Mexico City Hotels
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Now its scary!!!!
Entry 63 of 119 | show all | print this entry |
Bye Bye USA, Helloooo Mexico.
We had a fairly leisurely getup then it was off to the airport. Thought we would have loads of time, but it took us hours to get through security...seems they have stepped things up a little...even had to take our shoes off!!!
Had just enough time to guzzle a coffee down, then it was boarding time. The flight was fine, no problems, except for a little turbulence.
We had reached Mexico! We hate border crossings, but it wasnt too bad...they let us in anyway! Rang the hostel for a lift and sat waiting for some stranger to pick us up!
The drive was fascinating, past all the tiny little houses, run down, but brightly coloured. We also passed loads of bussling markets and people everywhere! It all looked very scary but fun!
The hostel was cool, extremely cheap...with a bar! Chllied out for a while, then went to try and find something to drink and some fags. All looked very scary...found a dollar store, not quite what we wanted...then found a store that looked vaguely normal...and actually managed to buy stuff (pound a packet cigarettes cant be bad). Back to hostel...past all the shops with no fronts and people selling all manner of things from the streets.
Back in the hostel, we got given our first mexican meal...the mexican guy cooking didn{t speak a word of english...and just threw the food at us. God knows what it was...some kind of sandwhich...with refried beans on it....and cactus! Now cactus is an interesting thing...kinda like slimy green peppers...but hey if its good enough for the locals!
That done, we went and propped up the bar for the evening. Bottles of Coronas for only 20pesos...thats a pound a pint! Cool music and cheap beer....how cool is Mexico.
Next day we decided to take a free tour...it was a walking tour of the city. Our guide was really cool and spoke english, which was a good start.
First we went in the church...with its numerous gold alters...very elaborate...shame its sinking though! Next it was the federal palace...with its army guys with their huge scary rifles. Here we got told the history of Mexico via the amazing frescos around the walls. They were beautiful...as was the palace itself. Then it was on to the ruins of the aztec temple...that was once the heart of Mexico, before the spanish destroyed it. Looked like it would have been very impressive!
Then our guide decided to take us through the middle of a square, which was lined with riot police! It was where the Oaxacans where demonstrating...about teachers pay i believe...and had set up houses! It didn{t seem that scary...but judging by the number of police... i think it might have been! He expalined about the square...and we made a hasty retreat! We then had the chance to sample some of the delights of oaxacan fare at a local market stall...we tried cocao...the original chocolate...was very yummy...and Neil had a couple of fried grasshoppers...with chilli and lime of course. Seems they are the equivalent of peanuts out here!!! And that was our tour done...we had the rest of the day to ourselves...
Decided to be brave and go and find food....now finding food was easy....being able to order it...or work out what the hell it was...was another matter!
We found a westernish looking place...which had an english menu. Took the plunge and went in. Managed to get ourselves a table...always a good start and get too coca colas. The we tried to order food. Took the safe option of having something we recognised...tacos..and tried to order! We got tacos but not quite the ones we ordered..i guess cos we ordered off the english menu? Still they were bloody good, if a little expensive...and if even to this day we don´t know quite what we were eating!
That done...we headed back to the hostel and ate more strange hostel food..some kind of quasedilla or something..and more cactus...then spent the evening propping up the bar! What else can you do when the beers so cheap??
Next day...
we decided to book ourselves another tour...we decided it might be a good idea to try to learn as much as we could about the culture while it was in english! (plus it included free taquilla!)
We got on a minibus...with two other couples...and our amazing guide...who spoke excellent spanish...english and french.
First stop was the ruins just outside the main city...similar to those we saw yesterday...but you could really appreciate how big they must have been. We also got taken to the spot where horrifyingly hundreds (maybe thousands) of students were massacared by the governement during a protest. Facsinating...but quite shocking.
Then we moved on the the Guadaloupe shrine...where it is belived the mexican equivalent of the Virgin Mary apperaed not long after the spaniards arrived. The place was amazing...loads of ornate churches...a huge elaborate statue built into the mountain, complete with waterfall...and an amazing funky new cathedral. There were millions of mexicans there on a pilgrims...some of them going to the extent of crawling to the cathedral on their knees...the strength of their faith is amazing.
We went into the old cathedral...which is sinking...as is most of Mexico city. They don´t know if it will survive...hence the new one. The new one is kinda like the new Coventry cathedral....one huge round room...kinda cool. There we saw...from our conveyor belt..the relic of the cloth that an image of guadaloupe virgin is supposed to have appeared on....and outside we saw the ´papamobile´...the bus the pope rode in when he visited!
