Day 1 Mexico City
Arrived on time, spent 35 minutes in line for passport control, and walked to Pantitlan station to get the metro to our Airbnb
Dropped off our stuff, went to the supermercado (getting a taco on the way), returned home, had a quick, cold drink, took a looky loo at the artisanal souvenir mercado around the corner, and then took the metro to Tacos Visilto for supper.
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| Believe the hype! Great tacos al pastor |
Walked to the Cineteca Nacional for a little recon,
then took the metro home. Wound it down after being awake for 19.5 hours.
Bhob wore his Fitbit, which recorded a total of 10.7 miles.
Day 2 Mexico City
Neither of us slept very well (primarily due to a running toilet that we eventually turned off the water supply to), so we finally gave up and got up around 5:30. Went for a quick walk for pastry and tamales.
Headed to Centro Histórico to see some of the things that Bhob had bookmarked from Atlas Obscura.
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| Unico Santuario Nacional de la Santa Muerte |
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| Museo de la Medicina |
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| Palacio Postal (see previous post for more photos) |
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Biblioteca Miguel Lerdo de Tejada |
Went to Pulquería Las Duelistas and subjected the patrons to my jukebox picks.
Bhob bought some Mexican wrestler t-shirts at the mercado artisanal.
Popped our heads into an interesting doorway, which turned out to be a Jewish museum, and we had a look around.
Attempted to buy some tacos at Taqueria Los Cocuyos, but they kept ignoring us, so we bailed.
There was a taco cart on the way home that was crowded, so we thought we'd test out the theory that where there is a crowd, there is also probably really good food. Unfortunately, there wasn't a line per se, and we could not figure out how it worked, so we bailed again.
Walked through the plaza that surrounded our metro station (Insurgentes), which empties into a pedestrian mall that is jammed with restaurants, vendors and hawkers. We missed our turn, so we took a side street that was charming and not as crazy. We shared a ginormous beer that was served in a glass that weighed about 9 pounds.
Went home, had a shot of tequila and decided that we would go see the new Marvel Dr. Strange movie in 3D IMAX at a mall cineplex. It seemed to take us forever to find it, and by that time we were starving and cranky, so we treated ourselves to some fantastic burgers and fries.
After the movie (which I enjoyed; great special effects, but felt a bit long), took 3 trains home, passed a busker playing Funkytown on drum machine and electric guitar, got home, drank a huge mug of fizzy water, took a shower and zonked out.
Total miles walked 13.7
Day 3 Mexico City
Glorious day of doing absolutely nothing productive!
Walked about 40 steps to buy tamales molé for breakfast.
Took our first ride on a Metrobus to Tlatelolco Archaeological site.
Went to Maiz de Chocolaté for chocolate tamales, guava and cheese tamales, espresso and mezcal. Everything was exceptional!!
Before going home, Bhob picked up more skull stuff, Mexican wrestler shot glasses and t-shirts at the mercado artisanal around the corner.
Walked to the nearby gelateria.
The proprietor suggested a couple of places for cocktails, Dr. Pizza
and Cicatriz
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| Stimulating the Mexican economy, one cocktail at a time |
Went home to sit for a minute, then did some recon for the following night's entertainment.
Spent the rest of the evening watching videos on the youtubes.
Total miles walked 10.92
Day 4 Mexico City
Slept OK until about 2:30 AM, when I was awakened by a barking dog, who continued nonstop until about 4. I couldn't get back to sleep, so I gave up and got up.
It was Saturday, so our Tamale Guy wasn't on the corner. We cooked some eggs and planned to return to Maíz de Cacao as soon as they opened at 8:30.
Walked there via Orizaba
Got another pair of sweet tamales, espresso and mezcal.
Took the electric bus to Bosque de Chapultepec, walked around a bit, and visited the Museo Nacional de Antropologia.
Our only objective for the daytime was to eat at the Lovecraft Cafe. They wouldn't be open for another two and a half hours, so we decided to walk to it, and then find a cocktail bar nearby to hang out at until it opened.
The google maps was very kind, as it pointed us to a fantastic little place called Felina.
We each had a drink, and since we were the only ones there, Rubén the bartender came out and chatted with us for awhile. We promoted to him the advantages of not cohabitating with one's beloved.
After another drink, it was time to eat, so we walked to our destination.
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| The verdict? Gimmicky but good |
Took the metro home, had a shower, and a short disco nap. At 6 PM (!) walked to Starbucks for a vanilla cream cold brew.
At 9:15 PM it was time to leave for the primary reason for our trip.
Expectations officially exceeded!
I couldn't have enjoyed the show more even if I'd seen the real thing.
The show started an hour late, so we walked home around 1:30 AM, and our lives were saved by a taco stand that was finishing up for the night.
Total miles walked 11.7
Day 5 Mexico City
Managed to get about 4 hours of sleep before the neighbor dog started barking. Eggs and spinach for breakfast.
Our main objective for the day was to get our Covid tests for the next day's flight home. Took an Uber to the one clinic that is open on Sundays. The English-speaking lab tech remembered me from my February test.
