We were at Teotihuacan 2 weeks ago. It was magnificent. I agree with the ban on climbing the pyramids here and at Chichen Itza in the Yucatan.
Why can’t you climb the pyramids at Teotihuacán anymore? https://t.co/Ea62Io4MoA via @Mexico News Daily https://x.com/morgandw1/status/1905959740561076477?s=66&t=Gbbsz_2CYn_ArIs7lIDizA
Read this article about CDMX air quality in 1978. I was there briefly then and can attest to the problem. I remember walking by the Palacio des Bellas Artes and literally choking. I was a smoker then and it was impossible to smoke because the air was so polluted. Lol but not really.
On our most recent visit, the air was not noticeably polluted however due to the elevation of 2240 m above sea level, the air is thinner. One can get winded pretty easily when climbing a hill or several sets of stairs.
Another peculiarity is that there are no visible bugs like flys, bees or mosquitoes in CDMX, at least when we were there in March. Why is this so? Well here is the answer.
We had our windows open with no screens and never a bug or fly did we see. Same in Nuevo Vallarta. We leave our screen free balcony door open 24/7 and only extremely rarely would a fly or bee be seen inside the condo.
So another nice thing about Mexico – no bugs for the most part. However there are no see ems on the beach that bite that Marie can attest to. Hasta luego.
Dave
We decided to spend a day in Chapultepec Park, hopefully away from the loud sounds and crowds of our first day. It largely paid off.
We bused a few stops to the park and walked up toward Chapultepec Castle, the only castle in North America where a reigning king actually lived (Maximilian I, 1864-67). Security is very tight – no food or beverage allowed in including water.
The castle houses the National Museuem of History at one end and Maximilian’s residence at the other. There were many large paintings depicting the major eras of Mexican history: prehistoric and Aztec era; the colonial era under Spain starting in 1519; and the modern era after Mexico gained its independence in 1821.
We found the museum part a little dry but the large paintings depicting the various struggles were very enlightening. The era of Maximilian’s rule was most interesting. When President Benito Juarez announced Mexico would stop paying its massive debt owed to Europe, France decided to install a Hapsburg emperor to retrieve some riches. Maximilian I ruled from 1864 to 1867 when he was cornered and executed by the Mexican Republic.
We spent some time sitting by a small lake watching Mexican families with their tethered kids walking by all happy and calm nevertheless. When we went to go back to our hotel, there were no buses running… We grabbed an Uber and got about halfway home. We had to walk the rest because Paseo de la Reforma, the major thoroughfare was closed due to International Women’s’ Day.
Once again we survived it all but this time opted for a massive paella dinner which was nice for a change. Actually, we bought one and he gave us two!
We arrived in Ciudad de Mexico (CDMX, Mexico City) by limo service from San Miguel for a 7 night stay. Needless to say we were quite overwhelmed by the big city, the noise, the sights, the sounds, the smells. The next day our first, we went on a guided walking tour of the historical centre of town.
We took a bus and the subway for the first time without knowing how payment works. We got on the bus and tapped our credit card as this is how it works in Singapore. No go. I asked the driver if they take cash. No go. So we ride for free lol. At the subway station we picked up the Presto transit card you need and loaded it up with some cash. Problem solved.
We were supposed to meet the tour guide at the main entrance to the huge Cathedral. Well there is currently a 10 foot high steel wall surrounding the church so we could not find the door. We finally found a side entry door in the wall but when we got around to the church front door, there was no one there… except 2 other English speaking tourists who were looking for the same guide. Eventually our tour guide Natalie did come around and retrieved us. Phew!
Nat took us on an exhaustive 3 hour walking tour and regaled us with the history of the local area including when the Aztecs were there, the Spanish conquest by Cortes in 1521 and many stories of famous Mexico modernizing President Porfirio Diaz. We heard about the presidential palace on the Zocalo adjacent to the cathedral where current very popular Mexican president Claudia Sheinbaum lives.
Many other stories including an interesting one about the very unusual black Christ crucifix in the cathedral. (A bad guy was trying to kill a priest and so placed poison on the feet of the crucifix of Jesus that the priest kissed every morning. The next day when the priest went to kiss Jesus’ feet, Jesus raised his knees high up to spare the priest’s life and absorbed the poison turning black in the process.)
We enjoyed the tour but had trouble hearing what Nat was saying at times and some of the stories were a little long. The historical area was jam packed with people all jabbering away yet always smiling. A heavy police presence was everywhere. It was very very loud with food stalls, hawkers etc.. Hey this is CDMX (population 9.2 million). We survived it all and found our way back to our hotel after reloading our Presto card with more cash.
A couple of Heinekens later, we ventured around the corner from our hotel to pick up … more tacos al pastor … and returned to our room very happy and satisfied after another great day.
Marie and I spent 3 wonderful days in San Miguel de Allende, a 16/17th century Spanish colonial town located a few hours NW of Mexico City. A world heritage site, San Miguel is St. Michael the Archangel and Allende is the name of a famous Mexican general involved with Mexico’s independence from Spain in 1821.
What we liked about the town is its cleanliness – an army of cleaners hit the streets at 5 am every morning and “sweep baby sweep”. Vehicle tires literally squeak on the polished cobblestone streets.
