Mexico 20Oct-12Nov: Visting places I had no intention of visiting but am here anyway..Mexico City

Cesar and I left Guatemala early and arrived in Mexico city the next day after taking a night bus from Tuxla. At the border with Guatemala and Mexico, we met this polish couple, Krystian and Joanna. We had a lovely chat with them They seemed really nice

When we arrived in Mexico city, we got the metro from the bus station and we hit Zucolo first. This is the main Central Plaza in the city and the cathedral and government offices are here. It is an amazing place. They were just setting up the different offerings for the day of the dead. Also there was a lot of activity in the centre. There were shamen/witch doctors blessing people and Aztec dancers in full regalia, dancing to drums. It was bedlam but fun. We stayed the night in hostel cathedral. It was a nice enough hostel and was right in the centre and useful to get to the bus station. We tried to get into the Mexican wrestling but were too late, so we went to this really nice restaurant on a terrace overlooking the Zucolo. The setting was beautiful , the food was great and not too expensive.

Next day we headed to Patzcuaro. This town is famous for its day of the dead celebrations. When we got there we met this Argentinian girl (Florencia) and we all decided to share a room to keep costs down. We booked into this nice pension.

Patzcuaro, had a few markets all with loads of stalls selling everything. However, the most common were paraphenalia for day of the dead. Mostly sweets. There were loads of skulls made from sugar and colourfully decorated. In tandem, there were loads of skeletons based on designs by Diego Rivera and other famous Mexican artists. The crafts were amazing and beautiful.

One night we met this Australian chap and he came with us to this village, that is famous for making guitars. It has so many shops making guitars and sometimes other instruments. After a few days though, Cesar was beginning to annoy me so I left and went back to Mexico city.

I had only intended to go back to sort my flights to South America but ended up staying 2 weeks as the city was so captivating. I booked back into the hostel we had stayed in our first night.

I walked most days to different areas. There are so many beautiful buildings. My favourite is the Belle Artes. It was as amazing inside, as outside as there are amazing murals inside by some of the most famous Mexican artists.

I got museum fever and each day I went to a few museums. My favourites were the Frida Kahlo house, where Frida had been born, raised and had also lived there with her famous artist husband Diego Rivera. They have left their indellible mark on the city. Some of the paintings they had done of each other were on display. The house had been left pretty much as she had left it.

She and her husband had been friends and had put up Leon Trotsky when he was on the run from Stalin until she had an affair with him and he had to move out with his wife. The Trotskys moved into another house but they were not there long before he was murdered by some communist artists on Stalins wishes. The Trotksy story was a very sad one. Most of his family had been murdered in Russia and was continuously on the run. I think one of the happiest times in his life was when he lived in Frida Kahlo´s house .
In the 20s and 30s Mexican artists were leading the way in Fresco art. Some of the murals by several artists are dotted around Mexico city. I saw a small fraction of them but it certainly gave me a taste for more. Diego Rivera´s art was very intellectual and political. His art had so many hidden and not so hidden meanings as well as being visually stimulationg and beautiful. His art graced many a public building, as the Mexican goverment at the time was pro socialist. I definitly think that we have been deprived of Latin American art in Europe. I have rarely seen much at home. However, it is plentiful, diverse and incredible, what I have seen so far.

Mexico City seems to see lots of protests. I got to see a few while I was there. There is a lot of anger against the government in the Chiapas region and they want land reforms. The government keeps promising but doesn´t deliver much.

Along the most historic road, built a few centuries ago, there was an art exhibition. Various paper mache sculptures (Mexico is famous for this art form) were displayed and accesible to all. They were huge and it was a great item to bring the kids to. You could see loads of kids loving them.

I saw a crowd gather around some street perfomers. The lead performer was in his late 20s and was a bit of an actor/comedian. He did a whole show just walking around making fun of various things. He was then joined by his colleague. The level of gymnastics and strenght was amazing. Their sense of balance was just unbelieveable. Here there are performing one of their feats. I saw them perform several days after that. Each day they were surrounded by huge crowds.

The day of the dead is the 31st October. It is a very important date for many ancient cultures here. But I could see similarities with some of the celebrations we have at home for Halloween or at least in the old days. Here though they make fun of the dead and it is a happy occasion.

Throughout the city are various offerings. Basically they create a display with a theme of death and... e.g. Cinema etc. The traditional flowers they use are something very similar, if not the same to our Marigolds. This gives a very vivid yellow colour everywhere. Sometimes a family will create an offering for a loved one. They will add the favourite foods and cigarettes etc. On the actual day of the dead, families go to the graveyard and sit around the grave of the departed and sing thier favourite songs, bring favourite foods etc. It is a bit of a party, and not the sad affair we associate with death in Europe.

Around the central square in Mexico city, a lot of kids and even adults were dressed up and walking around in their costumes.

Some of the costumes were absolutely stunning. Some people even dressed their dogs. I spent most of my evenings walking around the central plaza, looking at the different costumes, trying different street food and drinks. It was such a party atmosphere.

A few days after coming, this lady called Sue moved into my dorm. We hit it off immediately. She is from England and we had the most deep, yet funny discussions. She made friends with a few others through a tour she did and then I made friends with some of them too and met others along the way. Before long we had a little family going and used to meet for breakfast and dinner. We were a diverse group aged between 23 and 57. But age was not relevant. That is what I loved about them. I really hope to meet Sue again. Then there was Ron from the US, Anne from Aus, Asi from Isreal and Ramon from Mexico. And one girl Natalia, lives in Bogota and I hope we can meet. We had many intellectual and silly discussions us lot and much humour and laughter.

One night I went to this salsa club with a few of the gang. I ran in to the polish couple, Krystian and Joanna, that I had met coming across the border from Guatemala. How small a world is that. We hung out for a short while and chatted and became facebook friends.

However, I got foodpoisoning after some ice, which laid me up for a few days. So this meant I had to stay a bit longer.

I went to Oximilco, rated as the Mexican answer to Venice. It is a series of canals and there are gondolas etc taking tourists around and bands singing to those same tourists from other boats. I got stung price wise as I was the only one there at that time, so had to take a boat by myself. balls. Still it was nice.

I really think that mexico is one of the most beautiful, amazing cities I have been in. I really want to come back.

After 2 weeks, in Mexico city I concluded it was back to Xela. I couldn´t find cheap flights from Mexico down to South America so would have to find alternatives and it would be nice to see the gang.