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Published: January 5th 2008
Mexico
Got in very late/early but easy to get taxi to hotel. Was lazy at first and didn’t appreciate city then had a walk around and was good - especially the cheap food. $2 for 2 hot dogs and a 600ml drink, 70c for 2 tacos albeit small. Then walked out at night and great atmosphere for Christmas, an outdoor ice rink in main square (it isn’t that cold) and stayed for lights to be turned on. Felt safe with all the security around wearing bullet proof vests…. Horseback policeman in Alameda Park with big sombreros is pretty cool though. Then on way to bus station, was a street lined for about 1km with policemen with battle shields every metre or shoulder to shoulder, possible to stop drugs on way to airport or to stop street vendors - overkill if that is the case. Oh, saw a local drinking out of a brake fluid container - you wouldn’t get me to drink out of it even if it was rinsed 100 times. Heaps of beggars but fairly unobtrusive so that is ok. Went to see Anthropological Museum which was pretty cool.
Need to clarify, Aztecs, Mayans, Incans, all ruled different times
at different places. Mexico City area was Mayans until about AD1300, then Aztec until about 15th 16th century when Spanish Conquistadors, then independence to modern Mexicans. Yeah I know there is no Incans mentioned there yet, patience till I get down south!
Teotihuacán - where I saw my first Mexican pyramid. Was great - huge area over about 2km with a Citadel and Pyramid of the Sun and Pyramid of the Moon - heaps of stairs is the other thing I have to say.
Pueblo - nice city with already a country atmosphere even though 2-3 million people live there. Saw Mexicos biggest pyramid which look more like a hill and volcanoes in glary distance but had my first grilled grasshopper here too which wasn’t that bad, nice and crunchy at first but then had a flavour which was not even that bad but I associated with grasshopper.
Oaxaca (Monte Alban) - cool city to walk around, was where teachers protested and ‘occupied’ the city for 6 months a while ago. Monte Alban city of the Zapotecs from 500bc to 900ad was excellent. I wasn’t expecting much but was very nice.
San Cristobel del la Casas - very chilly after
overnight bus which I was sick on. Nice city though. Nice churches and markets as usual. Went up to Chamula where if you take photos you can be killed where the nicest church I have ever seen is, just candles, trees and balloons and Saints with mirrors. Gas trucks here, as last town, drag metal rings behind their car so you can hear them coming.
Palenque - came via Aqua Azul which was stunning, bright day which reflected heaps of blue sky in the limestone waters, then Misol Ha where Arnie did his Predator dive but was cool to walk behind the falls. Ruins again were awesome. Pakal’s Tomb is great and the view from atop the Temples is awesome over the city and surrounding landscape. Would’ve been awesome to come through rainforest for first sighting.
Merida - a long drive day extended by a fatal road accident just in front of us. A nice little town where locals are obviously more friendly and ready for a chat.
Chichen Itza - was very awesome to see, but we are on the main tourist circuit from Cancun now and was very crowded (I don’t do crowds). Was interesting seeing photo of
Mexico falling Sagrario
Because of all the earthquakes just about every building in Mexico is on a lean!21 March solace where snake serpents comes down stairs of pyramid.
Cancun - very overrated. Yeah they are nice beaches but very westernized and very hidden by hotels, you had to go to a huge desert beach or side down some side alley to get to the beach. Saying that, had a good time. Didn’t get to Isla Mujeres or Conzumel but I suppose they are just another beach.
Tulum - another ruin but on beachfront which is amazing it has survived hurricanes for nearly 1500 years.
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