vampyresheep

 Day 12 Thursday

Checked out of our lovely Oaxaca hotel and got a taxi to the airport to fly back to CDMX.  I was a bit worried about this flight, having heard so many bad things about Viva Aerobus, but we had no problems at all.  The only uncomfortable part was a very crowded departures area at the airport and some ill mannered tourists who decided that queues didn’t apply to them.

At CDMX airport, we got a taxi straight away no problem (another thing I was worried about after seeing reports of long queues on Trip Advisor).  A friendly guy who was very apologetic about all the traffic and road closures, however its CDMX, what did we expect!  We got to our hotel on Republica de Uruguay sooner than expected.  We were staying at the City Centro Ciudad de Mexico, and it was absolutely beautiful.  A gothic exterior with a stylised modern gothic interior, complete with an old fashioned lift.  Staff were top notch too and we were taken to our room to show how everything worked. First stop had to be to check out the rooftop pool and bar.  Unfortunately the pool was way too small to swim in but fun to pose for some pics with the striking view of the Torre Latino-americana in the background.

We had decided to splash out for our first night and booked a table at the terrace restaurant at the Grand Hotel Ciudad de Mexico (aka the one in the Bond film!).  Stupid me didn’t consider that we wouldn’t see the beautiful stained glass ceiling at night, doh!  However the view of the zocalo from the balcony more than made up for it.  A bit disappointed to see the cathedral all covered in scaffolding, however at night it took on a wonderfully ghostly air.

The food was good, but not as great as one would expect for the price – we were paying for the view.  I had a delicious tortilla soup to start, followed by the squid ink seafood pasta (OK but a little tough) and a baked Alaska that was set alight at the table for dessert.  A tad disappointed to have missed the margarita menu for drinks, but we were hurried into ordering drinks before I’d even downloaded the menu – please restaurants, bring back real menus, doing it on the phone is so faffy!

After our meal, we walked back to the hotel, which was a little eerie now the streets were dark and empty. Not sure I’d made the right choice to stay in the centro, but it would be convenient for the day and I absolutely loved our hotel.

Photos from the day https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-03-Thurs-from-Oaxaca-to-CDMX-Zocalo

 Day 10 Tuesday (1^st November)

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

 Day 3 Tuesday

Today we were off to see crocodiles and I had pre-booked a tour with Robert’s Ecotours.  It was an early start, so we popped to the local OXXO for some snacks for breakfast and ate them in the sunrise on the beach.  And then waited for our car ….. and waited….. after 30 minutes I tried calling, with the help of our hotel reception and eventually got a very flustered and apologetic Robert on the line.  Despite having confirmed our tour the day before, he somehow forgot about it.  Around 10 minutes later he turned up and kept us company until the driver arrived.  A bit frustrating but these things happen and it got resolved in the end.

Our first stop was Laguna Ventanilla.  We were taken by boat to the reserve on the island, with our driver translating for the guide and pointing out wildlife on the way.  Happy to spot a few crocs in the water and some iguanas relaxing on trees by the waterside, along with various beautiful birds.

On the island we were taken around the enclosures – some for safety to keep a barrier between us and the crocodiles, and some for various rescue animals that were also being looked after on the island.  The island is an eco-tourism centre managed by the local community to manage the ecology and provide an income.  We had lunch on the island, a tasty quesadilla and a big glass of cucumber water, before getting back onto the boats and to the van to our next destination.  Our driver took us on a tour of some of the Huatulco bays, Mazunte, Zipolite (the famous nudist beach) before ending at Playa Panteon where we got a couple of hours to spend on the beach.  The tour did actually mention a couple of other stops (mezcal and coffee tasting) which didn’t happen – maybe because of the delayed start – but this was no issue to us as I was eager to get into the sea!  There was a notable difference in tourism at the Huatulco bays, more hassle from traders to buy stuff, so I am glad we made the decision to stay in Puerto Escondido as it felt less commercialized. 

The bay was a beautiful place to swim, despite it being more built up, architecturally and with a similar undertow but more sheltered, so as long as I was wary getting in and out of the water, it felt a safe place to swim, whilst Rob sat at our table with his accidentally ordered michelada (that I had to drink for him!)

Overall, it did feel a bit of a package tour and not something I would usually do, but it was a good way to easily get to La Ventanilla and see a bit more of the coast.  We were fortunate that we were the only people booked on the tour, so it did feel like a private trip.

When we got back to the hotel, we went for dinner to Sabor a Mar, after liking the look of the meals when we drank there on our first day.  It was a beautiful spot to dine in the sunset and I had a very tasty spicy prawn pasta dish. It must have been close to closing time though, as they did seem very keen for us to leave and we didn’t get a chance for dessert.   Instead we grabbed a taxi to Adoquin for the night market.  Not much to write home about, very sparse, consisting mainly of tables set up by the shops that lined the street, selling tourist ware.  First stop was icecream of course – Rob lucked out with a delicious chocolate ice, I went for something strange (I should have learned from last time!).  After around 10 minutes it started to rain, first a light shower and then it just got worse.  There were no bars we fancied going to along this strip, they all looked a tad sleazy or were blaring out loud music, so we flagged down a taxi back to our hotel.  The rain still not stopping, we abandoned plans to go to Bruja Bar and instead had coffee and cocktails in our hotel bar/restaurant instead.

Photos from day 3 https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/10-25-Tues-La-Ventanilla-Mazunte-Playa-Panteon-/

A few months back, Cecile tipped me off about a Mexican Supper Club that was being held at Talliston House, an incredible work of art that she went to visit earlier in the year. Seemed a good enough excuse to check out this place for ourselves, whilst experiencing a feast of authentic Mexican food - something that's a bit of a challenge to find in this country, as its mostly Tex-mex - in advance of our big trip planned for later this year. (I really should do a post about that too!)


( Enter the house of wonders ..... )