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During a walk in the woods last week, the subject of Africanized bees came up. I asked my fellow hikers what was the worst bee attack they had ever heard about.

Veteran excursionista Mario Guerrero responded, “Without a doubt, it was the death of Enedino Luna.” Luna, he explained, had been a guide and trainer for Grupo Colli, Guadalajara’s most active organization for hiking and camping. Approximately 12 years ago, Luna took a group of young climbers into the hills near Magdalena to practice rappelling. “He stood on the edge of a cliff supervising the descent of the others. Somehow the rappellers disturbed a hive of bees on the way down and were immediately attacked. They responded by sliding down the rope even faster, and managed to reach the bottom and escape. Unfortunately, the bees also swarmed upwards, discovered Enedino Luna at the top of the drop and totally engulfed him.

My friend Yoryet Román offers some suggestions for staying healthy and fit.

Not long ago I got a call inviting me to fly over the Salt Flats of Sayula in a tiny aircraft called an ultralight, which I learned is a kind of Delta Wing with a small engine and room for two persons. It has three wheels and is also called a trike.

Many years ago I heard a rumor that there was a “man of letters” living in the hills near Atemajac de Brizuelas, high above the salt flats of Sayula. “His name is Alfredo and he’s been living in a cabin all by himself for 15 years,” a friend told us.

Curious to meet a modern-day hermit, we climbed a bumpy dirt road to a lonely area full of tall pines. At an altitude of 2,700 meters, we came to a small, rustic shack. Yes, it was the home of Alfredo the Hermit but he was hardly alone. Seven or eight visitors were seated with him on stumps and logs behind his cabin and – hard to believe – all were  engaged in a lively discussion of the nature of time.

“You have to visit La Estación Bicicleta,” I was told again and again by friends who know the Primavera Forest well. “It’s such a cool place and they have a restaurant, too.”

Isabel Island is located 34 kilometers off Mexico’s western coast. It is a wildlife refuge with a population of some 42,000 birds and in 2003 was named a World Heritage Site. Because the birds and iguanas on the island have no natural enemies, human visitors can get quite close to them, for which reason the island is sometimes called the Galapagos of Mexico.