Mexico City - Cancun - Dec 19-30, 2010

Introduction

Another year goes by and another adventure starts. To end off 2010 with a "bang", we were vacationing in "dangerous" Mexico where gun shots and explosions were not unexpected as reported in the latest news.

This time however, we were not there simply to sip piña colada and lie on the beach. Instead, we would be venturing to the exciting and hectic streets of Mexico City. On the way, we would also experience the influential history of the US with an 8-hour lay over in Washington DC. This was a whole new environment for the Nguyens with endless history and rich culture.

We would still get a chance to relax in Cancun in this mix of adventure and relaxation at the end of the trip. Hopefully, this trip will go down in our memories as the perfect balance of fun.

December 19, 2010 - On the Way

After months of waiting for another adventurous trip, we were all excited to start our trip to Mexico.

On the way to Mexico City, we would be taking an excursion in Washington D.C. to see the National Mall. We took the dreaded United Airlines and in only over an hour we were in the heart of America.

In Washington DC, a taxi driver drove us to the Mall and we were met with many monuments and buildings of American history. Most notable that we visited was the Washington Monument, the Lincoln Memorial, the Vietnam War Veterans Memorial, the Korean War Veterans Memorial, the World War II Memorial, the Capitol Building and the White House. These pieces of history were very beautiful and offered amazing photo opportunities without requiring a full trip to Washington. However, the winter chill and wind broke us down and we could not force ourselves to see anything else.

After the very efficient whirlwind tour of monumental Washington D.C., we had to return to the Dulles airport for our flight to Mexico City. We boarded another United Airlines flight and it seemed excruciatingly long for a simple 5 hour flight. We finally, reached our destination, grabbed our luggage and cautiously left the airport. Keeping our eyes open for kidnappers, we took an airport taxi (15 $US) to the Hilton Reforma in Centro Historico.

It was late at night by the time we got there, but there was a lot of excitement from across the Hilton, as there was a carnival at Alameda Park. We checked into the grand hotel and looked forward to exploring this exciting city the next day.

December 20, 2010 : Zocalo and Turibus

Today we awoke ready to explore this massive city.

Mexico City was founded by the ancient Aztec civilization until the Spaniards colonized and assimilated the ancient city in the 1500s. Since then, the city has developed greatly and has become one of the most populated cities in the world, home to over 20 million people.

To start this day off we had a decent and free Hilton buffet complete with breakfast quesadillas. After freshening up, we set off on the grand city. We were greeted by a slight chill in the atmosphere because of the season and Mexico City’s high altitude.

Our first destination was to tour around Centro Historico, an area with many historical colonial buildings. The area was right outside the Hilton so we started walking around.

We walked by the large monument for President Benito Juárez, who was a Zapotec Indian from Oaxaca and served five terms as president of Mexico. He resisted the French occupation and modernized the country.

We then stopped by the magnificent marble Palacio de Bellas Artes with its gleaming gold roof. This palace now serves as an opera house and concert hall; we dropped by and bought tickets to a local show called Ballet Folklorica de Mexico (500 pesos each). However, during the Christmas week, the performance would be held at the Chapultepec castle.

We reached the heart of Historic Mexico, the Zócalo, and the main square of Mexico City. The square was extremely large and crowded as thousands of Christmas vacationers enjoyed the many Christmas themed activities such as skating and sledding on fake snow and ice. The hustle and bustle of the countless tourists was somewhat distressing as we could not enjoy the vastness of the square. We noticed the heavy presence of the police at every street corner in Mexico city.

Right on the side of the square was the National Palace; however, it was closed to the public as it was a Monday. Instead we stopped by the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary of Mexico City, the oldest church in the Americas, built atop the ancient sacred Aztec grounds. The church was rather underwhelming with its age showing. We tried visiting the Templo Mayor, the ruins of the important Aztec temples, but like the National Palace, it was closed. All museums in Mexico City are closed on Mondays.

To spend the rest of our afternoon, we sought to take a Turibus Tour (125 pesos/person), a hop on/hop off tour of Mexico City with English audio guide. The tour was interesting, took us along the famous Paseo de la Reforma to see such attractions as El Ángel de la Independencia, the Statue of Cuauhtémoc and the Statue of Christopher Columbus. The bus tour was rather long passing by the different neighbourhoods in Mexico city such as Polanco, Zona Rosa, Condesa and we were on the top deck with the sun beating down on us.

After a couple hours on the open bus we were extremely drained and really wished to get off, so we got off at El Ángel de la Independencia. From there we took a red and gold taxi to grab lunch. We drove to a small local taco stand (El Huequito, Ayuntamiento 21) for the best tacos al pastor and really enjoyed the delicious local flavour of the small delicacies.

