Mexico City #1
10–11 de out. 2024, México ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Welcome to our shared travel blog of Mexico! During our 3ish week trip in Mexico, mom, Kyz, and I will take turns updating our nearest and dearest on this app! Please feel free to follow along, ask questions, and post some comments on your favourite pics ❤️
I’ll start by catching you up on mom’s first 2 days in Mexico City 💪
After Kyz and I arrived a little late at the airport and mom’s flight arrived a bit early, we unfortunately missed our “Love Actually” airport moment! Luckily, our welcome of petals throughout the Airbnb made up for this slight mishap! On night one, we took mom to a wine bar that we purely only had to visit because of the name: Plonk! There we had our first margaritas in Mexico and mom mourned the price of a glass of wine in this country 😓 (about R150-250 a glass!). On the way to dinner we popped past a fish taco spot for mom to try her first taco (can’t believe she had made it 3 hours into being in Mexico without a taco!). And let me tell you, this is one of the best tacos either of us had tried in Mexico! Shout out to Kyla for insisting that we all get the prawn taco because, wow, so good!
For dinner we followed a recommendation for great ceviche and headed home quite full of delicious food and hours of catching up that comes from not seeing eachother for 5 months!
The next morning, we headed to the historical centre to visit the National Palace, Templar Mayor, and the big main plaza of the city - ALL of which were closed 😂. While weaving through the back streets around the plaza (which was closed to prepare for an event this week), we happened upon Christmas decoration shops that bought tears to my eyes, a photography museum that showcased the history of the punk scene in CDMX (not mom’s fave!), and the tallest building in CDMX! From the 44th floor viewing deck, we could see a beautifully clear 360 view of this monstrously big city. Our evening plans took us to Taco Orinoco for some, you guessed it, tacos! The winning taco of the night was a chicharron (crispy pork) taco!
Day 2 in CDMX started bright and early as we needed to get quite South in the city to meet Chef Raja for our cooking course. The rush hour bus journey had me lose any sense of humour I had mustered to get up so early in the morning 😂 after popping an Alzam, I managed to regain my personality somewhat. Our cooking course consisted of a trip to the local market to fetch ingredients and learn about the various chillies, spices, and products of CDMX. Here we learnt the name of the chilli, habanero, that nearly killed Kyla the week before after she mistook a chilli
salsa as a tomato salsa and had to run to a restaurant and beg for a glass of milk 😂. You would think it was her 2nd day here too 🙈 We went back to the Chef’s house to make pastor pork, two types of salsa, and tortillas for a truly special pastor taco feast! After a long rest in the afternoon, we headed out to go watch the Lucha Libre! I’ll leave this part of the evening for either Kyla or mom to write about as this is getting probably a bit too long 😂😂Leia mais
Mexico City #2
11 de outubro de 2024, México ⋅ ☀️ 22 °C
Hi Everyone. Sue here. Wow Mexico City s so vibrant with so much to do. The city really works - I am so impressed with the public transport which is cheap, efficient and on both the buses and metros they have carriages for just women and children.
We have been blessed with beautiful weather which is a bonus. On Friday night we joined a group to attend the Lucho Libre (Mexican wrestling) which included a taco dinner and Mescale. You all have to wear a mask depicting who you support although most of the audience, except Jemma and Kyla, didn’t follow this protocol! The fighters, both men and woman, put on an athletic display and one has to admire how they really don’t do each other serious damage. Not quite wrestling as we know it but a huge amount of fun and enormous audience participation. I tried to get into the spirit by drinking a fair amount of local beer but it didn’t work! Still sober enough to walk to the next engagement at 11pm on extremely uneven pavements. With a stop for churros along the way, Kyla led us to a Fandango where her flatmate was playing. Now I thought this would be us listening to a band in a restaurant/night club but I got that wrong! Anyone can arrive with their instrument and join in playing in a brightly lit room. Two dancers keep the beat by “tap dancing” on a raised wooden stage and the music just goes on and on with no discernible variation. I think you almost have to enter a trancelike state to get into it. This can carry on until the early hours of the morning with people coming and going with their instruments. Interesting but not really my thing so we lasted about an hour and thank goodness got an Uber home.
