Viva la Mexico!

Warning: This is a long post. I needed to document our travel and vacation. Feel free to just look at the pictures.

Click here for the full photo album

Our trip this year was filled with everything from rest and relaxtion, to riots and racket! After our Cancun trip last Thanksgiving, we were bumped from our return flight and got to stay an extra two days along with receiving 5 round-trip tickets to Mexico during the next year. Our intent was to return to Cancun again since we had such a good time. What we didn't realize is that "free" doesn't always mean free. We were still responsible for paying the taxes on the fares and the ticket class was restricted with very few flights having 5 seats available. We tried every conceivable way to get back to Cancun at Thanksgiving, but we were forced because of the ticket availability to take whatever we could get. It ended up for the good in the end. We booked the only flights we could get for the week of UEA (to limit the time the kids were away from school). The only location we could book was Ixtapa and it required us to 1) fly out of Las Vegas and 2) stay overnight in Mexico City on both ends of the trip. We took advantage of the stay in Mexico City and took the opportunity to see some of the historical sites around there.

We drove to Vegas the night before and stayed overnight at the Excalibur Hotel then flew out the following morning. Our first stay in Mexico City was very brief. We arrived in the evening and went straight to the hotel. It was near the airport, but the neighborhoods around it weren't the best and so we stayed in the hotel and didn't venture out. We left for Ixtapa early the next morning and arrived about 10 am at our Hotel, the Melia Azul Ixtapa. The room had an ocean view with a balcony overlooking the Pacific Ocean.

The view from our hotel balcony

The hotel was all-inclusive, meaning all of the food, drinks, entertainment and activities were included in the room price. We took full advantage of the virgin pina coladas available, but had to make sure they understood they were "sin alcohol". We also sampled a few other virgin drinks, but always came back to our favorite pina colada. The hotel had 3 main pools, a kids pool, and the ocean. We mostly just stayed on the beach enjoying the warm water (at least 80+ degrees). The air was very humid and warm (almost oppressive), so staying in the ocean or pool water was a necessity.

We also took advantage of the free activities. Daniel and Sara went on a bike tour through some of the jungle areas, and another morning, all of us went sea kayaking to the island just off shore and went snorkeling. It wasn't great snorkeling conditions (the water was a bit cloudy), but it was still fun to try. The guide caught a porcupine fish, a balloon fish, a lobster and a sea spider for us to hold. It was a lot of fun. Sara caught the eye of the activity director and he made sure that she was well taken care of (even inviting her to ride in his sea kayak). After returning to the resort, he invited her to go on a sailing trip later that afternoon. Despite my hesitations, she wanted to go, so I sat on the beach watching them with my 70X zoom video camera.

Metropolitan Cathedral on the Zocalo from our hotel room

We stayed three full days at the resort, and then flew back to Mexico City where our tour guides met us at the airport. We dropped our luggage off at the hotel (located right on the Zocalo--the main public/national square). I chose the hotel because of its central location, its history (300 yrs old), and because of the view of the Zocalo and activities there. That turned out to be a blessing and a curse!

Basilica de Guadalupe

Pyramids at Teotihuacan

We spent the first day touring the Basilica de Guadalupe and Teotihuacan. Before climbing the pyramids, our guides, who specialize in Mexican culture and gastronomy, took us to an authentic Mexican restaurant were we had a variety of tacos, soups, meats, etc. We had lamb tacos, chicken & beef tacos, mole' and "worm" tacos. The worms were small slugs fried with onions, and were eaten on a tortilla with cactus and guacamole. It sounded worse than it really was. All of us tried a worm except Sara.

Worm Taco: Guacamole, cactus, beans, onions and worms

Teotihuacan was fascinating to me. I was amazed at how large the pyramid of the Sun and the Moon were. We climbed to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, but were only able to climb up half way on the Pyramid of the Moon. I wish there were some reliable source to understand what the purpose of the buildings really were and how the city functioned. Still it was interesting to see the details and decoration that are still preserved in some areas.

Restaurant at Garibaldi Square (Check out the Mariachi player with the great toupe!)

After climbing the pyramids, we got back in the car to return to the City. As we drove on the freeway, traffic started slowing and suddenly all of the cars, busses, delivery trucks, etc. started turning around and driving in the opposite direction on the same side of the freeway (toward the oncoming traffic). Apparently, a demonstration of taxi drivers protesting regulation of taxi rates was blocking the freeway and nobody wanted to be stuck in traffic. We also drove the wrong way on the freeway until we got to an exit and went through some of the side neighborhoods until we were able to get back to the freeway. We arrived at Garibaldi Plaza and went to one of the restaurants where some of the famous Mariachi players visited. We were serenaded a few times (after giving some pesos for each song).