From the stand, we walked back to the Hilton to finally rest. On the way to the hotel we decided to stop by the Alameda Park to see what the excitement was. However, it was rather dull only with rows and rows of vendors selling cheap tourist stuff.

We returned to the hotel and we spent a couple hours lounging in our room until it was evening. The Hilton had provided us with breakfast and dinner at the hotel every day (included in the room rate), so we ate at the Hilton’s restaurant. The food was decent with a wide selection of American and Mexican food. The restaurant provided a safe back up for food and ensured a decent meal every day.

We were thinking about venturing back to Zocalo for a night stroll to see the Christmas lights, but decided to stay in due to fatigue and fear of the dark. We eventually dozed off in the comfort of our safe room.

December 21, 2010 - Xochimilco and Coyoacan

After a good night sleep, we awoke the next day anxious to head out. We ate a quick buffet breakfast and were soon ready.

We set off and headed to the Hidalgo subway station which is located only 3 minute walk from the Hilton. To my surprise, a motorcyclist crashed right in front of me, narrowly hitting Alex and me. After that exciting incident (the motorcyclist was okay) we reached the station and bought tickets (3 pesos/ticket) to our first attraction. The subway was clean and not too crowded as it was past rush hours.

We took Line 2 to Tasquena station (it's the last stop), then took the "El Tren Ligero" (2pesos/ticket) to Xochimilco. We got off at the La Noria station and walked to the Dolores Olmedo Mansion - a house once belonged to a rich woman who was a girlfriend of the world renowned Mexican artist Diego Rivera.

The mansion is now a museum containing many works of art by Diego and his wife Frida Kahlo and also a large collection of pre-Hispanic figurines and sculptures. The gallery of art were very intriguing and reflective of Diego’s style. A separate room is dedicated to the sunset paintings that Diego painted while staying at the Acapulco vacation estate of Ms Olmedo. Unfortunately, Frida’s artworks were not available for viewing.

On the way out we noticed the unique, but ugly Mexican Hairless Dogs. The mansion's grounds and gardens were beautifully groomed with wandering peacocks.

We left the mansion and boarded the light rail train again to continue to Xochimilco. Xochimilco is a Unesco World Heritage site and is most known for its canals remained from the ancient lake of Xochimilco. We followed the “Embarcaderos” sign and had to walk a long distance from the station until we finally reached the docks. We should have taken a taxi to get to the docks.

We decided we wanted a short tour on a river boat to enjoy the atmosphere. After trying to search for cheaper prices but the boat men did not budge, we made a deal for a private trajinera for 400 pesos for one hour. As we boarded the boat and peacefully rowed on, we saw other colourful boats filled with locals laughing, singing and enjoying their own personal mariachi band. Eventually it was time to dock and we left the boat.

We took the light rail back the Tasquena station and took a taxi (70 pesos) to Coyoacán. We were dropped off at the Plaza Hidalgo (Hidalgo Square) and Jardín Centenario. The plazas were filled with tourists, street artists, restaurants and the San Juan Bautista historic church. We were hungry for lunch, and after being side tracked in many directions to locate the recommended Los Danzantes which was totally full, we had a mediocre Italian lunch next door.

Running out of time after lunch, we took a taxi to the soon closing Frida Kahlo’s Blue House, her old house that is presently a museum. The house also had various works of art and photographs of her and Diego’s life. Luckily, Mom and I watched the movie Frida prior to the trip and had a basic idea about her life. This made the museum much more interesting than it would normally be and we were impressed by the similarity between the real Frida and Salma Hayek.

Eventually, time passed and it was time to go home for dinner. We took an uneventful taxi ride (150 pesos) and returned safely to our Hilton. After resting a bit, we went down for dinner for another delicious free meal. We didn’t go out again because of our exhaustion and easily went to sleep.

Today was a very tiring day as we spent a lot of time on the metro getting to Xochimilco which is 28 km south of Mexico city and then ambitiously tried to cover Coyoacan as well. It would have been more enjoyable if we did not have to rush around and should have visited only one neighbourhood per day.

December 22, 2010 - Teotihuacan Pyramids

Our next day exploring Mexico would bring us to relics of indigenous civilizations.

We booked a private tour to the pyramids with Royal Cars and Tours (total $170 for 4 people, admission and lunch are not included). A young tour guide named Darinka and a driver with his minivan picked us up at the hotel for the trip to the Pyramids in Teotihuacan which is located about 1 hour north of Mexico City.

Our first destination was the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe. The huge Basilica, is a holy Catholic site, as in 1531, the Virgin Mary appeared to an indigenous man, giving him the famed Our Lady of Guadalupe icon embedded on his cloak. The church commemorates this miracle and countless Catholic pilgrims travel to this site to pay respect. The area was very crowded with many groups of Mexicans from other parts of the country visiting and many of them were nicely dressed in colourful traditional clothes.

