My last temple in Mexico

I had hoped there would’ve more to write about Cancun since I was returning, post Cuba. But, due to air difficulties this didn’t quite happen. I do have some arty shots of the last temple you’ll be seeing for a while, well at least until I get to Asia 😉 this is the legendary Chichen Itza. Enjoy 🙂

Partying in Playa!

Back to Mexico and to the hippest city of the Yucatan Peninsula, yep welcome to Playa del Carmen! I had been told that it was absolutely gorgeous here, champagne beaches and blue blue seas, sophisticated watering holes and fine eateries, what I did not expect was so many Americans! I had stupidly thought they were all larging it up in Cancun! Regardless of the swarms of ‘gees’, ‘omg’s’ and the fact that all the shops had prices in both pesos and dollars, I was not going to let it put me off and by the time i had consumed oh too many rums, I did not care!

I met a young, fresh out of univ, chap from Oz (hey Will, you see, you did get a mention!) on arrival and he was my partner in crime for the next couple of nights! We hooked up with the lovely Adriana (a Brazilian who had lived in England for so long she considered herself to be English) and the rest as they say was history. Rum after rum, party after party; boy we had fun! Plus, the next day there was always the beach to chill out on and recover, ready to do it all again! A bit like a upmarket and sunny Whitley Bay, lol! Mind by now, I knew my liver needed some serious downtime – was this going to happen in Cancun? TBC… X

Mexican mountains and beaches

It’s seems like an age since I last wrote, it’s actually just been over a week but I’ve packed so much into it that I have loads of pix to share.

On leaving Mexico City, I headed to the state of Oaxaca (Geordie pronunciation is wah-hah-Kah). I soon found out that Mexican people are very colonial about their states, Mexico City (or the state of Mexico – not the country) could have been another planet from Oaxaca.

First port of call, Oaxaca City. A colonial place bustling with artisans, fine restaurants (I sampled my first glass of Rioja accompanied by tapas and the city’s renowned Mole) and beautiful buildings, the city is flanked with mountains and indigenous towns, oh and of course lots of archeological sites. The centre of the town is the Zocalo; bustling by day and pulsing by night.

They also had a balloon thing going on! Yeh, most peculiar. The centre was filed with vendors selling balloons and not just regular balloons I tell you, balloons with wheels. Wonder if it’ll catch on in the UK

My day trip here included a visit to a village (Teotitlande de Valle) specialising in traditional rug making (I’ll keep the pix to a minimum; promise!) a mezcal factory, a temple (of course) and Herve el agua. Oh yeh, I also saw a big tree!

We visited Mitla meaning place of the dead, a burial ground for the upper echelons of Zapotec society (the priests). Like many places in central / south America the Spanish in the 16th century demolished most of the temples and recreated their own religious icons.

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And so onto Hierve el Agua, bubbling mineral springs with fantastic panoramic views. You’ll see me stood in front of what looks like a waterfall, it’s actually not, but mineral formations.

Pretty, eh? But enough about mountains and pretend waterfalls, I was heading to Puerto Escondido – yep a beach! Two days to just chill and soak up the rays – most lovely.

So, what’s not to like about Mexico?

Three is the magic number

I bet you were all wondering when I was going to get the history book out? Although my time in Mexico City was brief, I did manage to squeeze in a day trip to the pyramids, to a mezcal factory and to Plaza de las Trez Culturas.

Plaza de las Trez Culturas symbolises the unique proposition that is modern day Mexico and the three cultures and historical periods that make this place totally unique.

The site is the old Aztec epicentre ‘Columbian Tialtelolco’, in its hey day it rivalled the the great Teotihuacan empire. Old Mexico city was divided into two holy cities and this was one of them. The city was actually an island and this was one of the main trading routes from the island (as I found out, over time the river bed was filled up and created the metropolis we know today. There are only three pieces of lake left, two are landfills, but luckily the third has been preserved. This is why Mexico city has a real problem with subsiding buildings.) I digress, an important place in Aztec civilisation, this was also where the Aztecs made their last stand against the Spanish conquest, however it fell into the hands of the Hernan Cortes in 1952.

So, we have the Aztec pyramids which were partly dismantled so they Spanish could build their church, and surrounding it there are high rises which symbolise Mexico or ‘mestizos’ today; people made up of three defining cultures.

I’m not sure whether ironic is quite the right word, but this site has also been privy to three tragedies. The first, the last stand of the Aztecs. Secondly, in 1968 as Mexico had the whole world looking on as it hosted the Olympics, a large group of students made a protest here about the current dictator. Although, it’s not altogether sure who took the first shot (recent sources point to the Spanish military), many were killed in the massacre – the figure I recall is around 400 innocent students. Finally, in 1985, there was an earthquake which caused the death of 10,000 Mexicans, unfortunately a lot of these were in this area.

Some say this is a haunted place and apparently on an evening there is strange witchcraft and the like taking place; luckily I did see nor partake in any of this 😉

One in 20 million

Hurray, I have arrived in Mexico. After leaving Lima at 2am, I arrived in Mexico City at about 3pm. A little sleep deprived, I had two hours, it took all my wits to find a cash point that worked and sort out a taxi – it’s sometimes the smallest things that cause the most grief! irritation aside, I slumbered into a taxi, took a deep breath and attempted to soak in the enormity of it all.

The first thing I noticed, aside from the sheer size of the city was the purple trees, ok the trees weren’t actually purple but they were swathed in purple blossom, quite heavenly. My hostel located, I needed sleep, some dinner and a beer. Ok, the beers quite quickly turned into tequilas! Generally, I’m not a fan, but combined with grapefruit juice I can quite happily say I’m converted, and at about £1.25 per drink I think I’m on a winning formulae for the next month 🙂

Feeling a wee bit groggy the following morning, I eventually pulled myself around and went exploring. Of course I did not have a plan, but I had a map – two actually – and my lonely planet, what else does Dora need?

There’s about 20 million people that live here, now that’s a lot of folk, and I was one of them! It felt a little bit like Northumberland Street at Christmas, but about 100 times busier. At one point I was waiting to cross a road and I must have been only one of 200. What’s more, I’m glad I got my cash in the airport as there were queues, 20-30 people deep at each and every ATM, it was just crazy. Someone had likened Mexico City to a hive of ants; they weren’t wrong.

My hostel, the lovely hostel amigo suites (check it out below), was only a five minute walk to the Centro Historico, so that’s where I headed, or rather where the swarms of people took me.

The plaza de la constitution, or as locally known the ‘Zocalo’ – the base, measures 240m x 220m and as such is one of the largest city squares. Home to the powers that be, it houses the presidential palace, the city government offices and the Cathedral Metropolitana; it was mucho impressive.

Heading along what seemed like one of the main shopping streets, luckily it was pedestrianised, I found myself at Almeda Central, a beautiful park filled with purple trees!

Heading up the park was the Palacio de Bellas Artes; a white-marbled palace, concert hall and art centre. Initially commissioned in 1905, it was not completed until the ’30s and had a delightful art deco feel to it.

I spied a waterfall up ahead and continued straight ahead; I think this is the new town; swanky hotels and sculptures were a a contrast from the old school architecture I’d previously seen. Obviously with my modernistic love for buildings, I enjoyed the stark contrast.

A city of contrast, it was not long until I was back in old school Mexico City and was faced with the Monumento a la Revolucion which contains the tombs of heroes of days gone by.

Knowing how much of a sucker I am for buildings, here’s some of the other structures that tickled my fancy.