Mexico was a city of lasts for us. Last Central American destination (sad!). Last greasy taco. Last 30 cent metro ride. Last time we have to think about not chucking our toilet paper in the loo, but into the bin beside it (absolutely gross, I know). Last time we have to communicate in broken Spanish for a while (yay!). Last opportunity we had to by anything off the street, including underwear (which are probably recycled…feral). SAD!!
In all we spent 6 days in the chaotic and polluted capital and we didn’t waste a minute. There is so much to do in and around Mexico City, that every second of everyday was planned out, just so we could get through the what we wanted to see and do – and we still didn’t. It was exhausting. Most people don’t realise the full potential of Mexico. Scared off by the dangerous stigma attached to the place, most use it only as a stopover. In fact, the reaction we got from people when we told them we were staying for so long was usually ‘jeez, you’re brave!’ Ok, so the front page of local newspapers does freak you out. Every morning, photos of a headless body or a body sprawled awkwardly in a pool of blood grace the front pages, but walking around the city, 12 hours a day for 6 days, we didn’t have any problems; though, I suppose after eight months of travelling through these parts we definitely know what not to do.
My favourite things:
- Teotihuacan
Located about 45 minutes outside of Mexico City, Teotihuacan is the magnificent ancient ruins of the Mayans. What makes it so different from all the other ruins we’ve seen to date is that it has the third largest pyramid in the world – the Pyramid of the Sun’ - which you are free to climb all over. These ruins are up there in my favourites that we’ve visited because it still resembles a little a little city, with a main street – the ‘Avenue of the Dead’ - running straight down the middle. With huge grey storm clouds rolling in over of the hills, we quickly clambered to the top of the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon, which, when you look closely, reflect the shape of the surrounding hills.
- Frida Kahlo’s house
Kahlo, a Mexican artist, suffered a debilitating injury in a bus accident as a teenager and spent the remainder of her life in agony and suffering, painting from her bed or wheelchair as she came to grips with her injury. Her art reflects her pain and her struggle to accept herself. The artist’s huge blue home tucked away in the Mexico City suburb of Coyoacán is now a museum full of her paintings, photos, and belongings including her spinal casts and paints.
- Finding Diego Rivera murals all over the city
Diego Rivera, a famous Mexican muralist, and Frida Kahlo’s husband has hundreds of murals all over Mexico City – even on buildings at the university which we ventured out to one day.
- The food! (that was not Mexican)
I have to admit to being well over Mexican food by this point. I could feel my arteries clogging and my cholesterol climbing with every greasy, cheesy, fried bite I took. Not wanting to look at another taco or quesadilla – which are not anything like the Old El Paso versions we make at home by the way - you have to ask specially for cheese – we branched out on all the international fare available in Mexico City. We had Japanese, Chinese, Indian, and good old fashioned hamburgers complete with pineapple, but my favourite dish had to be the banana spring rolls with vanilla bean ice-cream and caramel. Yum, yum, yum. I loved it so much, I took a photo:
So after an exhausting good 6 days – goodbye Mexico City, goodbye Mexico, goodbye Central America. Hello NYC!!
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