On Saturday we joined a friend of Kyla’s who was celebrating her birthday with a boat ride at Xochimilco. This is supposedly still part of Mexico City but it took us an hour and a half to get there. So many boats and families, friends partying on the river. There are smaller boats with local folk who sell margaritas, beers, food or have a band which plays for you. The locals also rent out their bathrooms and it is great that they are hugely supported. Lorena’s friends were lovely and so inclusive of the “old lady”! It really was a fabulous afternoon/evening. Sunday saw Jem and I heading to a local flower market with a guide. I have never seen flowers like this and so cheap. R250 for 3 dozen roses for example. The market also sells fresh vegetables and meat and of course street food. There is a special taco that is only made on weekends of lamb cooked underground which we had to try and elotes which is corn cooked on the barbecue, slathered in mayonnaise, dipped in grated cheese and sprinkled with chill and lime. Amazing!
Last night we attended a Mexican Ballet at the Palacio de Belles Artes which is the most amazing theatre. We sat so high up I got vertigo but we could still see the stage. It was more folk dancing than ballet with traditional musicians playing. A wonderful experience. The screen that covers the stage is made of glass by Tiffany’s!
And so we say goodbye to Mexico City and on to Tulum.Leia mais
Tulum #1
14 de outubro de 2024, México ⋅ ☁️ 30 °C
Tulum is on the south Caribbean coast. Smaller sister to Cancun. We arrived in the evening and on the walk to the hostel (yes you read right!) came across a restaurant recommended by Jem’s friends she met in Guatemala. Ceviche towers and beers with a very hip vibe. Excellent! On to the hostel which didn’t look very good from the outside but I told myself - it’s only 2 nights! Actually it was very nice - 3 of us in a room with a private bathroom down the hall. And there was a lovely pool and very nice staff.
On Tuesday we went by taxi to a Beach Club on the hotel strip. You can stay as long as you like, you just have to spend a minimum of 500 rand each. Not hard when margaritas are on special and they had super large fresh oysters in a Mexican aguachile sauce. We all got a bit burnt despite being on loungers under umbrellas. The sea is warm and calm and the weather was perfect. By now we had worked out that transport was scarce and taxis very expensive so we decided to explore hiring a car for the remaining 4 days.
Jemma had the bright idea that she and Kyla should join an organised pub crawl which proved to be her downfall! Drinks were free for the first half an hour and not one to pass up a bargain Jem tried a bit of everything - all hard tack. I don’t think Kyla was far behind but someone had to get them home and that was her. Needless to say I am glad I was fast asleep when they returned and both ended up in the pool fully clothed and in their shoes which they are still trying to dry out 6 days later! It is very humid. Thank god for sleeping pills.
The next morning I traipsed off to the car hire place and secured a rental for noon. Jem had to be the designated driver, as she would fare the best on the wrong side of the road, and she is the best driver anyway. I managed to get them up by 11am, very grumpy, and we left for our next accommodation further down the hotel strip - but not a hotel by any means....Leia mais
Tulum #2
16–19 de out. 2024, México ⋅ ⛅ 31 °C
Hello everyone! Kyla here this time round, for part two of our adventures in Tulum.
Having made it safely out of town with our newly hired car (Jem and I only just), we headed "into the jungle" according to Mama Sue. To be clear, this was the very edge of the jungle about 50 meters from the beach and bordered by a strip of Tulum's renowned healing retreats and exhorbitantly-priced hotels. But yes, a bit of jungle did surround.
We had managed to find one of the few affordable options in this area, a handful of small cabañas on the edge of Cenote Escondido, a large fresh-water sinkhole, one of 10 000 that this region in the South of Mexico is famous for. For a very fair amount, we had two interconnected rooms with a nice bathroom between them, and breakfast cooked by the owner each morning. Granted we ate breakfast at the table in reception, but the beans were very nice! Jemma and I stand by this being a great option, with beach access just down the road and the cenote surrounded by small wooden platforms from which we could watch sunset. However, as we also have to admit, the three days in our "Jungle Hut" (Mama Sue) did not go exactly according to plan!
For one, the heavens released the Wrath of Tlaloc (ancient Mayan "god of rain") upon us within hours of arrival. We had wondered what it was like to see the coast during a proper storm. And we found out! It rained for nearly three days straight in extended bursts that feel a bit like someone emptying a bucket of water onto your head. Let's just say we found ourselves Googling "Is this a hurricane?" once or twice. Pair this with driving dark, water-clogged streets on the wrong side of the road, not seeing a single sunset, my laptop breaking, and feeling rather permanently damp in the humidity, and we were running rather low on Alzam.
