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Mailing a package in Mexico is always an adventure. You walk into the Oficina de Correos with a box properly addressed and ready to go, confident you will get in and out of there quickly.

A few years ago, the Jalisco town of Etzatlán, population 13,000, was mainly known as the gateway to the fabulous silver and gold mines of Amparo, which were once among the most prosperous in Mexico.

“Antes de petatearte, hay que ir a Petatán” (Before they roll you up in a petate, you must visit Petatán), I was told by an inhabitant of that small town which is tucked away at the east end of Lake Chapala.

Of the many mountain ranges running through the state of Jalisco, I deem La Sierra Verde the least appreciated.

San José De Gracia may look like many another small town in Michoacan, but it is, in fact, hiding a secret. In the patios, kitchens and living rooms of almost all its citizens, lurk rare and beautiful orchids.

The cigarette butt just might be the biggest little polluter on the planet.