To start off we visited the old basilica which was obviously sinking because it was built on the site of an old lake. Outside the old church there was a large statue of Pope John Paul II who visited Mexico five times during his reign.

Then we headed to the new basilica. This basilica was very modern and built in 1974 with huge space to accommodate the large number of pilgrims. The church housed the cloak of the miracle and it looks well preserved. We also took a few minutes to say our prayers in the holy church. Outside the church, it was touching to observe many people crawling on their knees all the way to the church to pay respects.

After the Basilica, we left and headed off to Teotihuacán, a giant archaeology site containing the remains of an ancient civilization. Its origins are a mystery but it is believed that the ancient Toltec people resided here.

When we got there the sun was at its peak and the ruins were met with great interest. Given time alone, we explored the complex and climbed the large and famous Pyramid of the Sun. The pyramid was beautifully constructed, however the steps were steep, but the view was worth it. After 2 hours of exploring we met up with the tour guide at the Pyramid of the Moon in which we were much too tired to climb. Even after viewing the impressive site with our own eyes, the ancient civilization still seemed incredible and mysterious to us. After some explanation of theorized lifestyle and disappearance of this civilization by the guide we headed off to lunch.

We were taken to a touristy restaurant with a mariachi band circling and decent food. After the meal, we were treated a special tour by the craft store next door. It was an interesting lecture about Maguey plants, tequila making, obsidian stone crafting and blanket weaving. There was no pressure to buy their products and in addition we received shots of tequila (even me) to learn about real Mexican alcohol. After our long day, we returned to the hotel ready to rest.

After dinner, we decided to walk to Zocalo again to enjoy the Christmas lights and celebrations. The streets were extremely crowded, packed with couples and families. The square itself was very lively and brightly lit with a multitude of vendors.

We quickly got tired but still dropped into the House of Tiles to view the magnificent mansion. The Sanborn’s restaurant inside the House of Tiles was still packed with people having dinner. We took in the last the excitable vibe and returned to the hotel, ready for sleep after this busy day.

December 23, 2010 - Chapultepec Castle, Museum of Anthropology

To start off this day, we had the same old Hilton buffet breakfast.

First we returned to the Zocalo to see the National Palace, an important government and historical building which was occupied by the rulers of Mexico since the Aztec empire. We went through security and in no time we were in the grand palace. In the palace, we were directed to watch a short film summarizing Mexico’s development, history and geography. After seeing the beautifully done film evident of Mexican national pride, we were free to move on our own.

The most notable aspect of the building is the gigantic mural painted by the one and only Diego Rivera. This amazing piece of art, brilliantly illustrates the history of Mexico from the Conquest time to the battles for independence from Spain and from French and American invasions, to the modern days of mid 20th century reflecting Diego’s communist view.

After the mural we entered the museum which is very informative about the history of Mexico, but regretfully we had to rush through because we were low on time.

Next stop on our itinerary was Chapultepec Park. We could not find a taxi even though there were dozens of them passing by but they were all occupied, so instead we rode the subway to the park.

In the park, we decided to see the Chapultepec Castle, a great castle, in which the Emperor Maximilian had resided. The castle was an extravagant home, that Mom wished she had, but did not have to clean. It offered a spectacular view of the city and lake.

After touring the magnificent royal residence, we found our way out towards the esteemed Museum of Anthropology. This museum offered a wide variety of priceless exhibits about the ancient civilizations of Mexico such as Aztec, Toltec, and Mayan.

I am grateful that I was able to see these amazing artefacts and relics of extinct civilizations that many could only see on the Discovery Channel or in National Geographic Magazines, items that I never thought I’d see in person such as the famous Aztec calendar recently targeted for 2012 disaster stories. However, some parts of the exhibits were actually reconstructed from the real site such as the Temple of the Feathered Serpent at the Teotihuacan site.

We had limited time to fully enjoy the very large and rich museum so we could only glimpse through many exhibits. When we left, Alex and I went first and were lucky to see the Flying Men, a great performance in which performers were dangled from their feet from strings swinging dangerously around a large pole. Unfortunately, Mom missed the opportunity because she spent all her time in the gift shop.

We took a taxi home to prepare for the upcoming Ballet Folklorica de Mexico show tonight. We ate the usual free dinner and got ready to enjoy a cold outdoor dance performance. The hotel limousine delivered us back at Chapultepec Castle just in time for the show after a 15 minute drive for 160 pesos. When we arrived, we were lucky enough to get 4 nice front row seats. The stage was set outdoor with the beautiful Castle in the background.

