I have to admit that the country of Mexico was not on my short list of places to visit during my travels. Don’t get me wrong, I love Mexico but figured I had seen most of what I needed to see and would go back after I was working again when I needed a chill-ax beach holiday. I mean, I’d been to Cancun (not once but TWICE), Playa del Carmen once (okay, not so far from Cancun), AND even tacked onto one of the trips with a few days traveling solo in Tulum (actually Tulum may have been the first time I’d ever traveled solo, and it was less than two years ago! Wow). Anyways, fast-forward to a few months ago when I chatted with my friends at my favorite travel company, Flash Pack, who told me about a new “Chief Insider” initiative they are doing and asked ME if I wanted to BE a “Chief Insider”!!! Um, beyond having an awesome title, what else do I have to do?
Basically, the company does a lot careful planning around each of their trips but realizes that you can only plan so much and have to actually experience the trip to know if everything works how it should. So, for the first run of each new trip they have an “Insider” group, where everyone gets a discounted rate for providing feedback and being understanding that there may be first-time glitches. As the CHIEF Insider (I preferred to go by Chief) I was responsible for providing an additional layer of support, basically making sure things went okay with the Insiders, mitigating glitches, and providing some iterative feedback. But really I was just on the trip like everyone else and doing what I usually do on my Flash Pack trips. [Hmmm….maybe I should ask for some retroactive CHIEF discounts?]
So, (I bet you can see where this is going), there was a CHIEF Insider opportunity for a new trip to Mexico and I looked at the itinerary and couldn’t believe there were so many cool things I hadn’t seen or done in the country. A sampling:
So, of course I signed up! Then, it was time, and I eased into my next international travel junket by not straying too far from los Estados Unidos. I arrived to Mexico City a few days early, to visit the Amazing Ana, who is from there and I’d met during my Turkey travels. I stayed with her for a few days and she gave me a wonderful tour of her city- including the incredible Frida Kahlo museum (seriously, Frida was one inspirational muchacha), the really interesting Archeological Museum, and many other sights, smells and sounds (the best sound in Mexico is the music, which is everywhere. And real music, actually being played!). Ana is also a talented artist with a great eye and she took me to the most beautiful places in her city, all while making me smile with her infectious giggle. It was so good to see her again!
After bidding Ana farewell I met my tour group, who I felt like I kind of knew already from pre-trip What’s App banter. Most were from the UK or Europe and had had long travel days (for once I was the one with the least travel time!) yet everyone was very excited and lively during our initial dinner. Most of us made it out to a salsa club after dinner and we even danced with some locals. While I can’t speak for the others, I don’t think my partners were particularly impressed with my salsa skills. Still, it was a great first night!
We all loved our guide, Fransciso, right away as he’s one of those people you can tell just loves what he does. He’s clearly enthusiastic about his country and sharing his impressive knowledge about it (the guy majored in History and seems to literally know everything).
We spent three nights in Mexico City and, despite my pre-tour with Amazing Ana, I felt like I had so much more to see and there was a new surprise around every corner. The city really does have a ton to offer and despite being one of the most populated cities in the entire world, it really doesn’t feel that way. I expected it to be overly congested and maybe a bit sterile in parts, but instead I felt like it exuded charm, appeal, and history. Plus, just enough people speak just enough English that you can get by but you still have to work at it. I love that! While of course it’s easier to communicate in foreign countries where everyone speaks English, it doesn’t really seem fair for them to have to speak my language and I actually like to have to make an effort (I especially like making an effort when in a Spanish speaking country, as that is the one language I know more than a handful of words in, albeit not as many as I should given that I had to take classes through the “literature level” in college- it was a struggle for me and it took a while to stop having nightmares about Don Quixote). Anyways, Francisco took us on a walking tour of the city, to the main area downtown where there used to be a huge pyramid back in the day, until the Spanish came and ripped it apart to use the bricks to build a massive cathedral just a stone’s throw away. How rude!
We then moved on to the bustling market where we did an authentic food tour. And authentic it was! I even found myself eating insects for the first time! Although I was dubious and thought maybe it was a trick for tourists, I learned that the Mexicans really do eat insects themselves and sometimes even with a fancy presentation as if an expensive cheese board. We got them straight from the market vendor, though, which I thought was pretty bad-ass of us. [The lady selling them even looks a little worried for us.]
We also tried the most delectable fruits from the market- it really is SO much better there! In fact, the food overall is absolutely incredible and far surpassed my expectations. In a way I’m a smidge disappointed as I feel like “Mexican food” in the U.S. may have been ruined for me, for a while at least…I’m sure the memories of my taste buds will fade over time, though.
That night we were whisked off to a “Lucha Libre” wrestling match, which is the first type of wrestling where they wore whacky masks and had crazy names. It started in the early 1900s during the Mexican Revolution as a means of distraction/entertainment and has thrived ever since then, becoming an international cultural icon of sorts. I wasn’t sure what to expect exactly and I think we were all surprised how much fun it was….the ABSOLUTE BLAST kind of fun! There was much energy and excitement and we even got into it enough to get masks and choose favorites! I will admit that I wasn’t the only one who didn’t think I would like it very much (I’m decidedly not a big WWF or UFC fan) but was so pleasantly surprised. I really think you need to experience it to understand but trust me- it’s totally worth it!
