Mexico.
As an American, we hear a lot about Mexico in the news since it is so close.
As a Minnesotan, most of my fellow residents take a trip there in the early months of the year to escape the freezing temperatures.
A history of misses in Mexico
My first visit to Mexico was when I was quite young, sometime in the 90s. My grandparents lived in McAllen, Texas, a border town almost as far south as you can go in Texas. When we went to visit, one of our days was spent driving to Mexico so my grandparents could pick up a few things. I don’t remember where we went, but I am assuming it was probably just to Reynosa and back.
My next visit to Mexico was for our honeymoon in 2009. We were just out of college, trying to survive the financial crisis, and we found a ridiculous deal (one we could actually afford) for an all-inclusive resort in Puerto Vallarta. We spent our days on the beach, only interrupting our relaxing when we went to the burger shack for a snack. (Ben and I still talk about those burgers. I wonder if they would still be as delicious as we thought they were?) While we left the resort once for a zip-lining adventure, within the boundaries of the resort were where we spent most of our time.
Both of those experiences were great, but not how we typically travel, so in all honesty, Mexico wasn’t really on my radar.
You could say I was being a travel snob, and you would probably be right. But going to a resort just isn’t something that I long for and in my mind, that was what Mexico had to offer.
Holy smokes, I was totally wrong.
Why Mexico City?
In recent years more and more travel bloggers have been spending time in Mexico and as much as I delved deep into their stories when I was dreaming about travel I started seeing stories about Mexico and automatically skipped that content. I am sure a combination of the news we receive in the U.S. and my preconceived resort ideas caused my subconscious bias for our neighboring country.
But, that started to change over the last year. Ben has always been drawn to travel locations because of the food, and as more and more documentaries (The Taco Chronicles, Salt Fat Acid Heat) and travel shows (Somebody Feed Phil) visited Mexico City, he was adamant that he wanted to go.
One other place that he was insistent on visiting based on food was Vietnam, and as possibly our very favorite country (it is so hard to choose!) he doesn’t ever let me forget how well that turned out.
So, we decided to book tickets for the long President’s Day weekend (which also happened to land on Valentine’s Day weekend) and were off.
Safety in Mexico City
Now, having lived in America for most of my life, I am familiar with the news that we see about Mexico. The violence, the drugs, the cartels, the border issues. However, as someone who spent nearly two years on the road, and who has visited 35 countries, I am also aware that a majority of the time the news is reporting on newsworthy things which unfortunately are often bad things. I also know a majority of people are kind and just trying to live their lives. The news makes places seem scary, but often, visiting those places isn’t scary at all.
That is not to say you shouldn’t be mindful when you are in big cities. But the fear of visiting a city shouldn’t prevent you from going.
Here are a few things we do when traveling
- Don’t wear flashy jewelry – When I travel, I often leave my wedding and engagement rings at home. I don’t wear any other jewelry, so it is easy for me to not have anything else on.
- Don’t wear flashy clothing or accessories – We aren’t necessarily name-brand people so this one comes pretty easily for us. We usually pack jeans, pants, shirts, etc. that don’t have any writing. I also typically don’t bring a purse. This obviously won’t work for everyone, but I have a little wristlet that I bought in Cambodia that is big enough to fit our passports, credit/debit cards, cash, tissues and/or baby wipes, my cellphone, chapstick, and my anti-nausea smelling stick. I always keep the wristlet around my wrist and then carry the bigger part in my hand or under my arm.
- Put your wallet in your front pocket – Ben has always put his wallet in his front pocket, but it is also a good way to make pickpocketing more difficult.
- Do your research – We always do a bunch of research before we travel somewhere. Everywhere is different and that means certain things will make you stick out in some places. Obviously, in most of Asia, Ben and I stuck out no matter what we did or how we acted – blonde hair and both Ben and I being around six-feet-tall give or take a few inches, will do that. But, we try to be as respectful as possible and blend in as best we can. If you are in a conservative country, dress conservatively, even if that isn’t how you would normally dress. If you are in a very poor country, maybe don’t always have your cell phone out, and only use it if necessary.
- Be aware of your surroundings – I think we picked this up after living in Chicago, but we don’t ever walk anywhere with headphones in or while mindlessly scrolling on our phones. While we are out and about, we are looking and listening and as aware of what is happening around us as we can be.
- Trust your gut – Ultimately, anything can happen anywhere, but if something doesn’t feel right, then leave. There is probably a reason it doesn’t feel right.
*The list above is not exhaustive and it also isn’t meant to make you scared. Consider it a list of things to think of when you are packing or taking your next trip.
We lived in Chicago for years and I still frequently hear “Chicago is so dangerous,” and “How could you ever live there,” and “Did you feel safe?” Honestly, we loved our time in Chicago and we miss it. Yes, there are neighborhoods where violence is prevalent and it is truly awful. But those neighborhoods aren’t going to be the areas you will visit as a tourist.
We got a lot of the same questions around safety when we told family and friends we were planning a trip to Mexico City.
People told us about armed guards at hotels and asked us questions about the cartels.
In fact, even the woman from Iowa who was sitting next to us on the plane from Minneapolis to Mexico City was surprised that we were staying in Mexico City and weren’t connecting to Cancun or another beach town.
