Winter Trips—Mexico City
The year’s big winter trip was to Mexico City, a first for us. Our base was right in the middle of the city. Having relatives living in Mexico City was a boon for us—almost every morning, we were picked up, right in front of our hotel, and whisked off to the day’s adventures. What a treat and absolute privilege it is to have locals as guides, who speak the language and know their way around the region! We were very fortunate.
Our first excursion away from Mexico City was to San Miguel de Allende, long on my bucket list of places to visit. It’s a compact town, very walkable, with stunning architecture and spectacular winter weather—70s during the day, with blue, blue skies, and 50s at night. Like most towns with ideal climates, San Miguel has beautifully landscaped parks and plazas throughout, and they are heavily used.
The pyramids at Teotihuacán, near Mexico City, are extensive. The Pyramid of the Sun was our first climb of the day. Keep in mind we were over 7000 feet in altitude before we even started climbing this thing, but we all did it fairly easily. Catching the breath at these altitudes is challenging, though!
Our second pyramid climb of the day was the Pyramid of the Moon. While a shorter climb, these steps are STEEP!! Whew!
And here is the spectacular view from the Pyramid of the Moon. That's the Pyramid of the Sun in the background. Stunning. The distance from this pyramid to the other end of this Avenue of the Dead is about 2 miles. We got a lot of walking in that day. The weather was perfect.
Our adventures continued the next day. This was our view, on the way to our next stop. Looks like Virginia's Blue Ridge Mountains, doesn't it?
Our lunch spot today, La Gruta, Our reward, after climbing the pyramids at Teotihuacán, was our lunch spot, La Gruta (“The Grotto”). See the candles burning in the background? Visitors are invited to light one, to mark their visit, which we did, of course.
We arrived at our special location late in the morning. After a quick lunch at the base of the mountain, it was time to climb up for our reward. The altitude was already high, so I opted to ride up on horseback (with a trusted guide). When we reached the top, there was still a bit of a climb up to 3500 metres, about 11,500 feet. Whoa, I felt the altitude! This is the reserve of the Mariposas Monarcas, also known as Monarch Butterflies, and this is one of five spots where they winter; this is the largest. You really have to be there, to get the full sense of the place...yes, those clumps are butterflies, and every orange object you see is a Monarch.
In the photo at below, those big, dark clumps in the background are Monarchs. And yes, every orange object you see is a butterfly.
And, finally, here is a short video to help you get a sense of this magical, spiritual place. This was on our bucket lists, and it was an experience we’ll remember the rest of our lives. (But I will admit we slept like logs that night, after our second day in a row of climbing at high altitudes, at least for us!)
The next day was a museum day in Mexico City. We went to the Frida Kahlo Museum (“Casa Azul” or the Blue House and, yes, it’s bright blue). It was excellent, and the garden is lush
and alluring. I learned a lot about Frida and her husband, Diego Rivera. We went to two beautiful churches, too, with museums attached to them.
There is a very modern and efficient double-decker freeway in Mexico City (I have to mention that the traffic there is hideous, and the drivers are daredevils. With 20 million people in Mexico City, I wouldn’t expect less. DC drivers you have no idea--really. Why there aren’t more accidents is beyond me...) Anyway, all the columns--and I mean all--along this freeway are covered on all four sides with panels that have small sacks for soil and plants, as you see here. It certainly makes the drive in all this traffic more pleasant.
Our next adventure took us to the lovely town of Puebla, about two hours from Mexico City. Puebla is a big center of ceramic and tile production and sales. In fact, I was able to select and order four custom candlesticks for my dining room, which arrived a couple of months later and match my dining room perfectly. The town is full of fountains and multitudes of stunning churches, also.
Puebla has a beautiful vista at every turn...
When we returned to Mexico City, we made a night visit to the Basilica of Guadalupe, a must-see stop. Ah, Guadalupe (“La Lupita” to Mexicans)...she is visible at every turn as you journey through Mexico...she is the patroness and protectress of the Mexican people (and we certainly benefitted from her protection while there). The Basilica complex is massive, with two old churches and a larger, modern church, or Iglesia in Spanish. The Basilica sits at the end of the Paseo de la Reforma, which is the main drag through Mexico City, a stately boulevard marked with statues and memorials along its length. At the other end of Reforma, perched on a hill, is a castle.
Many Mexicans, even in the bigger cities, still shop the old way, going from vender to vender for their food needs. Supermarkets exist, but not to the extent they do in the U.S. The vast majority of the food we ate in Mexico was fresh, without preservatives or hormones. The restaurants all serve scrumptious food, yet many people walk up to the hundreds (thousands?) of food venders lining the sidewalks. It’s common to see people standing and eating a quick lunch, during the workday. Like Italians, Mexicans seem to prefer their own cuisine to any other food. Why waver, when the food is so good? Here, you see bulk staples.
The church interiors take away the breath. As in Italy, the presence of priceless art in EVERY church blows my mind. Even in the smallest village church, there is museum-quality art, something that is just not seen in the U.S. The interior of this church is simple, in comparison to most others we entered. Not a religious person, I still feel the pull to enter as I pass any beautiful church. I am always rewarded.
And parks and plazas abound…
One of the delightful aspects of Mexico is the combination of very modern conveniences and the continuation of many old traditions. Here, for example, is the neighborhood knife sharpener. How nice it would be to have this at home!
Bright and early on our last day in Mexico City, our beautiful and brilliant hostess and tour guide took us to the Castillo de Chapultepec (and thank goodness it was early, because the line was what seemed a mile long when we were leaving). If you remember, this castle sits at the opposite end of Reforma from the Basilica of Guadalupe. The castle housed many of Mexico’s rulers until the mid-1930s, when it became an outstanding museum. Since the castle is on a high hill, the views are vast.
Our last evening was spent with our dear Mexican family at a very intimate Cuban dance club called La Botega. We ate, drank, laughed and danced until the wee hours, and there were tears, too, as none of us wanted to say goodbye. They welcomed us with love and open arms, and gave us their time and undivided attention. Despite language barriers, we all made it work, through patience and understanding--and we all learned a great deal. We shared about our different cultures, customs, food, and histories. And laughter really is the universal language. We only hope to reciprocate someday, though it will be hard to repay them and top their warm hospitality!
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