Gulf of Mexico

6 March 2025 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Paseo del Prado in Havana, La Habana, Cuba © Tacorontey/cc-by-sa-4.0

Paseo del Prado in Havana, La Habana, Cuba © Tacorontey/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Gulf of Mexico (Spanish: Golfo de México) is an oceanic basin and a marginal sea of the Atlantic Ocean, mostly surrounded by the North American continent. It is bounded on the northeast, north, and northwest by the Gulf Coast of the United States; on the southwest and south by the Mexican states of Tamaulipas, Veracruz, Tabasco, Campeche, Yucatán, and Quintana Roo; and on the southeast by Cuba. The coastal areas along the Southern U.S. states of Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida, which border the Gulf on the north, are occasionally referred to as the “Third Coast” of the United States (in addition to its Atlantic and Pacific coasts), but more often as “the Gulf Coast”.   read more…

Anna Maria Island in Florida

27 February 2023 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  5 minutes

Anna Maria City Pier Historical Marker © The Grid/cc-by-sa-4.0

Anna Maria City Pier Historical Marker © The Grid/cc-by-sa-4.0

Anna Maria Island is a barrier island on the coast of Manatee County, Florida, in the United States. It is bounded on the west by the Gulf of Mexico, on the south by Longboat Pass (which separates it from Longboat Key), on the east by Anna Maria Sound, and on the north by Tampa Bay. Anna Maria Island is approximately 7 miles (11 km) long north to south.   read more…

Port Arthur in Texas

18 April 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

Rose Hill © Michael Reed/cc-by-sa-3.0

Rose Hill © Michael Reed/cc-by-sa-3.0

Port Arthur is a city in Jefferson County within the Beaumont–Port Arthur metropolitan area of the U.S. state of Texas. A small, uninhabited portion extends into Orange County; it is 90 mi (140 km) east of Houston. The largest oil refinery in the United States, the Motiva Refinery, is located in Port Arthur. Port Arthur is vulnerable to hurricanes and extensive damage to the city has been caused several times. Port Arthur’s Museum of the Gulf Coast is recognized as the area’s definitive collection of items and displays for figures from Port Arthur and the surrounding communities.   read more…

Theme Week Florida Coasts – Emerald Coast

25 February 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  11 minutes

Destin from the Destin Harbor © flickr.com - Destin Vacation Boat Rentals/cc-by-2.0

Destin from the Destin Harbor © flickr.com – Destin Vacation Boat Rentals/cc-by-2.0

The Emerald Coast is an unofficial name for the coastal area in the US state of Florida on the Gulf of Mexico that stretches about 100 mi (160 km) through five counties, Escambia, Santa Rosa, Okaloosa, Walton, and Bay, which include Pensacola Beach, Navarre Beach, Fort Walton Beach, Destin, and Panama City. Some south Alabama communities on the coast of Baldwin County, such as Gulf Shores, Orange Beach, and Fort Morgan embrace the term as well.   read more…

Theme Week Florida Coasts – Big Bend Coast

24 February 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  9 minutes

Dekle Beach © DiscoverTaylor/cc-by-sa-4.0

Dekle Beach © DiscoverTaylor/cc-by-sa-4.0

The Big Bend region of Florida is an informal region of the state. Different definitions of the region include counties stretching across northern Florida from the Apalachicola River to the St. Johns River. The Big Bend Coast, however, is the marshy coast without barrier islands that extends along the Gulf of Mexico coast of Florida from the Ocklockonee River (Wakulla County) to Anclote Key (Pasco County). Visit Florida, the state’s official tourism marketing corporation, uses varying definitions of the region, including just four counties, Jefferson, Taylor, Dixie and Levy counties, in one definition, and 12 counties, including Levy, Dixie, Gilchrist, Lafayette, Suwannee, Columbia, Hamilton, Baker, Union, Bradford, Clay, and Putnam counties, in another. The Big Bend Scenic Byway is a marked route through Franklin, Leon, and Wakulla counties.   read more…

Theme Week Florida Coasts – Forgotten Coast

23 February 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon appétit Reading Time:  6 minutes

Fishing boats in Apalachicola © Ebyabe/cc-by-sa-3.0

Fishing boats in Apalachicola © Ebyabe/cc-by-sa-3.0

Florida’s Forgotten Coast is a registered trademark coined in the early 1990s by the Apalachicola Bay Chamber of Commerce. The name is most commonly used to refer to a relatively quiet, undeveloped and largely uninhabited section of coastline stretching from Mexico Beach on the Gulf of Mexico to St. Marks on Apalachee Bay in the U.S. state of Florida. The nearest major cities are Tallahassee, about 90 miles (145 km) northeast of Apalachicola, and Panama City, home of Tyndall Air Force Base, about 60 miles (95 km) to the northwest.   read more…

Theme Week Florida Coasts

21 February 2022 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Miami / South Florida, Theme Weeks Reading Time:  8 minutes

First Coast - Lightner Museum in St. Augustine © Excel23/cc-by-sa-3.0

First Coast – Lightner Museum in St. Augustine © Excel23/cc-by-sa-3.0

Describing the Florida coastline is difficult. In contrast to cities, places, squares or buildings, where this is usually achieved very precisely, the coasts of Florida tend to create a feeling, guided by atmosphere and colors, which words and cameras can barely capture. It is about the overall experience. If you don’t want to run to the nearest travel agency immediately after watching the film at the end of the post to jet over and see it for yourself, you are probably better off in Brighton ;-)   read more…

Theme Week Mexico

11 January 2020 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General, Bon voyage, Theme Weeks, UNESCO World Heritage Reading Time:  22 minutes

Cancun and the Riviera Maya © Mardetanha - www.safainla.us/cc-by-sa-3.0

Cancun and the Riviera Maya © Mardetanha – www.safainla.us/cc-by-sa-3.0

Mexico, officially the United Mexican States (Spanish: Estados Unidos Mexicanos), is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and to the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Mexico has approximately 129 million inhabitants, making it the world’s 13th-largest country by area, 10th-most populous country, and most populous Spanish-speaking nation. It is a federation comprising 31 states and Mexico City, its capital city and largest metropolis. Other major urban areas include Guadalajara, Monterrey, Puebla, Toluca, Tijuana, Ciudad Juárez, and León.   read more…

Theme Week Mexico – Isla Mujeres in the Caribbean

12 July 2019 | Author/Destination: | Rubric: General Reading Time:  6 minutes

© flickr.com - dronepicr/cc-by-2.0

© flickr.com – dronepicr/cc-by-2.0

Isla Mujeres (“Women Island”) is an island in the Gulf of Mexico, about 13 kilometres (8.1 mi) off the Yucatán Peninsula coast. The island is approximately 7 kilometres (4.3 mi) long and 650 metres (2,130 ft) wide. To the east is the Caribbean Sea with a strong surf and rocky coast, and to the west the skyline of Cancún can be seen across the clear waters. The namesake town on the island has a population of 13,000 inhabitants. The island is part of the Isla Mujeres Municipality in the State of Quintana Roo, Mexico.   read more…

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