden. Dress reasonably modestly if you’re going inside — it’s a working church, not a museum piece.

    Getting There

    Oaxaca City sits inland in the southern highlands. Coming from Mexico City, it’s a 5 to 6 hour drive on the toll autopista through Puebla. Coming up from the coast at Huatulco, you’ve got a choice: a newer toll road that cuts the trip down considerably, or the old Highway 175 through the mountains — slower, winding, and genuinely beautiful, with mountain towns like San José del Pacífico worth a coffee stop along the way. Either way, once you’re in the historic center, Santo Domingo is a walk, not a drive.

    The Video

    Photography by Bill Bell:

    Four and a half centuries of construction, war, secularization, and restoration, and what’s left standing is one of the most over-the-top church interiors you’ll find anywhere in Mexico. If you’ve stood inside it yourself, we’d love to hear what struck you most.

  • Long Drive South: Practical Advice for Driving Mexico

    Long Drive South: Practical Advice for Driving Mexico

    Long Drive South: Practical Advice for Driving Mexico

    After decades of logging miles across Mexico—publishing road reports, running On the Road in Mexico, and advising thousands of travelers on vehicle permits and Mexican auto insurance—one question lands in my inbox more than any other: “Is it actually safe to drive?”

    I enjoy the drive south, but experience is no substitute for checking the route ahead. We could not verify the winter-driver and vehicle-permit totals previously quoted here, so those estimates have been removed.

    What the numbers can—and cannot—tell us

    The U.S. State Department’s reporting on non-natural deaths abroad concerns U.S. citizens, not a defined sample of tourists driving Mexican highways. It lists dates, places and causes of death. Those records alone do not give us a tourist driving risk rate.

    Dividing deaths by visitor arrivals and comparing the result with a full-year U.S. resident homicide rate mixes different populations and time at risk. It does not establish that a road traveller is “ten times safer” in Mexico. We also could not substantiate the earlier border-city percentage or the claimed toll-road casualty rate.

    Vehicle theft: do not assume your rig is exempt

    Canada’s Mexico advisory names camper vans, SUVs and pickups as carjacking targets. It does not provide separate figures for motorhomes, fifth-wheels or travel trailers. We have not verified a specific motorhome or fifth-wheel carjacking report in this review, and the advisory should not be read as evidence that all RV types are commonly targeted. The absence of a verified report also does not establish zero risk. Read the current Canadian safety advice.

    The previous comparison table mixed U.S. city incident totals with unsupported descriptions of Mexican highway risk. It did not use matching years, definitions or exposure measures, so it has been removed.

    Check the whole route

    Check current state and regional advisories before choosing each day’s drive. As reviewed September 18, 2026, Canada advises avoiding non-essential travel in Sinaloa, with specified destination exceptions that require arrival by air or sea. Those exceptions do not authorize a drive through the state on Highway 15D. Read the regional warnings and exceptions.

    Road conditions and security conditions are separate questions. An open highway is not an assurance of safe travel. Our current road reports provide dated updates; check again before departure.

    Practical habits for the drive

    • Plan daylight driving. Choose an overnight stop early enough to allow for delays.
    • Use toll routes where appropriate. They do not remove security risks or override regional warnings. Check conditions on your chosen road.
    • Arrange insurance before departure. Confirm Mexican liability coverage, deductibles, assistance and claims procedures with your insurer. Our insurance guide explains the options.
    • If threatened, do not resist. People matter more than the vehicle or its contents.

    These precautions reflect Canada’s Mexico travel advice. They reduce avoidable exposure; they cannot promise a trouble-free trip.

    Mexico has given us decades of memorable road journeys. My advice is to prepare carefully, leave room to change plans and judge the next stretch on current information.

    Correction, September 18, 2026: Unverified travel totals, numerical risk comparisons and vehicle-targeting assurances have been removed. This article is practical guidance, not a statistical estimate of your personal risk.

  • San Juan Chamula , Chiapas, Mexico and Photography

    San Juan Chamula, Chiapas, Mexico

    Known as the Coca Cola Church

    Photography by Bill Bell

    San Juan Chamula, located just 10 km (6.2 miles) from San Cristóbal de las Casas in the Mexican state of Chiapas, is a village known for its strong aversion to photographers.

    For years, photography was strictly forbidden, and visitors were often warned not to take photos under any circumstance. However, times have changed. While photography is still not generally permitted, special permits are now sold, allowing tourists to take photographs of the market and local parades.

    chomula_0339

    San Juan Chamula is a municipality and township with a population of around 76,941 as of the 2010 census. The vast majority of its residents are indigenous, primarily of the Tzotzil ethnic group, and nearly all speak an indigenous language—99.5% of the population aged 3 and older, according to the 2010 census. This deep connection to indigenous culture is evident in everyday life, and the town is a living testament to the preservation of ancestral traditions.

    One of the most interesting aspects of life in Chamula is its unique relationship with Coca-Cola. The village has the highest per capita consumption of Coke in the world, a curious fact given that it is often cheaper than drinking water.

    However, the reasons for this extraordinary consumption go beyond economics. Coca-Cola is deeply intertwined with the community’s religious practices. Chamula’s spiritual life blends Catholicism with ancient indigenous beliefs, and Coca-Cola has become an offering in their ceremonies. Locals drink Coke not just for enjoyment, but as a ritual act; the burping from the carbonation is believed to expel evil spirits.

    The church in Chamula, often referred to as the “Coca-Cola Church,” is a fascinating and somewhat unsettling place. Visitors are warned not to take photographs inside, with old tales circulating about tourists who ignored this warning and faced severe consequences—though the truth of such stories is uncertain.

    Inside, the church is starkly different from typical Catholic places of worship. There are no pews; instead, the floor is covered with pine branches, and worshippers kneel or lay on the ground as they engage in prayer. The air is thick with incense, and the scent of pine fills the space.

    The church also holds sacrificial chickens, with their necks wrung and bodies stretched out in front of worshippers. Candles are abundant, their flickering light casting a solemn glow on the scene. Some local officials even use putty knives to scrape wax from the floor, which is then collected and recycled. One of the most striking features is the altar, where Saint John the Baptist occupies the highest position—a rare sight, as this spot is typically reserved for Jesus in Catholic tradition.

    Despite the occasional curious tourist, the locals remain focused on their religious and cultural practices. They are proud of their heritage and march in solemn procession down the main road to the church before and after services, a visible display of their devotion to both their faith and their traditions.

  • Islas Todos Santos, Baja California

    Islas Todos Santos, Baja California

      In Bahia Todos Santos or Bay of All Saints – are the two small islands called Islas Todos Santo approximately 12 miles off the coast near Ensenada in Baja California. This is NOT to be confused with the town called Todos Santos on the tip of the Peninsula in Baja California Sur.

    This is surfing paradise for experienced big wave riders. An underwater canyon creates huge, powerful deep-water waves. Expletives for this area include world-class, extraordinary and oceanic beast.

    The smallest island has some of the largest waves on the planet. The best wave break is named “Killer” off the NW tip of the Island in front of the lighthouse. Waves often reach 60+ ft.faces and are definitely for experts. There are also smaller breaks – Chickens and Urchins – that you may want sample if you are a beginner.

    The islands have no tourist facilities. There are two old lighthouses and a fishing farm.

    The Islands can be accessed by boat from La Bufadora or Ensenada for approximately $20.

    If you are driving, be sure to leave your vehicle in a VERY secure parking lot with human security.