Photos relating to this blog here.
I had my first visit in Mexico a couple of weeks ago, all the way from Australia! That’s right my good friend Jen came over for 3 weeks, joining me on my travels around Mexico and a well earned holiday (well at least for her!).
Arriving in Mexico city, the first thing we did was head to one of the biggest markets of the capital La Merced. As we strolled through the many aisles of fresh vegetables, fruit, meats and every other edible product you can think of, I re-experienced seeing Mexico for the first time as Jen oohd and aahd over the abundance and variety of fresh food and as time went on, shared with me, her initial impressions of Mexico
.
After a few days in DF, we set off for our first stop, Morelia where they were hosting their annual international film festival. We spent the afternoon finding accommodation. The first place that we had found on the internet we discovered didn’t exist and so we got our packs on and waddled down the narrow streets, thinking we knew where we were going but in fact being very confused with the very straight forward grid like streets of Morelia! We found a little hostel that had a sunny roof top terrace with beautiful views of the city. In fact, apart from one other girl who we never saw, we were the only ones in the hostel for the entire 3 days that we were there for.
During our time in Morelia we visited lake Patzcuaro which we were told is a beautiful place but for some reason we found it quite hard to find and every person we asked seemed to be surprised we wanted to see it. We had also heard about thermal pools in a small town on the lake, which we especially went for. Instead of finding thermal pools we found row after row of small water slide theme parks, all deserted. It was a strange site to find on the outskirts of a small town in Mexico and a little disturbing seeing all of these parks without a soul in them.
We finally found the lake and understood why everyone was surprised we wanted to see it. But, we still took the time to sit by it and have a drink appreciating the tranquility of the place. Upon our return to Morelia we were told that we hadn’t gone to the right town – makes sense! We also went to see some films that were part of the festival which were brilliant. Poor Jen had to sit through one which spoke only French and had subtitles in Spanish. She managed ok though!
From Morelia we hit the coast, first to Acapulco which in summary looks like the gold coast with high rise hotels surrounding the beach and people trying to sell their crafts/food to the tourists lying on the beach. We did however, meet a couple of Irish lads at the hostel we stayed in (one of them typically Irish and enjoying paying people out – especially me and my apparently strong aussie accent hah! And the other a stock broker bachelor who hardly drinks and is super health conscious) and spent most of our time visiting Acapulco with them. One of Acapulco’s tourist attractions is the young cliff divers who climb a huge cliff with no harness and then dive into the sea. It’s very impressive to watch and terrifying for anyone who has fear of heights.
Next stop – Puerto Escondido! A huge surfer destination, especially for Australians (with lots of bogan surfers…) Both the Irish boys and us were heading to the same place so we decided to travel together and ended up staying for a week! It was the perfect holiday destination, breathtaking beach just across the road from our accommodation, few tourists as it was low season and lots and lots of stunning sunsets. We spent most of the time eating at cafes/restaurants (way too much!), sleeping on the beach, surf
ing, going out to bars (“it’s just Ooh La La tonight…!”) which were mostly deserted and lots of relaxing. The boys took some surfing lessons and so did Jen. On the first and second day I decided that since I was from Australia it should be in my instincts to know how to surf. Bad idea. Stood up for no more than 2 seconds on both occasions, mainly doing body boarding (or just resting on the board trying not to feel sea sick). On the third day I let go of my ego and decided to take some lessons. I stood up and surfed 2 or 3 waves all the way through! It’s a damn tiring sport but I enjoyed it and by the end I even started to think myself as a surfer (until I was reminded that I had surfed the tiniest and slowest waves possible in a place which has the fastest breaking waves in the world!).
Near the end of our stay we had a little encounter with the local police while sitting at a bar on the beach. A cop came up to us out of nowhere and was obviously disturbed that a street dog with a broken leg started to bark and growl at him quite ferociously (we seemed to attract quite a few street dogs in Puerto – I blame the Irish boy Mark for attracting them!). I proceeded to appease the cop by saying that it wasn’t our dog, but Mark thought it would be a good idea to tell the cop in broken Spanish that he needed to be taken to a vet. Unsurprisingly the information wasn’t accepted with much joy. Three more cops appeared out of nowhere to reinforce the message. They used the pretext of drugs as the reason for their being there but in reality they were just using their position of power to make us fearful and hopefully for them, hand over a bribe as many people do (especially tourists who get scared off). I assured them that we weren’t doing anything illegal but they still kept on standing there. Everyone just sat there looking down at their feet waiting for them to leave. Finally the owner of the bar came and chatted to the cops telling them that everything was fine and that we were under his care. The cops left and we with relief also left but as we turned around to the spot we were sitting, the cops had returned checking the sand to see if we had possibly left anything on the ground.
