Its only taken 3 weeks and a chicken enchilada meal, at the Menta Deli Rest in Campeche city, for me to start destroying the thunderbox with the squirts from 3AM this morning.
As much as I’d like to say I spent the day exploring Mérida like the conquistadors’ rather than Don Quixote, it was more like hopping from baños to baños, shitting through a flyscreen door without hitting the wire. The worst part was after about a dozen sit down orchestra performances, my freckle started playing Johnny Cash’s “Burning Ring Of Fire” with a fair amount of vigor.
After dropping of my dirty laundry at a local lavandaria I spent an entertaining ½ hour in a pharmacy explaining that I need something to “detener el fuego” (stop the fire) and pointing to my arse. God bless the poor lady assisting me and thankfully with her patience and Google Translate, we came up with a solution after discussing the merits of anti-bacterial gel, Preparation H hemorrhoid cream and several other tubes of undefined liquids. For all I know, the solution she provided could be infant teething cream, but it does the job with near immediate relief.
I caught up with a couple of the tour group for lunch at the Bistro Apoala for an amazing Snapper fillet with gnocchi, which was one of the best dishes I’ve had in a long while.
The rest of the afternoon was spent either in bed or on the throne, with the exception of picking up my laundry, which came in at 5.5 kilograms (12 pounds) and for for 70 Pesos ($5.18 AUD) it was professionally washed, dried and folded – talk about being a bargain.
With today
being Sunday, which marks the beginning of the daylight savings season here in
Mexico, we lost an hour of sleep to begin the day.
Around 8AM all 16 of us piled into the Mercedes Sprinter van, filling all available seats and spaces and headed northeast to our first stop of the day, the Restaurant el Crucero in Campeche state, nearly 3 hours from Palenque.
From there it was the long haul portion of the drive – 3½ hours and 174 kilometres (108 miles) into Campeche city, where we had 90 minutes to grab some lunch, stretch our legs and hit the road again for Mérida.
We arrived at our accommodations at the Hotel Santa Maria just on 5PM and had an hour to freshen up, before heading out on an orientation walk. I used this time to simply fall into the hotels pool and then managed to go arse-up on the slick tiles surrounding the pool, smashing a decorative planter in the process. Talk about a bull in a taco shop!
The walks lasted nearly two hours as the town was full of locals and family’s, which added to a vibrant and fun atmosphere. Dinner was held at the locally renowned Restaurante Trovo Amaro, in which I was impressed with the pulled pork dish – Cochinita Pibil, consisting of Pork loin marinated in achiote, wrapped in banana leaf and accompanied with purple onion and sour orange sauce.
From there it was down to the Pipiripau Bar where I found their signature drink of the same name was very “more-ish” and totally dangerous as it was so smooth and refreshing.
Comment of the day came at dinner when paying the bill. One of the tour members, a Hungarian female teacher, who’s been living & working just outside of London for the past twenty years. She was scratching around for some change to pay the tip and as I had a heap of coins on me, I offer them up to her saying “I’ve got a pocket full of shrapnel if you want it”.
She looks at me and goes “You what?” I tell her that I have a heap of coins in my pocket she can use if she wants. She says “I’m glad you cleared that up – I thought you said you had a strap-on in your pocket” Ahhh, the English language – a lot of people speak it, not a lot understand it.
Today marks 3 weeks on the road and according to Polarsteps I’ve travelled just on 1,799 kilometres (1,119 miles) this week, for a total of 24,174 kilometres (15,021 miles) for the trip so far.
Most of the group decided to head out on a jungle walk from 8AM this morning. Having had many hard slogs though dense vegetation while living in North Queensland, I decided to pass on the morning walk.
We did plan to meet up with the group at 10AM for a guide walk through the Zona Arqueológica Palenque (Palenque Ruins). This saw us on the side of the road like natives and paying 10 pesos each (74 Australian cents) to ride on the “collectivo” local bus to get to the site.
