For our last stop in Mexico we were back in Pátzcuaro, this time for Easter (Semana Santa – Holy Week) with more parades, markets and churches to visit. So I thought I’d include a bit of a round up on our 6 months in this country.
With all the bad press Mexico gets in the UK, drug cartels and violence or rip-off beach resorts, we were surprised to hear it raved about in housesitting circles. It was always our intention, with 6 years immersed in Spanish culture and language, to explore Latin America. We had our travel across the Atlantic sorted with sits in the USA and Canada so, we thought, why not head south through Mexico and see what it’s all about.
It was only when we started to look at a map to see where housesits were coming up in the country we realised how big it is, It’s N to S dimension exceeding that of the Untied States. When you see Mexico in films or the TV it’s depicted as desert yet over 80% is highland and most of our travels have been at over 1900m that’s more than a mile high (much higher than Ben Nevis so, for all you Scottish mountaineers, that makes every pimple here a Munro!).
The highest elevation we achieved was Cerro Pelón, 3400m, at the Monarch Butterfly sanctuary. However, we also descend to sea level at on the Yucatán Peninsula. Here’s our list:
Cerro Pelón 3400m
CDMX 2250m
Chichén Itzá 2250m
Pátzcuaro 2140m
Puebla 2135m
Guanajuato 2012m
Teotihuacan 2121m
Morelia 1920m
SMA 1900m
Coba 42m
Tulum 12m
Merida 10m
Caribbean Sea 0m
Things to know about life but in Mexico
Since the early fifteen hundreds and the efforts of Hernán Cortés the Spanish influence has gained ground throughout the land. This gave the country a lingua franca, though many indigenous languages and dialects are still spoken, and Catholicism. From the smallest village to the capital city the catholic religion seems more embedded in modern day culture than anywhere in Europe. This seems to be because they had their own miraculous appearance, in the shape of the Virgin of Guadalupe, at a critical time. This and the inclusion of many of the tribal traditions help the religion gain ground. So what does this mean to the traveller in Mexico? Bell ringing at any hour (not necessarily on the hour) of the day or night, endless festivals, parades and rockets! The Mexicans love to let of rockets – as fireworks they do little more than get airborne then go bang. I mention this here because we were told that this is how the Saints are honoured and prayers sent towards heaven. Add to this revelries that involve over amplified music you can see that any fiesta (or just the excuse of the weekend) is going to be a noisy affair
So, apart from being ready to put in earplugs what else should you be aware of?
Mexico is a poor country (the conquistadors taking most of the material wealth back to Spain) and has developed at a third world pace. Even in the cities utilities and infrastructure are basic. You can’t drink water from the tap, you don’t flush paper down the toilet and you wash any fruit and vegetables you buy before eating or cooking them. Having said this we ate and enjoyed street food everywhere we went. The only time we had a stomach upset was after having lunch at an airport restaurant!
Maize corn being the original staple crop figures somewhere in most meals: carnitas, gorditas, quesodias, tostados, tómales and of course tocos. Chilli does too but you are usually warned before eating how hot a salsa (sauce) might be but we found the crowning glory of Mexican food to be Mole, a rich dark, thick sauce that can contain over 40 different ingredients from nuts to chocolate. If you’ve tried or just seen a Mole dish on the menu of a Mexican restaurant it will be a mere introduction to the thousands of varieties you might encounter in Mexico itself.
Fresh fruit and vegetable markets are everywhere in every town – the range of ripe for eating produce is amazing, our favourites are avocados, mangoes, bananas all available for a few pence.
As I mentioned earlier the country is big but getting around is quite easy even if you don’t have a car.
Driving in Mexico, which we did experience a couple of times, is not for the faint hearted, the rules of the road have their own special interpretation so you learn to “drive like a Mexican” as we’ve heard local expats say. Drivers are generally very patient and play it fair at junctions. There are speed limits but in built-up areas this is ‘policed’ by Topes (speed bumps) which can range from a rumble strip to a foot high plateau, some lie in wait hidden in the shadows of road side trees to suddenly heave you skyward. These, and the cruel cobbled streets you find in most towns and cities, presents a particular challenge to any car’s suspension. Not surprisingly the expats’ vehicle of choice is a chunky 4wd!
However, the country is well served by buses of all shapes and sizes. I’ve already mentioned the small ‘combis’ or ‘colectivos’ that will pick you up and drop you off anywhere along the many routes about town. For longer ‘inter-city’ journeys there are bigger buses and luxury coaches. An example; on PrimeraPlus we travelled from Morelia to San Miguel de Allende nearly 200km for about £12 each on a comfy air conditioned coach, with onboard toilet, a packed lunch included and a movie to watch if you want to brush up on your Spanish!
As for flying, most big towns and cities have a nearby international airport and with 2 budget airlines crisscrossing the country daily, longer distances can be undertaken in no time at all. We used Volaris a number of times, probably the equivalent of Ryanair except they let you take on two pieces of carry-on luggage at no extra charge.
Taxis are also very reasonable though the vehicles themselves can be a bit rough, thanks to the roads. A better option is UBER, not available everywhere but it worked well for us in CDMX and the cars we definitely newer.
Well we’re heading back to Europe now via New York and a transatlantic cruise…
Leaving the Islands 