TOUR OF MEXICO

Our Mexican adventure was a long time in planning, got cancelled twice, and the itinerary oscillated between adding or removing Mexico City. Luckily, our final version includes a few days in the capital. It would be a sin not to visit one of the biggest and most fascinating cities in the world. Our hesitancy was fuelled by comments from people who perceived it as one of the most dangerous places on the planet, without ever visiting it. I am glad we didn’t listen…
MEXICO CITY
Sharp bolts of lightning welcome our evening descent into the Benito Juárez International Airport of Mexico City. The 12-hour flight from London Heathrow was smooth and with no delays either at departure or arrival. The immigration officers in military green uniforms ask as two questions. Why are we in Mexico. Turismo. And how long we are staying. Dos semanas. Without glancing at us, they put a blurry green stamp in our passports and hand back the bottom part of the immigration form that we need for departure. Bienvenidos.
In the post-Brexit world, travelling to Mexico seems more straightforward than visiting our European neighbours.
The city is dark and rainy, and the busy road surrounded by warehouses and blocks of flats. For the first three nights, we are staying at the Live Aqua Urban Resort in Bosques de las Lomas. A little bit outside the centre, but in an upmarket, safe neighbourhood. Soon I realise that I actually quite like the experience of a hands-on concierge always available to help us with just about anything (for a tip, of course).
I am the only one of our travelling troupe who seems to be suffering from jet lag. Mexico is six hours behind the UK and, unlike my companions – my other half and my nearly-teenager – I cannot sleep. I wake up at 2 AM and do not go back to sleep. I had the same problem in Caracas many years ago, but I do not remember suffering in Cuba… It might be old age… I peek through the curtains at the night city and wait impatiently for everyone to wake up. We have breakfast in the hotel restaurant; pancakes of the size of a large sponge cake smothered in guava jam and decorated with fresh strawberries and an additional plate of fruit. It’s delicious. It’s huge. And expensive.
The area around the hotel, where we stroll after breakfast, reminds us of Canary Warf; headquarters of the big international companies (Unilever, Pfizer…), branches of banks, expensive restaurants, branded shops and exclusive apartments on higher floors. We get some cash and decide that our male companion, who is still regaining his strength after recovering from Covid, will rest at the hotel while the two of us brave this large city. The concierge – of course – knows the most reliable taxi driver, Eric, who will take us there and pick us up.


Our first stop is the Museo Nacional de Antropología, the most visited museum in Mexico. Museums in Mexico have extremely strict entrance rules; no food or drink are allowed, large-ish bags must be left in the locker and masks worn at all times. It’s a very impressive building with a gigantic mushroom shaped fountain in the middle of the courtyard. This is a place for lovers of history, archaeology and anthropology. We learn how the Aztecs and Mayas lived and died, how they prayed and what they believed in. A young Mexican girl approaches us and asks where we bought our “amazing” rainbow tote. In London. We smile and start talking to her and her parents. She is learning English and dreaming of studying in Glasgow. She is the same age as my young adventurer who is learning Spanish at school. She gives us her address. We will send her a tote bag and maybe the two of them can become pen friends. As we wave goodbye, my 12-year old tells me that “pen friendships” are things of the past. It’s all about social media these days…
From here we walk to the Museo de Arte Moderno. My personal highlights are works by Diego Rivera and the painting Las dos Fridas by Frida Kahlo. This double self-portrait has become synonymous with her tragic life and artistic success. We also visit the exhibition on the life and art of Gabriel García Márquez; which I find very interesting while my young companion is itching to move onto something else. Onto lunch, to be precise.
We find a small eatery near the Estela de Luz monument. After spicy tacos, cold drinks, a little rest and reading, we are ready for the afternoon session of our first day in Mexico City; the Bosque and Castillo de Chapultepec with a stroll past the Altar a la Patria. The park is incredibly busy and the queue to the Castillo stretches long way back, as if everyone has decided to come here on the first Thursday in August of 2022. Again I have to leave my bag in the lockers by the main entrance (and walk all the way up the hill to the entrance with no water; yes they are extremely strict even in extreme weather conditions). The Castillo de Chapultepec – the “Castle on the Hill of the Grasshopper” – hosts the national museum of history and offers fantastic views of the city. During its history, the building was a gunpowder store and a military academy. I am most intrigued by the rooms dedicated to the year when this was the residence of Maximilian von Hapsburg and his wife Charlotte. I recently visited Miramare Castle near Trieste in Italy and learned of their connection to Mexico. Maximilian was invited by the Mexican conservatives to establish the Second Mexican Empire and he employed Mexican and European architects to renovate the building. Unfortunately, Maximilian’s Mexican adventure did not end well, and he was killed by firing squad by order of president Benito Juárez…