The next day there was no rest for the weary and we were whisked off to a colorful traditional trajinera boat where we cruised through canals and enjoyed a home-cooked lunch while being regaled by mariachi bands. I told you, music is literally everywhere in this country!
That evening we had a delicious dinner at a restaurant overlooking the massive cathedral. I mean…no words describe this Mexico City view.
Then it was off to our second destination, the town of Puebla which is also Francisco’s hometown. We settled into our Puebla accommodations before Francisco proudly showed us around his city. We later met for a traditional (and delicious) meal in a local restaurant.
We were up and out early the next day for a hike in between two huge volcanos. This required a two-hour drive that turned into a four-hour drive after some interference by unpredictable traffic and unpredictability closed roads (both apparently part of the “authentic” Mexico experience). This meant that we didn’t have time to do the full hike but instead did a mini-hike up to a picnic spot where we enjoyed the volcano views as we ate delicious boxed lunches.
Despite making the best of it, the group was disappointed that the hike was cut short and that we had much longer travel day than expected. I put my CHIEF hat on and messaged the peeps back at FP HQ with the latest – knowing they would want to fix timing issues around the hike for next time and also know that the group was not thrilled about missing the hike. Well, a series of messages later, a reservation at a local speakeasy had been arranged for that evening, courtesy of Flash Pack (thanks to Jenni for recommending the speakeasy!). It was one of those authentic yet trendy places where you enter though a hidden entrance (this one was a barbershop) and it was open mic night to boot! The comedians all gamely did their best to accommodate the English-speaking group sitting at the big table, yet I found even the Spanish bits entertaining especially the crowd reactions.
We were treated to even clearer views the next morning as we departed Puebla- maybe too clear – and we could see smoke coming out of one of the volcanos (thankfully not the one we had been on). Locals swear it will be a good 25 years before the next eruption, but who know, really?!
We then moved on along to our final destination, the town of Oaxaca. It’s funny as Oaxaca is the smallest of the three places we visited, but it was the place I’d heard the most about from friends who had travelled to non-beach areas of Mexico. I’d enjoyed Mexico City and Puebla so much that it was hard to imagine Oaxaca could somehow be better. Now, in hindsight, I refuse to pick favorites but will say that I definitely see what all the Oaxaca hype is about. It’s a quaint city, full of character and charm and bustling with artists and musicians of all sorts. And while it’s easy to get around and you feel like a local almost immediately, there is lots to see and do. In fact, I stayed for two nights after the tour and I still felt like there were still things I hadn’t seen! Guess I’ll have to go back 🙂 And just like that, Mexico is back on the list. A few glimpses of the Oaxaca beauty:
I found this especially beautiful-
Highlights in Oaxaca were a traditional cooking class, that began with a lesson in making three different types of delicious cheeses. We then split into groups to each make a course in a most delectable 5-course lunch that we later enjoyed. It was so much fun (both the cooking and the eating!).
We also had a beer tasting at a local brewery, where Hirin pulled some Rainman stuff by guessing the alcohol percentage of 5 out of six beers, within .1%! It was pretty impressive, as far as party tricks go. We also travelled to the stunning Hierve del Agua which is a natural petrified waterfall (not a real waterfall but a huge rock cliff with petrified rock that looks like cascading water). There were some pretty spectacular springs in the adjacent rocks that serve as a convenient viewing area.
We also swung by a mescal distillery to get an up close and personal demo on how agave magically turns into mescal. Here’s me and the proprietor –
I’ll skip right over our farewell dinner as those are always bittersweet, recounting memories from the trip and accepting that it’s, sadly, ending.
This goodbye was more gradual, though, as about half the group wasn’t leaving until later the next day and we made our way to the Monte Alban pyramids in the morning. Talk about spectacular! We hired a guide outside (Julio) who walked us through the massive Aztec heritage site explaining meaning behind the relics. They really did it up back in the day, and the Aztecs must have been in great shape to climb all those steps every day.
The next day the cheese stands alone, as the last of my new friends departed. And, did I mention how solid this group was?? Hailing from the UK, US, and Italy, everyone got along as evidenced by the fact that we even spent our limited free-time together. It’s always a little jarring to go from being with a group of friends and having a handler (poor Francisco, but he loved it!) to being left to your own devices. I even had to set my own alarm in the morning (my amazing roomie Jo from Wales had taken care of that -only one of the many reasons she’s amazing). Here’s Jo and I:
It ended up being for the best that I was solo for my last two days in Oaxaca though, as I quickly succumbed to what I first described as the Mexican Plague and later learned is also known as Montezuma’s Revenge. Not sure exactly what that means but it definitely felt like someone’s revenge! I tried fight it and convince myself that I did not, in fact, feel horrible. But it was a futile battle and I got in bed at 2pm, and slept on and off (mostly on) until 11am the next day. Apparently this Revenge is common in Mexico and surrounding countries and is likely from something I ate or maybe ice from water that wasn’t purified. I admit I wasn’t the most careful with that stuff, thinking all my traveling had helped me to develop a stomach of steel. Incorrect. Lesson learned.
On the upside I was feeling much better the day I was leaving and had most of the day to do a final farewell tour of Oaxaca before heading to the airport again.
Next up…pisco sour country!