She looked at me and said in full volume “Is it even…” then dropped her voice and whispered as she looked down, “safe to travel there?”
We had done research, and so I said yes, of course. But I have to admit, all of the people asking about safety and telling me stories that they had heard second- or third-hand was making me a bit uncomfortable.
And then we arrived in CDMX, which is the acronym for Ciudad de Mexico, or Mexico City, and I felt totally at ease.
Travel Snobbery
For years I have been stumbling to find the words to describe my love of travel; especially in developing countries, and particularly in Asia. There is something almost innate that occurs when I am in a place that I connect with and I struggle to describe it.
The best I can do is say that I feel at peace while simultaneously feeling more alive than ever before. It’s as if my life turns into a Monet painting, with relaxed and blurred lines but vibrant colors. It is a sense of living that I strive for and am addicted too, and, I naively thought, could only find in Asia.
I love the feeling of not knowing what is going on, not because it doesn’t make sense, but because I am a foreigner to it.
This doesn’t happen to me when I travel in most of Western Europe or in places like Australia or New Zealand, so I thought that I had to be in the East in order to feel this sense of life being flipped on its head and organized chaos drawing me in.
Turns out, I just have to go to Mexico City. This is especially convenient because there are inexpensive direct four-hour flights from Minneapolis to Mexico City, and we don’t even change time zones. It is a much shorter flight than a trip to Asia.
CDMX Love
It turns out that the qualities that I love, that make me feel so alive, run rampant in Mexico City. The ones I can put a name to include delicious food. Kind people. Beautiful architecture. Crazy markets. A cacophony of traffic horns, street vendors shouting, cars on bad roads, people laughing, people living. Chaotic traffic, which at the same time, makes sense. Smells, both good and bad. And the feeling of a city that is just so alive.
I have been missing that, aching for it really, and this long weekend in Mexico City was exactly what the doctor ordered.
Our Mexico City Highlights
We landed mid-afternoon on a Thursday and flew out on Monday morning so we had three full days and a bit more to explore Mexico City. It wasn’t enough, but it certainly gave us a taste and we will be back. In addition to wandering around Centro Historico where we stayed, we visited markets, ate our weight in delicious food, and became seriously infatuated with the city. Here are some of the highlights:
Food tour
Food tours are a terrific way to dive into a new place and they are one thing that we try to do in every country we visit. So far, we have done a lot of food tours, but this was one of the best we have ever been on. You might think it was because we were in a neighborhood of Mexico City that boasts the highest concentration of taquerias in the city, but that was only an added bonus.
The real reason we loved this food tour so much, was because it taught us about more than just food. We walked away full and feeling like we got a real-life look at what life in Mexico City is like. We got to experience a real cantina (we need to start these in the U.S.), we got to compare different tacos and learn about why they were each special to the people of Mexico, and we got to do a Mezcal tasting with a passionate chef who couldn’t help but excite everyone with his knowledge. It is an absolute must-do if you are in CDMX.
Xochimilco
Did you know that there is a neighborhood of Mexico City filled with floating gardens and canals? Well, we spent an afternoon on a trajinera, one of the colorful boats that float around these canals eating and drinking with a group of people surrounded by chinampas, the artificial islands that make up this region. We learned about the well-known Island of the Dolls, heard a disturbing folktale about a woman named La Llorona, and were joined by a mariachi band. Typically the weekends are the busiest times for Xochimilco, so our Friday float was pretty tame, but there were still vendors floating by selling food, drinks, and flowers.
Lucha Libre
As someone who grew up watching WWF (now WWE) since we only had five television channels and there wasn’t much else on Sunday mornings, when I realized we could watch Lucha Libre in Mexico City I made the executive decision to add it to our itinerary. It was truly awful but in an entertaining way. The theatrics that always accompanies this type of wrestling was in full swing, but not always executed very well. However, it was an enjoyable Friday night, and we ate some delicious tacos outside the arena.
Frida Kahlo Museum
I knew of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera before we traveled to Mexico City, but I can’t say I was ever as excited about her as some people I know. But, I wanted to go to her house and learn more, and I am so glad we did. Her bright blue house in the Coyoacán neighborhood of Mexico City has been turned into a museum and is truly remarkable. Our audio-guide told us the stories of her difficult but significant life and it was impressive to stand in the places where she created such important art.
Teotihuacan
Our last day in Mexico City was spent visiting the ancient city of Teotihuacan, just outside of the city. The name, which roughly translates to “city of the gods” or “where humans become gods,” was home to a predicted 200,000 from 150 a.d. to 600 a.d. It is known best for its three large pyramids, the Pyramid of the Sun, the Pyramid of the Moon, and the Temple of Quetzalcoatl (also known as the feathered serpent) which are all connected by the Avenue of the Dead. It was unbelievable, and we were fortunate to have a guide who spends his weeks working as an archeologist at Teotihuacan and his weekends sharing his passion for this site, to answer all my questions.
It was the perfect trip. Ben and I were able to do all of the things we love most and came back to Minnesota earlier this week recharged and giddy. We’re already planning a return visit for next year.
Have you been to Mexico City? Do you have any questions? Leave them in the comments and we will be in touch. Happy travels!
