I have been exploring, researching and writing about Mexico for over 40 years.
As a geographer and, more recently, fledgling historian, I have had the good fortune to combine three passions—travel, teaching and writing—ever since university.
My mission in life is to expand people’s knowledge and appreciation of Mexico’s landscapes, people, culture and history.
My books include Lake Chapala Through the Ages: An Anthology of Travelers’ Tales (2008); Geo-Mexico, the Geography and Dynamics of Modern Mexico (2010), co-authored with Dr Richard Rhoda; Western Mexico, A Traveler’s Treasury (4th edition, 2013); Mexican Kaleidoscope: Myths, Mysteries and Mystique (2016); If Walls Could Talk: Chapala’s Historic Buildings and Their Former Occupants (2020); Foreign Footprints in Ajijic: Decades of Change in a Mexican Village (2022) and Lake Chapala: A Postcard History (2022).
I continue to work on two major projects related to Lake Chapala. The first (working title: Behind the Camera) delves into the lives and motivations of the talented photographers and commercial photographers whose work helped bring the Lake Chapala area to worldwide attention.
The second (Inspired by Lake Chapala) is about the hundreds of artists and writers who have, since the late nineteenth century, found inspiration at Lake Chapala.
New material resulting from these on-going projects is posted weekly at https://lakechapalaartists.com, a website which currently (October 2025) profiles around 330 authors, 320 artists and 50 postcard photographers/publishers.
In addition, I am starting to publish (via this website) my previously unpublished research notes and drafts in the hope that they may interest other researchers and general readers wanting to learn more about the history and development of Lake Chapala and Guadalajara.
Teaching and examining
In a previous life, I taught Geography and Geology for 12 years in schools in the West Indies (St. Kitts), U.K. and Mexico.
- 1979–1986 Head of Geography, Head of Social Studies, and (1982–1986) Deputy Head at Greengates School, Mexico City, then the country’s most prestigious international high school. (850 students, K-13). Volunteer co-coordinator of school’s Earthquake Relief Center, following the disastrous 1985 earthquakes.
- 1996–2013 International Baccalaureate Assistant Examiner in Geography.
- 2003–2009 International Baccalaureate Chief Examiner in Geography. Wrote and led numerous online international workshops, as well as face-to-face workshops in the US, Australia and Argentina.
- 1994–1997 Adviser to the University of Guadalajara Limnology Institute – helping students taking the “Chapala Workshop” develop applied research and plan sustainable development projects.
Odisea México A.C.
From 1986–1997, as founding director, I wrote, organized and led numerous field courses, teaching the methodology of investigation and supervising research at many levels and in many related fields, including:
Adult Programs:
- Specialist Ecotourism programs on Monarch Butterflies, West Mexico Ecology, Paricutín Volcano, Copper Canyon and the Yucatán peninsula. These programs proved particularly popular with B.C.-based naturalists.
- Many specialist historical and cultural tour group programs in Western Mexico.
School Courses:
- IGCSE Geography and Natural Economy (Grades 10 – 11)
- Advanced Level Geography (Grades 12 – 13)
- IB Geography and Environmental Systems (Grades 12 – 13)
- Ecology of Lake Chapala (Grade 10, Spanish and English)
- History and Ecology of West Mexico (Grade 5)
- History and Archaeology of Central Mexico (Grade 6)
- Workshop on Maps (Grade 6) – sponsored by the National Culture and Arts Council.
- Cultural summer visits to Mexico (Indianapolis School for the Deaf).
University Programs:
- Migration in Western Mexico (University of Wisconsin)
- Tourism and Recreational Resources in Mexico (Michigan State University)
Clubmex
- 1988–1991 Clubmex. Responsible for public relations, office management and publicity heralding the entry into the Chapala market of U.S.-based Clubmex Insurance Services.
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