vampyresheep

 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/

 Day 13 Friday

We had originally planned to take a bus out to Tepoztlan, a hill town to the south of the city known for a pyramid on the hill and being a bit spiritual, but figured we were staying in the centro so should make the most of being there instead.  As this was our second visit, we were keen not to retrace the same steps, but at the same time there are some familiar sights one has to revisit, so toady was mainly for visiting sights we missed last time

We went to Café de Tacuba for breakfast, one of the oldest restaurants in the city, with stunning décor. Breakfast was absolutely enormous, so we really shouldn’t have ordered a sweet pastry too (didn’t realise that was an additional item) but they were happy to let us take them away with us.

Strolled back towards the Zocalo, with our first stop being the Secretaria de Educacion Publico offices to see the murals.  We asked to see the murals at the door, and were ushered in, asked to leave a form of ID at their desk and then allowed to just wander around the courtyards.  The main feature are the array of murals painted by Diego Rivera, celebrating the history of Mexico.  For me, I was more blown away by the Siqueiros mural over the staircase near the entranceway.

Nearby was the elusive gothic clothes shop Horror Boutique, that we failed to find last time.  It was tucked away on the 4^th floor of a “shopping centre” with security on the door and on arrival at the shop we had to ring to be admitted.  That was a bit awkward, being followed around the shop by the owner and her assistants (all very friendly but keen to make a sale).  All the items there were hand made and absolutely lovely, but nothing I needed for this trip or could take home with me.

Went to watch the dancers perform outside Templo Mayor, yep I know its touristy, but its wonderful to watch! And as we were at the Zocalo, we crossed over to go back into the Gran Hotel to see the stained glass in daylight, absolutely stunning.

From here we headed back up Av Francisco Madera towards Bellas Artes, stopping off at the Palacio de Iturbide (Citibanamex Culture Palace).  Free to get in, the main exhibition was on Spanish renaissance art. Not usually my thing but these were very interesting, particularly a few that had speech bubbles of a kind coming from some of the characters – renaissance comic book art!

Continued our walk past the Palacio De Bellas Artes (absolutely love this place but we did visit last time) and to Alameda Park, where we just sat by one of the fountains for a while, eating our pastries from breakfast, resting our feet and watching the world go by.

We had time for one more visit, so decided to go to the Franz Mayer museum.  Not quite what I expected from the online images, as most of the exhibits were in modern galleries and the collection felt not to dissimilar to what I’d see at the V&A at home.  However we emerged out into the pretty courtyard, decorated with Catrina statues, and decided to stop here in the café for coffee and icecream.

Walked back to the hotel, stopping off at a little crafts market nearby and then up to the rooftop bar for a drink.  As soon as our drinks arrived, the skies got darker and a massive storm broke out!  The few of us left in the bar huddled together in the one bit of shelter in the centre, screaming when a massive clap of thunder happened right above us!

For the evening, we got a taxi to my favourite horror bar, Café Bizarro in the Roma district. It was busy but we managed to get a table, and spent the evening there eating and drinking.  Their Bizzareada cocktail is to die for – beer blended with fresh fruit and ice.

 

Photos: Café Tacuba and SEP https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-04-Fri-pt-1-Cafe-Tacuba-Public-Education-Office-murals

Around the zocalo and Palacio de Iturbide https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-04-Fri-pt2-zocalo-Citibanamex-Culture-Palace

Alameda, Franz Mayer museum and Café Bizarro https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-04-Fri-Zocalo-to-Alameda-park-sightseeing

 Day 11 Wednesday (2nd October)

Our last day in Oaxaca.  Where had the week gone?  I wasn’t ready to leave and head to smoggy, busy CDMX just yet.  We made the best of our last day though

Started at Santo Domingo where I asked tourist information for how to get to the Xochimilco aqueduct, he also gave me a *tip about going to Jalatlalco in the evening for a comparsa.

We had a look around the artisan market that had now been set up at the end of the Alcala, managing yet more shopping.  (Christmas presents!) and continued up hill to Xochimilco, passing street after street of beautiful murals, skeleton decorations and colourful houses.  This district is so pretty its not real!  The giant aqueduct was a fascinating structure at the end of our walk and then we stopped at a nearby café with pretty roof terrace for lunch – Café El Empedrado.  I had my first enchilada of the holiday, after much enchilada disappointment last time, but this was the enchilada suiza to beat them all! Tasty spiced chicken wrapped in tortillas, covered in a creamy, spicy sauce and lots of cheese on top – food porn for sure.