One particular day ended with Jemma and I stripped down to our underpants because we got so wet fetching the car all clothes had to be abandoned. Just a little earlier that evening, coming back into town on the bus with my blessedly mended laptop, I'd encountered Mama Sue edging her way down the drizzly sidewalk looking lost and miserable. Poor thing had been sent in search of our restaurant but in the wet and dark had clean passed it only 10 meters out the car. To top it all off, in the course of that day Jem and Sue had missed the turnoff for their cenote, arrived at the Tulum ruins too late for entry, AND been ripped off by the coconut man (although they could not fault his coconuts).
Our slight comedy of errors did offer up a lot of laughs and some truly beautiful experiences of the South, though. To fix my laptop we had to venture into Playa del Carmen, a slightly bigger seaside town where Mama Sue was able to visit a friend of dear Meynell's for lunch. To skip rushing to Cancun for an early morning flight on a highway prone to aqua planes, we drove the day before, and found the most stunning seafood restaurant in the fishing village Puerto Morelos where we had our best meal yet. And to avoid some of the rain, we ventured beyond the cenote we planned to see to visit one that was more covered instead: Cenote Caracol. Wow, what an unexpected gem! There were two sinkholes, one fully covered and one semi-open, plus an ethereal walkway through impressive caves that reminded us of the ancient cisterns beneath Istanbul.
All in all, our experience of Mexico's ritzy Riviera Nayarit wasn't exactly the Carribbean beach holiday we had in mind, but it was very much "us" - a little ridiculous, lots of laughter, and decidedly down-to-earth.Leia mais
Classic re the rain and things being closed 😭 loved reading this Kyz! [Gina]
ViajanteLoving all the updates and how you all are taking everything in your stride
San Pancho
20–26 de out. 2024, México ⋅ ☀️ 31 °C
Hello! Jem here! Let’s start off at the end of Cancun:
The dwindling alzam stash was yet again threatened as the heavens opened one last time just to make sure we wouldn’t find the car rental return place. At one stage after my third turn on and off the highway, direction commands were coming from 3 anxious voices: Kyla, mom, and moms phone navigation on the loudest setting. 😬 thank you Cancun for that last farewell 😂 Not to worry though because getting to the airport a bit late means looong lines with people and their dogs. So Kyla and I were very happy squealing at various doggo friends.
We finally arrived in San Pancho at about 5pm, ready to find food and have a dip in the pool (the order of which did not matter). The short walk up and down the main road leading to the beach really highlighted the quaint beauty of San Pancho. The quiet streets glow with life from the restaurants that choose to be open each evening (there seems to be no real rule for business days and hours in the town as most places were erratically closed at random times). The restaurant and taco stand tables spill out into the streets and the sound of live music bounces down the road from a not too far away beach bar. On this first night we had dinner at a boho style spot where a glass of wine was a steal at R80! A slow jazz duo serenaded us through a *few* glasses of wine, heehee, at our table in the corner of the stoop. After watching a few people go in and out of a small door next to us, mom remarked: “goodness! Quite a few people live up there!” Kyla and I fell apart when explaining that it was actually the loo!
The next few days were occupied by a lot of absolutely nothing at all and it was fabulous. Thanks to a nasty full body sunburn I got on morning 1, despite being in the shade, and the rough waves at the beach which had us all in shrieks trying and failing to not get absolutely pummelled by the huge barrelling waves in the shallows, we stayed happily at the peaceful poolside for most of our days.
Obviously this meant that we punctuated our pool time with meal times!
In this unassuming town we had some of the best seafood and service of our trip so far. At a slightly fancy dinner spot we had shrimp aguachile (raw prawns in a red fresh citrus sauce), oysters, soft-shell crab tacos, and fish ceviche - nearly a home run except that mom felt very hoodwinked by a R210 glass of *ok* wine. One night we tried an Italian place which had only just opened the week before. The Italian chef came out to chat with us, we were given a free desert, and mom’s prawn pasta was to die for (also only R90 a glass of wine). Needless to say we went back again for our last dinner where the chef convinced mom of a lobster risotto and I finally scratched an itch about lasagne! Just outside our hotel was a street side taco place where we went one evening straight from the pool - Kyla and I just in our towels as the post dinner swim was already calling to us!
