Ahora, ya me puedo casar! (Porque sé cocinar)

Another weekend in the beautiful Mexico City. Jess, Bruno and I headed over to the capital on Friday to attend a cooking class provided by COMEXUS (who I partly work for). Embarrassingly enough, we were the last ones to arrive because of traffic. I wish that the program had events like this in different parts of the country and not just in Mexico City because I loved the cooking class. It was at a classy place called Menjant in the Polanco neighborhood. We were in teams of 4 or 5 and each person on the team was in charge of a dish. We made tortilla soup, plantains wrapped in chicken with mole on top, white rice, and rompope (creamy alcohol) mousse. I was in charge of the chicken. The chef made everything look so easy like slicing the chicken breasts paper thin. I did learn how to cut chicken properly, though. After we made the food the chef and helpers popped the chicken in the oven and we sat down at the beautifully set table on the other side of the kitchen. Our courses were served to us. My favorite dish was the soup. I love tortilla soup. It’s like a light tomato soup and you add sour cream, lettuce, avocado, and tortilla chip strips. The chicken was good, too. The dessert was lacking sugar but the chef said it’s supposed to taste like that because if you add sugar (any at all), it burns. I would have been good with a syrup drizzled over it or something. Friday night, we went salsa dancing in Mexico City. The place was chill but the crowd danced really well! It was a Cuban salsa I think that most people were dancing.

Saturday was spent exploring the famous National Anthropology Museum in Mexico City. I’ve been wanting to go for months. Bruno and I got there around 1PM and stayed until 7PM and saw a little more than half the museum. I’ve developed an appreciation for museum in the past few years and this one was a great one! I used to read every word on every sign and now I do the opposite. They had a really interesting evolution of man exhibit with rubber ape/people. I loved seeing all the textiles. The detail is incredible: the bowls covered in tiny beads, intricately painted animal sculptures, rope designs on the walls, etc. I hope to go back to finish exploring the rest of the museum sometime before I return to Chicago. 

Garañona in Metepec, Wedding in a Hacienda, and Friends in Malinalco

Another one of the few Toluca-based weekends but it was a great one because fellow Fulbrighters Preston, Jordan and Clara came to visit! Once everyone arrived we did some good ‘ol home cookin’. We feasted on spaghetti with homemade meatballs, broccoli sautéed in garlic, double baked potatoes, and for dessert: a sweet Mexican cookie pudding dish. We talked for hours and had to push ourselves out the door to discover the magical drink of Metepec: garañona! We went to a little bar to try it and sat at a corner table where the music couldn't have been any louder. The bar didn't even need a sound system it was so small. We set out to find another bar and went to a new one in Metepec that overlooked a plaza. We met up with some of our Mexican friends after and I learned how Mexican Jordan is with his Spanish.

Jess and our guests set out early Saturday morning to hike the volcano Nevado de Toluca that I hiked in January. I told them not to be intimidated because there are trails everywhere and the worst is uphill walking. Too bad, I forgot they were going with Jess! They ended up summiting. Meanwhile Bruno and I had a wedding at noon. One of the teachers I work with at the teacher training school invited me to her daughter’s wedding. It was one of the most beautiful weddings I’ve been to. The bride looked flawless. And the couple was young! They were 24 and had been dating for 8 years. The mass was in a church in a little pueblo then everyone drove over to the Hacienda Serratón where the reception was. The place was stunning. When we arrived, there was an ice cream man in the garden! After a while, they had the civil ceremony in the gazebo (super common to do it right after the wedding) then we headed inside the reception building. We sat at a table with friends of the bride who were all super friendly. The entertainment and the giveaways were on point! They had an entertainment company with a DJ for most of the afternoon\night but then after about 2 hours there was a man on the stage practically giving a fitness class. I swear he was a Zumba instructor. A few hours later there was a Cuban man and a band performing salsa. A few hours after that there was banda. In between all these, the DJ was playing and handing out things like blow up guitars, light-up Minnie Mouse ears, sunglasses, foam hats, aprons, etc. The bride’s family walked around with baskets filled with slippers, flip flops, fans and towels. There was even a candy table! I can’t express how much I love this kind of Mexican weddings. The mother of the bride looked beautiful, as well. The whole event was perfect. I was thinking that 12PM is pretty early for a wedding so it must end early. WRONG. We were there until about 11PM. I had no problem with that. When I walked into my apartment, our guests were cuddled on the couch watching Pitch Perfect. They even bought us cookies & cream ice cream!