After that, walked on the pedestrian trail of the Parque Lineal Ferrocarril de Cuernavaca
to the Soumaya Museum. Stopped at a cheesy chain restaurant because I wanted some juice. Bhob got 3 flautas and was stuffed.
Spent about 45 minutes at the museum.
Continued walking on the Cuernavaca Park trail
to see how far it went, after which we planned to search for a cafe or cocktail bar to while away the afternoon. We found nothing, and it was quite sunny and warm, so rather than walk an hour home, we splurged on an Uber.
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| For a few magical minutes each day, a shaft of sunlight illuminates the planter on the floor next to our building's elevator |
Had a couple of ice cold beers, and went around the corner to Taqueria Orinoco for chicharrón tacos and guava hibiscus beverage. It was a transcendent experience!
Things kind of disintegrated after that. Didn't have much of a plan for the afternoon, so we went to the chocolate museum for a chocolate blueberry tamale (meh), returned to Clicatriz with hopes of more fab cocktails, but every seat was taken.
Went to the pedestrian street (aka Sucker's Row) by our apartment and ordered a couple of alleged Piña Coladas with amaretto. They were tasty enough, but didn't deliver the goods, and the bar started playing country music, so we bailed.
Went home, finished our tequila and watched YouTube videos of Erasure tribute bands. I'd had fewer than 4 hours sleep on the two previous evenings, so I was pretty zonked out. Went to bed around 9.
Total miles walked: 9.4
Day 6 Departure
Walked to Panederia Rosetta for one last pastry.
Did a little packing and cleaning, then went to the corner to pick up tamales for Second Breakfast. Our Tamale Guy gave us a bonus one wrapped in a banana leaf!
More packing and cleaning, then ran into our Airbnb host on the way out.
Took the metro to the end of the line and walked the rest of the way to the airport.
At one of the metro stops, security guards had to step in to break up a pair of gentlemen engaging in fisticuffs.
Got through security quickly, took off a little late but landed right on schedule. Got through passport control in record time.
Random Observations
Many more incidents of mega-crammed metro cars.
FAQs
Why travel to CDMX so soon after your last trip?
There were so many things there that I knew Bhob would love, and he wanted to make the trip sooner than later. It's such a short flight, we knew it wouldn't be too complicated, or require a lot of advanced planning.
We promised ourselves that the next time the CDMX Depeche Mode Tribute band was playing there, we would go. In early April, they announced an upcoming show on May 14th, and we immediately booked our flights.
So you basically traveled 2100 miles to see a band play Depeche Mode songs for 2 hours.
Yes.
And I'd do it all over again.
How were your flights?
Both flights arrived on time and offered acceptable refreshments.
What did you watch on the plane?
MSP-MEX
2 episodes of Parks and Recreation
Lady Boss: The Jackie Collins Story
1 episode of 30 Rock
MEX-MSP
1 episode of Parks and Recreation
Flee (Riveting! Don't miss it!)
3 episodes of 30 Rock
1 episode of Brooklyn 99
How was the weather?
Perfect!
The afternoons got a little bit sunnier and warmer than we generally care for, but we never had to plan our days based on when we thought it might rain.
What time of year did you go?
May 11-16, 2022.
This is typically one of the few times during the year that I don't want to be away from Minnesota, but the DM tribute was happening, and we were in "The Future Is Promised To No One" mode.
Was dealing with Covid any different from 3 months previous?
No health declaration required. Still strict masking rules in the airport, shops, museums, etc. Things were a little more loose at restaurants and bars.
Any highlights?
The Depeche Mode tribute was fantastic.
And the food, as always, was amazing.
Any lowlights?
No AC in the apartment meant that we had to keep the windows open, inviting in noise and hungry mosquitoes who found only me (not Bhob) to be edible
Any surprises?
The Medical Museum was larger and more interesting than I'd expected.
I was also surprised that even though Bhob and I stayed in the same neighborhood as my previous trip with Peg, and we went to some of the same places, there were still a lot of streets that I hadn't been on before.
How did traveling in CDMX with Bhob compare to traveling there with your sister, Peg?
The main difference is that Bhob and I have more similar waking times than Peg and I do. Bhob has a better sense of direction and navigation than Peg and me, so that was an advantage.
The only disadvantage was that traveling with Bhob meant that we couldn't ride the Women-Only cars on the metro :(
Otherwise, Bhob and Peg are similarly low maintenance, and happy to just walk around and look at stuff. Both are excellent travel pals :)
How much did it cost?
Cost for 2 people:
Flights $1285.76
Lodging $332.82
Groceries $24.78
Restaurants and street food (includes a lot of generous tips) $178.35
Booze (includes a lot of generous tips) $129.74
Treats and non-alcoholic beverages $55.96
Sunscreen and bandaids $12.69
Covid tests $36.73
Ground transportation $24.16
Souvenirs and gifts $64.70
Admissions to attractions $43.24
Total $2188.31
Total per person $1094.15
Total per person per day $218.83
Total "on the ground costs", not including lodging and airfare $569.55
Total "on the ground" costs per person per day: $56.95
To pay for a trip like this, a person would have to save $3 per day for one year.
Who watched Stinkerbell?
My dear friends and neighbors Rob and Jennifer.