Mexico Southern Border
Mexico | Country 5 | 7 days |
My first time staying in the dorms of a hostel. Making friends with digital nomads, Aussies and citoyen du monde.
I kicked off 2020 with the assumption that everyone in Mexico eats burritos and drinks tequila. Living in California, I relished the opportunity to experience the real Mexico.
Hostel World
I stayed in a dorm and quickly made quite a few friends.
- Australians - they are everywhere!
- Digital nomad from Denver (little did I know that everyone would be working remotely very soon)
- American who wanted to relocate for a year
- Brit who is slow traveling and learning Spanish
The dorm is small, cozy, and never quiet. I quickly became friendly with a girl (Melissa) from Vancouver BC. She is a firefighter and was on her time off during the non-fire season.
Melissa and I explored CDMX for a whole day and she’d never get tired. We visited quite a few neighborhoods and took pictures of firestations (“bombero”).
Culture and vibe
Frida Kahlo’s residence seems to be particularly popular.
The capital is busy, full of traffic and hustle. I was so surprised to learn that schools had two shifts, because they couldn’t fit everyone at once.
I visited the Basilica de Guadalupe, and learned more about the Latin localized flavor of Catholicism.
I can’t find the picture but I also enjoyed visiting the birth place of the Mariachi.
Street food
Food vendors were everywhere like many Latin countries. I wish that my memory was better - the gorditas, toastados, oh my.
A German tourist said to me that Al Pastor is the same as Shawarma. I am good with any kind of spinning meat :)
Aztec and Teotihuacan
I did a day tour to the pyramids. After taking tequila shots, I couldn’t believe that I had no more energy left to climb. Regardless, I made my way up slowly.
It was fascinating to hear about the downfall of the Aztecs and to imagine what CDMX was like a few hundred years ago.
Lucha Libre
Our hostel had a group night for Lucha Libre. It was a true show of theatrics, passion and storytelling.
Volcano hiking
I went hiking to Nevado de Toluca - a city about 2 hours away.
I remember waking up at 4am to walk to the guide’s home in CDMX, watching the city wake up minute by minue and all the hustles and cleaning that happens at that hour.
I was very out of breath after a few hours of climbing and I was definitely not dressed in the right gear!
Mexico
I will definitely be back - perhaps when I am ready to hit the beaches or climb the Chichen Itza.
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