Then the fun really started. Every year on October 2nd, there is a protest/demonstration commemorating the Tlateloco Massacre in 1968 prior to the Mexico City Olympic Games. Apparently, according to government records, 30 people were killed. Unofficial reports place the number at several hundred to over one thousand. The annual demonstration is to demand that the government come clean and admit to the massacre. Over the years, its gotten more violent and has lost some of its original meaning and now is just a way to take out frustration on the government and (for the most part) American businesses.

It became clear that because of the demonstrations and the barricaded roads through the downtown, it would be impossible for our guides to drive us back to the hotel. We decided we would walk the approximately 1/2 mile. As we walked down the street, we started seeing some disturbing signs: people were running down the street holding their hands over their mouths and eyes. The breeze would occasionally stir up a fresh dose of tear gas that caused our eyes to start watering and our throats burn. Apparently, the march had preceded us down the street and the police had used tear gas to control the demonstration. We saw broken windows where looting had taken place. Generally, there was a very tense feeling in the air (and I don't think it was just us trying not to look American). Our guide was a bit uneasy, so she decided to take us across the street and into the Palacio de Bella Artes and we hid out in there for a short time. We started out on the plaza and there were protesters coming toward down a couple of the streets. We tried to blend into some planter areas away from the direct path of the marchers. Eventually they all passed, and we were able to cross the street and hang out in the Sanborns Department Store for about 45 min. By then, the action had mostly subsided and we were able to continue our walk back to the hotel. From our fourth floor window, we could watch the continuing demonstration on the Zocalo that went until late in the evening. About 11 pm, the demonstration broke up and we finally felt relief that we could go to sleep. But the the Aztec drums started and they continued dancing for another hour or so. The kids did fairly well given the circumstances, but were a bit shocked by the events and being caught in the middle of it.

This is a YouTube video of some of the events. We walked right past the store that was looted, and you can see the Palacio de Belle Artes where we hid out for a short time. From what we saw, I think we passed through the area about 30 minutes after some of this video was shot. We certainly weren't in the middle of the demonstration, but probably too close for our comfort!

The second day was much calmer. There was a distinctly different and lighter feeling in the air than the night before! We toured many of the buildings in the area around the Zocalo including the Metropolitan Cathedral, National Palace and the Templo Mayor (an original Aztec temple that was discovered about 30 years when they were installing some utilities in the street. They've since torn down a block of buildings and excavated the site since its the primary Aztec temple from the early 1500's. It was fascinating to the juxtaposition of Aztec buildings right next to the more modern city buildings.

After touring the Historic Center, we went to the Xochimilco District--the Venice of Mexico City. The original Aztec City was built in the middle of a Lake and they built artificial islands in the lake to grow their crops. Some of the islands and canals still exist today, and they have colorful boats that float up and down. People rent a boat and driver, and have picnics on the canals while other vendors float up and down selling food, flowers, and souvenirs, etc. Mariachi Bands float by and will serenade you for a fee.

Before going on the boats, we visited the local market and got a feel for the local culture. We ordered our quesadillas, sampled chilis, ate fried crickets, Mexican candies, and watched fresh tortillas being made. We took our food and went to canal/boat launch where we ate our picnic lunch.

Xochimilco Boats

Our boat

Eating our quesadillas on the boat

Finally, we returned to the City and went to the Anthropology Museum where we saw the Aztec Calendar Stone, Aztec and Mayan artifacts, and an Olmec stone head. We could have spent hours there, but our time was limited and we just saw a brief overview.

Kids in front of the Aztec Calendar Stone at the Anthropology Museum

We returned to our hotel, and after almost a week of too much authentic food, the kids wanted something normal, so we found a Pizza Hut a couple of blocks away and ordered a Pizza Hawaiiana. From our hotel room, we watched a Christian Revival Rock Concert on the Zocalo. The music was extremely loud and it went very late. It was after 11 pm when the crowds and music finally started dying down. (I wanted to sneak out and spread the word that the Holy Ghost goes to bed at 10 pm).

We got up early the next morning and flew back to Las Vegas, then drove home. It was a long and tiring day, but it was a great week. We saw a lot of things and had a great time. Viva la Mexico!