Mexico City – Michael Rappa

Down in Mexico, Day 3: Climbing Pyramids

March 8, 2014 Michael RappaLeave a comment

October 31, 2013, Mexico City: For the second time in three years, I was celebrating Halloween in another country, but instead of trick-or-treating, I would be going pyramid climbing. Today was my long-awaited visit to the mysterious Mesoamerican city of Teotihuacan, built by an unknown civilization beginning around 100 BC, and, at its zenith in 450 AD, one of the largest cities in the world.

As with the previous day’s Mexico City tour, I was picked up in front of my hotel and dropped off at the same garage in the center of the city. After a short wait, I boarded a van with a small group (unlike the previous day, I would not be taking this tour by myself). On the ride I befriended a couple of guys from San Diego; it was nice to have someone to talk to.

Before leaving Mexico City we stopped at the archaeological site of Tlatelolco, the sister city of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan. There was much more to see here than at the Tenochtitlan site, but we didn’t have time to explore, so we just snapped a few photos and hopped back in the van.

Tlatelolco and a 17th-century church called Templo de Santiago.

When we arrived at Teotihuacan we first endured what I call the “hard sell,” basically a sales pitch disguised as a tour at a tourist spot outside the pyramid complex. It wasn’t all bad, though. The guide for this portion gave us a primer on how they extract cactus juice and the various drinks they make from it. He then extracted some juice from a cactus and let us try some. Next he showed us masks and other trinkets that were created onsite by artisans, talking up their quality and authenticity (the hard sell). He took us around to some of the artisans as they worked, carving masks from stone and painting them. From there we headed inside to the store, where he walked us up and down the aisles, showing us more purchasable souvenirs (ahem, hard sell).

The tour ended at a station with several bottles of tequila and other liquor, where he proceeded to pour us shot after shot from the various bottles. By the end, I had a pleasant buzz—I think the plan was to get us drunk so we’d buy stuff. 😉

Finally, it was time to head into the pyramid complex. It was a hot sunny day, so I borrowed some sunblock from one of the San Diego guys for my face and neck (luckily I don’t really need it for my arms and legs).

We entered near the immense Pyramid of the Sun and then headed toward the other end of the complex and the Pyramid of the Moon. From here, the guide gave us about two-hours of free time. I had been expecting a guided tour of the complex, complete with history and everything, but that’s okay, the free time enabled me to climb both of the large pyramids.

Our first view of the Pyramid of the Sun…

…and our first view of the Pyramid of the Moon.

I began with the Pyramid of the Moon, the smaller of the two massive pyramids.

You can only climb about 2/3 of the way up as a rope blocks any further ascent to the summit, but even on the lower level the view of the entire complex was spectacular.

The roped-off upper portion of the Pyramid of the Moon.

There was a crowd going up and down the steps, but not too bad. I imagine in the summer months it gets so packed that you can barely move, so once again, I was glad to have taken this trip outside of peak season. After taking some pictures from the top I sat for a while just admiring the view (the panorama at the top of this post represents the view I enjoyed from this spot).

I then headed down and climbed one of the smaller pyramids. At the top I had the entire structure to myself (everyone else was busy knocking about the more popular structures). Sitting at the top in complete isolation was peaceful and sublime, and I stayed there for quite a while. I could have sat there all day, but I needed to make my way to the Sun Pyramid if I hoped to climb it before my time was up. Here are some views from my “private” pyramid vantage point:

I headed down the Avenue of the Dead toward my ultimate destination, occasionally stopping to visit some of the other structures.

The Avenue of the Dead looking back toward the Pyramid of the Moon.

Along the way I was repeatedly accosted by vendors trying to sell me stuff, and they don’t take “no” for an answer, so be prepared to have them follow you for a bit before finally giving up. I realize people have to earn a living, but it kind of ruins the atmosphere when you have to run through gauntlets of vendors stationed near all of the attractions. It would be nice if they were restricted to designated areas near the gates of the complex.