We walk through the busy park, with excited children, colourful entertainers and loud souvenir and snack sellers. This is a pretty, cheerful, upbeat and amazing green area, really. In the café of the Librería Porrúa we stop for a coffee…
Museums are free for younger than 13 and adults pay 85 pesos (around £ 3.70). Taxi from the hotel to the centre and the return comes to 800 pesos (approximately £ 35). Breakfast in the hotel for three came to nearly £ 40. I cannot make my mind if this is an expensive city or not.
There is a high presence of police officers and security guards, and we feel perfectly safe and relaxed wandering around one of the most populated cities in the world. Then again, we are in the safe and posh museum quarter, something like South Kensington in London. On the way back, I ask Eric if drugs are such a big problem as they are presented in the international press. Yes, they are – but mostly in the northern regions, along the border with the USA, in Tijuana, in Juárez, in other border cities. According to Eric, it’s the American appetite for drugs that fuels the Mexican narco-cartel wars.

Next morning, Eric drives the three of us to the Auditorio National, one of the largest entertainment venues in Latin America, the first stop of the Turibus Historical Tour. At a miniature booth, a girl transfers our e-tickets into bracelets and at just gone 10 o’clock, we are the only three passengers on the top deck. That’s the way we like it: when it’s still cool and crowd free. We hop off at the stop by the Palacio de Bellas Artes. First, we head to the Diego Riviera Mural Museum and take a leisurely stroll through the oldest municipal park in Mexico City. Alameda Park is interlaced with paths and with elaborate fountains at every junction, it’s clean and shiny. Not surprising, considering how many park keepers we see at every green area we drive or walk past. This city has no doubt more gardeners, policemen and security personnel on its payroll than any other professionals. The exhibition of surrealism Surrealismo en diálogo in the Palacio de Bellas Artes displays art pieces by Dalí, Leonora Carrington, Man Ray, René Magritte and others. There is Dalí’s red lips sofa and Magritte’s Man in the Mirror. And there are murals everywhere…

We walk down Av 5 de Mayo toward the cathedral. In a corner taquería, we stop for an early lunch of tacos, quesadillas and a beer for our male companion. The area by the cathedral is overcrowded and noisy, rhythms and melodies are coming from various directions and the hustle and bustle of this exiting place is overpowering. We visit the Cathedral (Catedral Metropolitana de la Asunción de la Santísima Virgen María a los cielos) walk around the Templo Mayor, a relic of the Aztecs’ city of Tenochtitlan, enjoy watching performers in authentic Aztec attires at the Plaza de la Constitución (Zócalo) and for a while we get lost in scores of crowds in the central market. In the café of El Palacio department store we stop for cakes and coffees. Of course, I take a quick browse of the shops; it feels like a Mexican equivalent of House of Fraser.

This is a vibrant and passionate city, a perpetuum mobile. Like London. Just larger. But while London seems to be stuck in the past, this city looks towards the future.
On the way to the Airport on Saturday morning, we see another side of Mexico City; the horrendous traffic and the poor neighbourhoods. The sheer volume of cars is unbelievable; there are vehicles everywhere, they are blocking all access roads, the roundabouts, underpasses and overpasses... Our driver – not Eric – takes a detour through a neighbourhood that would be well off any recommended lists, through a dense barrio with blocks of houses piled on top of each other like Lego cubes against the contours of surrounded hills. As we drive past the Observatorio metro station, we witness a movie style madness of street vendors, rushing commuters and police cars with sirens on.
Nevertheless, the traffic keeps moving and we reach the airport before reaching panic mode. Aereoméxico has already checked us in and emailed boarding passes. We just need to show our passports and board the flight to Mérida…