For two sunsets, we had cocktails and seafood on the beach. On one of these occasions, our shrimp aguachile arrived just as we realised a turtle hatchling release was happing further up the beach. Abandoning our cocktails and feast, we run over to see what the fuss was about. What an amazing blessing to be in the right place at the right time! In San Pancho, Project Tortuga aims to protect the endangered turtle population by relocating eggs from the beach where high temperatures, birds, and humans threaten their survival. Once the eggs hatch, they are released safely within hours, and on some evenings, these releases are done at sunset for the public to watch. On this evening, about 200 few-hours-old hatchlings were released to make their toddle down the beach to the sea. It was an incredible site to witness and the volunteers were so gentle with the teeny tiny turtles.
Our final sunset was spent at a beach shack spot called Oyster Point, where we had to-die-for prawn skewers and surprisingly amazing braaied oysters in the regional Zarandeado sauce. Unfortunately, my sunset view was blocked for a bit by the waiter who was shamelessly flirting with Kyla for far too long 😂
All in all, we definitely cracked the seaside holiday code with this one. On an evening visit to the nearby more popular Sayulita town and beach, this was confirmed as we all preferred our San Pancho which seems to promote a calmer, quieter, and more-down-to-earth type of tourism. Also! Following a local’s suggestion, we walked down to the end of the beach to the spot where children are taught to swim and had our peaceful beach swimming moment (even coming across a baby turtle having a swim in the waves with us!).
What a beautiful week spent on the Mexican coast!Leia mais
Oaxaca #1
26 de outubro de 2024, México ⋅ ☀️ 24 °C
All I have heard from Mexicans is that Oaxaca is the best place to visit. It is the centre of Day of the Dead celebrations and even though I didn’t stay for the actual festival the town was abuzz with flowers, skeletons and people and dogs dressed up in costumes, bands, processions etc.
We had a bit of a treacherous journey leaving our accommodation at 8 am, our flight to Mexico City was delayed by a few hours meaning we missed our bus to Oaxaca and had to catch one much later which arrived at 1am. The girls were ecstatic about the premier bus which had reclining seats, personal screens with a variety of films and music concerts amongst others. My enthusiasm was fast waning as the hours ticked by! Luckily we could get into our little apartment with a lockbox key. I spent a sleepless night on the sofa bed and woke with terrible back ache but Kyla offered to swop and didn’t complain once.
We visited the Botanical Gardens in the morning and since they didn’t offer an English tour we joined the Spanish one. Kyla translated for us and I think we got most of the important info. We also bumped into the only two South Africans we met on the trip.
When with seasoned back packers every new destination starts with a 3 hour walking tour. Very interesting and I was keeping up until I needed to go to the loo! Our guide did not see any urgency in this request and I finally announced that I was going home to pee, at which point she of course found a bathroom with relative ease. I have felt my age on this trip - nothing seems quite as easy as it used to be! But Kyla and Jem were very considerate in looking after me and fulfilling my strange requests like a glass of wine at a reasonable price at inopportune times.
After the tour I needed a recharge so Jem and I headed to a bar for Mescal (me) and beer (Jem). They serve them together so most cost efficient. Then on to a restaurant as I wanted to expand my ceviche experience. Worst meal ever - ceviche with ash! Thought I would embrace the culture but it was like fish mixed with last night’s Braai coals. In the meantime Kyla had gone to a free music concert in the main square. All going well until she looked for her purse on the way to find us. Someone had sliced through her cloth bag with a knife and gently removed it. She had her passport and was holding her phone so it all could have been worse.
The next day Kyla and I took Jem to a special lunch to celebrate her 30th birthday as she had been in Peru on 18 July. We went to a very well rated rooftop restaurant Casa Oaxaca and had a really special meal. The spend of the trip and well worth it. Every meal starts with salsa and crisp tortillas put on the table but in this restaurant the waiter made the salsa in front of us adding the obligatory grass hoppers to his mix. We enjoyed a bottle of bubbles and our starters were aqua chile stuffed with ceviche (once again the waiter performed some surgery at the table, removing the seeds and very deftly, cutting the chille up and mixing it all together. Second starter was squash blossoms filled with ricotta, sweet potato and plantain. Both were memorable.
Birthday girl had beef cheeks, Kyla had duck and I had suckling pig for mains.
After all of this I collapsed on my bed to read, Kyla headed off to the Police Station to report the crime and Jemma walked up a thousand stairs to get to a view point to see the sunset. All as it should be at the end of a special day.Leia mais
Brilliant writing! Can't wait to hear the next instalment! [Lissa]
ViajanteThanks so much for following Liss! I also love Jem's writing ❤️
Viajante
Love it! ☺️❤️