Preston had to leave early Sunday morning but Clara, Jordan, Bruno and I went to Malinalco for the day. When we arrived, we had to get ice cream because it’s one of the things Malinalco is known for. Then we hiked up to the pyramid and the ceremonial site that was in the mountains. Part of the archaeological site was restored and we were discussing if it’s better to restore the ruins or to leave them how they were found. I’m on team restoration. We climbed back down and went to the ex-convent with the beautifully painted black and white walls. For lunch we had the famous trout. I couldn’t handle my food looking at me like last time so I enjoyed some quesadillas. Jordan got the spiciest one on the menu. They had updated the place since Bruno and I went in January. It’s always the perfect temperature in Malinalco which was nice. After that the crew all headed their separate ways.

My week in paradise on the Riviera Maya

I arrived at the airport in Chiapas super early. There were literally 0 people in the waiting area. From there, I flew to Mexico City as my connection flight to Cancún. My first flight was delayed and I didn’t have much layover time in Mexico City but by the grace of God my luggage and I made it on the flight to Cancún. Bruno had arrived hours before me so he checked into the hotel and got the rental car and we started our week-long Rivera Maya tour. We first stopped for dinner at a mall by the hotel strip. Man, did I suffer with the prices. I’m used to everything being so much cheaper in Mexico. But don’t worry, I survived. We had a taco sampler platter that was delicious and had some unique ones. After dinner, we prepped at the hotel to go out! We went to a club called Coco Bongos. It was a blast! You pay a million dollars to get in but that includes free unlimited drinks, music, and a show of impersonators (who did a great job, by the way). The show lasted from 10PM-2AM and the venue was close enough to the hotel to walk. Bruno bought me 3 roses on the way back…which he didn’t remember buying.

We had a late start the next morning with breakfast that was included in the hotel: toast. Just toast. Anyway, we hopped in the car and drove to Xcaret. Bruno wanted to get there super early and I didn’t understand why he wanted to be in this place for 12 hours. But when we got there, I understood immediately. I can’t even describe what exactly caret is. It’s a must-see when in Cancún. Yes, you pay another million dollar entrance fee, but it’s worth it. It’s like a zoo activity beach paradise with great buffets. Bruno and I splurged and got the entrance tickets with the extras. We started by walking towards a lazy-river type thing while looking at the exotic animals on the way. We got out life jackets and went underground to swim the length of a river that went to the other side of the park. At the other end we got our snorkeling gear and hit the reef. We were starved after so we went to one of the restaurants that were included with the tickets. I swear to you, I’ve never seen such a variety of food. I wish I wasn’t in my bathing suit because I definitely had a food baby. We went on a silent boat tour of another river after that and then walked over to the arena for the grand finale of the day. It was a cultural show of Mexico. The performers played a sport with a flaming ball in which they had to hit it through a stone hoop with their hips, they acted, they sang, and they danced traditional dances of various states of Mexico in their traditional outfits. It was flawless! We then left Xcaret and drove to Playa del Carmen where we were staying for the night. Our hotel was right off the main street with all the shops. We checked in and took a nap. Wrong thing to do at 11PM after a big day. Needless to say, we didn’t explore on Thursday.

Friday was the exploring day. We walked the strip and did some shopping! Lots of gift buying for family, friends, and maybe myself as well. There was a beautiful church on the main street with glass walls facing the water. We walked to the beach and got right in the water, the beautiful water, then got right out. There was some kind of algae in the water that turned our skin red and itchy. It was super disappointing because everyone speaks so highly about Playa del Carmen. We drove down the coast to another beach town called Akumal. Now that was perfect. You had to walk 60 feet just to be up to your waist in water AND it was warm. I was in heaven. I took a little nap on the beach and had some of the best tacos at a restaurant in the sand. We stayed there and watched the sunset. At night we moved to our next destination which was Tulum. Let me just stop and say that Bruno is the best trip planner alive. He booked us 6 different places to stay and rented the car and did all the planning. And he didn’t even charge me for his services. Where we stayed in Tulum was paradise. It was a little cabin on the beach. You walk out the door and your toes are in the sand. Closer to the water there were hammocks and beds and shade. It was 40 steps from our door. So peaceful.