Our last stop was Oaxaca city, a very indigenous city which still holds many traditions, customs and festivities related to their culture. We had a crazy night on Mezcal, a drink which originates from Oaxaca and which is quite similar to tequila. It also comes from an agave plant and has a smoky flavour to it which is quite strong. A night on the Mezcal and somehow you become a little mad, renting a mass of balloons to pose for a photo from a passing street vendor for example! We recovered the next day by going to see some ruins – nothing like a bit of sun and some archaeological sites to treat a hangover.
As an early bday present, Jen bought me a Temazcal, a traditional Mexican sweat bath which was and still is, used as an integral and important part of the natural medicine here (originates from the Aztecs and has a lot of symbology attached to it). First you are made to strip down and with a simple sheet around you, you crawl into this very small room which is meant to symbolize entering your mothers womb and is heated up to an extreme temperature. You then sweat it out for 10 mins or so until a woman enters and beats you with traditional herbs which are said to cleanse your spirit. Then another spell of intense heat while prayers are being chanted and finally you’re given a rose petal bath. You also leave the room by crawling, naked as if you are being reborn. You feel like you’ve been to death and back after this experience, stripped of everything and exhausted. You are then given a relaxing massage from head to toe which if you’re like me, makes you fall asleep! What an experience!
We went our separate ways after Oaxaca and so parted with they Irish boys. It was sad to see the holidays finish (well for some of us ☺) and sad to know that others were going home (Jen) and leaving others behind (me). We were back in DF at the crack of dawn, having taken yet another night bus and not having slept for much of the journey. We painfully drove around trying for what seemed like hours, to find the hostel that I had the address for and then to find it to be absolutely empty. Finally the caretaker popped up out of nowhere and we were given our room and told that we were yet again, the only ones there. Jen had her last Mexican meal that day and that night we parted, her back to Australia and me staying put. I sat in the hostel feeling sad to be on my own after such a nice holiday but also excited about what was to be next.
I had my first visit in Mexico a couple of weeks ago, all the way from Australia! That’s right my good friend Jen came over for 3 weeks, joining me on my travels around Mexico and a well earned holiday (well at least for her!).
Arriving in Mexico city, the first thing we did was head to one of the biggest markets of the capital La Merced. As we strolled through the many aisles of fresh vegetables, fruit, meats and every other edible product you can think of, I re-experienced seeing Mexico for the first time as Jen oohd and aahd over the abundance and variety of fresh food and as time went on, shared with me, her initial impressions of Mexico
.After a few days in DF, we set off for our first stop, Morelia where they were hosting their annual international film festival. We spent the afternoon finding accommodation. The first place that we had found on the internet we discovered didn’t exist and so we got our packs on and waddled down the narrow streets, thinking we knew where we were going but in fact being very confused with the very straight forward grid like streets of Morelia! We found a little hostel that had a sunny roof top terrace with beautiful views of the city. In fact, apart from one other girl who we never saw, we were the only ones in the hostel for the entire 3 days that we were there for.
During our time in Morelia we visited lake Patzcuaro which we were told is a beautiful place but for some reason we found it quite hard to find and every person we asked seemed to be surprised we wanted to see it. We had also heard about thermal pools in a small town on the lake, which we especially went for. Instead of finding thermal pools we found row after row of small water slide theme parks, all deserted. It was a strange site to find on the outskirts of a small town in Mexico and a little disturbing seeing all of these parks without a soul in them.
We finally found the lake and understood why everyone was surprised we wanted to see it. But, we still took the time to sit by it and have a drink appreciating the tranquility of the place. Upon our return to Morelia we were told that we hadn’t gone to the right town – makes sense! We also went to see some films that were part of the festival which were brilliant. Poor Jen had to sit through one which spoke only French and had subtitles in Spanish. She managed ok though!
From Morelia we hit the coast, first to Acapulco which in summary looks like the gold coast with high rise hotels surrounding the beach and people trying to sell their crafts/food to the tourists lying on the beach. We did however, meet a couple of Irish lads at the hostel we stayed in (one of them typically Irish and enjoying paying people out – especially me and my apparently strong aussie accent hah! And the other a stock broker bachelor who hardly drinks and is super health conscious) and spent most of our time visiting Acapulco with them. One of Acapulco’s tourist attractions is the young cliff divers who climb a huge cliff with no harness and then dive into the sea. It’s very impressive to watch and terrifying for anyone who has fear of heights.