Most annoying was that the vendors kept blowing into these toys to create a sound that they claimed was a jaguar, but really sounded more like a duck being tortured. Over and over again as you make your way through the complex, the tortured ducks assault your senses. Thankfully, the vendors are apparently not allowed on the pyramids, so once you’ve fought your way through the gauntlet and started to climb, you’re home free—at least until you come back down again. You will find yourself saying “No, Gracias” so many times that it becomes almost like breathing, because even after you’ve said “no” to the first four vendors in the gauntlet, the fifth one will still think you might be interested in his wares.

That being said, Teotihuacan is still an amazing place to see, so don’t let the vendor situation turn you off from visiting. In the larger scheme of things, they are a minor annoyance. Once you’re at the top of the pyramids surrounded by expansive beauty, all of that disappears. And Teotihuacan is one of the few places in Mexico where you can still climb the pyramids, so it definitely should be at the top of anyone’s must-visit list while in Mexico.

Anyway, it was time to climb the magnificent Pyramid of the Sun. Depending on which source you read, it is anywhere from the 3^rd to the 7^th largest pyramid in the world—for the purposes of this post, we’ll call it the 3^rd largest. 🙂

This zoomed-in shot of the Pyramid of the Sun gives you a good
idea of just how massive it is by observing how tiny the people appear.

It’s not a difficult climb and there are guide ropes to help you along, though I did have to rest a couple of times (you’d think after surviving the Inca Trail that I’d be in better shape than that).

I eventually reached the top and enjoyed a breathtaking view of the pyramid complex and the surrounding terrain. I bumped into the San Diego guys at the very top and they were kind enough to take my picture (as they had earlier on top of the Pyramid of the Moon) and I returned the favor. Here are a couple of my views from this vantage point:

Pyramid of the Moon and the surrounding terrain.

From up here I could see another small pyramid at the far end of the complex but I would not have time to venture down there (another reason to lament having wasted our first hour on the “hard sell”), so I spent the rest of my free time walking around the top of the Pyramid of the Sun, enjoying the view and taking lots of photos.

View of the small pyramid at the far end of the complex.

Before long, it was time to go. Here are a couple of parting shots from my walk back to the complex entrance:

When I returned to the van, one of the guides drove me to a restaurant for a late lunch. I was the only member of my group whose lunch was included in the price of the tour, so I was taken to a different restaurant to eat by myself (I had a similar experience in Peru). The restaurant was in the shadow of the Pyramid of the Moon so I had a nice view while I ate.

After lunch I was driven to the restaurant where the rest of the group was eating (they thought that I had gotten lost and left behind). We then boarded the van and headed back to Mexico City for a visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, which is basically like the Mexican version of the Vatican. Here are a few photos:

View of the Basilica from the rear square.

Side view of the old basilica, which was replaced when it began sinking (much of Mexico City was built over an old lake). Toward the back you can see where the sinking caused the building to split apart.

It was pretty late in the evening when I finally got back to my hotel and I had to pack for my flight in the morning, but I decided to head out for one last walk around the city. In particular I was looking for a Mexican franchise restaurant called La Casa de Tono, which had been recommended by some of my fellow bloggers. I was walking for some time with no luck and I eventually wound up in an unfamiliar area, where I stumbled onto a Star Wars shop.

1383239_10201537547232531_241059293_n — It was pretty cool finding one of these in Mexico.

I circled back toward my hotel, but decided to try one last time to find La Casa de Tono. It turned out that the restaurant was right down the street from my hotel (I could practically have thrown a stone from my window and hit it) and I had walked right past it. This time I found it and headed upstairs. I ordered pozole, a Mexican soup that had been highly recommended by other bloggers. I had some trouble because I only knew enough Spanish to place the order, so I was unable to understand the waiter when he asked me a question about the order (I’m guessing he was asking about some customization option), and he eventually gave up, wrote something down, and left. I ordered the grande pozole with chicken, which was huge (probably should have gone with the smaller size). It was delicious, though, especially after spicing it up with salsa. It came with a bunch of tortillas. I wasn’t sure if they were meant to be eaten as bread, put into the soup, or what, so I ended up putting some chicken in them and eating them like fajitas, which was most likely wrong and probably looked bizarre to the locals. 😉

After dinner I made my way back to the hotel and packed for the morning flight to Merida, my time in Mexico City near an end.

