When I was in Mexico for 6 weeks

Riga – Manchester – Amsterdam – Mexico City – Cancun – Mexico City

Mexico City – Tepoztlan – Mexico City – Oaxaca – Mexico City – León – Guanajuato – San Miguel de Allende – Queretaro – Xilitla – Las Pozas – Pachuca – Grutas Tolantongo – Mexico City – Cancun – Playa del Carmen – Cozumel – Tulum – Chichen Itza – Mérida – Chiquila – Isla Holbox – Chiquila – Cancun – Isla Mujeres – Cancun – Mexico City

Mexico City – Amsterdam – Manchester – Riga!

That was the braveness, initiative, coincidence, friends and excitement that brought me to Mexico. Not to mention, that was my very first time outside of Europe. I was travelling alone to Mexico. I knew that I will have just 6 weeks of time to spend there so I planned wisely where to go, what to see and where to stay. Also, I am very lucky, because I have friends there which I met in my Erasmus in Prague.

As this is one of my longest and favourite trips, I will share it with you and probably you will go there as well. Mexico is really worth to visit!

As Mexico is a large country, there are plenty of places to visit and things to see. I will explain to you what I did in each of the cities so you can understand the variety of places and their character.

The very first thing I did is actually booking the flight. I was searching for it on many different websites and looking for something that fits my budget and my schedule. My tips and advice about getting a cheap flight I already explained in the other post. I ended up taking a flight from Europe to Cancun because that was cheaper than going to Mexico City. (However, the route actually transferred in Mexico City). I was travelling light and I could take only 1 item of the baggage of 8 kg. That forced me to analyse what to take and what to leave back home. To be honest, this taught me how to pack. My conclusion of things I explained in the post about what is in my traveller’s backpack. I uploaded also a printable pdf file to help you to pack.

So I came to Mexico City. I spent 5 days there.

Here is what I did: I visited Coyoacan, The Blue House – Frida Kahlo Museum, Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo, Torre Latinoamericana, Vasconcelos library, Museo Soumaya, Museo Jumex, Templo Mayor, Chapultepec park and the castle, Anthropology Museum, Bellas Artes, Garibaldi, Monumento a la revolución, Centro cultural Elena Garro, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, Ciudad Universitaria. Not to mention, as an architect, I also visited Casa Estudio Luis Barragán and other parts in the city centre and outside of it. That was amazing!

Of course, I also visited places outside of Mexico City. Firstly, I visited Teotihuacan and Tepoztlán. Teotihuacan /teɪˌoʊtiːwəˈkɑːn/ is an ancient Mesoamerican city located in a sub-valley of the Valley of Mexico, which is located in the State of Mexico 40 kilometres (25 mi) northeast of modern-day Mexico City. Teotihuacan is known today as the site of many of the most architecturally significant Mesoamerican pyramids. Finally, I could see such an impressive historical architecture which I studied in the university.

I was really impressed by the scale of things and the future and everything else! Those were places and culture I had never seen before.

Then I went further. I took a bus ride for 6h to Oaxaca. I had a friend there who showed me around the best places. Hierve El Agua, Sierra Norte de Oaxaca, Zona Arqueológica de Monte Albán and others. I was lucky to visit also the festival Guelaguetza!

Hierve el Agua

Guelaguetza

Then I visited other state and explored Queretaro. And after that Guanajuato City, Leon, San Miguel de Allende. Very beautiful! I love the Mexican vibe that is in these cities. It gives additional charm to places. Guanajuato is one of the most beautiful cities I have ever seen.

Guanajuato

And then I went to another state, San Luis Potosi. I saw a picture and I was very inspired to visit Las Pozas de Xilitla, Surrealist Gardens, El Castillo De Edward James. Las Pozas is a surrealistic group of structures created by Edward James, more than 2,000 feet (610 m) above sea level, in a subtropical rainforest in the mountains of Mexico. It includes more than 80 acres (32 ha) of natural waterfalls and pools interlaced with towering surrealist sculptures in concrete. The feeling there is very magical.

I spent 4 weeks so far and on my way back to Mexico City I visited Grutas Tolantongo. Of course, another amazing place where I recommend you to visit.

Grutas Tolantongo

And then I to a flight to Cancun, because I wanted to explore also Yucatan and Quintana Roo. I spent around 2 weeks there and I visited a lot. Some of my highlights are Playa del Carmen, Riviera Maya, Tulum, Playa Paraiso, Merida, Cenote Azul, Cozumel, Chichén-Itzá, Las Coloradas, Isla Holbox and Isla Mujeres.

I have so much to tell you about Yucatan and Quintana Roo so I will in the next post. So stay adventurous and keep travelling!