MERIDA
The capital city of Yucatán greets us with a gust of proper tropical climate, it’s unbearably hot and humid. Such a contrast to Mexico City where the temperatures of around 23-24 degrees Celsius and a gentle breeze produced a rather pleasant atmosphere. Our male companion – knowledgeable on sport and meteorology – points out that the altitude of Mexico City is 2,240 metres (London’s is 11 metres) and that this elevation and the thin air contributed to many records being broken during the Olympic games held in the Mexican capital in 1968. The most significant being Bob Beamon’s long jump that broke the previous record by an unbelievable margin of 55 centimetres and remained unbeaten for over twenty years.
Casa Lucía Hotel Boutique where we are staying for the next three days is a charming, old-fashioned colonial house in the centro histórico, opposite the Parque de Santa Lucía. The rooms are arranged around a large internal courtyard adorned with a fountain, and a swimming pool with a veranda. Our room is called San Cristóbal.
Mérida is the tourist capital not only of this peninsula but of the whole country. Streets are lined with restaurants with live music and souvenir shops selling embroidered dresses and earrings as well as typical magnets, key kings, and other commercial paraphernalia. All restaurants around the hotel are fully booked and we find a small eatery in a side street where we indulge in local specialities; chicken fajitas, pollo pibil (half a chicken seasoned with spices and baked in banana leaf) and grilled fish. And a few cervezas Sol with slices of lime for the adult members of the traveling crew… Out of the three of us, I seem to be the only one struggling to adapt to the local time and staying awake past 10PM.



Breakfast is served in the Soberana restaurant, a steakhouse by night and the hotel’s cafeteria in the morning. Slices of French toast are thick and moist and generously decorated with hibiscus jam, slices of bananas and strawberries, as well as sprinkles of grated hard cheese (a little bit weird but it works). The city is already buzzing with life: from tourists going in all directions, shouting souvenir sellers to local folk rushing to catch a bus. Our leisurely walk takes us to the central point of the city, the Plaza Grande and the impressive Catedral de Mérida, San Ildefonso. This is the oldest cathedral in the Americas and it was built on Mayan ruins and using stones from Mayan temple of Yajam Cumu. We peek inside but as it’s Sunday in a Catholic country, the place is filled to the brim with congregants praying under the guidance of the priest at the altar.



Next, we are off to the Mercado San Benito, a fascinating maze of fruit and vegetable stalls, fishmongers, butchers, shops selling jewellery, clothes and household goods, and just about everything. We are particularly intrigued by the pets’ corner that sells live animals: chicks, ducks, rats, parrots and some very cute bunnies. Through the market we reach the Museum of Mérida. By now it’s hot and uncomfortable and the air-conditioned museum is the best place to be. It offers a short yet informative insight into the history of the city, pre- and post-colonialisation as well as displaying posters about the most famous people this city has produced. Boxer Miguel Canto being one of them.
On the way back to our hotel, we stop for ice creams and frozen mango drinks in the Heladería Santa Clara off the charming Parque Hidalgo centred around a large statue and decorated with tropical plants and the famous kissing chairs (also known as Tu y Yo Chairs and Sillas Confidentes).



Our dream of a lazy afternoon by the pool gets crushed by a sudden tropical storm. Loud thunder and buckets of rain frighten us into our room. The TV signal has also gone and we resort to playing cards and reading for the rest of the afternoon.
By the evening the rain eases and we go out for dinner. All restaurants are full, and it takes us twenty minutes to get a table in La Chaya Maya Casona known for typical Yucatán cuisine. We order a selection of local delicacies; four dishes of pork and turkey in various sauces. Much later I discover that the inky-black sauce is made of ashes of onions and other vegetables, and I am not sure I would have ordered it if I had known that beforehand… It tasted quite alright, though…



