DESCRIPTION
Mexico is known for it's many great attributes: warm people, unique food, art, archeology, pyramids, museums, Haciendas, 6,000 miles of shoreline, superb architecture, diverse weather-from snow mountains in the Sierras to rainy jungles in the Southeast and desert in the Northwest, many golf courses, and excellent fishing. With so many things to do and see, it's no wonder that Mexico is ranked as the 7th major destination for tourism, with over 20 million visitors annually. Mexico is located in Central America between the United States to the North and Guatemala and Belize to the southeast. The capital of Mexico is Mexico City. The population of this popular location was just over 106 million as of July 2006. A few of the most popular cities in Mexico are: Acapulco, Cancun, Cozumel, Los Cabos, and Patzcuaro. Having such a wealth of attributes, there are close to limitless great things to do while in Mexico, but a few of the most unique and popular tourist favorites are going to the Copper Canyon, which is one of the greatest mountain rail rides in the world going upwards of 7000 feet on the Chihuaha al Pacifico Railway; the Sea of Cortez, where you can see whale birthing, swim with dolphins and go sea kayaking; and finally the Monarch Butterfly Breeding sites, which are protected natural areas where millions of butterflies come between November and March of each year in the highlands of the state of Michoacan. The climate in Mexico varies depending on location: from desert-like regions on the northwest part of the country, to temperate conditions in the northeastern part, while many areas during the winter get rather cold with day time temperatures ranging from 39-59f to overnight lows averaging around 24f. During the summer Mexico gets very hot with sudden violent storms in the afternoons, with temperatures exceeding 100f at times. Spanish is the main language while English is spoken throughout the bordering cities of the U.S. and at tourist destinations. The currency of Mexico is the peso (MXN).