After an incredible month in Costa Rica, I moved on to my final country: Mexico!
I spent my first two nights in the La Condesa area of MC, in Gael Condesa hostel. Despite it being a fairly small hostel, I met many legends here who I toured the city with. The two girls in my dorm (Claire and Kirby) and I went around the mosaic building, the old temple ruins, the markets, and the churches of the central area. We also attended the famous ‘Lucha Libre’ wrestling event which was one of the most dramatic and funny sporting events ever! The next day we visited the Roma food market which had loads of cuisines to offer and is a place I highly recommend to others.
Next up, my friend Alex from home flew out to see me… I LOVE that she was part of my travels and that we could make it work! Once Alex settled into the new time zone we ventured out to the Museum of Anthropology. Here we learned about the Mayans, Mexico’s economy over the years, and Oaxacan history. There were actually many more exhibits, but the staff said it would take approx 6 hours to get around everything and we don’t love museums THAT much. Indeed, after about 2 hours we were hungry and had lunch at the nearby Tamayo Art museum.
The museum of Anthropology
That afternoon, Alex and I re-grouped with my hostel friends for a boat trip along the canals in Xochimilco. The journey from Mexico City was approx 30 mins and cost 3 peso (12p) to get to the area, plus a short walk to the canals. The boat rides are a very popular attraction and as you float around many vendors sell from other boats and entertainment groups pass by.
Canal boat trip!
The next day, we went to the Teotihuacan pyramids just north of Mexico City. The climb up the Sun mountain was though but we were instantly rewarded with amazing views over the area and the other pyramids. Local vendors were selling loud whistles, jewellery, and ornaments of Myan history below. A fellow traveller had recommended dining in a cave nearby (La Gruta), so we went to check it out. Although it was super cool to be sat deep in a cave for lunch, the service and food wasn’t a 10/10 from us.
The view from the top of the Sun pyramid
The next morning we sunbathed on the rooftop of the hotel before venturing into town. We ate lunch in the tall department store Sears, which had a stunning view over the Bellas Artes building. After soaking up the suns rays and admiring the view we continued through the market square and looked inside the cathedral. It was slightly comical for us as the floor was tilted as a result of the fact it was built on marsh land. Don’t drop anything or it will roll!! Next, we visited a government building where visitors are allowed to go in to admire the murals. Indeed, hundreds of interesting murals left us intrigued to the story behind them…
After a fab few days in CDMX (Mexico City), we took a 6 hour bus to Oaxaca City. The bus is worth me writing about because it was one of the best services I’d ever experienced! It was run by ADO and before boarding we were given water and headphones. Once aboard we had the luxury of films being played, chargers, and foot rests – definitely better than we expected. Once we arrived we checked into the cute hostel that is Azul Cielo before going out for dinner. We found a popular tapas restaurant serving VERY tasty bites. Then, to round off the day we watched a live band performing in Txalaparta and even chatted to the inspirational 70 year old drummer in the interval!
Breakfast consisted of tortillas, which fuelled us to explore the City all morning. We went to the famous Santo Dominico church before joining a tour at the adjoining Botanical Gardens. We ideally wanted the tour in English but had narrowly missed it, so decided to join the Spanish tour! This really tested my language skills but when I wasn’t trying to translate I was admiring the huge cacti everywhere! We walked and walked, and eventually decided we deserved back massages which were delightful. After a short nap and chill at the hostel we headed back into the centre for dinner at a fabulous restaurant called Taboziche. As we ate BBQ ribs we were entertained by a live acoustic band. Following this, we listened to more music in the square. It was a cool place to be at at night, with people just chilling and dancing along to all the ensembles performing!
