"M" for Mexico (part 1)

What is the first thing coming to mind if you think of Mexico?

For those of you who have never set foot in the country but have watched hundreds of American TV shows and movies such as “Narcos”, “El Chapo”, “The Bridge”, “No Country for Old Men”, “The Mule” et cetera, we will not blame you if your answer includes cartels, drugs, scams, violence, kidnapping, deserts and poor immigrants crossing illegally the border between Mexico and the United States.

The beach-goers and party-lovers amongst you who have already been to Baja California on the west or the Riviera Maya on the east will probably come up with beaches, swimming pools, cocktails, all-inclusive resorts and Disney cruises. Out of the average 40 million people visiting Mexico each year, 30 million are Americans and Canadians and the US State Department lists these two regions of Mexico as the safest to visit. As a consequence, they are not only the most touristy but unfortunately also the least authentic. We finished our trip in the Riviera Maya and found that this was not Mexico at all but rather felt like we were in the US…

Before setting foot there, I associated Mexico with the famous Mexican painter Frida Kahlo, the Mayan archaeological site of Chichén Itzá and of course, having watched American TV shows and movies as well, poverty and crime. And that was it… I could not have been more wrong!

After reading several blogs and articles online trying to figure out whether it was safe to travel on our own in Mexico and in which parts of it, it is an understatement to say that we were confused. The opinions were black (Mexico is one of the most dangerous countries in the world and you will be risking your life simply setting foot there) or white (it is completely safe to travel in Mexico on your own). The trips that most people actually talked about involved visiting the same touristy spots along the Riviera Maya…

Skimming through the travel books about Mexico was overwhelming as well as there seemed to be so much more to see than Frida Kahlo’s house in Mexico City and Chichén Itzá on the Yucatán Peninsula…

So we did not book anything except our international flight tickets into Mexico City and out of Cancún and decided to trust our gut once we were on the ground.

This was one of the best decisions ever as this is the trip for which we definitely had the least expectations and experienced the most stunning and positive surprises!

Mexico is like an Ali Baba’s cave… It has a total of 34 UNESCO sites, more than any other country in the Americas, scattered across a territory of nearly two million square kilometers inhabited by around 120 million people. It is huge…

In five weeks, we barely scratched its surface and will need to come for more! Traveling from one place to another without a predetermined itinerary was like trying to put a giant puzzle together. Each piece we discovered on a daily basis shed more light, brought clarity and connection to the whole and made the journey so much more exciting!

If you are looking for an authentic experience, the best way to discover Mexico is on a road trip by bus or by car...

We were initially quite reluctant to take the bus around Mexico City...

It was slightly more complicated, but definitely better, to rent a car for our road trip around the Yucatán Peninsula. 

Driving a car in Mexico presented some challenges such as the topes, the Mexican speed bumps, which are literally everywhere! As soon as there is any building at all, it is highly likely that you will drive over topes, which most of the time are not indicated and not visible until you are on top of them!

Some roads are in terrible shape and you will have to play "roller coasters" or "avoid obstacles" games with your car, driving around huge craters or animals, and sometimes even getting in the opposite lane!

The construction of the infamous railways of the Tren Maya did not help as there were gigantic road works around the Yucatán Peninsula with hundreds of trucks transporting work materials between the various sites and driving dangerously way above the speed limit. We definitely appreciated our 4WD vehicle! It successfully braved all topes, craters and trucks and gave us the independence to go off the beaten track and see all the incredible treasures Mexico has to offer to any traveler curious enough to dig deeper!

Mexico is so many things but first of all it is Mexico City.

Mexico’s capital, aka CDMX or Ciudad de México, is hectic, messy, polluted and crowded but it is also one of the most museum-packed cities in the world, authentic, gorgeous and colorful, a kaleidoscope of different people, cultures and cuisines…

It has the Aztecs, Frida Kahlo, Diego Rivera, murals, tacos, churros, guacamole, street art, beautiful parks, markets, intricately decorated churches, baroque and art nouveau buildings, quinceañeras with princess dresses, colorful tiles, its own active volcano, a spectacular traditional music and dance show and so much more! 