The show was Christmas themed and also demonstrated many Mexican dances. The costumes were beautiful and the music was exceptional. The dancing was vibrant and lively and all in all, it was a well done and entertaining show. After the show, we were spirited with the Christmas atmosphere and music but nervously left the dark and isolated park and found our way to the entrance. We hailed a gold and brown taxi and again had a nice driver who took us safely home for only 50 pesos.

We were totally exhausted from this very full day.

December 24, 2010 - Farewell to Mexico City

Today we would be leaving Mexico City for Cancun late in the afternoon for four days of rest and relaxation. We quickly grabbed breakfast and set off. Dad unfortunately was feeling ill to join us so he stayed behind.

We first dropped by Diego Rivera’s museum located at Alameda Park across from the Hilton. Once again we saw more of Diego’s artwork, such as the spectacular mural titled "A Dream of a Sunday Afternoon at Alameda Park" - a humongous visual timeline of Mexico’s history illustrated in Alameda Park.

After the museum, we went to the Plaza de La Ciudadela, an arts and craft market nearby (Ayuntamiento & Balderas). It was surprisingly void of tourists because it was Christmas Eve. The market was filled with rows and rows of little stands selling all kind of local crafts, jewelry, clothes, pottery, etc.... We bought our usual amount of cheap souvenirs for ourselves and friends.

Following our shopping trip, we stopped by El Cuadrilatero ( Luis Moya 73), a restaurant owned by a retired Luchadore and observed many wrestler masks and memorabilia of the famed Lucha Libre sport. We planned to go to a match at the Coliseo Arena but there was nothing scheduled during the Christmas week.

To finish off Mexico City, Mom insisted we visit its Chinatown. What we met was in my opinion, the worst Chinatown I have ever seen. There was only a modest alleyway decorated with red lanterns (symbols for fake Chinese food restaurants) and lined with a few sad looking Chinese restaurants. It was a poor sight, in which we only need 5 minutes to see and had no regrets that we didn’t dine there.

We walked back to the hotel, packed up and rode a hotel limo in heavy traffic to the airport. We boarded the Volaris flight for Cancun and said our farewells to this great city rich with history and culture.

We were in Cancun within 2 hours and the weather was noticeably warmer. We checked in at the Westin Lagunamar Resort and received a suite complete with a kitchen, washer and dryer. The view was beautiful and internet was free.

December 25-28, 2010: Cancun

For the next four days we had a stress free stay with nonstop relaxation.

The resort was promising with a giant pool and a beautiful beach. However, the potential for fun was ruined by the weather. For the first day, it was somewhat sunny and it looked like a perfect day to go on the beach. Unfortunately, the beach had no chairs left and Alex felt sick so we spent only a limited time in the pool. The following days were all cloudy, cold, very windy and miserable. The blowing sand and cold wind made it difficult to enjoy the beach.

Since we could not spend much time swimming, we instead went shopping. Exiting out of the resort, we see the complete lack of true Mexican culture in the whole area. There are mostly American stores selling American name brand products at expensive prices.

In the end, I found Cancun to be a disappointment. The cold weather ruined the relaxation in the sun and the American culture is not appealing to me in a foreign country.

December 29-30, 2010 - Back to Toronto

With our last day in Mexico, we were ready to return home. We planned to take our Delta Airlines flight quickly and painlessly connecting once in Atlanta.

However, our flight to Atlanta was delayed for a couple of hours and we were put on a later connecting flight in Atlanta. The flight home from Atlanta, turned out badly. To our surprise, Mom’s ticket was a standby ticket given to her in Cancun and she did not realize it. To make a long story short, we ended not boarding the flight as there weren’t any seats available due to Delta’s rude and incompetent gate agents. They barely gave us reparations with a hotel room, $6 each for dinner and toiletries. We sulkily took a shuttle to Best Western in which we continuously complained.

After intense drama, we actually went to sleep ready for our flight home the next morning. We woke up really early for the flight. This time there were no problems and thankfully we didn’t lose any luggage in the process. After our extremely distressing trip home that took more than 24 hours, we were relieved to return to our cold but comforting home.

Conclusion

Mexico was a different experience than most of the trips we have been on. It was our first real venture into Latin America in which we actually learned the culture free from the protection of a resort.

It was a very captivating trip, as Mexico has a very rich history filled with excitement and struggles. I am glad I had the opportunity to personally live the culture by seeing the people and the relics of ancient and colonial Mexico.

The resort portion was underwhelming however and pales in comparison to the adventure of Mexico City. The conclusion to the trip was ruined by Delta Airlines; however, they did give us additional reparations in the form of air miles.

Luckily, such inconveniences cannot spoil the wonderful memories of this great trip and will not deter us from embarking on the next adventure in a near future. We made Mom promise not to take any more connecting flights to the US.