Cactus towers
The next day we were due to go on a full day tour, but unfortunately Alex fell ill. After the tough decision to separate, she got some much needed rest as I hopped on the tour bus. Luckily I made a fantastic group of friends who kept me entertained all day and helped me to improve my Spanish. The first stop was the Hierve el Agua, or ‘boiling water’. It’s called that because it looks as though the water is bubbling/boiling but in fact is actually cold and is caused by a chemical reaction. The setting was divine and we really enjoyed getting the perfect picture! The second stop was lunch (yay) which consisted of a Mexican buffet – tacos, tortillas, meats, burritos, and the lot! We were even entertained by a guitarist and by the end of our meals we were up and dancing around the tables. The third stop was the Mitla archaelogical site which has an admiral construction, with secret underground bits and low ceilings. Although impressive, the scorching sun meant everyone started to lull a bit so we didn’t stay long. The fourth stop was a craft workshop where rugs and other products are made from wool. We had a demonstration on how the wool is dyed, the dyes being natural products like pomegranate, limestone, etc. and I ended up buying some coasters as I was just in awe of the creations. The fifth stop was a Mezcal factory, where we got to taste the seriously strong drink plus variations with different flavours. I personally don’t like Mezcal that much but I did enjoy the tour. The sixth and final stop was the girthiest tree in El Tule. The tree was unbelievably big and our tour guide happened to be unbelievably small. Yep- young boys of about 8 years old are the official tour guides of the tree. Our guide pointed out all the interesting shapes which can be identified within the tree, including owls, elephants, and cars. When I got back an reunited with Alex she was feeling well enough to go out for dinner. We picked a restaurant with live saxophone music and enjoyed relaxing in our favourite square.
The crew!
A tiny tour guide for a big tree
We had a fun (less fun for Alex) few days in Oaxaca but it was time to fly to our next destination – Puerto Escondido! This is still part of the Oaxaca state and is made up of several attractive beaches. We booked a few days in a retreat style accommodation next to the Zipolite beach. The view from our balcony was absolutely insane and the camping set up meant we were outside a lot and taking in the sun. Unfortunately, the waves here were crazy big and scary which meant absolutely no one (including surfers) were allowed in the water. This wasn’t a huge issue as we were happy to sunbathe but it meant we couldn’t do any tours and were limited in terms of activity. What we did experience, however, was ‘chocolate’ yoga run by a fun local lady. She calls it chocolate because she wants her clients to ‘melt’ and relax. It was different to other yoga classes I’d been to and we spent most of the session lying down over foam strips that open the chest and relax the back. I have to say we both fell asleep by the end!
After 2 days at Zipolite we moved on to a more popular area, Zicatela. Here we booked a nice hotel in the middle of the strip which was super convenient. Immediately we parked ourselves at a beach restaurant/bar and sunbathed all afternoon. In the evening we found a bar with offers on their cocktails in actual pineapples, and got chatting to another group staying nearby. We all ended up in a pool venue where we battled it out till the early hours of the morning.
The next day we wanted to swim, but once again the waves were very big here and usually only good for surfers. That meant we taxied to a different beach with slightly less terrifying waves where we could swim. We had to descend many steps to reach Carrizallila but it was definitely worth it for the tranquility (minus a few locals trying to hard sell tours). We spent most of the day here and finished off having dinner next to our hotel.
The following morning I had booked in for a surf lesson back at Carrizallila and was super excited. I’d had a lesson in Costa Rica and was itching to do it again! My instructor took me in the water and when I stood up the first time I was absolutely ELATED. It was such a great feeling! Despite a few small surfboard injuries I came out happy as Larry and hungry as hell. Alex and I went straight in for lunch back at our favourite beach restaurant and once again overstayed our welcome on sun loungers for the afternoon. In the evening we booked onto a turtle release, where we helped baby turtles reach the ocean. It was an absolutely heart warming experience and I could not believe how small they were. We were given our little babies in a coconut shell before standing a few metres back from the line to let them go. I named my turtle Pablo (I’d been watching a lot of Narcos at the time) and Alex named hers Rodney. They were the best of friends but Pablo raced off as soon as I let him go whilst Rodney appeared to have a nap. Eventually Rodney made it into the sea and off our little boys went. We hope to see them again some day. After the most amazing turtle experience we went up to Congo bar for salsa night. We danced the night away and even received a crash course by a salsa teacher!
I <3 surfing
Zipolite had been paradise, but we had to fly back to Mexico City before our impending flights home. We stayed in a different part of Mexico City this time, in the chain hostel Selina. For our last day we bought tickets for the Hop on, Hop off bus and stopped at areas of interest. It actually happened to be the day before Mexican Independence day so the city was busy setting up for major celebrations and patriotic displays. We appropriately stopped at the Monument of Independence where army musicians performed and TV crews recorded. We next stopped in the Condesa area and looked in some of the fancy supermarkets. We also found a gorgeous tea shop where we sat sipping Rooibos before deciding to book in for final holiday massages. As it was also our last night we wanted a memorable dinner, and indeed it was. We found the Sonora grill which made the most insane steaks ever, accompanied by 4 types of salt and chips. Churros and chocolate followed of course and to this day I’m still thinking about how tasty it all was.
How fun are these signs
