Mexico: Some Travels and Some Travelers There

The narrative and descriptive talents of novelist Adams ( Caroline's Daughters ) are abundantly evident in her Mexican travelogue, not only in depictions of Mexico's spectacular landscapes and picturesque towns, but in her portrayals of natives and tourists. She also writes of the companions with whom she explored Baja California, Oaxaca, Cuernavaca, the ruins of Palenque, etc. While the art of Frida Kahlo in Mexico City inspires Adams's highest praise, her ``addiction'' to the ``magic'' of Mexico grows from her feeling that its romantic beauty more than compensated for the ``vicissitudes . . . of the whole boring, tiresome trip,'' detailed recitals of which readers may indeed find tiresome. Certainly, her account of misadventures in Tuxtla Gutierrez and other sites that met with her disapproval will deter readers from including them on their itineraries. (Oct.)