On the second morning of our stay in Mérida we take a tour bus. At 9 o’clock it is already unbearably hot on the top deck. The tour takes us from the streets with small typical houses of white colour – this town is known as La Ciudad Blanca – to the avenue Paseo de Montejo, the location of buildings and monuments inspired by French boulevards. This is where the wealthiest Yucatecans of the 19th century lived. Mérida is a city of amazing contrasts, of long queues at the bus stops, miniature houses and extraordinary mansions, corner eateries and expensive restaurants… It’s also the safest city in Mexico.
The rest of the day we spend between a lunch of burritos in the modern and funky Voltacafé Santa Lucía, fighting over the hammock by the swimming pool and the dinner in El Nuevo Tucho Centro with average food and a funny singer-entertainer.
Next morning, we are travelling to one of the New 7 Wonders of the World, the famous Mayan site of Chichén Itzá…



CHICHEN ITZA
We are staying in Hacienda Chichén Resort, an eco-place with its own hens, eggs, honey and a vegetable garden. As it’s not permitted to bring in any food or drink to avoid contamination, we have lunch, dinner, and breakfast in the resort restaurant. Chicken lime soup, tacos/fajitas and the pancakes with organic honey taste delicious. Our accommodation for one night is a small, charming two-room cottage in the jungle. The vegetation is thick and colourful, palm trees are tall and sturdy, a choir of birds is performing outside our bedroom window and brigades of ants and other creepy-crawlies are visiting our patio. The wifi works only by the reception and the swimming pool and there is no TV in the rooms. Shortly after we arrive, loud thunder and thick showers of rain descend onto the resort, and we spend the rest of the afternoon playing cards at the veranda and reading.



Early next morning we head to Chichén Itzá, no doubt the most visited archaeological site in Mexico. We arrive twenty minutes before the opening times, but there are already queues by the ticket booths. Our taxi driver suggests that we take a guide, and his friend Carlos is available and waiting by the entrance. We are not disappointed. Carlos is knowledgeable, friendly and enthusiastic. He guides us through the history of this fascinating place, he talks about the culture, the beliefs and the importance of the Mayas to Mexico and the world. We take photos in front of the Temple of Kukulcán and in the middle of the Great Ball Court and try to imagine what life was like when Mayans inhabited this place…



Towards the end of our two-hour tour, the place is filling up with scores of visitors, the souvenir sellers are arranging their stalls in the shade of trees, and the sun is rising in the sky and so are the temperatures. We pay Carlos (1000 Mexican pesos), he thanks us wholeheartedly and says, “thank you, this is for my son, Daniel”.
Back in the jungle, we have just about enough time for a quick swim before getting collected by our driver Mr Cinnamon (Señor Canela) and driven to the final stop of our Mexican adventure, Tulum.



TULUM
For the next six days we stay in the all-inclusive Dreams resort. We leave the place only twice. On the day my two travel companions have a tummy ache, the famous Montezuma’s revenge, I take a tour to the jungle that includes two rides on the zip line, canoeing over a placid lake and ends with a visit to Cobá, another archaeological place from Mayan times. Cobá is not as well preserved as Chichén Itzá but equally interesting. A few days later, the three of us go for a half day tour to the Tulum Archaeological Zone, the remains of one of the last cities built and inhabited by the Maya. Out of the three Mayan sites we visit, this one has no doubt the best location: it’s constructed on a cliff facing the Caribbean Sea. The morning is hot and humid, but the place is breathtakingly beautiful.



The Dreams resort is a world on its own, one of those luxurious complexes I have only seen in TV adverts, the one where people sit inside the swimming pool and sip their cocktails by the bar. In addition to the large buffet style eatery, there are also à la carte French, Italian, Asian and Mexican restaurants, a gelateria selling ice-creams and popcorn and a charming colonial style café Coco where we drink our coffees every afternoon with a chocolate cookie or a slice of banana bread. The complex is situated between thick tropical forest and a sandy beach. Large and small iguanas are sunbathing at every corner, fat agouti jumping from the bushes and a shy racoon stealing food but avoiding cameras.
Yes, I do feel the impostor syndrome. My inner girl from a little village in Croatia feels like she shouldn’t be here. But hey, as soon as our lovely afternoon pool waitress Monica brings us mojitos or daiquiris, I push aside those thoughts. And as I walk on the sandy beach with overflowing sea grass, listening to birds chirping and staring towards the horizon on the calm sea, I feel light years away from reality…



(*big thanks to Hana from FlightCentre who made sure our adventure ran as smoothly as possible)