Then it was onto a little place where they make obsidian sculptures. The guy there showed us what they can do with a cactus plant...including an already threaded needle...paper and several cool drinks they make with it. We then got to try the drinks...one tequilla....one mezcal....and one pulque (which looked gross)...cause we drank the pulque to their amazment they gave us another mezcal....and this was all before lunch! Had free lunch coutesy of these nice people...and then we had to buy a obsidian love god...mainly to say thanks...but also cause they were way cool!
Then we finally arrived at the Pyramids of Teotithican...(or something like that)
Now they are amazing. The others on our tour who have already done the rest of the Mayan and Aztec stuff said they were the best they had seen. The grounds of the place...which were built purely for religious purposes are monstrous...with two huge pyramids. Our guide told us all about the architecture....amazingly they used to be covered in red paint and designs...hard to imagine...but must have been amazing its time. Our guide was so passionate it was cool...she told us so much stuff..we would never have known!
We then got chance to clinb the pyramids. We climbed the moon pyramid first...the smaller of the two...it was a very steep climb...but the view of the whole site...and the mountains..and villages around was amazing. The others then decided to climb the sun pyramid too....we didn´t have much time...and it was very high...so i stayed at the bottom (where i got hassled by the people selling their wares constantly)
Neil said it was cool....but not that cool!
Saw some more stuff...then time to head home...
Back at the hostel we ate more left overs...and then sat in the bar again...everyone had gone to the wrestling (sounded fun...but expensive) so we were pretty much on our own. The barman....who was crazy...then decided that for every beer we bought...he would give us a tequilla! Like we needed more!!!! Neil ended up drinking most of my free tequillas...he said we couldn´t refuse free drink...and consequently we both ended up pretty merry! Still it was great fun!!!!!
Oopps...next day...
we weren´t feeling too good!!! Actually i wasn´t that bad...but Neil had a very dodgy stomach...and a liking for having a toilet very close by!!!!
We headed out to try and find a spanish book....but Neil needed a toilet...we found one in starbucks....but decided it would probably be wise to hang around the hostel for a while.
Spent most of the day just chillin...reading...and trying to learn spanish...Neil spent most of it in the toilet!
We eventually ventured out in the evening...and checked out the most amazing and monstrous market. Full of everything you could imagine...being sold from make-shift stalls...rugs on the floor and shopping trolleys....it is truly a sight to be seen.
Hope to see the huge flag in the Zocalo being lowered (supposedly with huge pomp and circumstance) but nothing happened! So after hanging around in the cool square for ages...decided to head back and try and eat some food. Food turned out to be very bland and boring that night...which was probably good for Neil!!!! Went to bed early....no beer for Neil that night!!!
Our last day...
Decided we needed to explore some more of Mexcico city before we left. So ventured onto the underground for the first time.
It was amazing...better than the New York underground by a million miles and it cost 2pesos a go...thats 10p!!!!
Ventured to the Zona Roas...suppossed to be very nice....mmmm.It was tourist zone! We had found the western part of the city....full of Macdonalds and skyscrapers...was cool to see but we didn´t hang around!
Headed down the main road in the city....lined with statues of famous people...and an amzing gold angel in the middle of the road! Had fun watching the VW beetle taxiszooming around....and the strange buses with no doors! its all such fun out here! Ate pizza from pizza hut forlunch....couldn´t resist!
Then back on the underground to a park that sounded cool. It was very like any park in Europe...with a boating lake and cute paths....quite a contrast to the rest of the city...it also housed many of the museums. Outside the anthropolgy museum (the one to see apparantly) we were lucky enough to catch an aztec ritual being performed. Where some guy sits on top of a huge spinning pole playing music...and four other guys spin round it upside down, with ropes tied round their middles...all the way to the bottom...it was an amzing sight...certainly not something you see everyday....kinda like dancing round the maypole...but much more spectacular!
And that was our exploring done.
More crappy food for tea...and couple of beers....and then we decided to go find the Marriaches in Garribaldi square...we even convinced a couple of lads to come with us...
The place was so cool...a huge square filled with guys in there amazing sparkly costumes and huge hats seranading everyone! We decided to be brave and ask for a song ourslelves. For 80 pesos you get a group of them (we had 7) to play a song for you....now you get to choose the song....but since we didn´t know any...they choose something...who knows what!
Was such a cool thing...and well worth the4 pounds it cost!! Spent the rest of the evening drinking a strange concoction of dodgy warm beer and tequilla out of a glass lined with chilli....and watching everyone else enjoying the seranades.People were even dancing! It was such a laugh. Wound up our final evening drinking more beer in the hostel then callapsed into bed exhausted after a long day!!
Mexico is fun....and not half as scary as we thought it would be...wonder if everywhere else will be the same?
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