The Palenque ruins date from 226 BC are claimed to be one of the best examples of Mayan structures, with the discovered areas covered up to 2.5 km² (1 square mile), but it is estimated that less than 10% of the total area of the city is explored, leaving more than a thousand structures still covered by jungle.
Compared to the Teotihuacán Pyramids and Zona Arqueológica de Monte Albán sites, the excavated Palenque site is considerably smaller, but a heck of a lot greener obviously – as they hacked the site out of the jungle.
After a couple of hours of climbing up, around and over the site, I decided to cough up the 20 pesos ($1.50 AUD) to catch the collective into Palenque township, located about 10 kilometres (6 miles) away.
After a great lunch at Restaurante Maya Cañada, where I had a grilled Chaya stuffed chicken breast with Xcatic sauce, that was absolutely brilliant.
From there it was siesta time and some serious time in the pool, while sampling mango margaritas – Fitzy happy much 😉
From there it was cramped 3 hour 140 kilometre (90 mile) bus ride to our accommodations at Hotel Maya Bell, which is located deep within the Zona Arqueológica Palenque (Pre-Hispanic City and National Park of Palenque), in the adjoining state of Chiapas.
I had every intention of heading into town to check it out over the afternoon, but had to change rooms as me and pedestal fans don’t have a good working relationship (I’ve had two catch fire over the years). It may have also had something to do with the frozen mango margarita’s, the lure of the pool, my DILLIGAF attitude or a combination of all of the above????
While a few of us were sitting around the pool, word filtered through that one of our female Irish group members had left their phone and passport on the bus and was trying to locate them …. without a lot of success unfortunately.
The evening was spent celebrating one of the group members’ birthday, that included Linda trying to belt the living suitcase out of her piñata – a fun way end to end the day.
I decided to take advantage of a $40 USD ($55 AUD) “Oaxaca Highlight” day tour that was scheduled to last 12 hours.
First stop of the day was Zona Arqueológica de Monte Albán (Monte Albán ruins) located in the hills overlooking Oaxaca, about 9 kilometres (6 miles) away to the west. The site dates back to 650 BC and in its heyday, was the one of the greatest Zapotec ‘holy’ cities, with a population of over 30,000. It is estimated that only about 10% of the site has yet been uncovered.
As we were promised a late lunch, we stopped to stretch our legs at El Árbol del Tule (Tule tree) that measures 42.0 metres (137.8 feet) in circumference, before continuing on to the Petrified Waterfalls of Hierve el Agua (Spanish for “the water boils”).
Although the site
name itself would certainly imply boiling water would be found, the truth is
that you can actually swim in the three natural pools located within the area.
The petrified waterfall name comes from the fact that the subterranean waters bubbling
to the surface, move so slowly that the minerals actually attach to the
waterfalls on the way down the mountain.
Just as we were about to leave, a storm blew through with plenty of thunder, lightning and rain which slowed our departure down by ½ an hour, while we waited for two people caught out in the elements.
When we were advised of a late lunch, I didn’t think 4:15 would be time, but here we are at El Famoso Buffet & Mezcaleria with an offering that looked and tasted to have been out for most of the day. A bit over an hour later, we stopped at Casa el Colibri Weaving Gallery which for me was about as interesting as watching paint dry.
Final stop of the day turned out to a whole lot more informative and enjoyable than the mezcal tasting from last night. Our hosts at Mezcal Don Agave took us through the whole process from plant selection to final packaging and distribution. We then sampled ½ a dozen of their products with the best for my mind was the mescal that was distilled with a chicken breast, that made the sipping liquor smooth and with literally zero back taste, which is what I struggled with at last night’s tastings.
We got back to the hotel right on 8 bells and as we had to get up before our 4:30 AM departure, I only had a time for a quick tub, pack & stack my gear and hit the fart sack to check the eyelids for holes.
Everyone was up and out the door of the Gilfer Hotel at 7:30 AM, loaded into 5 cabs and off to the Autobuses CAPU for our 8:25 AM departure on the Autobus Ado service to Oaxaca de Juárez or more simply – Oaxaca (pronounced wuh-haka).
