Category Archives: Travel

www.theglobeandmail.com/gift/e52bf5c769d52bebc64c0cc2b8f1793e9f1eacb45ce5a4c47490d98d9e88b63a/ZYRNRL5HAJDMVLI3YDDMABCCDM

We certainly agree with this article.

In honour of International Taco Day March 31.

Read about it here.

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

• 5th largest metro area in the world at 22 million; 9 million in city proper
• they sweep the sidewalks by hand
• no bugs anywhere (how can that be?)

• no garbage pails
• we saw trash on the street which was subsequently raked up and removed
• indigenous names and monuments everywhere
• cheap transit e.g. 35 cents for subway ride
• crowded subways with lack of clear signage
• Uber works great here
• great bus network, 50,000 buses!
• street food everywhere
• restaurants everywhere
• shady streets, beautiful trees
• streets run at all angles with hundreds of roundabouts
• very noisy usually
• you can get by in english usually
• bicycle lanes everywhere
• no one bugs you
• vendors lay out their items and patiently wait a sale
• police presence everywhere often with machine guns in the Centro area
• people eat standing up outside a lot
• two can eat dinner for $10
• traffic is heavy; you have to really pay attention
• our best hotel room ever (a large suite with a kitchenette at $110/night taxes in)
• loved the neighborhood
• excellent service everywhere
• felt safe
• would come back again and learn Spanish
• we had a tremendous experience of teeming humanity here
• Last thoughts: Mexico seems more like an indigenous based society with major European (Spanish) influence; Canada seems more like a European (and now multicultural) based society with less visible indigenous influence

If you have been following along, you will be happy to know we will not be writing up about days 4 and 6. We took a break these days to recover… On day 5 we went on a great tour.

We made our way to the pickup spot and joined 15 other pax, mostly young people including some students on March break. They were from India, France, Germany, Montevideo, Bulgaria, Lithuania and America (2 only). We had front row seats in a Mercedes van and a wonderful tour guide named Itsel.

Our first stop was the Plaza of Three Cultures. We saw the pre Columbian ruins of Tlatelolco, a city state founded in 1338. On another side of the square is the oldest European school of higher learning in the Americas and on the third side, a modern office complex. Itsel explained that in 1968, military and police forces gunned down hundreds of protesting students in front of the office complex, claiming they were provoked. Very sad!

Next we stopped at an artisan workshop where they make jewelry and artifacts out of smooth volcanic glass. We learned about other types of decorative stones used locally. The many uses of the agave plant to produce food, fibre and alcoholic beverages, was demonstrated. We sampled pulque, tequila and mezcal… to great fun.

Then we visited the amazing pyramids in Teotihuacán. There are 3 of them – the sun pyramid; the moon pyramid and the pyramid of death. Built as offerings to the gods, they are very impressive. You can’t climb or go inside them. No one actually lived there; it was a huge religious site. It was very hot with UV index of 13! Dave got a bit faint at one point and Marie reminded him to drink more water which worked.

The highlight was eating lunch in a beautiful cave restaurant nearby. Originally a homestead, the family turned it into a fantastic hospitality place. The service, music and food were really top notch. We had a great time as you can see below.

Finally our last stop was the Basilica of Guadalupe, this time without the crowds. We got up close to the venerated image of Our Lady of Guadalupe associated with the apparitions of the Virgin Mary to Juan Diego in 1531. We toured two older basilicas – one built in the 1700s and the first in the 1500s. After a group photo we headed home after 9 hours of touring, satisfied and exhausted.

Itsel was a great tour guide giving us enough information at each site without drowning on. Little gifts of a tequila shot at lunch and a prayer card at Guadalupe were a nice touch. She was very approachable for questions and said she was proud of our group that no one got separated or lost. We highly recommend her tour company xplora world.