After a very long wait in LAX we boarded our plane at 1140pm bound for Mexico City. Arriving at Mexico City airport was fairly simple. Immigration process was easy, Buenos dias (good day), Bievenidos, welcome to the country and we’re in! Customs however was a little interesting. You stand in line, press a button which gives you a red light or green light. Andy was fine he got green, I got searched. Meh, oh well! We went to the taxi stand and we were of into the crazy city. At 6:30am you’d think the traffic would be a little on the lighter side but not in Mexico City. Just hold on for dear life and hope to god your driver doesn’t crash in to anything or get crashed in to. There’s no such thing as lanes, traffic lights don’t mean anything and indicators, what are they?? When you’re in a different country, have no idea where you’re going and speak poquito español (a little Spanish) is a very strange feeling but we were so excited to be in Mexico. We arrived at Hostel Joven Mundo Catedral which was located right in the Heart of the city. We were knackered to say the least so we were hoping we could check in early but that was not going to be. We had to wait until 2:30pm. We stored our stuff and went in search of food. The hostel recommended a 24hour place very close to get some local treats. The language barrier was difficult but we managed to order some delicious food and coffee. At this point Andy was becoming very good at understanding Spanish and speaking a little. With full bellies we went back to the hostel to try and sleep. We were able to rest our heads on some couches in the common room. Andy managed a few hours but for me it was not going to be. We finally checked in took our bags up and headed back down stairs to watch the world cup semi final. Brasil vs Germany oh dear what a disappointment and embarrassing for the Brazilians. Well it was now my turn to get some rest, I showered and climbed in to bed for a few hours shut eye before heading back out to the airport to meet Bec Bec. Her flight was an hour delayed but we passed the time in Starbucks, good old American influence, using their wifi. After the excitement of her being here with us we all hit the hay.
The next day we planned. We had absolutely no idea where to go next. My thoughts initially was to head to Central America. We had rolled some ideas around and finally settled on Cuba. We booked flights and enjoyed the rest of the day. We wandered around the area surrounding the hostel, the streets were lined with people selling everything from batteries to razor blades hand bags and shoes. I’m not sure they were allowed to do this because at one point someone whistled very loudly as the police came walking up the road and everyone scrambled. People in Mexico whistle for everything. Whether it be to get someones attention, notify that the police are coming or if a hot chic walks by. Every sound means something different. We wandered in to a supermarket to get some essentials and food for the BBQ being held at the hostel later. We could not find any fresh meat unfortunately but we managed to find some frozen hamburgers and veges. continuing on around the block Andy and I were feeling a bit peckish, we found a little food street and bought some handmade chicken enchiladas with chilli sauce. Absolutely delicious. In the afternoon we went on a free walking tour with Louis, a guy that works in the hostel. He took us to a small bar about 20min walk away to try a local drink called Pulque, made from fermented sap of Agave plants. Similar to Agua but dirty tasting. They mix it with all sorts of flavours including tomato, mango, chilli, celery and coconut. You could also have it natural but it really doesn’t have a good taste. We went onto a craft beer/restaurant where we were treated to a demonstration on how to make proper Guacamole using a mortar and pestle made from volcanic rock, we were given grasshoppers, salted fish, tortillas with chicken and to top it all off a craft beer. The highlight was probably the shot of tequila we had. This is 100% (agave) tequila mixed with coffee liquor and set on fire. You have to drink it through a straw and you have to do this quickly as the straw starts to melt. Well lets just say that any more than one shot of this stuff and I would’ve been on the floor drunk. Felling a little tipsy we went back to the roof top bar at the hostel where we continued drinking in to the wee hours. Bec and I went on a mission to find some Vodka so we didn’t have to pay for drinks, this was certainly a mission. Louis told us where we could find a bottle shop but do you think we could find it or find anyone that speaks english? At one point we had nearly all the staff at McDonalds trying to figure out what we wanted. It was very funny. I’m sure they were laughing at us, stupid tourists should learn some spanish. Anyway, we ended up going to a hookah bar about 20mins taxi ride away with some others from the hostel. Silly us didn’t take any ID but that didn’t seem to matter. We were patted down by security and in we went. Wednesday nights are apparently models night. So we were surrounded by tall good looking men and women listening to weird techno music. We had a couple of beers and dance some I even came away richer after finding 700 pesos (About $60) in the toilet. Lucky me! We got home around 2:30am and crashed out until 11am the next morning.
