Since we came back from our trip in Brazil and the Caribbean Islands last December 2023, this is the first time this year that we are traveling to a foreign country.
And here we are south of the border where we will be celebrating our 45th wedding anniversary!
Mexico City is the capital of Mexico (officially the United Mexican States)and is located at an altitude of 7,350 feet above sea level. It is the largest city in Mexico and the most populous in North America. The population of this dense city varies from 8 to 10 million people depending on who you ask and what source you use but nevertheless, it is a very crowded ciudad and traffic is terrible! Reminds of Manila. Piece of advice – take Uber when in this crowded city as it is far cheaper than a taxi.
The first order of the day was to visit the Basilica of Santa Maria de Guadalupe. It was not crowded as we thought it would be. The annual number of pilgrims visiting the place is about 20 million people of which 9 million do so around December 12 the day on which Our Lady of Guadalupe is celebrated.
We next visited the Frida Kahlo Museum located about 15 miles from the Basilica. We took a cab which took us almost an hour due to the heavy traffic on a Friday, as a result we paid around $65 for the fare!
Frida Kahlo and husband Diego Rivera, also a famous Mexican painter. Kahlo was a Mexican painter known for her many self-portraits and works inspired by the nature and artifacts of Mexico. The museum used to be the residence of Kahlo and Rivera but donated the house and most of its artistic contents to the Mexican people.
The following morning, we went on a guided Walking Tour covering mostly the historic part of the city. There were three other couples with us, all from California! We learned so much about the Meso-American region comprising central and southern Mexico, all of Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador and parts of Honduras, Nicaragua and Costa Rica. These parts are where the pre-Columbian Aztecs and Mayans lived more than 3,000 years ago. We never knew how rich and interesting their culture was!
The next day, we joined a guided tour of the Museum of Anthropology. Another educational and interesting tour! While the walking tour of the historic part of the city enlightened us about the history of Meso-America and showed us a few of the ongoing excavations and the interiors of the vast cathedrals, the tour of the Museum of Anthropology exposed us to the actual relics – potteries, skeletons, statues, etc. So much information was shared with us – both visual and audio – that it was overwhelming!
That night, I was able to make a reservation in a fancy restaurant – La Taverna de la Chanclas – a couple of blocks from our hotel. This is where we celebrated our 45th anniversary. We saw photos on the wall showing dignitaries, celebrities, including Bill Clinton that have dined in the restaurant. We truly enjoyed the Spanish cuisine – padron peppers and blood sausage for starters; grilled octopus for me and mixed seafood platter for Trini. We chose a local wine over the Spanish Rioja wine and we did not regret it!
The highlight of our trip is our private tour of the pre-Hispanic city of Teotihuacan (which means “the place where the gods were created“). We were amazed at the construction of the pyramids by an ancient culture! While there were a lot of walking involved it was well worth it having experienced and actually set foot at these “holy” places. We were impressed with the Temple of Quetzalcoatl and the pyramids of the Sun and the Moon.
After walking and going up and down the steep stairs of the pyramids, we stopped by for lunch to replenish and invigorate ourselves! We were entertained by a Mariachi duo and by two local ladies in Aztec costumes.
While we were coming back from one of our explorations of the neighborhood, we came across a long line of people on the sidewalk. I asked the Uber driver to drop us off so we could try their street food. I stood in line while Trini viewed the menu, we decided to try the costillas de res tacos and it was delicioso y sabroso! We sat on the sidewalk planter with the locals and ate the spicy tacos with our hands – no utensils! And it only cost us 60 Mexican pesos (about $3.20).
Tomorrow is our last full day and we plan on going back to the historic part of the city to eat lunch in the popular Azul Historico Restaurant where I want to taste Mole Negro and Manchamanteles!
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