View my full Mexico photo album (including larger versions of the photos in this post)…

Down in Mexico, Day 2.5: A Quest Fulfilled and a Dalliance with the Dead

February 13, 2014 Michael RappaLeave a comment

Flash Forward: Day of the Dead Festivities

October 30, 2013, Mexico City: I was back at my hotel around 4 p.m. after my tour ended without the scheduled visit to the historic city center. My guide claimed he could not take me there because protests were preventing traffic from getting through, but I didn’t want to leave Mexico City without visiting the excavation site of the Templo Mayor, the great dual pyramid of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, so I decided to make the long walk to the city center myself. It appeared that it would take about an hour to reach the Templo Mayor, though in reality it would be closer to 90 minutes after factoring in stops for sightseeing.

I didn’t have access to a map or a data plan on my phone, so I mapped a route out on my wifi tablet, committed it to memory, and then snapped photos of the important turns with my phone so I could reference them when necessary. Rather than walking along the main highway, I chose a back way that looked a bit more direct and would enable me to see more of the city.

As I approached the city center I began to notice police lined up in the streets dressed in riot gear. However, traffic appeared to be getting by fine, so I was annoyed that my guide didn’t even try to take me there. On the other hand, if he had, I would never have seen all of the things I did on my walk that afternoon and evening, so I guess it worked out.

You can see some leftover protesters and the police presence in front of this monument.

A large contingent of police dressed in riot gear.

The very center of the city is a pedestrian area (i.e., no cars) which reminded me of some cities in Europe.

Interesting building in the pedestrian section.

I meandered about the main square (known as the Zócalo), soaking in the atmosphere, taking time to appreciate the architecture of the historic buildings, and watching the locals set up for Day of the Dead.

At one point a military squad armed with rifles marched into the square, which can be somewhat unnerving when you’re a visitor in a foreign country, especially after hearing about the protests and seeing the riot police earlier, but I was more fascinated than anything.

The military marching out from the palace.

I turned my attention back to the task for which I had originally set out: finding the excavation site of the Templo Mayor. A few more minutes of walking and I arrived. There’s not a lot to see (I think most people would walk by without much of a second glance), but I found it amazing to be standing on the site of what was once the great pyramid at the heart of the Aztec empire. I’ve always been fascinated with Mesoamerican culture (I even incorporated the Aztecs into my novel, complete with a sequence that takes place inside the Templo Mayor), so to be standing here among its ruins was sort of a Holy Grail moment for me. Unfortunately, the museum was closed, so there wasn’t much more to do than snap a couple of photos.

This model in the Museum of Anthropology shows what the Templo Mayor looked like in its glory days.
The background painting depicts the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan as it would have appeared to Cortes.

My quest fulfilled, it was time for dinner. I walked around looking for a place where I could try tacos al pastor, which had been recommended by a fellow blogger. It’s basically meat (usually pork) cooked on a spit, similar to how a gyro or doener is made. I eventually found a place and sat down. I was the only non-local in there so that was a good sign. The tacos did not disappoint. Delicious.

By the time I left the restaurant it was dark.

I walked around the pedestrian area and indulged in some gelato before coming across street performers dressed in costume. Freddy Kruger and Jason Voorhees stalking the streets of Mexico City was an interesting sight.

You can see Jason and his big machete in the background.

A little later I stumbled onto an early Day of the Dead celebration.

I wasn’t sure I could enter so I watched from outside for a little bit, but when I saw other people coming and going, I decided to head in. It was pretty cool, there were decorations, dancers, and people dressed in traditional Catrina costumes. It was a small event, but a nice prelude to the full-blown festivities I thought I would be experiencing later that week in Merida (which was not to be, but more on that later). Here are some photos:

The Day of the Dead event was being held in the shadow of one of Mexico City’s tallest buildings, the Torre Latinoamericana. On the advice of another fellow blogger, who told me I could save money and avoid the crowds by bypassing the observation deck and heading straight to the bar (the blogging community sure came in handy on this trip), I took the elevator up to the bar.

