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 Day 16 Monday.
mural outside the Ciudadela market

Our final day!  Had breakfast on the hotel roof terrace.  Rob was suffering from a bad stomach, which started the day before and was getting worse, guessing it was from the terrible burger he had at VIPS on Saturday night, so we took it fairly easy for the day.  Packed and checked out of our room, putting luggage in the hotel storage (arrived in Mexico with rucksacks, left with 5 bags, much to the amusement of the hotel Porter!) and walked to La Ciudadela artisan market.  Yes, it’s a tourist trap and we definitely noticed the higher prices this time round, but its still a great way to spend our final pesos.  (still had a tiny bit of space in my luggage for some final gifts and souvenirs!)  Had lunch in the market café, where I first tried tortilla soup on my first visit to Mexico, so I wanted to have that for my final meal here.

Walked back to our hotel.  The plan was to visit the nearby Miguel Lerdo de Tejada library to see the murals, but Rob really wasn’t feeling well, so instead we spent our last hour resting in the hotel lobby and repacking the luggage to fit our final shopping.

Our flight home was that evening, we had another chatty friendly driver to take us to the airport and the journey through airport security and the flight itself all went well.  Very grateful that past me decided to splash out on an upgrade for the journey home, that little bit more space and comfort was needed!

So, my second visit to CDMX.  Last time it was a culture shock and I felt I had only scraped the surface.  It wasn’t the original plan to spend 4 days here this time, originally intending to go to Tepoztlan with just an overnight stop here before going home, and we did feel we were repeating too much of our last holiday. However, it was good to revisit some favourite places and get to others that I didn’t make it to last time. Not sure I love it as a city, but this might have been down to staying in the Centro Historico on a street which just wasn’t pleasant at night.  However it is an incredible, and fascinating city, with so much to see.  Will we visit a third time?  Who knows what the future might bring!

Photos https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-07-Mon-Ciudadela-market-and-journey-home

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giant alibrijes on the Reforma Day 15 Sunday


After another breakfast at Don Toribio restaurant (we discovered this wonderful restaurant near our hotel the morning before), we got an Uber to the start of Reforma to make the most of car-free Sunday mornings and see the alibrijes on display along the street.  This time we had a far nicer Uber driver, who first complimented me on my Spanish and then chatted with me for the entire journey, dropping us off at the best spot to start our walk.

We didn’t realise just how many alibrijes there were on display!  So colourful and cute, lining both sides of the street.  In addition, for the first part of our walk there were giant Catrina models, followed by Mexicraneos (giant brightly painted skulls).   I took so many photos.

My original plan was to walk up to the Anthropology museum, mainly to find the stall where I purchased some delicious esquites last time.  (esquites are sweetcorn, off the cob and warmed in a broth of herbs and spices, served in a polystyrene cup and topped with mayonnaise and cheese. Delicious!)  However, instead we took the wrong route and ended up in Chapultepec Park.  Not a problem, it was a lovely day and we decided to spend some time in the park instead.  Firstly I dragged Rob onto the land train – this was a fun way to rest our feet whilst getting a quick tour of the park.   After this, we retraced some of the train route to the beautiful Fuente del Quijote and then on to the boating lakes.  I purchased some Dorilocos – had to be done, as I was too ill last time we were here to face this local snack (Not sure I will try it again! Doritos covered in chilli/chamoy sauce, peanuts, grated carrot, jicama and jelly sweets) and we sat next to the quiet lake enjoying the beautiful day and getting bothered by cute squirrels.

Finally made it to the Anthropology museum and just sat outside with esquites, watching the Voladores.  Didn’t do the museum itself as we had visited it last time we were here and just wanted to sit outside in the sunshine, knowing we were soon to return to cold, rainy UK.

Walked back up the Reforma to see the rest of the alibrijes and continued our walk to the Popular Art museum – a longer walk than we thought!  So glad we finally made it here though, as its probably my favourite museum that I have visited in Mexico, folk art, creativity and historic artefacts, right up my street.  Too tired to walk any more, we got an Uber back the short distance to our hotel.

That evening, we went back to Café Bizarro in Roma district.  It was a lot quieter than Friday night and for some reason they seemed to have run out of practically everything on the drinks menu, but the music was great and it was perfect to spend our last evening in our favourite place in CDMX.

Photos part 1 – Reforma, Chapultepec park and many alibrijes https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-06-Chapultepec-Reforma-and-Popular-Art-Museum

Part 2: Popular Art museum and Café Bizarro https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-06-Sun-part-2-Popular-Art-Museum-Cafe-Bizarro/

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 Day 10 Tuesday (1st November)

Aztompa cemetery, a grave covered in flowers and candles

At just after 5am, we were picked up by Tanya and Ralph of Go Well Tours to take us to Aztompa cemetery.  We’d spoken online about my experience last time, that I felt uncomfortable being there at night with the coachloads of tourists, many of whom paid little respect to where they were, and Tanya suggested it would be better to go there for the sunrise, so here we were!

We got there just as sun was breaking, so got to experience this beautiful place, memorials adorned with massive candles in the dusk and then in more detail as it got lighter.  Many local residents had completed their vigils and were leaving for the day, and those who still remained had evidently been at the mezcal all night.  It was friendly and jovial, and a lovely way to experience this beautiful cemetery.