Spanish colonial architecture is everywhere: beautiful dark wood doors open up onto hundreds of tranquil courtyards with fresh green leaves, shady tree bright flowers and lazy fountains.
The overall atmosphere is one of peace. Despite heavy vehicle and motorcycle traffic at times including many city buses, people are calm, relaxed, friendly and cheerful. The sidewalks are narrow. One must pay attention. It was Mardi Gras time and the kids were having fun cracking confetti filled eggs over each other.
There was some street theatre too.
The hundreds of little boutique shops, tasty food eateries, art stores and museums complete the picture. We loved it all.
For 3 days we ate tacos of every kind – Al pastor, fish, beef, vegetarian, All were incredibly cheap and yummy. We walked and walked and climbed hills and staircases until we dropped. We recuperated in our lovely 2 floor suite and then went out and did it again.
We attended Ash Wednesday Mass at Parraquia de San Miguel and thanked God for this wonderful place and our visit – hopefully to be repeated again someday soon. Highly recommended place to go.
We stay in a gorgeous beach front resort in Mexico to escape wintery weather up north. The resort consists of condos and a hotel that caters to visiting Canadians and Americans. There is not much Mexican culture on display anymore here. Everyone speaks English; the music played is American; they have a Super Bowl party.
In other seasons the place is filled with Mexicans so the vibe must surely be more Mexican. We have noticed a steady decline though. When we first started coming here there were weekly mariachi bands with trumpets and troubadours. This is a rare practice here now. Mexican fiesta night on Fridays is very subdued. They even stopped selling bulk pico de gallo in the local grocery stores.
If we want to have more of the feel of Mexico, we go into Puerto Vallarta. The streets are cobblestone, the sidewalks are dangerous, there is constant noise, restaurants, bars, mom and pop vegetable and fruit stores are open late and Spanish is heard in the streets.
We went in the other day to meet friends and go to an English Mass. While it was exhilarating, stimulating and interesting, after several hours, we were ready to return home. Give me the quiet life in Mexico.
Happily the Mexican donut boy still comes by on the beach most days at 4:30.
We find ourselves in Mexico again. It’s safe here and safe to say that we find many blessings and much peace here.
We flew via Newark and all went well. Except we had to retrieve our heavy bags and pay again to check them because there was too much time between the connecting flights.
As well, Marie lost a shoe in security and we had to wait a few minutes.
It was an early morning flight to PV. We were in our condo about 75 minutes after landing. Best timing yet!
Our property agent met us and then took us to the grocery store. The next morning she returned and fixed up all the deficiencies in the condo we had asked for.
We have now been here a few days. We just returned from church and there was a great soloist. We have not picked up any bugs…The sun is shining.
Off to a great start so far thanks be to God. Hope things are going well for you so far in 2025 too.
Today after church, we went to Bucerias with Don and Heather for breakfast to thank them for their kindness to us. They have been picking us up, organizing the weekly Ernesto’s dinners, inviting Dave to golf, taking us grocery shopping and including us in their circle of friends at church. They have been coming here since 2006 and are very kind.
We went to the fabulous Delicias Mexicanas restaurant. Things started off badly. We arrived at 11:50 but got no service for 30 minutes as they were really busy. When Juan finally arrived at our table he told us breakfast service was now over and asked would we like lunch? We were a bit upset but went with the flow. Some delicious coffee arrived followed by a great taco salad lunch. Yum.
Afterwards, the owner of the restaurant, a man named Abraham comes by and asks how we are doing. We thank him for the wonderful food. He then tells us his story which is somewhat familiar here.
Abraham had moved from Mexico to California and for 14 years lived the life of a Californian – 2 cars, nice house, conspicuous consumption, go, go, go. He came to realize that his stress level was too high trying to hold it all together. So he returned to Mexico … and started up this very successful restaurant here.
Now, he says his stress level is much lower, he is relaxed, having fun and even makes more money. Listen to your body and follow your dream was his implied advice. When I remarked that he has a very biblical name, he said yes, but that he is only the father of one child, not billions. We all had a good laugh and he let me take his photo. Thanks Abraham for the life lesson and Don and Heather for all your kindness
It has been quite a season down here. Up until about March 1 everything was as usual – fun in the sun, family visit, great friends, good food, yoga and golf. Then we started to hear about the Corona virus. You know the rest – and we all have no idea where this will go next or when it will end.
We are safely home now two weeks early and glad off it. The declaration of the Global International Travel Advisory by Canada on March 13 triggered a 10 day clause in our travel insurance policy. Our coverage would be terminated on March 23. I won’t go into the mad scramble this caused as we all started searching for earlier flights home. Thank you Air Canada for enabling us to make the necessary arrangements on line – without the need to talk to an agent as phone queues were 24 hrs or more! However the price went up, up and up.
We are both fine, laying low and self-isolating indefinitely now. Thanks for your support, prayers and understanding. We are all journeying together during this pandemic. You are in our thoughts and prayers. Stay well!
A few pic highlights from our season until we meet again.
Update March 30 day 8. We are feeling fine. We are now officially “quarantined” until Apr 6 as the government upgraded its instructions to anyone returning from international travel within the past 14 days. Means we cannot go for walks or drives anymore. Indoor pacing will have to do. Can still go out in the backyard for fresh air. Stay healthy!
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