The blue-lit bar had a noirish feel to it, and the man in this photo had the perfect outfit for the atmosphere.

Looks like something out of a detective story.

It was mostly empty, so I grabbed a table by the window and ordered a corona while enjoying a spectacular view of Mexico City. It was strange to hear American music blasting on the stereo, especially of the 80’s hair metal variety (I can’t remember the last time I heard Europe’s The Final Countdown.). I called my wife while I was there to check in, but a combination of loud music and a bad connection forced me to keep the conversation short.

After finishing my beer I headed down for the long walk back to my hotel. I decided to take the main road home rather than returning the way I had come since I didn’t want to walk down unfamiliar back streets in the dark. I hadn’t mapped this way out ahead of time, but I knew that the main road ran close to my hotel, and I was confident in my sense of direction.

It began lightly raining during my walk, but not enough to pull my poncho out of my backpack, so I just wore my windbreaker. I was surprised to discover how warm it was–I had brought layers for mornings and evenings based on the average temperature in Mexico City for late October, but I never really needed them.

On the way home I found a churro stand (whoohoo!). Although I had already indulged in gelato, there was no way I was missing out on a fresh churro, this one filled with chocolate. Besides, pigging out on good food is what vacation is all about, at least for me. 🙂

I eventually found my way back to the hotel and turned in, exhausted from all of the walking I had done, and hoping I would not be too sore the following day when I reached the pyramids at Teotihuacan. Lots of climbing lay ahead of me.

View more of my photos from Mexico

Down in Mexico, Day 2: Floating Gardens, Ancient Artifacts, and Traffic Jams

February 7, 2014 Michael RappaLeave a comment

Flash Forward: The Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

October 30, 2013, Mexico City: The second day of my trip got off to a late start when I apparently missed my wake-up call (I was wearing earplugs and didn’t realize that the phone’s ringer was set to low). I awoke to someone from the staff knocking lightly on my door to try and wake me—I have no idea how long he had been knocking—that’ll teach me to check the ringer level on my phone. I quickly got ready and headed down to breakfast with about five minutes to shove some food down my throat and get outside for my pickup.

A driver arrived and took me to a garage near the center of the city, where I waited for my tour to begin. Since I was the only person waiting for a tour, I must confess to a fleeting bout of uneasiness over waiting by myself in this dark garage with a bunch of strangers. Of course I knew this was completely irrational, but human fear is rarely rational, like when you’re downstairs in your house by yourself and you shut the lights out to go to bed—you know there’s nothing hiding in the dark but you still hop upstairs a little faster into the safety of the light. 😉

Eventually my guide showed up and we were off in a little sedan. As the only person on this tour, I had my own private driver and guide for the day—one of the advantages to traveling outside of peak season. For our first stop, the guide claimed he was taking me to a silver museum not listed on the itinerary that the average tourist doesn’t get to see. In actuality, it was a tiny silver shop in a part of the city that, according to the guide, you don’t want to walk around at night. He took me into the back where a jeweler briefly showed me how he makes silver jewelry. Afterward, the guide walked me around the shop and it quickly became clear that this entire detour was nothing more than a ploy to get me to buy something here. Given how much time we would later spend sitting in traffic, I could really have done without this stop taking time away from the tour for which I had actually paid.

When they realized I wasn’t going to buy anything, we got back in the car and headed out. Our next stop was the Olympic Stadium for a quick photo.

We then headed for Xochimilco on the other side of the city, where we were scheduled to go for a boat ride on the Floating Gardens. Traffic was horrendous; it took us about two hours to drive roughly 18 miles. There was a raised expressway for a large portion of this drive, but according to the guide, nobody uses it because the tolls are too expensive—I should have offered to pay the tolls myself to avoid that mess. 🙂

We finally arrived and embarked on one of the boats, which are called trajineras.

We walked across this line of boats to get to ours in front.

As with the car ride, I had the boat to myself along with my guide and the boatman.

