JL

Mexico Travel Diary (I)

May 6, 2018
Written by: Jenny

Mexico Travel Diary (I)

Getting to Mexico was not as easy as I thought. I was supposed to fly over New York but since there were really bad snow storms no planes could land there and they had to move me to another flight – a direct flight to Mexico City. First, I was glad about that but then I got there and I had to switch flights including checking in my backpack again and the fun started because it was the first time in my life that I was at an airport where no one spoke English and no one really cared about me or my bag getting to Léon in time. Yes, Mexicans are really chilled. So luckily there was that guy that ensured that my bag was sent to Léon and accompanied me to the plane – ten minutes before it was supposed to leave. My friend picked me up from the airport holding a giant balloon that said ‘Welcome’ on it and we were both really happy to see each other again so I forgot about my trouble in Mexico City fast. 
 
It took us about two hours to get to La Piedad, where she lives and since it was late night already we just went to bed but not before eating my first real Mexican street tacos and to wake up for a super yummy breakfast the next morning. We made Chilaquiles and fresh orange juice, after we went to the center of the little town that was typically Mexican. Small streets with garlands hanging in them and a beautiful giant church. They told me it was the fifth highest church in the world which was really surprising for me since it was just a little unknown town in Mexico but the church was really beautiful also from inside. Walking through the streets we were drinking a cold Kalua because it was around 30 degrees Celsius. I bought a card for my phone for only 100 pesos (4,35€) and the internet lasted for the whole time that I was in Mexico! This was the first time I realized how cheap things in Mexico are. The 300€ I changed into 6.900 pesos when I was back in Germany lasted for the whole trip – and I was buying a lot of food and other things.
 
My friend took me to a waterfall which was about five minutes outside of town and we got to chill there for a while having an awesome view. After I got some delicious Quesadillas from a food truck we went to a friend’s house for a pool party. I left Germany when it was snowing so I really enjoyed the heat – even at night it didn’t really cool down much.
The next morning our little road trip finally started and I was so excited about it! Together with three other girls we went to Guanajuato passing beautiful Tequlia breweries, fields of Agarve, palm trees and cactuses, cow herds with shepherds and sheep dogs (sometimes just passing the highway) and people selling strawberries right on the highway which is really dangerous because Mexicans drive like crazy and really fast. The cars I saw on the highway and also the one we were driving reminded me of the United States of America – but one car surprised me. They call it bocho but for me it’s a VW Käfer and I was surprised to see so many of them everywhere in Mexico because this is how I imagined Cuba’s cars would look like.
 
The first wildfire we passed got me really scared but it was not the only one and I was supposed to see waaay bigger ones but more of that later. The wildfires are as normal to the Mexicans as the trash that’s laying around literally everywhere. Sometimes it’s just a few plastic bags but it can also be huge piles of plastic bottles or old tires and that shocked me because I never saw something like that before. Another thing that shocked me was the air, especially in Mexico City when I landed because it is really dirty and everything that’s far away always seems a little bit blurred so it’s always kinda foggy in Mexico.
 
After about two hours we made it to Guanajuato and the colorful houses everywhere looked just amazing! We had to make our way through the tiny little streets to get to Casa Pastita (which means as much as house of noodles) where we stayed for the night. The car was so big that there were only a few centimeters left on both sides when we were driving up the hill to the house. Right after we arrived a little bus came to pick us up for a tour we booked in advance. 

The driver told us about a flood that destroyed the city once which I couldn’t really imagine since there was no water in sight. He showed us a former castle on the way to a small market place where we got dropped off and where I bought corn on a stick – of course with cream and cheese around it, typical Mexican. Before we went inside a museum about former death penalties that the Spanish people used when they came to Mexico we went inside a tiny store where they told us about minerals and the meaning of different types of stones. At that point I didn’t know that we were standing on top of a mine but then we went down there which meant a looot of steps. A former mine worker told us his story and everything about finding gold and silver in the mines and how to get it out. When the Spanish came to Mexico they used the Chichimecas (the Indios) as slaves to work in the mines. His mum was also Chichimeca which he was really proud of. Back upstairs we had a Michelada (beer with tomato juice or salsa in a giant cup) and a tour through a Mexican candy shop where we got to taste all kinds of candies, salsas and liquors. Then we went inside a church on top of a hill that was also made by the Spanish. The decoration inside of it was made of the gold they found in the mines which looked really pretty. 

The bus took us all the way through the city passing houses in all kind of colors on top of a hill where the statue called Pipila was standing. He is there to protect the city and is a symbol of the freedom movement. From up there we got a nice view over the whole city and the mountains around it. We decided to walk back down to the center to have some Quesadillas while we were waiting for our Colombian friend to join us at the Callejoneada which is a tour through the center where you’re in a group of people following a traditional band that leads you through the streets. After that we went to have some drinks at a Skyy bar on a rooftop.

Check out my Photo Gallery for more pictures of Mexico and other beautiful spots.

Read Part II of my Mexico Travel Diary.

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