Tanya had prepared breakfast, and we sat on the steps at the cemetery entrance with our delicious morning picnic.  We then got back into the van to continue uphill to Aztompa archaeological site.  Not as complete or as well known as the neighbouring Monte Alban, it benefited however in the lack of visitors and stunning views of the hills around and Oaxaca below.  It truly was a special experience.

We were dropped back to our hotels, Rob and I saying our goodbyes to Tanya and Ralph, talking about whether we will be back a third time.  We spent a couple of hours at the hotel, Rob snoozing on one of the pool loungers and me going for a swim.

For the evening, we knew the main comparsa was going from Jalatlalco that evening but it turned out to be later than I thought, so instead, Rob and I popped to Jalatlalco for a late lunch at La Terraza del Copal and then a wander around the pretty streets, stopping for icecream of course.  We returned to our hotel early evening to apply some Dia De Muertos face make up.   As the hairdresser next to our hotel wasn’t doing make-up this year and I was slightly overwhelmed by all the options in town, I had instead bought all the makeup at market the day before and now had to work out how to apply it.

Headed into town to meet with Doreen and Kevin, Doreen was getting her face done by one of the street artists.  Once again a tad confused by the comparsa routes – one of our epic fails this time round was missing most of the ad-hoc parades we loved so much last time – we decided to go the safe option of heading to the Plaza de la Danza to watch the performance and then follow them when dancers and giant statues set off to parade.  This worked at least, we got a fantastic view and it was great to see, even if it was one of the big, organised events.  We followed the parade to the Zocalo, where the crowds got too much and we set off our respective ways to our hotels, with Rob and I deciding on a late night cocktail at Gozobi first.  Not such a great experience this time, as the service was pretty terrible when the place was more crowded.

Photos Aztompa https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-01-Aztompa-Jalatlalco-Plaza-de-la-Danza

Jalatlalco and Plaza de la Danza https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-01-Tues-part-2-Jalatlalco-Plaza-de-la-Danza

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 Day 5 Thursday. 
Catrinas at Los Dazantes restaurant

There were two ways to get to Oaxaca (three if you count the night bus) – a winding, 8 hour bus ride over the mountains, nicknamed the Vomit Comet, or a more expensive but nippier 30 minute flight in a 12 seater Cessna.  We went for the latter and I was quite excited about this!

After going through the usual airport security palaver (I didn’t realise there was an issue carrying liquids on board a flight like this but it turns out, yes, airport security didn’t like it), we boarded the cute little plane and I was thrilled to get the front row.  The flight was way smoother than I expected and the views absolutely stunning, it was well worth doing.

We got to our hotel mid-morning, Casa de la Tia Tere, and unlike last time we stayed here, they asked us to come back at check-in time agreeing to hold our luggage in the meanwhile.  We headed into Oaxaca for brunch, returning to Café Nuevo Mundo, where we had our very first Mexican breakfast last time.  The food was still good, although Rob’s steak burrito had changed and now consisted of ground steak mixed in with the eggs.  Rob was also starting to feel a little delicate in the stomach, from what we suspect was our lunch on the beach the day before.

After brunch we took a wander around Oaxaca, stopping off at Espacio Zapata to look at the fantastic political and mural art, purchasing a print whilst we were there, through a little market on Plazuela Del Carmen Alto to get icecream from the Icecream Museum on the Alcala.  Our first, of many, tuna icecreams!  Stopped at the Organic Harvest food market for a drink and then back to the hotel.  We were still too early to check in, but they let us sit by the pool until our room was ready.   Eventually we were able to check in and I was thrilled to have a room that opened right onto the swimming pool!  My stomach was also starting to play up a tad by now, so we concluded this was definitely from our day on the beach.

We had however booked a table at a nice restaurant for that night, Tierra del Sol, so hoped we would be OK for that.  After a swim and freshen up, we headed back into town to see if we could catch the Magna Comparsa (parade) before our restaurant booking. Unfortunately the route had changed from last time and although we picked a decent spot, the parade hadn’t reached that far before we had to leave.

Tierra del Sol was lovely. A rooftop location next to the beautiful Santo Domingo church, specialising in moles.  I had duck with pipian mole (pumpkin seeds, nuts, coriander and various other ingredients including I assume chocolate).  The mole was absolutely divine but the duck was very tough, or it may have been the blunt knife!  After dinner we had a bit of a wander up and down the alcala and over to Plaza de la Danza where we caught the end of a concert. Rob was feeling a bit rough, so we decided to call it a night.

Photos https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/10-27-Cessna-Flight-and-Oaxaca

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And I bought yet more fabric, this is the last purchase, honest!

Couldn't resist when i saw this on Ebay though - Ghostie Camouflage fabric!!  not sure what i'm going to make from it but bought a fair bit, as sods law it would disappear forever otherwise. 

Last night I made a start on converting my only pair of trousers into a skirt!  I hate taking apart perfectly good new clothes but no point keeping them as is, if I'm just not going to wear them.  It was painful making that first start with the stitch unpicker though.

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