On the way back we stopped at Xochimilco cemetery (on the advice of the tourist info guy) and this was an interesting place to visit, although we didn’t feel as comfortable here compared to other cemeteries we’d visited, like uninvited guests to a party.  We didn’t stay long and paid our respects to the locals we passed by, then headed back into town.

Dropped shopping at our hotel, had a brief rest and final swim, then headed back to the Panteon General in time for sunset.  This was so different to Friday, packed full of local residents (and visitors like us I’m sure), with a full party atmosphere.  Graves were decorated, candles lit with singers and musicians performing at so many family gatherings.  It was good to go back to see this spot a second time.

Following the tourist information advice, we strolled over to Jalatlalco for a comparsa.  It was a bit of a creepy walk down a dark street, making us wonder if we’d made the right decision, but soon reached the familiar murals and lively atmosphere of the barrio.  *it turns out that the tourist information guy was wrong, and there was no comparsa here, but the streets were full of life and it was good to rest our feet and people watch for a while.

Headed back into town and over to Plaza de la Danza for the final drone “spectacular”.  We stopped at the adjacent Plaza de las Nieves for a final icecream sundae first and then to the main square for the drone show.  This was a great way to finish our final evening in Oaxaca.  Well, not quite finish, it was still early and I fancied a cocktail, however every bar we passed going back to the hotel was full and not letting anyone else in.  We eventually ended up back at Santo Domingo, and chanced the rather posh looking La Rueca, as we could see they had a roof terrace.  It was a bit posh but the lady at reception asked if we minded sitting at the bar, and took us there, where we had attentive service directly from the bar man.  It was a perfect way to finish our time in Oaxaca, with a great Mexican take on an Irish coffee.

 

Xochimilco photos https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-02-Weds-Xochimilco

Evening photos https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/11-02-Weds-eve-Panteon-General-Jalatlalco-drones

 Day 9 Monday (31^st October)

Shopping day!  Well it wasn’t planned as such, but we strolled down toward the 20 Noviembre Market, planning to first go to the Textile Museum – which we somehow walked right past, thanks to Google maps being wrong.  Instead, we got a bit carried away shopping in the 20 Noviembre Market, followed by the Artesenal Market.  Not sure where the time went but it sure disappeared, and we headed back up the Alcala to look for a late lunch stop – even outside of peak hours we couldn’t get into Los Dazantes, so we carried on up the hill to El Escapulario, a down-to-earth homely restaurant.  Unfortunately they didn’t take credit cards and we’d spent most of our spare cash in the market, so we did confuse them with our bizarre mix of side dishes and starters, shared to ensure we had enough to pay for it.

In the evening, we went up to the Panteon General, open for the first time since the pandemic.  On reflection it was a tad too early for the Dia de Muertos liveliness, but it was a beautiful and contemplative way to spend a couple of hours, seeing families start to decorate their graves and the few with candles just about lighting up the pathways.  Headed back into town after supper at one of the stalls outside the cemetery, and wandered a bit before an early night as we had a very early start the next day.

Day time photos https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/10-31-Mon-Oaxaca-wandering

Evening photos: https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/10-31-Mon-eve-Panteon-General

 Day 7 Saturday

Another early start, as we met up with Tanya and Ralph from Go Well tours for a trip to Santiago Apoala.  Although we’ve only met once before, we’ve had a bit of communication online during the pandemic and we were warmly greeted as old friends.  It should have been a 2.5 drive to Apoala, but that didn’t factor in the road closures, so the final journey was more like 3.5 hours.  “No hay paso” became a very familiar term but it was fascinating to experience the rough country roads – if they could actually be called a road – and no idea how Ralph managed to get us there!

On arrival, we took a walk down many, many steps, through a beautiful ravine with the sound of the waterfall getting ever closer.  The first drop of the fall was a bit of a perilous clamber to get to but it was worth the peril.  A beautiful fall, dropping into an azure blue pool, with a way to swim into a little cave behind the waterfall.  The water was damn cold, and Rob was hesitant but determined to reprise a “Last of the Mohicans” moment, he braved it into the water and joined us in the cave.

