Colima

If you want to combine a bit of archaeology with your beach holiday, you can drive about an hour east of Manzanillo up into the lush mountains to Colima. This is a clean, attractive working city with a pretty Colonial plaza where you find the excellent Museum of Archaeology. Originally, this exhibit of magnificent pre-Columbian objects was a private collection housed in a rather rundown building. At the owner’s death the collection came under the auspices of the Mexican National Institute of Archaeology and History, and today a beautifully executed, small museum displays in great style this immense collection made over a lifetime by the original owner. The pieces, mostly of ceramic, came from burials throughout the state of Colima. Most were found by local farmers in the course of working the land and were brought to Colima for sale. Details of origin are lacking for most of the items, but the artistic value is obvious and the museum enables visitors to see a wide range of objects and styles of ancient indigenous craftsmen.