In the morning, we had breakfast on the beach by the sea which was brought to us in our hammocks. We couldn’t stay long though because we had to go to the famous pyramids of Tulum! We drove to the pyramid area and ended up getting a package which included a boat tour. We were able to see the pyramids from the water and go snorkeling. While on the boat tour, the guide was telling us about how certain parts of the water were deeper so that ships could pass through. The pyramids in Tulum are the only Mexican pyramids on the water. After the tour, we walked around the pyramid site and took lots of pictures. Unfortunately, none of the pyramids are climb-able anymore. We were there until it closed then hopped back in the car to go to Bacalar. All of the stops so far have been the state of Quintana Roo. Bacalar is super far south in the state and practically borders Belize. We rented a room at a hostel but they didn’t have one available when we arrived so we got the first hotel we found which was right on La Laguna de los 7 Colores (Lagoon of 7 Colors).

Not many Mexicans know about Bacalar and it’s colorful water but I’m happy that someone had suggested it to Bruno. At first I expected a rainbow color lake but it was all different shades of blue depending on the depth of the water. Sunday morning, Bruno and I ran downtown, got some breakfast and explored tour options. After checking out of the hotel, we found a boat tour that went around the lake (it was like a lake even though it’s called a lagoon), toured the cenotes (nature wells), and stopped on an island to swim. The swimming was my favorite part. The water was shallow and warm and the sand was kind of slimy (in a good way) and really good for your skin. People pay to have skin treatments with it in the area. In the afternoon we drove to the town of Valladolid in the state of Yacatán. It took quite a while because there was a detour. We drove through a teeny tiny village. I had never been in such a simple place. All the people looked the same and lived in the same style houses. The best part was that we were able to see a bride on the way to her wedding walking in the street with her bridesmaids behind her. I’m actually happy we detoured and were able to see a side of Mexico so traditional that was so close to such a tourist destination. We got to Valladolid after the sun set but just in time to worship the Lord at mass! We found a church a few blocks away from our hotel. After mass we walked around downtown and the main cathedral. Our hotel was across the street from the zócalo. Perfect location.

On Monday morning we walked around downtown Valladolid a little more and then we headed to an ex-convent. We were able to walk around the whole thing, which was awesome. I’ve been to others which were all closed off. This one even had a garden in back. After the ex-convent we went swimming in a cenote. This one was partly underground, unlike the ones in Bacalar. The water was so cold! It took me forever to get in. There were ropes tied from one side to the other that you could walk or sit on. Bruno decided he wanted to jump in with a life jacket but it took him about 5 minutes to muster up the courage while there were people jumping from ridiculous heights. I did not have the desire to do that. After the cenote, we went to the super famous pyramids of Chichen-Itza. There were more vendors than pyramids. The main pyramid was the most impressive. It wasn’t in its original state but I decided I like it when they renovate the pyramids here in Mexico so that people can see what it used to look like in its day. They even had the ball court like the one we saw in the spectacular in Xcaret. I bought a silver necklace from one of the vendors. I did a pretty good job bargaining if I do say so myself. One of the vendors even told us that he sells things more expensive to people who don’t speak Spanish. Just another advantage of being bilingual. We had another delicious buffet at the Chichen-Itza hotel then went back to Cancún. Bruno found a deal on booking.com for a room in the hotel zone in Cancún that overlooks the pool area and ocean for less than $100. I didn’t want to leave the room. Ever.