There are tons of these boats on the canals, but there weren’t too many in operation on this day, so it was a nice relaxing ride, though I imagine that during peak season and on weekends the canals must be absolutely crammed with boats. As I floated down the canal, I thought of Apocalypse Now and began to hear The Doors’ The End in my head.

At one point a guy from another boat hopped onto ours with a case full of jewelry. I politely declined to purchase anything and he eventually hopped on to another boat. After that, some food merchants attached their boat to ours and cooked us lunch. I ordered quesadillas and they threw in rice, tasty hot salsa, and guacamole (I’m not a big guac guy, but I had some and gave the rest to my guide). The quesadillas were not the grilled cheesy kind to which we are accustomed in the U.S.; these were essentially fried tacos. I ordered pork quesadillas, but only one of them was pork. The second was some sort of dark vegetable (which I think might have been cactus, though it could have been mushroom), and the third was just cheese (fresh and melted). The pork and cheese ones were good, and since I was hungry, I devoured the dark vegetable one as quickly as I could before I had a chance to taste it too much—I’m not the most adventurous of eaters but I have gotten better as I’ve traveled more.

The people on this boat cooked lunch for us.

Among the other boats in the water was a party boat with a Mariachi band, boats full of the orange flowers for Day of the Dead festivities, and people cooking various food items such as corn.

At one point we passed by a creepy display of dolls hanging from trees that reminded me of a sequence from a horror show that was on TV last year called The River. The dolls were hung by a resident named Julián Santana Barrera, supposedly to keep away evil spirits and appease the spirit of a girl who had drowned nearby. According to legend the dolls come alive at night.

I think I just saw that one turn its head!

After the Floating Gardens we made our way back toward the center of the city for a visit to the Museum of Anthropology.

It was very cool to see all of the ancient Aztec artifacts (and those of other civilizations). You could spend an entire day in that museum and not see everything. I won’t bore you with too many photos because I know that photos of museum artifacts don’t exactly have the same impact as seeing them live, but here are a few:

Sacrificial stone with a groove for the blood to run down.

Crystal Skull (cue the Indiana Jones music)

Statue with Aztec calendar in background.

My guide insisted on taking a bunch of silly pose pictures like this.

My first thought when seeing this: Quentin Tarantino!
Even the Mesoamericans worshiped his films. 😉

The tour was also supposed to include a visit to the historic center of Mexico City, but there were protests going on and my guide claimed that traffic was not being allowed through, so they ended up dropping me back at my hotel a couple of hours early around 4 p.m. I knew this would be my last chance to see the city center because my entire day tomorrow would be spent at the pyramids of Teotihuacan and then I’d have to pack for my flight to Merida, and I would have kicked myself if I left Mexico City without visiting the excavation site of the Templo Mayor, the great dual pyramid of the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, so I decided to make the long walk.

However, this post is getting a little on the long side, so I will be following in the footsteps of Tarantino by splitting it in two, a la Kill Bill. Stay tuned for the next installment, which will cover my journey to the Templo Mayor as well as my first encounter with Day of the Dead festivities. Until then…

View more of my photos from Mexico

One final photo:
The inner courtyard of the anthropological museum.

Down in Mexico: The Movie

January 13, 2014 Michael Rappa3 Comments

This is a compilation of the mini-videos I shot during my October 2013 trip to Mexico, highlighted by my visits to the pyramid sites of Teotihuacan, Uxmal, and Chichen Itza. Mostly absent are my stays in Merida and Cancun, as I neglected to take video in those cities.

I apologize for the jerkiness of the zooms, but the manual zoom lens of my new camera does not lend itself well to smooth zooming. I tried to smooth out some of the zooms by slowing the video down, with mixed results. This is one case where my older camera (with its auto-zoom) would have been preferable, but I wasn’t about to haul two cameras all over Mexico. 🙂

For musical accompaniment, having already used most of the other pieces from Holst’s The Planets for previous movies, I decided it was time to use Mars, The Bringer of War. I think it fits pretty well with the visions of the pyramids.

The video quality defaults to 360p, but you can increase this up to 1080p if you want to view it in higher quality.

