Here comes the story of the hurricane (clap clap)

Having been in Mexico for a week, I feel it's important that I catalogue my mistakes, so as to avoid any similar ones in the future. Also to capture random thoughts. 

1. If a sandwich is really, really delicious (pork, beef, cheese, chipotle, avo, onion, chili), don't only eat half and throw the other half away, because you're afraid you won't be able to fit in lunch.  Because you might end up walking around one of the best anthropology museums in the world, ignoring the lost civilisations, because you're thinking of the lost sandwich that's in the bin outside. 

2. The pyramids at Teotihuacan are HUGE, and best not climbed in jeans and thongs on a 30deg day. 

3. Refer to Lucy's post re going out without remembering the name of your hostel. Bigmistakebighuge. 

4. When a seasoned American surfer named Django the D is silent tells you that there's a hurricane a-comin', don't automatically assume they're messing with ya cause you don't get hurricanes in Melbourne. They mightn't be. 

5. They weren't.*

6. Mosquitos that bite like Lucy. They don't like me. I am sure they will realise their mistake soon. 

7. I still don't like falafel. 

8. I have very white skin, and Lucy has very blond hair. We are what tourists look like.

9. At least for now.

10. Jumping in the air and screeching like a sissy is EXACTLY what I would do if I ever saw a wild snake in real life. I have always thought that would be how I would react, and it turns out, after testing the theory this morning while out walking, I was fucking right. 

That is all for now, hasta la vista baby. 

X

* Thankfully the hurricane crossed land about 50kms away from us, so we only got the voice-of-God thunder, the odd lightening bolt, and the kind of rain Forrest Gump talks about. 

Here is the place where I ate my sandwich (the bin is about 7 meters to the right, just out of the frame).

 

And here is my face after realising my mistake. 

Here's me on the beach at Puerto Escondido. An no, I was not looking for bugs to fry and eat. That is Lucy's job. 

Beach bugs

Walking along the beach in puerto Escondido yesterday we noticed hundreds of dead bugs lining the shore. A little further on groups of locals and families were excitedly filling buckets, plastic bags and even wheelbarrows with these soggy creatures. Back at our hostel our host explained that the insects are considered a delicacy that only wash up on the beach once a year. They are dried, fried and either crunched on their own or pounded into a paste to make salsa.... Delicious!

The bug that got away...

Day 6 lesson learned

Card games are a great way to make friends and pass the time when it's torrentially raining outside. So far we have learnt:

Sevens, hell, and spoons, the latter being a marvellous drinking game involving, you've guessed it - spoons.

Day 5 lesson learned - try to remember the name of your hostel before venturing out to drink...

Mexico City

Well, here we are in wonderful Mexico. Our first three days in Mexico City have seen us enjoy the lovely neighborhood Condesa, with its tree-lined streets and Art Deco buildings, take in archaeology galore at the fantastic museum de anthropologie and historic sites of Teotihuacán and Tenochitlan, and indulge in tacos and tostadas from Contramar - a very lively Mexican eatery that is so popular it comes complete with valet parking.

Condesa can easily be described as the Fitzroy of Mexico City with cute bars and restaurants each specialising in different types of food and drink. People mill around on the pretty streets, which have causeways running down the centre of each, which are hugely helpful for dodging traffic, especially when we keep forgetting that cars come in the opposite direction. Art galleries can be found on street corners, and all of this is within a short walk from this massive city's centre.

We began our adventure last night with a dedicated search for tacos and beer. We came across a popular taco joint where I dutifully plugged the name of every dish into my translator, only to find that every taco contained meat, meat and a side of meat, although Aisling assures me they were delicious. Pig skin taco anyone? Yes, yes, I know a lot of you are salivating right now and probably shaking your heads at my vegetarianism, but hey man, it's a way of life, and also gives cause for great hilarity with waiters when I try and explain I don't eat meat. 'You're vegetarian? Ah, ok, have some pollos'. (Breaking Bad fans, you know what this means!).  I settled for a queso and mushroom quesadilla, which was far superior to the version Mamasita try to emulate in Melbourne. We finished off the night at a micro brewery where the tasting glasses were big enough to get you drunk alone and the owner was very keen on getting us to try his home-made mezcal. Now, this is not a drink I'm not overly familiar with, and I imagine bad mezcal could probably strip paint from walls, and stomachs, but this was delicious, although I think it will take a few more glasses to convince Ais.

After sleeping off beer, mezcal and a 28-hour flight, we were ready for the day ahead. First stop, the museum de anthropologie - a wonderful collection showcasing the histories and artefacts of pre-Hispanic Mexico, including vast rooms dedicated to Mayan and Aztec cultures. The museum is huge and I was like a kid in a candy store, reliving my days as an archaeology student. The quantity of information was mind-blowing and I was actually quite thankful that most of it was in Spanish, as I have a bad habit of reading EVERYTHING put in front of me (thanks Dad).