I was more willing to leave in the morning because we were headed to the beach! The waves were huge but being in the water was the best. We didn’t stay long because we had plans to go to Isla Mujeres which is right off the coast of Cancún. It’s a 25 minute boat ride. And the ferry even had entertainment. When we arrived at Isla Mujeres, we found a boat tour that took us snorkeling, to see an underwater museum, to swim with sharks, and to eat. My God was the water choppy. I felt nauseous the whole time, as did Bruno. The underwater museum was a really cool concept but it was a little difficult to see because the exhibits were pretty far down and the water wasn’t the clearest. The swimming with sharks meant that there was a 6 ft by 6 ft area enclosed by a dock that housed two sharks. I was too nauseous to even go by the water. The food that was included was pretty good though. It was fresh fish, rice, veggies, and tortillas. After the tour, I decided that I would have been content on the beach all day. We didn’t have much down time, as you could tell. We missed our boat ride back to the main island but we were able to take the next one thankfully because we had a plane to catch! Our flight back to Mexico City left at 9PM. We thought we were booking it for 9AM but it ended up being a night flight. When we landed in Mexico City (at 1AM) we were just going to get a hotel but the one by the airport was ridiculously expensive so we cabbed it back to Toluca, arriving around 2:30AM. What. A. Trip!

Spring Break Stop 3: San Cristobal de las Casas, Chiapas

After a very long overnight bus ride from Zipolite, Britney and I finally arrived in San Cristobal de las Casas Monday morning. We rented a room in another Airbnb house but this one was in the downtown area so it had a different feel. We were starved so we found an adorable café. They even had bagels! I hadn’t eaten a bagel in 9 months. While we were eating, Jordan and Preston arrived from Campeche. They had spent the previous week in Cancún. We finished eating then walked around downtown. San Cris and Oaxaca have a similar feel. Brit and Preston obviously found a gym and Jordan introduced me to Azealia Banks after we got him a good-looking haircut in a barbershop that looked like an antique store. At night, we met up with fellow ETAs that live/ were visiting San Cris for spring break. I love how quickly everyone in the program became close. Dinner was a lot of fun and we found a little bar/café to go to after. It was sad thinking I might not see those ETAs again!

 

On Tuesday we took a daytrip to Cañon de Sumidero, which is a giant canyon with a river running through it. The bus to the canyon even picked us up from the hotel! Too bad we didn’t know that and we walked to the tour office. The first stop of the tour was to the canyon. We strapped on our unbelievably hot lifejackets and set out on the water. The boat went surprisingly fast! Thankfully, hats were not lost. The canyon is 100 meters high at its highest point! There was a point where we stopped in the canyon where you could see two cliffs, one on each side, and one in between them in the distance. This point is on their state symbol. There were even boats selling snacks and drinks when we got to the end of the canyon. It was like a convenience store on water. Soooo I got a michelada. I’ve never seen someone take as many selfies as the woman sitting in from of me. She wasn’t even smiling! While I’m on the topic, I don’t understand why people ask me to take a picture of them with a smile but when the camera is in my hand, they put on their most serious face.

Anyway, after the canyon we went to the little nearby magic town of Chiapa de Crozo for lunch. I was able to get ice cream because it wasn’t Lent! When we went back to San Cris, we went to the market because we wanted Chiapan clothing. Brit found a dress and Preston and I got shirts. I love market prices and bargaining. We had a lovely Italian dinner downtown to celebrate our last night all together then found a café for dessert. We went to bed early because the crew had to get up at 5 to go to Palenque. On Wednesday morning, I packed up and took a bus to the airport for my next adventure!

Spring Break Stop 2: Zipolite, Oaxaca

We arrived in Hualtulco early Wednesday morning and took a taxi to THE BEACH. Brit and I rented a room at a posada in Zipolite. A posada is like a bed and breakfast. We thought we were booking a house to rent in Hualtulco but Google Maps was wrong on Airbnb so we ended up in Zipolite, the nude beach. There were more bathing suits than I expected actually. Our room wasn’t ready at the house when we arrived so we decided to run on the beach. I’d say 10% of the people we passed were naked. Then we got some breakfast on the beach and groceries and headed back to the house. The house that we stayed at was amazing. It was a 5-minute walk from the beach and you could see the beach from the balconies because it was on a hill. Brit and I each had our own rooms and we shared a bathroom. Once we unpacked, we headed straight for the beach. Britney is a tanning machine. She can lay for hours soaking up the sun. I thought I could too but I was too hot. I spent most of my time in the water or shade. The waves were knock-your-bathing-suit-off huge. If you didn’t go to the beach naked, the waves helped make you that way. We stayed in the sand until it was 5 and there were 2-for-1 cocktails at a nearby restaurant. We were in heaven. The owner of the house made us a delicious dinner at night and we got to meet the other people staying in the house.