Down in Mexico, Day 1: Getting Acquainted with Mexico City

December 21, 2013 Michael Rappa12 Comments

Flash Forward: Teotihuacan (click to enlarge)

October 29, 2013: The time had finally come to embark upon my first ever solo trip to another country. I chose Mexico because I’ve always wanted to visit the pyramids of Mesoamerica, and I found a tour that would take me to several pyramid sites across Mexico. I’d come a long way in just a few years—before my first Eurotrip in 2007 I had never visited another country (unless you count Niagara Falls, Canada) and I hadn’t flown on an airplane since my senior class trip to Disney World in 1989. Three Eurotrips and a trip to South America later, I had developed the confidence to not only fly solo, but to travel solo in a foreign country, so I was not nervous at all about my trip. My wife and family, on the other hand, were concerned about me being alone in Mexico City because of its reputation, but in reality, it is no less safe than any major American city as long as you stick to the good parts (hell, there are plenty of U.S. cities in which I would feel considerably less safe than in Mexico City).

For this trip I decided to try packing for the entire nine days in just a carry-on. I liked the idea of being able to breeze through check-in without having to wait in the baggage-check line and, after landing, not having to wait at the luggage carousel for my checked bag (not to mention eliminating any worry about lost luggage). It was tough to fit everything in the carry-on and personal item tote bag (especially with the size of my camera bag) but I managed. The hardest part was cramming all of the 3 oz liquid items into the tiny quart bag the TSA allows you (don’t even get me started on how ridiculous the whole liquid restriction rule is). Normally I would check most of my liquid items, but that was not an option this time, so I had to get creative, and also leave some items behind like sunscreen, which I figured I could buy down there, though that was not meant to be (more on that later).

Another downside to the carry-on strategy is that it doesn’t leave a lot of room for souvenirs, though I’m not a big souvenir buyer anyway, so it didn’t really impact me. Overall, I think the carry-on was the right decision for this trip—it forced me to pack lighter but also allowed me to travel leaner. For a longer trip, or one that would require more different types of clothing, I would still bring a larger checked bag.

I had booked a very early flight because I didn’t want to waste my first day in Mexico City. Unfortunately, this meant waking up just a couple of hours after my usual bed time to catch a 5 a.m. train to the airport. It was worth it, though, because the train was mostly empty and I breezed through check-in and security at the airport. Like last year, I chose to fly out of Newark. It’s a very convenient location if you live near a train station because the train takes you to a monorail that drops you off directly at your gate. It’s so much easier than trying to get to JFK (and the security lines are ten times shorter).

For my United Airlines flights I sprung for the premium economy seats with extra legroom (an extra $70 for the flight down and an extra $40 for the flight back). Some people might not think the extra fee is worth it for a relatively short flight, but I was glad I did it—both of my flights were very comfortable. On my flight down I sat right behind first class, and the middle seat was unoccupied, giving me even more room to stretch out. On a side note, it’s an interesting feeling when you’re sitting right behind first class and the flight attendant closes the curtain in front of you—I tweeted at the time that I felt like Kay at the end of The Godfather.

When I arrived in Mexico City, the driver affiliated with my tour company was waiting for me holding up a sign with my name on it. He watched my bags so I could exchange some cash and then we were off to my hotel. I chose the deluxe package for my tour (a treat to myself after spending four days in the wilderness on the Inca Trail last year), so my hotels were pretty nice. The first one was the Galeria Plaza, one of the taller buildings in the Zona Rosa section of the city, complete with doormen and a pool on the roof.

When I checked in there was a bit of a problem with the staff claiming that my breakfast was not included (all breakfasts were supposed to be included with my package). It took some time and back-and-forth communication with my tour company, but it eventually got straightened out (though I would only end up eating one breakfast anyway). Because of the mix-up, however, I didn’t want to end up with any unforeseen charges on my bill, so I chose not to leave a credit card number with the front desk. The downside of this was that they would not give me a key to the mini-bar in my room. I wasn’t planning on using it anyway, but I usually like to place drinks I purchase in the fridge to keep them cold. Oh well, not a huge deal. A slightly bigger deal was the fact that they did not have a key for my room safe, so I either had to leave my valuables with the front desk or take my chances by leaving them in the room (I chose the latter, with a locked suitcase).