We got up, showered and headed out for what was to be one of the best days in Mexico. We jumped on the subway bound for Coyoacan, a trendy suburb just outside the city famous for churros, coffee and Casa Azul or Blue House which was the home of a very famous artist, Frida Kahlo. Before going the Casa Azul we grabbed some tacos from a local street vendor. Again a little difficult with the language barrier but there was a young guy there who helped us out a little and then invited us to eat with him and his friend. Luis and Brenda, 20 and 21 year old students at a local university, Luis studying engineering and Brenda early childhood teaching. Luis secretly likes Brenda but she is very firm on mi amigos (My friend). We had luck with them and chatted a little in spanish and a little in English. Luis could speak a little english but Brenda couldn’t. So we all got to practice speaking to each other in our native languages. It was fun. They offered to take us to the blue house which was unexpected. It was such a lovely gesture and we were so appreciative of their local knowledge as well as Luis interpreting for us. It was very interesting learning about the tragic yet beautiful life of Frida. She got polio when she was young and then when she was a teenager was in an unfortunate accident where the bus she was travelling on was struck by a car and she sustained life altering injuries. In the accident a steel hand rail broke off and impaled her through her uterus and spine. She was unable to have children and she spent most of her life bound to a wheelchair or in bed. She had to wear specially designed splints and a plaster torso brace. Although she was always in so much pain she found some beauty in all the tragedy. She started painting mostly about her life and the way she perceived herself through other peoples eyes. A lot of her paintings were self portraits or portraits of others. She painted a lot of pieces about her inability to have children which was a very upsetting thing for her. Later in life she was breaking in to the fashion industry with her beautiful dresses she wore to cover her legs and hide her brace she wore lace and brightly coloured scarves. Her jewellery was always a talking point when she entered a room it was all about distracting people from her disfigured body. Her most noticeable and recognisable feature was her monobrow.
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| Casa Azul |
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| Funny Times |
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| Frida's art |
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| Her Death Mask |
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| Frida Kahlo |
Moving on we went for a wander around the streets of Couyacan. Luis and Brenda took us to the centre of the area on the way we purchased some delicious churros. None you’ve had will be this good. Filled with whatever sugary goodness you want. Chocolate, caramel, liquor, mango or pinã. So delicious and cheap. This is a very pretty area to just hang out have coffee or some lunch. We decided it was time to head back to the hostel. Tackle the subway at peak hour. Something you should all try if you ever come here. Mexico City has one of the best designed public transport systems we’ve seen. You never wait any longer than 5 mins for a train but they do get very crowded. Well they do have to accommodate the 21 million people who live and work in Mexico City. Luis’s advice, push to get on and push push push to off or you’ll be left behind or get pushed back on to the train missing your stop. This is not for the faint at heart. It is hot and stuffy on those trains but again something that needs to be experienced. Saying our goodbyes to Brenda and Luis we organised to meet up the following day.
We were up bright and early ready for our bus tour and visiting the Museum of anthropology. Luis and Brenda met us there and again were our gracious hosts and interpreters for the day. We learned all about the history of Mexico and it’s people including the mayan culture. A must see in Mexico City. You do need a good amount of time to get through it all as it’s massive.
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| Mayan Stonework |
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| Wall Art |
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| Crazy Mexican's doing some spinning around whilst music is being played. They start from the top and work their way down to the ground |
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| Mayan Headdress |
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| Painting of Prehistoric Animals |
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| The wall of Faces. Many different cultures and how evolution has changed skulls and faces |
Afterward we finished our bus tour around the city. We said our farewells to Brenda but Luis was going to meet us after for a drink and dinner.
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| Revolution Square |
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| National Art Museum |
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| Angel of Independence |
We went to a roof top restaurant for some delicious local cuisine. Luis chose some things off the menu for us to try. The food was so tasty. We had organised to go to the Mexican wrestling so we had to be getting back. We had a beer at the hostel and met up with some others that were going also. We wandered out the front with everyone and thought were participating in an “organised tour” with a tour company. Well thats what we were meant to be doing but there was a whole lot of confusion when we realised we were with the wrong group. We went to the subway and were led by a couple of guys from the hostel who really didn’t know where we or they were going. Asking a few people ion the way we found ourselves at the wrestling being asked to purchase tickets to get in. Now we had already purchased tickets and thought we were on a tour but this was not the case. We were meant to meet a tour guide at the hostel at 8pm which was the same time this group was leaving so we just tagged along thinking it was the tour. We had to purchase more tickets once we realised it wasn’t the organised tour at all but just a group of people from the hostel and decided to go along. Oh well shit happens. We took our seats for the show and laughed our heads off at the ridiculous scripted wrestling. The women were the funniest with their boobs out and hair all blowing in the wind. drinking beer and cheering loudly as these performers showed off their amazing acrobatic skills. Some wore the traditional masks whilst others wore skimpy little shorts showing off their heavily sculpted bodies and beautifully tamed hair.
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| Wrestling |
Despite the mix up we had a great time. The next day we tried to explain what happened to the tour operator maybe get a little bit of money back but unfortunately 3 other people from a different hostel missed out which we felt very bad about. A very honest mistake.
Mexico City is a fascinating place with so much happening and so much to do. I feel like I could write so much about this city. To document everything we saw I would be writing a novel. Saying our farewells to Mexico City after the most awful sleep we hopped on a plane bound for La Havana, Cuba. Excitement plus!
Peace Out
Love Andy and Maddie xxoo
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