On Thursday we started off with another run. I was super proud of our exercising! We made friends with the federal police office who was also staying in the house and he was our chauffeur for the next couple of days. He offered to take us to Mazunte, a nearby town known for their turtles. First, we went to the turtle museum. Behind the museum, they had a bunch of open tanks with different kinds of turtles. Baby turtles are the cutest! In the parking lot, we were persuaded by a tour guide to take a boat ride through a swamp off a beach where the sand was magnetic because it had metallic bits mixed with regular rock. The tour was simple but we got to see a lot of wildlife. We saw birds, dozens of iguanas, and a handful of crocodiles. I learned that when a crocodile dies, you usually don’t see a complete dead body, but pieces rather because other crocodiles eat the dead one. Mothers even eat their children if they don’t leave their mothers quickly enough when they are babies. After the tour we went to the Mazunte beach for some lunch then hiked up Punta Cometa. On the other side of the hill, there was a beach (again, with massive waves). We made friends while we were swimming. I only lost my bathing suit twice. -_- We watched a beautiful sunset and headed back to the house.

Friday was another adventure day! After a morning run, Britney headed to the beach and I went to Las cascadas mágica (Magical Waterfalls) with people who were staying at the house with us. The police officer drove me, a British man who has been traveling the world for the last 17 years, creating and updating websites for free housing, and an Australian couple who have been traveling all over America for the past 6 months. Muy buena onda (very good people). We drove for so long. It was north of Hualtulco so it took about 3.5 hours to get there. The waterfalls were stunning. We hiked up as far as we could on land then we continued in our bathing suits to the highest pool. There was a rope swing and caves at all levels of the waterfall. The Brit made an awesome 2 minute video of us on the rope swing and in the caves to one of my favorite songs in Spanish. On the million hour drive back, the car died. In the middle of nowhere. In the dark. Thankfully a taxi drove past, so we were able to get a ride back. At night, Britney and I went out with our new friends from the beach. There was a bonfire on the beach in Zipolite right next to a reggae bar. It was a lot of fun! The night ended in tacos so you know it was a good time.

Saturday was another day in paradise. Another perk of staying at the house was that the owner made us breakfast for only $2USD. We had eggs, beans, toast, and bacon. Brit and I were going to go to Hualtulco for the day to enjoy the beach but it was too much of a pain to get there so we stayed in Zipolite. We layed out for a while then we met up with our beach friends again and played volleyball. We made the right choice to stay. After some micheladas, Brit and I headed back to the house to nap and to get ready for the night. We went back to the beach and there was a DJ playing who took 100% of our music requests because we were dancing. There was a bonfire outside of the reggae bar again and a live band so we stayed there until the time changed and we lost and hour and it was suddenly 4AM.

Our last day in Zipolite was Easter Sunday. It was a very sweet day. I had giving up sweets for Lent so I went to down with my sugar intake. It was the laziest day I’ve had possibly in my life. I set out to find a church after breakfast and I think I found the only one in Zipolite. I thought it might be Catholic because of the large Catholic presence here in Mexico but once the female priest figure walked in (15 minutes late) I assumed it wasn’t Catholic. It was the hottest mass I had even been to. I was dripping sweat just sitting in the simple square-shaped building. When I was leaving church, I ran into Brit who was on the hunt for medical supplies to play doctor for the metal pieces in her foot. After she treated herself, she headed to the beach but I headed back to the house to spend 4 hours in the hammock. Like I said, lazy day. Late at night, we went to the bus station to take another overnight bus to stop number 3. We met a really nice guy at the bus stop. When he thought his bus was at the station, he left and Brit went to the shop to get water but she found him there buying water and chocolate for us because his bus hadn’t actually arrived yet. So many nice people in Mexico. Then we hopped on our bus for the 11-hour ride to our next destination!