San Diego

In the morning I took a tour of the Xochimilco canals, which are like a live museum of how Mexico would once have looked. The city is built on a lake and transport around the city would once have been via a canal system but these have gradually been drained or filled in. The land in between the canals is known as chinampas and in largely agricultural, these are surrounded by willow trees which help to keep the land compact. The canals were really peaceful and we saw herons and migratory pelicans amongst other birds. We also stopped at an axolotl sanctuary to learn more about the different species that once lived in the canals. These are now largely extinct from the canals due to predation from non-native fish that were introduced.

Visits to Xochimilco are often for drinking and boozy boat rides but being an old lady I booked a more chilled tour. Our tour guide, Miroslava is a cultural ambassador for Xochimilco and was full of passion for the history of her city. We began the tour at her cafe Dalia and had the most delicious coffee I have ever tasted. We then visited the market to buy the ingredients to make tamales.

We then took a boat from the central port, where the canals are quieter. On the boat we started to make our tamales. Inside corn husk we put onion, mushrooms, greens and an aloe type leaf, topped with chilli infused cheese. We wrapped this all in corn husks and placed on heated charcoal for 40 minutes. The tamales were delicious and we finished our lunch with a shot of mezcal with tamarind juice.

I'm so glad I took this tour and avoided a boozy boat ride. It was such a fun and relaxing start to my travels.Read more