Daniel Mezger

Day 1
-last day on the cruise
-woke up to cold weather and showers as expected
-we started with breakfast before going to the internet cafe to confirm our flight and then did one last gym session
-we then had lunch at the buffet before heading back to the room to have showers and pack our bags
-we then left the room and setup down in a cafe where we played board games whilst we waited to disembark
-there were numerous delays whilst we waited, including needing to assist with a man overboard from a nearby ship, two more people dying and needing to be emergency evacuated, heavy seas and winds delaying our entry to Manhattan
-we finally arrived and managed to get through customs quickly, find a taxi and get to JFK just under 90min before our flight!
-we landed in Mexico City about 4am and checked into the hostel and were asleep by 6am!

Day 2
-we started the day in Mexico City by going to the Zocalo (main square) and went on a free walking tour which took us past the Mayan Ruins, Plaza de Santo Domingo, Mexican sweet sixteen dress shops, city theatre where the opera singer got the city to build somewhere to sing, government legislative building, the square with the little horse in front of the Museo Nacional de Arte, the post office which was really cool and had German elevators from 1907, Palacio de Bellas Artes, Chinatown, passed a famous bakery and saw day of the dead pastries before finishing the tour
-went to the Museo Mauel Tolsa which had lots of interesting information on archiecture, an awesome day of the dead ofrenda exhibition and a classic car exhibition
-went to the Palacio de Bellas Artes where we saw amazing murals and a beautiful marble building
-we then went back and walked through the Zocalo again to see all the amazing day of the dead things before going to Palacio Nacionale to see more beautiful murals by Diego Rivera
-we saw many markets, dress ups and stalls throughout the day and then walked home to bed

Day 3
-early start today meeting for our tour to Teotihuacan Pyramids
-after a short stop we arrived at 8am and our tour guide (and former archaeologist) Emmanuel lead us into the complex
-we first visited the temple of the feathered serpent and learnt about the history of the Mesoamerican Era
-we then headed towards the pyramid of the sun (sol) which we walked up and was 73m high! Great views from the top!
-we learnt about the Mayan Calendar and the Mayan way of counting which was really interesting
-we then walked to the pyramid of the moon before heading back to the bus which drove us to lunch
-before lunch we learnt about the different uses of plants for everyday things such as cooking, threading and textiles, as well as the properties of obsidian rock
- we headed back to the city where we went up the Torre Latino which had cool views of the city and lots of info about various buildings in the city
-we then came back and chilled at the hostel before going to dinner and then heading back up Torre Latino for some nightime views!

Day 4
-another early starting meeting our tour for the trip to Iztaccihuatl Volcano
-we drove about 2 hours outside of Mexico City where we stopped at the visitor centre to sign in and then proceeded to our start point
-we started at 3990m and slowly made our way up, stopping regulalry to aclimatise to the elevation before reaching our end point at 4360m! Had some fantastic views all the way up as well as the top, with the weather changing constantly all the way!
-we made our way back down before boarding the bus and had a quick stopover for lunch which was traditional tortillas made from black corn with a variety of filling selections!
-we got back to Mexico City where we booked our day of the dead night tour and had dinner right next to our hostel -> had lots of fun ordering in Spanish with no English menus and a waitress who didn't speak English!
-we came back to the room and chilled before going to sleep

Day 5
-Started the day with breakfast before meeting at Palace Bellas Artes to jump on our tour bus to Coyocan in the south of the city
-we got dropped off and explored around some plazas, including a St John Baptiste church, Fridha Kahlo's park and various markets/ofrendas
-we then made our way to the Frida Kahlo house which is where she and her husband Diego Rivera lived until she died
-it is a beautiful house painted blue and contains many photos, artworks and clothes of Fridha. We also got to tour all the rooms within the house.
-we then made our way to Xochimilco where we had our 'gondola' ride of the canals which included lunch as well as traditional Mexican drink Michelada which is like a Bloody Mary but has salt, lime and chilli in it!
-we had lots of fun getting to know other people from our group and saw lots of float stalls, bars, kitchens and a mariachi band that jump from boat to boat!
-we made our way to the national university to see some more beautiful murals before heading back to the hostel.
-had a quick drink and got changed before heading out to dinner in Salon Corona which was yummy and then getting churros from the famous El Moro Churros which were delicious!

Day 6
-we started the day by walking down the Reforma (main road) to the Angel of Independence
-along the way we passed lots of cool day of the dead artworks and decorated stalls
-we met for a free walking tour at 10am and made otu way to Chapultepec Park where we passed lots more day of the dead themed things and walked through the business district
-we we entered the park we learnt about the independence (1810) and revolution (1910) of Mexico which involved the reign of an empire for over 30 years
-we also learnt about the six students that stood up for Mexico
-we then explored the Chaputepec Castle which included some information on the natural history
-we then made our way back and had a late lunch at Vips before getting changed at the hostel and heading for day of the dead!
-we got our face painting done which was awesome and then went to Amigo Hostel where we boarded the bus and headed to Xochimilco
-we enjoyed another boat ride of the canals and had some coronas as well as the special bread of the dead!
-we then headed back to the bus and went to visit a cemetery which was amazing to see the people, colour and music playing past midnight!

Day 7
-had a bit of a sleep in and then headed out for our food walking tour of Mexico City!
-we started off trying some sweet fruits which were really nice and then tried various insects like grasshopper, ants, worms and mini prawns - very crunchy and surprisingly tasty!
-we then tried traditional blue corn tortillas stuffed with beans which were delicious!
-next up was fried tacos with chicken and spicy salsa which was awesome
-we then walked to a restaurant and sat down and had mezcal (like tequilla) and some traditional pork tacos with habanero sauce!
-we then walked to the Zocalo to have a last look at the festivities before heading back to the hostel to chill
-we went to dinner next door for some more yummy food and then met in the terrace at the hostel for the Lucha Libre wrestling!
-we had about six tequilla shots in an hour then walked to the stadium which was packed and absolutely crazy!
we saw 5 different types of wrestling (including little people) then went back to the hostel to sleepLäs mer