At 550 Peso’s ($40.16 AUD), the “Premier” seating service was quite enjoyable in a comfortable air-conditioned coach that seemed to be only a couple of years young. The 345 kilometre (215 mile) 6-hour trip passed seemingly in no time, with the exception of a head-on collision between a ute and an overtaking car, high up on the mountain range along the Puebla/Oaxaca border.
We checked into the Hotel Oaxaca Real and as our rooms had not been finalised by housekeeping, we headed off on an orientation walk that eventually took us over to the Mercado 20 de Noviembre where we parked up at the Comedor María Alejandra, where for a measly $15 AUD I thoroughly enjoyed a “Mexican counter lunch” of Tlayuda Mixta and 3 beers no less.
The dish consisted of a large 12-inch partially fried or toasted corn tortilla, covered with a refried beans paste, shredded cabbage, flat iron pork and beef, Oaxaca cheese , chouriço (a type of pork sausage) and a cilantro & chilli sauce …… which sounds like an odd combination, but awesome eating.
From there it was over to the Chocolate Mayordomo cacao/chocolate factory and then onto one of our CEO’s favourite bars for some happy hour cerveza’s and margarita’s.
After an early evening freshen-up, those of us who are a bit partial to adult beverages gathered at 9AM for a Mezcal tasting at the “Einstein of Mezcal’s” mezcaleria – In Situ. I settled on a sampling containing the Penca Verde, Agave Karwinskii and Agava Rhodacantha varieties and unlike tequila, these are a sipping spirit not shot materials.
I’d have to say that even when engaging the “correct” sipping technique of (a) exhaling all air in your lungs, (b) take a sip of mexcal, (c) breathe in through your nose, (d) swallow the mescal and (e) breathe out through your mouth, I found all three had a harsh after taste and not a smooth sipping experience at all.
As we have just the one full day in Puebla de Zaragoza (formally Heroica Puebla de Zaragoza and also known as Puebla de los Ángeles) – simply called Puebla, I decided to forgo visiting the nearby town of 324 churches – Cholula, or reportedly the largest Mexican pyramid – Tlachihualtepetl (The Great Pyramid of Cholula).
As much as anyone can form an education opinion on 24 hours in any place, I found Puebla to be an easy, safe and interesting place to get around in. The Spanish and Catholic influence is visible everywhere in the architecture and churches. The one-way street, hidden Mercado’s and hole-in-the-wall spots that open out to large courtyard restaurants, guest houses or commercial enterprises.
Highlight of the day for me was walking around the La Catedral Basílica de Puebla (Puebla Cathedral) and being wowed by the craftsmanship and décor of the building the commenced construction in November 1575 of its 14 lateral chapels and main altar – its simply stunning in its grandeur and intimacy.
I also took in the chapel of the Virgen del Rosario (Chapel of the Rosary), which is attached to the Iglesia de Santo Domingo (Temple of Santo Domingo) which apparently boasts 4½ tons of 24 carat gold leaf throughout the chapel. The amount of gold is impressive, but the church is not in the same class as the Puebla Cathedral.
Lunch was one of those “stumbled on to a hidden spot” deals where I was just looking through the street market doorways, saw a couple of the tour group members and decided to park up for a feed at Mesones Sacristia. In all honesty, it turned out to be a great spot for a casual lunch with authentic local cuisine.
I headed off on my own for the rest of the afternoon, with aim of trying to take some shots of a few areas that I’d scoped out earlier.
Tomorrow we’re off to Oaxaca, a 5-6 hour locals bus ride, so you should be able to work out how the evening will go – recharging electronic devices to reduce boredom and repacking.
Heading out of Mexico City, bound for parts relatively unknown to me, I thought I’d share with a couple of observations with the America’s most populous city. The 5 days I spent there were filled with a tremendous amount of museums, churches and so called national monuments, in which I seemed to have covered more territory on foot than the early Spanish conquistadors.
