We have been in Mexico for almost 9 weeks and leave for Guatemala tomorrow morning. We have seen many different parts of the country, West coast Central, South coast and East coast but Mexico is HUGE and there is still so much more to see. Alas will be another time as Spanish school in Antigua is up next.
So here’s our shortlist of favourite things from the last few months:
The people - we have caught up with old friends, met friends of friends and made new friends. Everyone has been so friendly, helpful and kind and it has really made a difference to how and where we have gone. Thank you to all those who have hosted us, helped us and just hung out with us!
The food - Tim and I always knew this would be a highlight as we love Mexican spicy food but we really have loved the different things we have tried, also enjoyed watching the boys (well dexter more than arch) try new things. We have had soooo many tacos it’s crazy, I would say simple is best - with all the salads possible... We have learnt new food to cook which will definitely influence our home cooking when we are back in Oz.
Mayan history - Tim was really looking forward to bringing some of his favourite podcast/YouTube videos on ancient history to life, we have see quite a few ruins now - Teotihuacan, Monte Alban, Coba, Chichen Itze every time learnt a little more. Kids have enjoyed and hated probably in equal measures, the dislike is more from trudging around in crazy heat. But they have learnt loads and will be interesting to see what parts they remember when they tell their friends. We have the saved the best for last as we are off to Tikal next week in Guatemala!
The beaches - we have been to over 20 Mexican beaches, all different. Pacific, Caribbean, big waves, no waves, sand, rocks, fish, seaweed, sunshine, rain, busy, empty. The boys love being in the water, building the new spiral sandcastle they learnt from a backpacker in la Punta. Has been amazing but has also made us realise how spoilt we are in Australia with the most beautiful beaches in the world, and the fact we have one of them right on our doorstop. We are all looking forward to going to Bronte beach when we get home.
Cenotes - these are incredible, stunning waterholes in the jungle all over Yucatán and Quintana Roo. Underground, open, refreshing, fish, rocks and crazy cliff jumps. Boys have had great fun flinging themselves off cliffs and learning how to dive from 7m+!! More on this and photos in the next travel blog update.
Tequila - more specifically margaritas. For someone that doesn’t really drink tequila I seem to have changed. We have learnt how it is made, different types, how to drink it properly (no more shooters) we have had amazing margaritas and also terrible ones. Might be my summer drink of choice when we go home.
All the animals (obviously this was Dexter's number 1) iguana’s especially, frogs, eels, fish, scorpions, birds, monkeys, racoons, dolphins, turtles, dogs, cats, rats, squirrels. Get ready for the list in english and spanish when he gets home.
Micheladas - Australia really needs this - amazing way to make a beer taste even more refreshing that even I will drink it! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michelada
Vochos (old VW beetles) - Tim has collected over 100 photos of these old cars in every state possible, they really are a passion in Mexico and it’s going to make a Great Wall mural when we get home.
Ice cream (Archie’s choice) different flavours particularly in Oaxaca and it’s alway hot enough to have one - oxxo still have the favourite ones, probably because there is an oxxo on almost every corner....
How great it has been for the boys - we had been worried about safety and also what the kids would do on some of the city trips but there has been loads, not as much freedom but enough, parks great, zip lines, swimming, bike riding, scooter riding, tennis, table tennis.
There are a few things we have struggled with too:
Toilet paper in bins - firstly it takes getting used to (and constant reminding to kids) to not put it in the toilet. Understand the sewage systems can’t take it however I do wonder what is happening to all the plastic bags full of poo paper, and doubt it’s being dealt with in ecological manner (on a large scale)
Pollution, plastic bottles and plastic bags in particular, so much 1 time use plastic - everywhere. We carry our own bags for shopping but it’s been so hard with buying water. Some places have the large 20l dispensers and reusable containers that has worked well but still we have needed to buy a lot of water. When we are at the beach we have picked up any rubbish we see. Recycling is happening here and there is more and more education, but it’s still challenging to know whether our sorted rubbish in our Airbnb’s does get recycled or chucked into a big black bin liner. It has been a constant reminder we all need to do more than just ‘our bit’
Mosquitos - bad for dex and I, Tim and Archie relatively untouched. We have long sleeves for twilight and have got some natural repellant that seems to be working. Hope so as when we go deep into the jungle in Flores they are sure to be out and hunting down Dex and I.
Impact of tourism - I realise we are also tourists but I’m talking more specifically about the differences between the east and the west coast. On the east everything is in dollars, the food is more american than Mexican, so many tour operators and huge theme parks with a clear two tier economy - gringo v Mexican. Totally understand how and why it’s happened but it hasn’t been a positive for us, probably this blog isn’t the best place for a rant on this....
Sargassum (seaweed) we had heard a few things about the seaweed on the Caribbean coast but not really understood what it was all about. The reality is frightening, particularly for local business owners here. The amount of seaweed hitting the coastline is out of control, they estimate 1600cubic m for Cancun, playa and Tulum in this month )it was 600 in May and 500 this time last year) its gross, smelly, hard to get rid of and costing all businesses a fortune as they try to clean up ‘their beach’ on a daily bases. It’s the reason we went to Cozumel which is an island off the coast and its west coast is protected by the seaweed coming from the east so we had a few days of swimming and snorkelling in the beaches. I understand the government is stepping in and this is not isolated to Mexico, everyone down the east coast of the central/south america is effected. https://www.mexicanist.com/l/cancun-seaweed-sargassum/Crazy
Roads and crazy drivers - I couldn’t not mention this, I think I have become a better passenger in recent weeks and Tim has certainly worked out how to drive ‘appropriately’ in Mexico, some things he might need to unlearn before we get home...
Sargassum on the East Coast of Cozumel
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