Ciudad de México

June 15, 2021

Estamos aqui!

We were all up uncharacteristically early on Monday morning at the Indianapolis airport to catch our first flight to Houston, and then on to Ciudad de México. Once we landed, our driver, Leonel, took us to our AirBNB in el Centro. It was surreal to finally be on the ground, surrounded by all the sound and color of the city. Our first course of action after settling in our room was to find something to EAT. Right across the street is a Salón Corona, so we hopped in for some tacos. Unsure what to choose, and tired from the flights, we chose the Corona de 18 Tacos: a plate with 18 different types of guisados (tortillas with meat.) Among some of the new and different things we tried were octopus in its ink, tripe, and chicharrón. Some of these we liked, and some we tried and put back on the plate, but we tried everything! Beginning our time in the city with a plate of new meats certainly set the tone for our whole trip: we’ll try as much as we can, sin miedo!

After dinner, we were energized enough to meander the streets in the center of Ciudad Mexico. We all were struck by how peaceful and quiet the streets were, surely due to Covid and the slight drizzle coming down. We visited a breathtaking iglesia de Saint Francis de Asisi and stopped by the Palacio Nacional on our walk. Booking an AirBNB so central in the city was a dream! After our walk around our barrio, we came back to our room and went up to the rooftop garden to see the view of the city and enjoy the succulents that you can see all around the city. If only we could keep plants this beautiful alive back home!

We’ve been pleasantly surprised to find that the weather has been far more temperate and comfortable than we ever expected! In fact, we got up early this morning for hot coffee and tea before our tour to keep our hands warm, and we all wore jackets for the beginning of our time in Teotiuacán. We were led by a lovely woman named Yuniel who was a former teacher herself, and taught us all about the ruins and the mysteries of the people who once lived and worshiped there. One of the highlights of this trip was seeing how the Aztecs designed the vista from the Moon Pyramid to create an optical illusion of a flat expanse, where the center path actually contains a series of stone stairways we followed up and down to reach the main pyramid.

We were enamored with the cool breezes, the incredible views and history, and especially the nopales that were all around the pathways of the ruins. After our tour of the Teotiuacán ruins, we tasted some different local maguey liqueurs and watched how the Aztecs and artists today use the fibers and parts of the maguey plant to make weapons, paper, and even a needle and thread. Next we ate nopales and different kinds of meats at a restaurant near Teotiuacán and then drove back into Ciudad Mexico. After resting up in our room, we headed out to find a snack and explore the streets downtown some more. We found fantastic churros and café de olla (coffee with brown sugar and cinnamon) which we enjoyed while watching a local street artist juggle flaming batons atop a stilted unicycle. You really never know what you’ll see around each corner. We’re excited to spend a little more precious time here to continue exploring the culture and food de Ciudad Mexico!