It’d be fair
to say that the large Police presence i.e. officers on most street corners, is
a little unsettling and takes some getting used to. Having said that, I didn’t
feel any unease or threat to my wellbeing, even though I ended up in a couple
of areas that the hotel staff said I was “loco” for cutting through to get
where I wanted to go. Ignorance can be bliss at times, but no excuse if you get
into shit though.
Amenities and
utilities wise – the city looks to be a decade behind in any investment. but
the streets were really clean, not smelling of sewerage, uncollected rubbish or
pet excrement.
I personally
loved wondering around the older tree-lined suburbs and being left alone by the
many street vendors, who are simply trying to make an honest dollar.
I’d love to
spend some more time exploring the city, but don’t see myself planning a trip to
specifically do that. I enjoyed my time in town and have a new appreciation for
the country and the people by watching the locals go about living their respective
lives.
As for today – we saddled up at for a 8AM departure and after a brief stop at the Centro Cultural Tlatelolco (University Cultural Center Tlatelolco) to check out the ruins of Piramide De Tlatelolco (Tlatelolco archaeological site) and the Templo de Santiago Apóstol (Church of Santiago Apóstol). We headed an hour and half northeast into Teotihuacan and stopped at Artesanias Premier where the local host – Jesus, provided an interesting and educational presentation as to how important the cactus was to the original settlers and the uses of it on their everyday lives.
It was a short 15 minute ride over to Teotihuacán Pyramids where we spent the best part of a couple of hours exploring the 20 square kilometre (8 square mile) site that once had a population estimated at more than 100,000 people between 2,100 and about 1,400 years ago.
The site is only 40 kilometres (25 miles) northeast of modern-day Mexico City and hosts over 4 million years ago and I was fascinated as to the building and scale of the site – well worth the visit.
After a late buffet lunch at the local El Jaguar Teotihuacán, where I was well chuffed with the selection and range on their salad bar. The experience was soured slightly as I took some umbrage to them presenting a bill that included a tip of over 20%. It’s not the amount, it was the fact that the “optional” charge was not explained to anyone and expected to be paid. Even after I objected, they did not remove the tip amount from the change I received back.
We left Teotihuacán around 2PM and headed for the city of Puebla de Zaragoza and the Gilfer Hotel, our stop for the next couple of nights. At the completion of our orientation walk with our CEO – Jumanji, a couple of us took up her suggestion and tried the local dish “Exquisitos chiles en Nogada” which consisted of a chilli stuffed with chicken mince, vegetables, fruits and almonds, bathed in a nogada sauce of cheese and walnut and topped with pomegranate kernels. It was simply delicious, although a little sweet for my tastes.
Couldn’t help myself, I availed myself of the $8 AUD Huevos Rancheros breakfast deal, that I happened upon yesterday at the café located next to the hotel. While knocking down the eggs on tortillas and good black coffee, I surfed the Internet for things to do today as I really had no set plans for today.
I decided to head over to the Mirador Torre Latino (Latin-American Tower) to try and get some shots of the city from the 44th floor open viewing platform and then make the rest of the day up as I went along.
As the 182 metre (597 foot) tall 45 floor tower is a good ½ hour walk from my hotel, I decided head down there early to try and avoid any potential long queues and overcrowding. Imagine my disappointment upon arrival that they would not allow me to take my camera rig and was told that I “had to enter a commercial engagement with the building owner and that could take a couple of weeks and I could only occur on a day of the owners choosing”.
I advised the team member that I saw no camera/photography exceptions or restrictions either on their website or upon arrival and that I was leaving in the morning – didn’t make a difference. I’m like OK and start heading out the door, at which time they said I could use a mobile phone if I wanted to. I simply kept walking as it wasn’t like there was a shortage of interesting subject matter in the general vicinity.
I kept meandering towards the southern side of town and ended up in the so-called Bohemian art/café/hipster and tree lined suburb of La Condessa. As you can image, coffee shops, cafés, eateries and galleries abound, but one of the major attractions is the so called “Lungs of Mexico City” – Parque Espana.
