¡Hasta la próxima, Ciudad de México!

This is the third and final post about Mexico City - you can see the first two here and here.

After nearly five months in México City (including a few weeks last year), it’s finally time to move on. I know it’s a bit cheesy to say you’ve fallen in love with a place, but that’s the case here - it’s such a cracking town, and I hope to be back again before too long.

For my future reference, and perhaps for others who are curious or thinking of planning a visit, I’ve tried to scribble down the reasons I’ve found it so enjoyable. Words and pictures don’t really do it justice though…it’s one of those places that evokes a feeling as you wander around, one that’s hard to capture neatly. But hey ho, let’s give it a go!

Top five reasons CDMX is the best:

The sounds

If you close your eyes, you can tell it’s CDMX. The main giveaway is the charming, ubiquitous “Se compre colchones” child’s recording played by what we would call a rag & bone man in the UK; trucks going up and down the street, offering to buy mattresses, bed frames, old refrigerators and much more. Check out the Wikipedia entry for the lovely back story about how it was made. Listen to it here.

Beyond that, there are all sorts of bells and whistles - literally. Bells, as in a hand-held school bell, signifies that the rubbish truck is on the corner (they don’t collect from your kerb). A high-pitched whistle means the BBQ man is wheeling his wares down the street - stop him if you want to buy baked sweet potatoes or bananas. Then there’s the dude who walks down the street saying “bbbaaaaAAAHHHHH” with a rising inflection every 10 seconds, signifying the man selling gas cylinders is on his way. And let’s not forget the recordings played by the folks on push bikes selling their tamales.

The neighbourhood

One of the best things you can do in this part of CDMX is just mill around aimlessly. People are going about their business at about 2/3rds the pace of London / Sydney; families and friends are chilling out in parks and outside front doors; bars and restaurants tumble out into the pavement; dogs are everywhere….there’s just a general hubbub of friendly, interesting things going on. People are quick to crack a smile, especially if you’re trying your best to speak Spanish. As I’ve mentioned before, the architecture is quite old here, with crumbling stonework and colourful, peeling paint, but it all adds to the laid back vibe.

That isn’t to say that the locals don’t work hard, they really do. There’s a keen sense of pride and independence that pervades the city, and while folks are aware of the noisy neighbour to the North it doesn’t dominate discussion or attention. More, I think given Mexico’s history of Spanish conquest and hard-earned independence, there’s an empathy for others going through similar subjugation. Libre Palestina murals and signs are common, as are pride flags, and other statements of support. A lot of streets are named after independence, reform, insurgency, revolution and suchlike. It’s baked into the culture, and my anti-fascist, left-wing heart is here for it.

The food

Ah, the food…let me tell you, it’s a good job I’ve kept my exercise regime going otherwise I would’ve ballooned. So many delicious and enticing treats, too many to list here. I will mention a few of my favourite spots though: the Cariñito Tacos hole-in-the-wall is relatively pricey but so worth it. Panadería Rosetta for Pan Duché, OMG. Churrería El Moro for the best churros, freshly deep fried and then smothered in caramel sauce. Madre Café for a classy breakfast outside a pretty colonnaded mansion in the sunshine. And too many food stalls to list - but a shout out to Jenni’s Quesadillas, she’s the best. Yum yum yum yum yum.

The tunes

Yes, there are mariachi musicians, often in groups of 2 or 3, going from one restaurant to the next, playing a couple of songs and then passing round the hat. And hanging out on the boats of Xochimilco. But there’s music everywhere…I’ve seen people wandering around solo playing the trumpet or the accordion, a couple of guys set up a xylophone outside my apartment for a bit, I heard a band playing on a rooftop so went up to check them out (they were brill). There are brass bands and jazz quartets playing in the local parks, and military marching bands that go down the streets. Retired soldiers play a sort of portable turn-the-handle organ called a Harmoni-Pan to earn a few pesos. And with the restaurants open to the street, their music is a constant background hum.

Oh and I couldn’t talk about music without mentioning Patrick Miller…a most excellent nightclub where they play 1980s Italo Disco and have all night dance-offs. They take it very seriously. Unforgettable.

Nearby

CDMX has been a great springboard to check out some of the nearby towns and cities, and it gives you a real sense of just how much variety there is even within a small radius of CDMX. Guanajuato is an hour flight’s North, and I’ll never forget the callejoneadas - groups of musicians who take you around the alleyways and tunnels, singing songs, telling stories and plying you with tequila - my jaw hurt from smiling so much. And Oaxaca, 90 mins flight South, deserves all the plaudits it receives - such great food and drink (Mezcal, and much more), and the cobblestone streets and one-story colourful buildings make you feel mellow just being in amongst them. Then a bus ride away from CDMX, we visited Izpa-Popo (hiking between two volcanos, one of them active), Taxco and Tepoztlán (both Pueblos Magicos - Magical Towns - with charming people, topography, architecture and curiosities).

Reminds me of the time I asked my Australian friend what she liked most about London - she replied how easy it was to get to the variety that Europe has to offer. CDMX feels a bit like that. Although both London and CDMX are awesome too…

+++

You can’t go far without hearing music, smelling great food, seeing happy people, and encountering interesting things. It’s no wonder that people who visit want to come back again and again. Oops, forgot to mention how much I like the main park, Bosque de Chapultepec, for my regular runs. Gives Central Park NY a run for it’s money.

So…where next? I need to head home on 3 September, so I’m spending my remaining time (still working remotely) in another part of México - the Yucatán, in the East. I’ll start in Mérida for 2.5 weeks, then off to Tulum and Isla Holbox on the East and North East coasts respectively. Keep an eye on my Flickr feed if you’re interested to see what that looks like.

In the meantime, ¡Hasta la próxima, Ciudad de México!