For almost a century, Snowbirds and other vacationers have traveled the highways of the east coast of Mexico in route to and from the beaches of the Yucatan Peninsula. Their object has usually been to escape the colder winters of their home countries and, usually, to do a little interesting exploring when they get to their destination. Many are looking for that perfect location to invest in the retirement home of their dreams. What most of these travelers don’t know is that they are passing right by one of the most beautiful places on the planet and haven’t a clue that it is even there! Laguna Catemaco lies in the crater of a volcano 180 km south of the City of Veracruz, on old Hwy 180. It is large enough that it could be mistaken for a glimpse of the coast of the Gulf of Mexico by a tourist who isn’t aware of where he or she actually is. Just to the east of the lake lies Laguna Sontecomapan, which empties directly into the Gulf of Mexico. Today, many Snowbirds take the new toll road (Hwy 145) and miss the Catemaco-Sontecomapan area completely. Pan out from these Google interactive maps to see the entire area around Laguna Catemaco.

Believe it or not, every real estate investor is not interested in the cut-throat race to buy up every inch of beachfront property on the planet. Some people want to live in the mountains, especially if they grew up in that kind of environment. Some people want to live near a lake. For some, living with nature is important. By now, most people know that there are mountains throughout most of Mexico. They also know that some of those mountain areas live with the threat of earthquakes, or have already been bought up by gringos and the real estate prices are higher than they would have been in the States. Isn’t there anywhere left in Mexico that has mountains and lakes, is relatively safe from potential natural disasters, and still has real estate prices that real people can afford? Of course there is – and the Catemaco-Sontecomapan wonderland is just such a place.

For those who have traveled through Mexico for years, old Hwy. 180 is now but a distant memory. It has been replaced by a wonderful toll road that zips travelers through the entire length of the center of the country in record time. Unfortunately, the new Mexican highways have been built in the same way that many American interstate highways were built – miles and miles… and days and days… through little more than one cow pasture after another. Traveling the toll roads in Mexico is a great way to miss some of the most spectacular natural wonders in the entire world. Laguna Catemaco is a perfect example. Today, most travelers would pass through the southern part of the State of Veracruz with no idea that there is a true land of wonder nearby.

With only about a hundred foreigners now living in the area of Laguna Catemaco, it is just now falling into the line of vision of real estate investors. Recently, it seems to be that Europeans, rather than Americans and Canadians, are making up most of the tourist trade; but this does not mean that they are buying in the area – at least not in large numbers and not quite yet. However, Laguna Catemaco’s status as a “best kept secret” is not going to last much longer. The waterfalls are just too beautiful, the fishing is just too good, the people are just too nice, and the monkeys are just too cute.

Take a Tour in Photos of Laguna Catemaco and all of the surrounding area and decide for yourself if this is a place worthy of investigation for the purposes of real estate investment. The attitude of the local gringo spokesman, “Don Gringo,” is fun and refreshing – just the sort of fellow one might enjoy as a neighbor one day. Here is his list of Things to do in Catemaco.

A hint for the sporting event investor: This area is perfect for any number of sporting events and has yet to be fully developed for any of them. Check out some sporting events suggestions on the Catemaco section of Tuxtlas.com