Anyway, after settling in I went for my first walk around the city. One thing I noticed off the bat was the ubiquity of VW bugs. I knew they had a lot of them in Mexico, but I was still amazed at the sheer volume. If you were to play the famous ‘punch the buggie’ game here, someone would end up in the hospital. 🙂 Another thing I realized was that New York City has nothing on Mexico City when it comes to drivers leaning on their horns. It’s a constant cacophony of horn blowing, and not for any particular reason; just sitting at a light the horns frequently blare away.

My first order of business was to look for something to eat, so in a pedestrian mall down the street from my hotel I had my first authentic tacos at an outdoor café, drenched in hot salsa and cilantro (Mmmm) and accompanied by a large beer.

After lunch I walked around some more and came across the monument pictured below. I decided not to venture up to the monument because traffic at the circle was insane and there was no apparent pedestrian crossing, so basically you take your life in your hands if you choose to cross to the monument.

Following this detour I made my way back to the hotel, first stopping at a convenience store right across the street to buy some bottles of water (I would return to this store several times during my stay because the water was so much cheaper than what they were charging at the hotel). I decided to check out the hotel’s rooftop pool. It was pretty cool, but I never ended up using it since it closed at 6 p.m. and I was usually out on excursions all day.

View of the monument statue from the roof of my hotel. (click to enlarge)

That evening I went to dinner at a charming restaurant called El Refugio, which had been recommended on the Wikitravel web site (I’ve gotten some good tips from that site for my various travels; it’s a valuable resource). I had a nice steak dish with an interesting lemonade drink that had a bunch of chia seeds in it. The waiter warned me about the hot peppers that came with my dish and then seemed stunned that I ate all of them without blinking an eye—I guess he thought I was one of those wimpy Americans who consider mild Ortega taco sauce too spicy. 🙂

After dinner I returned to the monument on the circle. I figured since it was now later in the evening I would have a better chance of crossing to it. Little did I know that traffic in Mexico City never dies down. I managed to get across but getting back was an ordeal. I thought I had judged when I could cross, but suddenly when the light changed, all of the cars started coming from the opposite direction! A traffic circle that goes in both directions? Definitely the wackiest circle I’d ever seen. Here are a few photos from my treacherous journey to the monument:

From this angle the cherub seems to be pointing at the building. (click to enlarge)

I finally managed to cross back over from the monument and returned to the hotel. I was pretty beat after being up since 4 a.m. and I had an early pickup the next morning for my guided tour around the city (which would include visits to Xochimilco and the Museum of Anthropology), so it was off to bed, visions of floating gardens and ancient relics dancing in my head.

View more of my photos from Mexico

Mexico City lights viewed from my hotel room.

Mexico Panoramas

November 14, 2013 Michael Rappa6 Comments

View of Teotihuacan taken from on top of the Pyramid of the Moon

I’m back from my trip to Mexico (it was awesome!) and eager to start blogging about my adventures, but it will be a while before I finish organizing my photos and my journal (which at the moment exists only in my head), so in the meantime I thought I’d share a few horizontal and vertical panoramas I shot along the way (you can click on an image to view a larger version):

Teotihuacan: The Pyramid of the Moon viewed from the Avenue of the Dead

Teotihuacan: The Pyramid of the Sun
(one of the largest pyramids in the world)

View of Teotihuacan from on top of the Pyramid of the Sun

Teotihuacan: Pyramid of the Moon viewed from the Pyramid of the Sun

Chichen Itza: El Castillo (the main pyramid)

Uxmal: The Great Pyramid, which has only been partially restored.

View of Uxmal from on top of the Great Pyramid

Mexico City: Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

And finally…

Mexico: The Home Stretch

October 17, 2013 Michael Rappa2 Comments

It’s almost here! In less than two weeks I’ll finally be headed south of the border. While the main purpose of this trip is to realize my lifelong dream of visiting the Mexican pyramid sites, I am also very excited to experience el Día de Muertos (the Day of the Dead). I will be in Mexico City for the days leading up to the holiday, and in Merida when it officially begins on November 1st. Although I’ll be on tours during the day, I should have plenty of free time in the evenings to take in all of the festivities. Have any of you ever been in Mexico City or Merida for Day of the Dead?