Speaking of “Lungs of Mexico City”, every Sunday the city closes a fair amount of the major thoroughfares, to all vehicular traffic, for most of the day, which allows all the “lycra lunatics” their time in the sun. A great initiative I reckon – closing the roads that is.
Feeling a bit peckish by now, I happened upon the Taqueria El Pescadito tucked away in a back street that was jam packed with locals. I decided to park up with ice cold Victoria cerveza and try their Taco de Camarón and Taco de Chile Relleno de Marlin, which were awesome. Didn’t care much for the Quesadillas Marlin as the filling was like a really dry tuna. Finding local places like this, that turn out to be a brilliant experience, is one of the best parts of travel …. IMHO.
It seems that after all this walking,
my feet have embraced the local culture by advising me in no uncertain terms
that a siesta was in my best interests, I walked the ½ hour back to hotel and
whiled away the afternoon with a good book.
A couple I’d met at the hotel and I decided to dine together the Argentinian restaurant next door. We figured to meet at 8PM as the place closes at 10PM. We lob up at 7:45 only to be told that the kitchen has closed. All righty then. We ended up a few blocks away at the Comedor Lucerna, which was simply jumping.
As eating establishments go, it’s a great concept. It’s basically a warehouse space, filled with large 12-seater picnic table/bench furniture and surrounded by 6 different food outlets and a bar. The premise is you are seated and receive menus from each outlet, order what you so desire and then have it delivered to your table for consumption. The meals we had were great but the service was terrible all round.
It seemed that no one wanted to help the Gringo’s for whatever reason. It even became Fawlty Towers like when we asked to pay and leave. We received 5 different tickets, from 3 different wait staff performing perfectly choreographed “drop & dash” manoeuvres that facilitated us spending 20+ minutes to pay the bill(s).
Couldn’t help but laugh at another moment that I’m labelling “TIM” – This Is Mexico.
Today marks
the second week on the road for me. It is also the third Saturday in three
different cities – Townsville, Boise & Mexico as well as three different
countries – Australia, United States & Mexico.
Now according to the mobile application – Polarsteps, I’ve managed to travel just on 22,375 kilometres (13,093 miles) so far and I’m pleased to say to (a) I’m experiencing something different each day and (b) I’m expanding my Spanish vocabulary, which now encompasses the most important word I’m beginning to use on a regular basis – Baño.
Whilst most of you who know me, would think that Cerveza (beer), Cantina (bar), Jardín de la Cerveza (beer garden) or Comiendo Casa (eating house) would rate fairly high ….. and you’d be correct, but after three days in Mexico I’ve come realize that “thunderbox”, “dunny” or “dropping the kids off at the pool” is either lost in translation or of zero significance to the local populace – but the word Baño, accompanied with 5 to 10 Pesos (36 to 73 cents Australian) allows you the use of clean amenities with a measured amount of “poo tickets“, should you need to be seated for the entire performance.
After yesterday’s effort, I decided to forgo any formal town tours and explore the city via the hop on/hop off TuriBus service. At 180 Pesos ($13.07 AUD) for the 9AM – 9PM service that has 20 minute intervals for open-top double decker buses. It’s one of the cheapest and most informative ways I’ve found to help get orientated in any city I’ve been to.
I took the Tour Official de la CDMX, which lasts 2½ hours if you do not get off, which is awesome value. Also included in the All Day Pass is the Chapultepec Polanco, the Sur Coyoacán & San Angel as well as the Basilica route as well.
I stopped off at Wingstop at the recommendation of a local – the wings were pretty ordinary, but the company was great. I got speaking to a couple of local on duty Secretaría de Seguridad Pública (SSP) officers (sometimes known as Federales), who ended up giving me a lift back to my hotel.
Tonight was spent sorting out all the paperwork and formalities associated with the start of any G Adventures trip. This will be my 9th with them and I’m looking forward to having a ball over the next 14 days on their Classic Mexico Adventure.
