Alright, confession time, I first went to Mexico City way back with an old school friend and I don’t know if it was just that I was in a miserable frame of mind, the fact that I was traveling with someone who didn’t know the city or maybe just one of those weeks, but the truth is that I really didn’t enjoy it at all.
I had so many complaints coming back from there such as the noise, the people, the experiences, just about everything. I have recently returned o Mexico City, I had a layover there which I decided to extend to a 4 day break, just to see what I got wrong the last time, as it turns out, that would be just about everything.
Food
I had an awful experience on the first day with some dodgy tacos and that ruined the rest of the trip for me, opting instead to eat in Applebees or Wendy’s where at least I could count on not getting sick. That single experience however ruined the amazing range of food which you can find on these streets in Mexico City and the variety and the delicious flavors just had me going back for more, and that is before you get into the little local restaurants and cantinas. The food is epic from tlayudas to tacos, huaraches to gorditas, be careful with where you are eating, get it right and you’ll fall in love.
Noises
Truth be told I don’t love the noises of a busy city and I would always prefer a nice peaceful setting than a chaotic one. With this being said however, on a recent trip to India I really fell in love with that chaos, and on my return to Mexico City I felt the same thing. Down in Zocalo, the Historic Center of the city, it is pretty wild but when you look at it objectively this is the experience of the city and how it goes about its day, and once you nestle into that groove, here is a certain calm that you feel.
History
I may have made some foolish remark back in the day about how the ruins which I saw in Mexico weren’t very impressive, I think that came from a place of food poisoning and frustration, because the fact of the matter is that I could not have been more wrong. I visited 2 ruins this time around, the first being the ancient city of Teotihuacan and the second being the Plaza de Tres Culturas inside the city, and wow is all I have to say. This is the heartbeat of the country, that past which it holds so dear, the footprints of the Olmecs, the Mayans and the Aztecs, which laid the foundation on which everything else was created, and these are the windows by which we can see what life was like back then, beautifully preserved and respected.
I was so wrong abut Mexico City, and I would urge any of you to go and enjoy yourself in this amazing capital.
