Hey, everyone! This time, I want to share with you the memories from our (with Pepe) trip to Mexico, when we visited Mexico City and Riviera Maya in just one 11-day trip. Why did we go to Mexico in the first place? Well, I always wanted to go there, but couldn’t go there alone. Luckily, I found my soulmate and partner-in-crime, who not only wanted to go with me to Mexico, but also was originally from Mexico (and what can be better than discovering the country with the local??)
We both studied in Edinburgh at that time, and when our studies were over, Pepe wanted to visit his home for 2 weeks before coming back to Edinburgh in order to pursue his career. And I… Well, I wanted to go on a remarkable trip and later go back home, to St. Petersburg, Russia.
Pepe arrived in Mexico couple of days earlier than me. I followed him after 3 days. Our plan was to see as much as possible in the capital, Mexico City, within 5 days, then relax in Riviera Maya for 5 more days, and then return to Mexico city for 1 more day. And then fly home. I won’t describe my flight to Mexico with KLM, it wasn’t that remarkable. The fun part started at the border: out of 100 passengers I was picked for detailed baggage investigation, where I had to lift my extra heavy bag, open it and answer some strange question asked by the officer, including: “how handsome is your boyfriend?” and so on. Luckily, I was able to speak some Spanish.
When I arrived at Pepe’s home, it was already time to sleep. Besides, the feeling of dizziness appeared and never left me for the next 4 days (As many of you know, Mexico city is located ca 2.4 km above the sea level) – imagine yourself on the top of the mountain!
Despite me being dizzy for the next 4 days, everything was great. We managed to go to the city centre and enjoy the view from the top of the Torre Latinoamericana (it’s a must-go in Mexico city, you can actually see, how huge the capital of Mexico is!)
We managed to try some local dishes like fried tacos for 6 pesos each (well, you can try but I must let you know, that you’ll risk your health!), and quesadillas and other dishes in upper-class restaurants. I love Mexican food, but seems that I like it a lot only outside Mexico, because Mexican food in Mexico is just so spicy and strange! You can beans and corn everywhere, and that all is so spicy! I couldn’t eat it, I was just crying! Only the salads from Nopalitos (Cactus) weren’t spicy.
However, the Margaritas in Mexico are just as amazing as abroad! I tried some in Garibaldi (that’s the place, where you must go in order to enjoy some Mariachi music).
What else did we see in Mexico Сity: well, the biggest public university (and that was a very interesting experience). La Reforma street and the Angel.
Xochimilco, including a beautiful private boat ride just for us 2.
Walking around the beautiful Coyoacan.
And, finally, going to Teotihuacan with Pepe’s family. We were so lucky to experience Teotihuacan almost empty, without the never-ending crowds of tourists, and it was very impressive! No need to describe, how great it is: I’ll just show you the photos I made there.
We didn’t see everything we wanted to see in Mexico City, of course, because there’s so much to see, but it was time to fly to Cancun. We were flying with Volaris, and it was a 2-hour flight to the airport of Cancun. From there, we took a huge shuttle to Playa del Carmen, and from there we caught a small public bus, which left us in the front of our hotel, Grand Palladium Riviera Maya.
The hotel was just awesome: we had a huge room with our personal spa bathtub. It was just 10 minutes away from the main building, and on our way there we could see all sorts of animals living in the jungle: tapirs, agoutis, tejones, raccoons and even crocodiles (these ones were inside the fence).
Riviera Maya really was like a Caribbean paradise I could ever wish for.
In order to keep being a bit busy, we decided to go to Xcaret park one day, and to some local cenotes on the other day.
I was a bit disappointed in Xcaret, since, for its price of 100+ US dollars, it could have had a bit more entertainment. What is there to do: one huge river, where you swim for 1-2 km, cameras are prohibited, 1 photo at the checkout – 30 US dollars, lol. And plenty of animals in the Zoo. And a great show portraying the History of Mexico at the end of the day. There was also a tiny overcrowded beach and some places to eat. It wasn’t that bad, but it was very overpriced for what the park offered.
To the cenotes (open caves) we went on our own: we took the public bus again and went away as we saw the “Cenote Azul” shield. This cenote really was amazing! So I would recommend it to everyone.
To summarize, I must say, that Mexico was great and I would love to come back there many many times! It has a combination of everything: interesting history, great friendly people, white sandy beaches and amazing weather. It’s also entirely possible to explore Mexico and combine Mexico City and Riviera Maya in one trip.
Should you have any questions, don’t hesitate to ask!
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