There was another plunge pool a bit further down, so we clambered over the perilous rocky path, still in our swimming gear, where we got to have another swim.  Absolutely heavenly!  We also had the added bonus of an adorable little dog who followed us down to the pool and back up again.  After our swim, we headed back to the car, where we were taken to a nearby picnic spot at the entrance to the ravine. A beautiful peaceful spot, where we were accompanied by a couple more friendly dogs, and we tucked into a delicious picnic salad prepared by Tanya.

The journey back was less problematic, having been advised of a short cut – in exchange for a Squash which Tanya purchased from a passing lady as thanks for the directions – and we were dropped off back at our hotel looking forward to meeting with them again in a couple of days.

 

Spent the evening wandering around town, where I managed to buy myself a crazy big floral crown with a glittery skull – didn’t consider how I would fit that into my luggage later!

Photos: https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/10-29-Apoala-trip

 Day 5 Thursday. 

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

 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-/

 Not posted on here since, ahem, an international pandemic halted all travel.  I did still travel, within the UK, once it was allowed, and should have updated this blog with those trip reports but strange times and lack of motivation.  However my 2020 trip to Mexico finally went ahead in October/November this year, so here's what we got up to.

Arrival and Day 1 - Sunday

After a long (11 hour!) flight from the UK, we arrived at CDMX Benito Juarez airport around 9pm.  Pretty much flew through security and with no luggage to pick up, we made it to our overnight hotel in 30 minutes of landing.  We stayed at Camino Real Aeropuerto, and although we were too tired to use any of the airport’s facilities, we were impressed with what we saw, our room was lovely and comfortable and I highly recommend for anyone needing a stopover at the airport.

Sunday morning we were up early and on the shuttle to Terminal 2 for our flight to Puerto Escondido.  All went well with the flight and it was easy to get a taxi to our hotel.  We stayed at Hotel Santa Fe and it is an absolute charm of a hotel!  Yes it is showing its age in places, and I wasn’t expecting the layout to be quite so open (the reception being a kiosk just within the entrance gates and rooms are all accessible from the outside.  It felt like a mini Portmeirion, relocated to sunnier climes.  They let us check in early, and after a quick explore of the grounds – spotting the iguana next to the pool was a thrill – we went for brunch at their restaurant.  We just missed the breakfast menu, so had a lovely small lunch of veggie tostadas, whilst looking out over the stunning Zicatela beach.

Too tired to do much on the first day (and this was supposed to be the relaxing part of our trip after all), in the afternoon we just took a stroll on Zicatela beach, with the plan to get some photos of us looking crazily out of place as goths on the beach.   I knew the sea at Zicatela was dangerous, so I had no intention of going for a paddle, however the sea had other ideas and a sudden creeping bit of the tide caught me mid photo and I got absolutely soaked!  I thought I was well away from the read of the water, having stood and watched the tide for a while but the sea is to be respected, particularly the powerful Pacific Ocean.

This was a perfect excuse to dry out on a sun lounger with a Michelada at the conveniently adjacent Sabor a Mar beach bar and restaurant.   It was pretty hot weather for us pasty Brits, so we went back to the hotel for a swim in the pool to cool down and spent the rest of the afternoon relaxing poolside. Early evening we took a walk along Zicatela to check out all the quirky bars, street art and sculptures.   The beach and promenade became quite busy as the evening drew in, in contrast to how quiet we felt it was for a Sunday afternoon.

Stayed on the beach for the sunset and noting that a rainstorm was about to erupt, we took shelter in Bar Esmeralda, where once you purchased a drink, you had unlimited access to a pool table.  The drinks weren’t great (limited range of beers and over-sweet cocktails) but the staff were absolutely lovely and the atmosphere was great.

Once the rain stopped, we headed to Cayuco for dinner. Expecting it to be busy, we were the only diners there and although our meals were absolutely delicious, the menu was a tad limited and atmosphere slightly lacking.  Not the fault of the staff, just due to lack of anyone else being there.

We didn’t expect it to be so oppressively hot and humid in the evening, so once we had eaten, we were glad to get back to our air conditioned room for the first night.

Day 1 photos https://vampyresheep.smugmug.com/Holidays/2022-Mexico/10-23-CDMX-Sun-to-Puerto-Escondido-