3rd stop - Mexico

Mexico - Mexico City - Monday 17th of April to Friday 21st of April 2006

Including Mexico on our itinerary was my idea, after reading an article in "Vogue Travel & Entertainment". It may not have been wise to have based a destination around 1 article from a magazine. Then add to this the comments that the best thing to do in Mexico City is ... get out.

Our first impression of Mexico was the rugby scrum that greeted us on arrival in Mexico City. Unlike Australia or most other countries we had visited there were no neat lines for custom checks. Once we had the stamp in the passport we had to make our way to the hotel & thanks to Nick we had transfers organised. On the way it became common to see police cars patrolling the streets, buildings with metal shutters pulled down & then a few girls earning money from one of the oldest professions !! Welcome to Mexico City ...



However, despite the initial concerns on arrival .... Mexico City turned out to be one of the real surprises of our trip. Beneath the grime & dirt of what was once a huge spanish colonial outpost were wonderful hispanic buildings. It is a city rich in history that extends back thousands of years, throw in the warmth of the locals & wonderful colours.

Our first day involved a visit to the museum of Trotsky. The picture on the left is from the garden of this museum. This is the house where Leo Trotsky was assasinated.








It was amazing to walk around this house where a person such as Trotsky had lived He is a person who was part of the Communist revolution. It was on the first day that we discovered the joy of eating fanastic mexico food (Enchilidada's, burito's) washed down with the local corona which was served with a small plate of lime/lemon.




I loved the building below which is also a restaurant. It was built in 1596.










The old city of Mexico is UNESCO heritage listed. The building below is the La Cathedral Metropolitana and borders the La Plaza de la Consitucion.

On the 2nd day in Mexcio we went on a day trip to the UNESCO heritage listed town of Taxco. Taxco is an old silver mining town that has beautiful buildings that cling to the side of a mountain. Well worth the visit but if you are visiting to purchase silver it is not worth it. You can buy the same silver pieces anywhere in the world. However, if you do go into the big tourist shops they will try & ply you with free beers ... you can't turn down a free option for a corona even if you do occasionally get harassed to buy something but Nick & I became experts at keeping on the move to avoid the sales assistant while drinking the free beer.

Day 3 in Mexico City we did a day trip to Teotihuacan (also known as the Sun & Moon Pyramids). This site was meant to have been established as a major religious site back around the birth of Christ. It was an amazing experience to be able to climb these pyramids and walk along the avenue of the dead.

After the trip to the Teotihuacan & trying tequila at only 11:30 am we then visited the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe. This is one of the most important catholic pilgrimage sites in Latin America. I was amazed to see people crawling into view the shroud of "our lady' on their hands & knees. For those who don't know the story ... a local man once was asked to pass a message on to the Archbishop that was from Virgin Mary. To help people believe this she impossed her image onto a cloth ...

On the return back into the city we came across some naked farmers who were protesting. It was amusing to see the farmers out parading nude in a country that is normally quite conservative. They were happy to swing their bits in public & our tour guide said that it happens on a regular basis that it now has lost its impact as she wound down her window & shouted some abuse at the nude farmers ... although Nick was not fast enough on the camera to catch the action except for a couple of farmers in their white jocks ... maybe he did not want to get a picture of Mexican farmers & their tackle!!

The picture below I love as it includes buildings from 3 civilisations. What you can see is the Aztec ruins in the front of the picture, then the Spanish colonical church with what appears to be modern flats in the background. This is what I loved about Mexico City is the real mix of amazing architectural styles. A trip back to Mexico is certainly on the agenda again in the future. I would love to explore this diverse country further.