Pre-Hispanic Mexicans were clearly a clever bunch, understanding the movements of the earth, moon and sun over 2000 years ago; 1500 years before Copernicus enlightened the rest of us. They developed advanced societies and cultures based on this knowledge, and their lives revolved around the cyclical nature of the sun, life and fertility, culminating in a taste for human sacrifice on a scale that has probably never been seen before, and hopefully won't be seen again. Below are a couple of educational photographs. Ok, enough with the history lesson.

They look like boobs!

Prize for the first person who can guess what this aided...

Next stop, and a close second place in my heart after archaeology was the search for food. Taking a recommendation from the fabulous Sarah Trotter we ventured to Contramar, a Mexican seafood restaurant in Zona Rosa. Armed with un menu en ingles, we feasted on tuna sashimi tostadas, topped with crispy fried leeks, black ceviche, and prawn tacos, washed down with a couple of pints of dark ale. Delicious! Sadly, I didn't take any photos, as it wasn't 'that type of establishment', but I promise you it looked and tasted out of this world. We wandered back to our hotel full, content and thoroughly pleased with ourselves at the success of our first day.

Day 1 lesson learned - remember to charge camera before heading out for the day, as batteries dying after 3 photos can be a little frustrating!

Day 2 saw us tackle Mexico's highly efficient metro system and adventure out to the northern suburbs where the remains of the Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacán still stands in all it's glory. Built over 2000 years ago, the grand temple of the sun and the moon tower over the landscape. It's a hard climb to the top, but worth it for the spectacular views and head spin on the way down. At its height this city was home to over 80,000 people, until its collapse in the 8th century AD. Complete with ruins of markets, houses, walkways, and hawkers trying to sell you every kind of Mexican tat possible at every corner, it certainly made a fun day out.

Temple of the Sun. People were like sacrificed here and stuff... 

Aisling at the top. She can climb, who knew! 

With sore feet in tow, we headed back to the city centre and went out for some Friday night shenanigans. We only lasted until 2 am, which seemed to be about the same time that the Mexican fun really starts. Poor form on our part. I am putting this down to jetlag, and nothing to do with our ever-increasing years.

Condiments for three tacos! From left to right: lime pickled onions, habanero hot sauce (no joke, fucking hot), chipotle salsa, red pepper sauce, coriander and lime purée, and chilli and onion oil.

Fish taco with above condiments applied...

Day 2 lesson learned - Mexicans are extremely friendly, helpful and charitable. They also really like to drink. Glad to see we're in the right place. 

Go easy on the habanero.

Today, we headed downtown to the historical centre, known as the Zoltalto, where the grand and austere-looking Palacio Nationale resides over what was once the centre of the Aztec capital city, Tenochitlan. Good old Cortes ordered the destruction of this remarkable place, along with the execution of the Aztec king, Montezuma, in order to construct his own palace. I think we'll be learning a lot more about conquistador número uno over the coming months, a man who single-handedly decimated half of middle and South America, all in the name of gold, Christianity and the king of Spain. What a guy!

We wandered around the central plaza, popped into a cathedral and accidentally interrupted mass, and made our way down to the Palacio de Bellas Artes taking in the atmosphere of a Mexican Sunday. Everyone seemed to be out and about - whole roads were closed to allow leisurely bike riders to cruise through the city centre, lovers walked hand in hand through parks, and it felt as though the entire city's population was on holiday. It really was quite lovely. Our only disappointment was our last meal in Mexico City - we needed a quick bite to eat before embarking on the next stage of our trip, and ended up in what can only be described as the la porchetta of tacquerias. Let's hope our stomachs hold out!

Palacio de Bellas Artes, traffic cone complimentary.

Day 3 lesson learned - just because fish tacos are on the menu, it doesn't mean I need to eat fish tacos.

We are now currently 10 hours into a 17-hour bus trip to Puerto Escondido (which is probably also why this blog entry is so long; don't worry, I'll try not subject you all to 3000-word essays with each entry, I'm even boring myself...). We'll be in touch again after a good dose of sand, sea, and of course, more taco tales. Adios amigos!

X



Sent from my iPhone

And they're off...

Our bags are packed, we're through security, bottles have been dutifully placed in annoying plastic bags and we've developed an unhealthy OCD complex of checking our passports EVERY 5 minutes... Mexico City here we come.

Big thanks to Maggie for driving us to the airport.

As requested by Tree, there is now a challenges tab on our blog. Feel free to post an idea, activity or dare you'd like us to undertake - no challenge too small! and we'll endeavor to document and post it for all-round hilarity and/or awkwardness.

Now, is it really ok to ask for a Bloody Mary as soon as we board the plane at 9am? 

Stand-by