My wife Rosario and I recently took a trip to the beautiful country of México. We spent over a week in chilly Mexico City before heading to Huatulco & Puerto Escondido on the beautiful, humid coast of Oaxaca.
We experienced so much from the pyramids of Teotihuacán, the white bioluminescent plankton in the Manialtepec Lagoon, and liberating baby turtles on the shores of Playa Bococho. I didn’t take as many photos as I would have liked but below are a few snaps from our 10-day trip. I would have loved to have taken shots of the Milky Way, but we came during the less busy but more overcast season.
On our first full day, we walked through Bosque de Chapultepec, Mexico City’s largest park. In the park, there is the zoo, botanic gardens, sculptures, and even a “silent zone”. Not pictured from this day: the tasting menu from Quintonil and the famous Museo Nacional de Antropología. The anthropology museum contains extensive information about artifacts from the indigenous cultures of Mexico.
The next day we took an inexpensive bus ride to Teotihuacán. I'll let the photos speak for themselves, but there were some fit stray dogs hopping up and down the steps to the Temple of the Sun. The most impressive temple was the last one we experienced: The Temple of the Plumed Serpent. The site also featured a small museum.
At the bus station on the way back, dancers were joined by a T-Rex. When we returned to the city, a crowd surrounded a band playing Stairway to Heaven on the plaza of Museo Nacional del Arte.
The instructions we followed to get to Teotihuacán via bus to go at your own pace, can be found here.
At the bus station on the way back, dancers were joined by a T-Rex. When we returned to the city, a crowd surrounded a band playing Stairway to Heaven on the plaza of Museo Nacional del Arte.
The instructions we followed to get to Teotihuacán via bus to go at your own pace, can be found here.
I would have preferred a walking tour on our first day, but it was still enjoyable and educational. The building with the golden interior is a post office built by the controversial Mexican president Porfirio Díaz.
We were in the city center hours before Pride March and the Zócalo and many of its surrounding buildings displayed rainbow flags.
We wandered around until we stopped at Pastelería Ideal: the biggest pastelería (cake shop) I’ve ever seen. It was crowded and smelled of fresh bread. It was glorious.
A flight through lush mountains took us to the cities of Huatulco and Puerto Escondido. We snorkeled in Maguey Bay and ate food fresh from the sea hours prior. My camera isn’t waterproof, so there aren't too many shots from these days.
On our final non-travel day, we relaxed on the surfer’s beach, Playa Carrizalillo. We rented a spot for the entire day for about $10 and enjoyed the intense waves.
Later, we walked over to a turtle sanctuary on Playa Bacocho to liberate hatchlings into the ocean (mine was called Donatello). Rosario’s turtle wasn’t quite ready, so the staff returned it to the nest. In exchange, Ro helped a turtle who couldn’t wait to jump out of his protective shell. There were places offering tours for this experience, but they were expensive. Especially considering you could go to the beach and pay $5 directly to the all-volunteer conservation efforts.
This was an eye-opening trip. As much as I wanted to take photos of every moment, it was nice to soak it all in. Mexico is an exciting place. It’s important to note my pictures represent a tourists’ perspective. Many people we saw or talked to experienced life in a dramatically different way.
I wasn’t as reflective in my post from visiting Havana, but this trip confirmed to me again that severe inequality exists. It’s a daily struggle among those who have been historically exploited. While it was nice to pay low prices for food and experiences, we also have to reflect on why that is the case. If discrimination and oppression are at the root of that answer, that’s a problem. We need to look at what we can do to lift up our fellow humans, so they aren’t struggling to meet their basic needs.
Mexico has a rich history. There is a lot more we- speaking as an American- can learn about respecting and valuing the cultures that preceded the current ones. I look forward to going back to see what other mysteries this beautiful country will reveal.