My top 10 Mexico

Complicated this top 10. I will do some cheating to get more places on the list. Let's see if you agree with me!

1. Coast of Oaxaca and Guerrero

Wild and solitary beaches, exquisite cuisine, hippy atmosphere. Pure magic. Just say Chacahua.

2. Calakmul

Deep in the jungle, less than 30 km from Guatemala and its neighbor (and enemy) Tikal, lies this incredible Mayan city. Huge.

3. Interior del estado de Oaxaca

Eat and stroll through a beautiful city; visit archaeological sites; bathe in petrified waterfalls; travel with temazcales and mushrooms. Oaxaca could have its own top 10 apart...

4. Two jewels in San Luis Potosí: Real de Catorce and Huasteca Potosina

Both as different as beautiful. The first: a magical town in the middle of the desert, where crafts, food and the power of peyote intermingle. The second: endless natural sites with rivers and waterfalls everywhere from where you will never want to escape.

5. Guanajuato

I am not a big fan of cities, but this one is amazing. Probably the most beautiful city in Mexico. Stroll through its colorful streets in the Fiesta de la Independencia (September 16th) or the Cervantino Festival (October). Nearby there is a beautiful town: San Miguel de Allende.

6. Palenque and surroundings

One of the most impressive Mayan cities, surrounded by mountains and waterfalls. Enjoy Chiapas and the Chiapanecos.

7. Riviera Maya and Bacalar

Walk along beaches of white sand and transparent waters, a coconut in one hand, with the occasional excursion to Mayan ruins and cenotes along the way. Do not stop until you reach the Laguna de los Siete los Colores, Bacalar.

8. Morelia, Pátzcuaro and Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary

A beautiful city, a charming town (where, of course, you can eat wonderfully), and a place where millions of butterflies rest before migrating back (or going for the first time) to Canada, in one of the most studied migration routes by Entomologists.

9. Merida, cenotes of Yucatan and Chichen Itza

Soak up Yucatan with another of the tastiest cuisines, a beautiful capital, cenotes everywhere, and one of the Wonders of the World.

10. Around Monterrey

The quintessential “Regiomontano” plan would be going to their beautiful mountains (the less they walk the better), prepare good meats and serve them, always with their cheves (beer). Ideal on Sundays. But their mountains are so beautiful for a hike as well.

Others that remain outside my list but that are also impressive: Puebla; Cuatrociénagas (Coahuila); Guadalajara; Surroundings of Victoria (Tamaulipas); Cerro de la Viga (Coahuila); El Salto, Zaragoza; Port of Veracruz, Tlacotalpan, Casitas, El Tajín, Catemaco (Veracruz); Hermosillo and Bahía de Kino (Sonora); Querétaro; Champoton and Campeche (Campeche); Progreso (Yucatan).

Others that I do not know that are also highly recommended: Holbox, Coba, San Cristobal de las Casas, Sumidero Canyon, Mexico City, San Miguel de Allende, Zacatecas, Tour in the Chepe (train), Barrancas del Cobre (Copper Canyon), Park National Waterfall of Basaseachi, Baja California, Puerto Vallarta, Sayulita, San Blas, Laguna de Chapala, Majahua.