Me-hee-co!! - Blogabond

Our trip to Mexico was surprising in many different ways. We both seemed to have an idea in our heads of Mexico that seems closer to a 1920s Western than to the modern day reality. Sombreros only existed in souvenir shops, tacos were strangely hard to find among the fast food joints, and far from the un-PC picture we are often painted in the UK of gun slinging bandits, the people of Mexico were on the whole absolutely lovely, helpful & fun! The sheer size of the city really blew us away at first sight as we flew over at night to a spectacular show of lights that would make Las Vegas look dull...no picture through an aeroplane window could capture the immense expanse of land glittering with starry lights and it was a sight we will never forget.

Mexico City was beautiful and we enjoyed a 5 day explosion of culture and most importantly of all....FOOD!! The Tacos, once we had tracked them down,

were amazing and the free food at our hostel gave us a chance to sample some of the local Mexican delights, which made a certain young man very happy indeed...! A trip to the local food markets turned into a major taste testing of 3 different stalls selling super hot Tacos, and Sup was in his element - I, however, tried desperately to keep up while tears were streaming down my face from the heat and all the locals were laughing at me!

Every day the newspapers splashed horrifying pictures of slain gang members and the effects of the drug wars going on in the North of the country, but in the Centro Historico in Mexico City we felt very far from this reality. (although the occasional gun shop did remind us at times of a more sinister side.)

It really was one of the most beautiful cities we have been to. We spent time in the Zocalo where dancers, artists and musicians entertained us in the artisan's market - people with fantastic talents that really seemed to capture the energetic, colourful and lively Mexican vibe.

During the day we delved into the rich culture and experienced the iconic Palacio Nacional with the beautiful murals of Diego Rivera painted on the walls depicting images of Mexico through the ages, the dramatic Cathedral (which if you look closely is sinking into the ground!) and the impressive Aztec ruins along with the Templo Mayor museum filled with weird and wonderful ancient artifacts.

Next stop on our tour was Veracruz - a modest little town in itself, but thanks to some wonderful timing, we arrived right in the middle of the Carnival which made our stay unforgettable. We found the perfect little place to stay right opposite the main street procession and happily chugged down cans of

Tequila & Lime mix while dancing to the raucous music and watching the extravagant floats go by, pulled by tractors and laden with dancing girls. We even joined in with a little face painting and fun to make sure we fitted right into the Mexican spirit of celebration - Arrrriba!!! We also spent a fantastic and romantic Valentines Day walking through the pretty little town, eating lunch by the harbour and we even found time to climb a fort!

Once the Tequila had worn off it was time to continue our journey by bus onto Campeche, a pretty, breezy little place on the Gulf Coast. For a quiet, sweet little town, it had a big explosive past revealed by the considerable forts and huge walls remaining from defence against pirate invasions.

We enjoyed walking down the streets lined with colourful houses and watching the sun set over the choppy coastal water, and just generally had a chilled out time in the sun.

Merida was next, the capital of the Yucatan Peninsula. We enjoyed our nights in the zocalo, or main square, eating meaty Tostadas with the locals and searching for yet more Tacos in the markets.

The days were spent exploring a local art and history museum, and then taking a tour to learn all about the Mayan and Toltec people at Chichen Itza - a sight that you will see speaks for itself and should definitely be seen in person to be fully appreciated. Spectacular! During the same tour we were treated to a sightseeing bonus - a beautiful natural cenote, or well. As this was unexpected we did not have our swimming clothes with us or we would have gladly dived right in to cool off from the scorching heat!

With such a rich overdose of culture and history, our next stop seemed the perfect antidote - the infamous Cancun, which in fact was not quite the place we were expecting. Something seemed to be missing - the authentic Mexican vibe was gone and replaced with young American tourists and tacky souvenirs. The high rise hotels overshadowing the beach really changed the landscape and reminded us of how beautiful the Costa Rican natural beaches had been. But we certainly enjoyed our time on the beach and exploring the tourist friendly town. The cat in our hostel also provided some excellent entertainment as he seemed to have hit the Tequila too hard that night...!!

Playa del Carmen was similar to Cancun but with a nicer vibe and a Walmart that allowed us to eat like Kings! The town itself was far more appealing than Cancun and the beach was great. Unfortunately Sup was experiencing a lot of eye pain at this time, so we took it easy and started planning for what we needed to do to sort out the situation. The rain in Mexico was also surprising - and they say England is bad!

Tulum was the last stop on our trip to Mexico - we decided that we would fly early to LA in order for Sup to get the medical treatment he badly needed for his poorly eyes. Lucky for us, Tulum turned out to be a beautiful place to end our Mexican experience, and a near perfect beach with waters so blue it was impossible to do them justice with the limitations of our camera.

Our hostel provided bikes for free to rent so we cycled every day to the beach nearby and chilled in the sun. Sup was feeling a little under the weather one day so I went exploring, finding some performers in a square with some impressive moves. I came back to find that Sup was the one this time who had made a little friend... there was a little cat fast asleep on his lap!

Our adventures in Mexico were fantastic, and although not what we expected at times, it was full of surprises and wonderful experiences. LA was up next, a land full of promise and, after a 2 1/2 month battle with Central American Spanish, a welcome return to the English language!!

written by

SupandNic on May 23, 2010 from Mexico, Mexico

from the travel blog: Sup and Nic's World Tour!

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