A country close to my heart after living and working there for over three years, Mexico is a joy to behold; a melting pot of history, culture, colours, people, traditions, floral and fauna. I love a UNESCO World Heritage site. Mexico boasts 34. Whatever floats your boat (see a trip to Xochimilco below), there is something for everyone.
Where to start with this fascinating nation? Firstly, its size. It’s a HUGE country; hard to comprehend really. It’s around eight times bigger than UK. The metropolitan district of its capital, Mexico City (known as Mexico or DF to the locals) houses over 21 million people.
I lived in DF, but got to see a lot of the country as my responsibilities were heavily focused on the coastal regions where most of the UK tourists head. I stopped counting at 73 flights during my time there. I highly recommend so many places along the Mexican coastline, both on the Pacific and Caribbean sides. Some of my favourites are Tulum, Akumal, Puerto Escondido and Huatulco, but really there are so many. Mexico is so much more than wonderful sandy beaches. I’m going to highlight some of my favourite places which don’t involve a beach.
Let’s start in the capital – hustle, bustle, general craziness, unmissable is how I’d describe it. The city has so much to offer, it really draws you in. The traffic is hellish. It’s really hard to ensure you are where you need to be at any given time as it will always depend on the traffic. I’ve arrived hours late travelling journeys that at other times have taken me 30 minutes. So always try to be flexible on your plans and bear snarly traffic in mind.
Mexicans love a good time, so much of life is centred around eating, drinking and general merriment. What’s not to love? I can’t count the number of live events I went to. Mexicans love football, visit the Azteca which hosted the 1970 & 1986 World Cup finals and where the infamous Maradona “hand of God” goal was scored.
Next on the list is music. There’s so much to choose from. The Mexicans particularly love British bands and usually know every single lyric to every song. I recall seeing The Cure who really weren’t in their hayday at the time. I’ve never seen so many Robert Smith lookalikes; Mexican men with backcombed hair, black eyeliner and smudged red lipstick. It was amazing! We got an invite backstage of a pretty intimate Kaiser Chiefs’ gig. “Yes I’m from Leeds, yes I can sort you a passport” formed part of the conversation I had with one of the band members! Travis, Keane, Lily Allen, Razorlight to name but a few in the same small venue. But I digress. Don’t miss a night at the lucha libre (it’s not for the faint hearted!), Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera homages across the city, see a mariachi band, the stunning Palacio de Bellas Artes museum, a visit to Teotihuacan to see the sun and moon pyramids, a colourful gondola ride on the famous canals Xochimilco. You could even take your life into your own hands and jump in a VW Beetle taxi with the front passenger seat removed so you can get in and out! I did it just once for the experience!
Top tip: partake in Mexico’s finest invention, tequila! Forget the imitations served in cheap bars across Europe and the US, try a Don Julio Reposado. You won’t look back And street food is some of the finest in the world. So tuck in!
Want to see something extraordinary? Travel around 50 miles to the northwest of Mexico City to witness a natural phenomena. Each year millions of monarch butterflies escape cold North American winters to nestle amongst the fir trees of central Mexico. I’d heard much about the phenomenon and visited the biosphere reserve with my visiting parents. I’d been told it was an incredible experience, but was completely unprepared for what we witnessed. I can’t put the experience into words. It’s a must see for anyone spending any significant amount of time in Mexico. The migration takes eight months in total, where reportedly five consecutive generations are born and die. It can be viewed in Mexico between October and March. There are just three sanctuaries in the State of Mexico and three in Michoacan which are open to visitors. It’s one of my best Mexican memories.
The Copper Canyon is a spectacular destination in a lesser visited region of Mexico. Located in the Sierra Madre Occidental mountain range in the northwest, it’s four times larger than the Grand Canyon and in parts 1 mile deep. It’s incredible. I travelled through it on El Chepe, one of the few passenger trains in the country. Onboard you get unique views of the landscape, you can eat, drink, listen to the band (there’s a pattern forming!). There are ten stations along the route with an excellent hop on/hop off ticket. We made several stops staying in traditional family run “pousadas” to soak up traditions and culture along the way. I confess to missing a fair bit of the landscape on one journey due to having soaked up far too much of what was on offer…..! No regrets.
Top tips: get involved with all that’s on offer on your stops. Immerse yourself in the local culture. We went wild horse riding. I mean, I couldn’t walk properly for a few days afterwards, it was rustic (to say the least!), in part pretty horrifying, but we loved it all the same and it’s still talked about years later.
I’m going to stop here as I could go on and on. Writing this has made me think I should look into going back to visit “Mi querido Mexico”. I highly recommend you check it out. Let me know in the comments if you’d like other recommendations or more info on anywhere I’ve mentioned.