Whether you like big cities or not, it will definitely get under your skin!

A week in this amazing city was definitely not enough! You will have to make excruciatingly difficult choices about what to visit and what to skip…

The view of the Valley of Mexico and the city itself from the plane is beautiful, impressive and a little bit scary. 

Home to 22 million people and perched at an altitude of 2,240 meters, CDMX is at the same time one of the ten most populated cities and one of the ten highest-elevated capitals in the world. 

The city was built on a lake that has been completely drained over the years which explains that its inhabitants constantly suffer from lack of water. Furthermore, due to subsequent groundwater extraction, Mexico’s capital is estimated to have sunk 10 meters in the last century, threatening several iconic buildings, including some of its stunning churches. 

The gorgeous Catedral Metropolitana has been added to the World Monuments Fund list of the 100 Most Endangered Sites and is subject to ongoing major works as the accelerated sinking is threatening its integrity. You will notice that the left side of the cathedral is slightly bent making it look a little bit like the Pisa Tower… 

While wandering around the city center, you will come across dozens of other beautiful cathedrals and churches such as the 16th-century Church of San Hipólito with its Moorish-style bell tower and the 18th-century baroque-style Convent of San Francisco and Church of Santo Domingo. 

There are so many magnificent buildings to see in Mexico City! 

Ground zero of CDMX is the main square (aka Zócalo or Plaza de la Constitución) which has been a gathering place for protests and celebrations for centuries. 

In addition to the Catedral Metropolitana, it is bordered by the Palacio Nacional, the official residence of the President of Mexico, and several other beautiful administrative buildings.

Another stunning building in the city center is Palacio Postal, Mexico City’s post office, or rather post palace. It was commissioned by President (and dictator) Porfirio Díaz and designed by the italian architect Adamo Boari. The building incorporates art nouveau, art deco, baroque, rococo, neoclassical and Moorish styles.

CDMX is not only its center. A genuine joy while visiting the city would be to walk around its colorful neighborhoods from Frida Kahlo’s bohemian Coyoacán to the vibrant Chinatown. There is unfortunately no Chinese community but you still enter the place walking through a red entrance gate and tons of lions and lanterns are hanging above your head!

Mexico City also has several peaceful heavens of greenery. 

The parks are the perfect places to cool down when it is too hot in Mexico's capital and so much more!

Pushkin Park is famous for its cute dogs street art. 

In Mexico Park you may bump into quinceañeras taking pictures to celebrate their 15th birthday. 

In most Latin American cultures this event marks the passage from girlhood to womanhood and is as important as a high-school prom in the US or even a wedding. The easiest way to spot a quinceañera is by her princess-like dress! We learnt that more and more often modern quinceañeras prefer to give up the dress and party tradition and replace it with a trip around the world to celebrate their birthday!

Mexico’s capital is full of delightful surprises at each corner. You may come across the mesmerizing Dance of the Flyers (or Danza de los Voladores) which has been named a UNESCO Intangible Cultural Heritage. 

It consists of five participants climbing a 30-meter pole from which four of them tied with ropes then launch themselves and turn around until they descend to the ground, while the fifth remains on the top playing a flute and a drum. 

Mexico City also has its volcanoes, including an active one - Popocatépetl. On a clear day, you can see it towering over the capital with its fumaroles. The warning signs in shops, hotels, museums and administrative buildings will tell you what to do in case of volcano eruptions or earthquakes. When we were in CDMX, we felt two mini-earthquakes in the early morning as our hotel room was on a high floor… This close presence of an active volcano and the earthquake risk do not bother the residents, which reminded us a little bit of the Japanese way of looking at natural events. Every day is a gift and karma is karma... 

A perfect day in CDMX would likely end up with a gorgeous sunset over its jaw-dropping skyline, after having enjoyed the city’s art…

Mexico is also the Murals...