Of course my other primary goal on this trip is to eat as much of the local food as possible. I have already received some good Mexico City dining tips from my fellow bloggers, for which I thank you. I’d also be grateful if anybody out there has some tips for dining in Merida. I don’t know if I’ll dine out much in Cancun since I will be staying in an all-inclusive hotel, but if there are any can’t-miss places out there, I would definitely be up for checking them out.

Speaking of Cancun, I’m still deciding whether I want to make my three days there relaxing or adventurous. I would like to do some exploring and possibly some snorkeling and activities like that. I also find the idea of swimming with dolphins enticing, but I am a little concerned that I would be contributing to their exploitation, so I am still up in the air about that. Another option if I want to take a bit of a road trip is to visit Xcaret, a cool-looking park featuring underground rivers among Mayan ruins. Then again, I may become so spoiled by being pampered at the Cancun resort that I wind up just vegging on the beach or in the pool all day. 🙂

Anyway, this will probably be my last post until I return from Mexico (hopefully with lots of stories to accompany my photos). Now, I’m off to pack. See you on the other side!

Countdown to Mexico

July 22, 2013 Michael Rappa2 Comments

I’m just about three months away from my Mexico trip: got all of my booking vouchers for the hotels and transportation, my new camera, and my Timberland low cut trail shoes for climbing those pyramids (at least the ones they let you climb). Now it’s time to start playing those Spanish learning CDs again.

I’m considering just bringing a carry-on suitcase for the trip, but I’m not sure about the practicality of doing so in light of how restrictive the TSA is about what you are allowed to bring. I’ve always done checked luggage in the past, but I’m thinking it would be nice to just hop off the plane and head to my destination, especially since I will be traveling by myself. It would also be convenient to not have to check a bag during my in-country flight from Mexico City to Merida, and to not have to lug around a large suitcase in between other destinations. I guess the big question is whether I will be able to fit everything I need into one small suitcase.

Have any of you ever traveled overseas for roughly a week with just a carry-on? How did you make out?

Below are a few of my destinations. I will have a little bit of free time in Mexico City and Merida, and a lot of free time in Cancun. If you have traveled to any of these cities and would like to share some tips about things to do, I would be most grateful. Thanks!

Three months is still a ways off but it will be here before I know it!

Mexico Awaits

April 14, 2013 Michael Rappa6 Comments

I have just booked my next big trip: a tour of Aztec and Mayan pyramids in Mexico that starts in Mexico City, moves to the Yucatan Peninsula, and eventually ends up in Cancun. I am also timing the trip so that I will be in Mexico City and Merida during the Day of the Dead festivities, which should be a neat experience.

This will be my first completely solo trip, which I now feel comfortable doing after my partially solo trip to Peru last year and my two days alone in Venice in 2011. I decided to treat myself to the deluxe tour package so I should be staying in some pretty nice hotels–my reward to myself after four days of roughing it in the wilderness of the Inca Trail last year. 🙂

Below is the rough itinerary according to the tour company’s web site. I don’t think I’ll have a ton of free time, but if anyone who has traveled to that part of Mexico has any suggestions about things to do, places to eat, etc., I’d love to hear about your experiences.

Day 01:

Arrival in Mexico City. Free time.

Day 02:

All-day sightseeing tour in Mexico City.

Day 03:

Visit the Guadalupe shrine.
Guided tour of Teotihuacan pyramids with free time allotted for climbing.

Day 04:

Fly to Merida.
Short sightseeing tour in the afternoon.

Day 05:

Visit the Kabah and Uxmal pyramid sites.

Day 06:

Visit the Chichen Itza pyramid site.
Transfer to Cancun.

Days 07 and 08:

Free time in Cancun.

Day 09:

Depart for home.

Sounds like a nice tour. The Aztec and Mayan pyramids have always been near the top of my bucket list. I can’t wait!