Next stop – Puerto Escondido! A huge surfer destination, especially for Australians (with lots of bogan surfers…) Both the Irish boys and us were heading to the same place so we decided to travel together and ended up staying for a week! It was the perfect holiday destination, breathtaking beach just across the road from our accommodation, few tourists as it was low season and lots and lots of stunning sunsets. We spent most of the time eating at cafes/restaurants (way too much!), sleeping on the beach, surf
ing, going out to bars (“it’s just Ooh La La tonight…!”) which were mostly deserted and lots of relaxing. The boys took some surfing lessons and so did Jen. On the first and second day I decided that since I was from Australia it should be in my instincts to know how to surf. Bad idea. Stood up for no more than 2 seconds on both occasions, mainly doing body boarding (or just resting on the board trying not to feel sea sick). On the third day I let go of my ego and decided to take some lessons. I stood up and surfed 2 or 3 waves all the way through! It’s a damn tiring sport but I enjoyed it and by the end I even started to think myself as a surfer (until I was reminded that I had surfed the tiniest and slowest waves possible in a place which has the fastest breaking waves in the world!).Near the end of our stay we had a little encounter with the local police while sitting at a bar on the beach. A cop came up to us out of nowhere and was obviously disturbed that a street dog with a broken leg started to bark and growl at him quite ferociously (we seemed to attract quite a few street dogs in Puerto – I blame the Irish boy Mark for attracting them!). I proceeded to appease the cop by saying that it wasn’t our dog, but Mark thought it would be a good idea to tell the cop in broken Spanish that he needed to be taken to a vet. Unsurprisingly the information wasn’t accepted with much joy. Three more cops appeared out of nowhere to reinforce the message. They used the pretext of drugs as the reason for their being there but in reality they were just using their position of power to make us fearful and hopefully for them, hand over a bribe as many people do (especially tourists who get scared off). I assured them that we weren’t doing anything illegal but they still kept on standing there. Everyone just sat there looking down at their feet waiting for them to leave. Finally the owner of the bar came and chatted to the cops telling them that everything was fine and that we were under his care. The cops left and we with relief also left but as we turned around to the spot we were sitting, the cops had returned checking the sand to see if we had possibly left anything on the ground.
Our last stop was Oaxaca city, a very indigenous city which still holds many traditions, customs and festivities related to their culture. We had a crazy night on Mezcal, a drink which originates from Oaxaca and which is quite similar to tequila. It also comes from an agave plant and has a smoky flavour to it which is quite strong. A night on the Mezcal and somehow you become a little mad, renting a mass of balloons to pose for a photo from a passing street vendor for example! We recovered the next day by going to see some ruins – nothing like a bit of sun and some archaeological sites to treat a hangover.
As an early bday present, Jen bought me a Temazcal, a traditional Mexican sweat bath which was and still is, used as an integral and important part of the natural medicine here (originates from the Aztecs and has a lot of symbology attached to it). First you are made to strip down and with a simple sheet around you, you crawl into this very small room which is meant to symbolize entering your mothers womb and is heated up to an extreme temperature. You then sweat it out for 10 mins or so until a woman enters and beats you with traditional herbs which are said to cleanse your spirit. Then another spell of intense heat while prayers are being chanted and finally you’re given a rose petal bath. You also leave the room by crawling, naked as if you are being reborn. You feel like you’ve been to death and back after this experience, stripped of everything and exhausted. You are then given a relaxing massage from head to toe which if you’re like me, makes you fall asleep! What an experience!
We went our separate ways after Oaxaca and so parted with they Irish boys. It was sad to see the holidays finish (well for some of us ☺) and sad to know that others were going home (Jen) and leaving others behind (me). We were back in DF at the crack of dawn, having taken yet another night bus and not having slept for much of the journey. We painfully drove around trying for what seemed like hours, to find the hostel that I had the address for and then to find it to be absolutely empty. Finally the caretaker popped up out of nowhere and we were given our room and told that we were yet again, the only ones there. Jen had her last Mexican meal that day and that night we parted, her back to Australia and me staying put. I sat in the hostel feeling sad to be on my own after such a nice holiday but also excited about what was to be next.
