#Oaxaca Mexico City & Cancun. A few thoughts.

From Havana, Cuba I wanted to go to Oaxaca, Mexico. However there was no direct flight - I had to go via Mexico City. To use Mexico City just as a transit stop or to go into the city and have a look around? I vacillated. Security concerns against a missed opportunity. In the end I decided to spend 3 nights in Mexico City but I pinned everything down before I went ie airport transfer, hotel and what I was going to do.

Just before I write a bit about Mexico City - some bare facts about Mexico itself :-

Mexico is a huge country - the 13th largest in the world at over 760000 square miles. The UK is 94000 sq m.

Mexico's population is approx 130 million - so maybe twice the size of the UK.

In GDP terms Mexico's economy is the world's 13th largest. However in per capita terms it is only 71st. There are wide disparities between rich and poor. Unlike in the UK poor are mainly relatively poor. In Mexico they are actually/really poor.

Mexico is the largest car producer in N America. It is the world'd 6th largest producer of electronics. It is the 6th largest oil producing country in the world - something that surprised me.

One of its biggest problems is corruption and the grip of the drug cartels. Successive governments have been at war with the cartels. Since 2006 it is estimated 120000 Mexicans have died and 37000 missing.

Mexico is the 6th most visited country in the world with a huge tourism industry. However this tourism is mainly coastal - Mexico has both a Pacific and an Atlantic coastline. It is a relatively easy hop from Canada and the States for beach type holidays.

Mexico is now a democratic country. It is a republic.

There is a basic free health and education system but in many areas especially rural ones it is poor and underfunded.

Ok back to Mexico City. Mexico City is huge - probably the 5th largest - over 22 million people (Greater London is just under 10 million). The other remarkable fact about it is it is Mexico City is located at a height of over 7000 ft so for some people there is an altitude effect.

(Mexico City is located in the Valley of Mexico within the high Mexican central plateau, at an altitude of 2,240 meters (7,350 ft). It sometimes also called Basin of Mexico, is a highlands plateau in central Mexico. Surrounded by mountains and volcanoes, the Valley of Mexico was a centre for several pre-Columbian civilizations including Teotihuacan, the Toltec, and the Aztec Empire. The valley used to contain five interconnected lakes called Lake Zumpango, Lake Xaltocan (Nahuatl languages: Xāltocān), Lake Xochimilco, Lake Chalco and the largest, Lake Texcoco, covering about 1,500 square kilometers (580 sq mi) of the valley floor. When the Spaniards arrived in the Valley of Mexico, it had one of the highest population concentrations in the world with about one million people. After the conquest of the Aztec Empire, the Spaniards rebuilt the largest and most dominant city, Mēxihco Tenōchtitlan, renaming it Ciudad de México (Mexico City) and over time began to drain the lakes' waters to control flooding.)

As recommended I headed for Centro Mexico City and the historical area. Apart for the interest Centro is heavily policed and I would say is safe providing you use common sense. I don't know about at night. It is the area where tourists focus.

My hotel was very close to the Zocalo - the main square. To be honest with you it was worth going to Mexico City - just to stand in the middle of this magnificent square with the huge Mexican flag flying in the centre and surrounded by clearly important buildings and a huge and magnificent cathedral. I have been lucky enough to visit a good number of the world's most important cities including Tiananmen Square in Beijing - but the Zocalo is as impressive and atmospheric as any I have seen.

One of my favorite things to do when I go to any City is to sign up for the free walking tour which is almost always available. The format really works. The guides are always enthusiastic and well informed and they earn a living from tips so they are well vested. They added so much to to the appreciation and understanding of where I was.

In a nutshell in the period they refer to as pre Spanish or the pre colonial era ie before the arrival of the Spanish in 1519 Mexico had a line of ancient civilizations - the most notable of which were the Aztecs. They established the site of the now Mexico City on an island in a middle of a lake served by giant causeways. When the Spanish arrived they smashed much of the Aztecs culture and often or not used the materials from the smashed buildings to build in their Spanish style on the same site. Over time the Spanish built many fine colonial buildings - not least the magnificent and huge cathedral in the centre of Zocalo and they filled in the lake to build on. However unlike the Aztecs who used light materials the Spanish built heavy buildings over the top. Consequently most buildings in the centre of Mexico City are under some sort of structural threat - with many leaning and or sinking. It is a massive problem. In the process of trying to stabilise foundations the work has exposed much of the structures of the Aztecs and increasingly this is being secured and available to see.

I could write masses about Mexico City - however that would be pointless. I will say this. Don't hesitate to do what I did. The part I saw of Mexico City is wonderful. It is vibrant, real, often beautiful. Its history and culture could keep you engaged for as long as you have time to spend - and the food is tremendous and great value. However be under no illusion crime is real. I felt safe walking around in the Zocalo area during the day - although there were many armed police in evidence. Having said that I saw a violent fight in the middle of a very busy town centre street which I guess was road rage based but I don't know. Our guide warned us about straying out of the centro area and pointed to Tepito - an area a few blocks away and in sight. He said the police are reluctant to go into that urban enclave.

After Mexico City I flew to Oaxaca City - why ? Oaxaca is a region of Mexico and its capital city is Oaxaca City. I have had it in mind to try and go there if I had the good fortune to get to Mexico since watching a Rick Stein food/travel programme several years ago.

Oaxaca is southern Mexico and is in stark contrast to Mexico City. From wiki :-

The state is best known for its indigenous peoples and cultures. The most numerous and best known are the Zapotecs and the Mixtecs, but 16 are officially recognized. These cultures have survived better than most others in Mexico due to the state's rugged and isolating terrain. Most live in the Central Valleys region, which is also an economically important area for tourism, with people attracted for its archeological sites such as Monte Albán, and Mitla, and its various native cultures and crafts. Another important tourist area is the coast, which has the major resort of Huatulco and sandy beaches of Puerto Escondido, Puerto Ángel, Zipolite, Bahia de Tembo, and Mazunte. Oaxaca is also one of Mexico's most biologically diverse states, ranking in the top three, along with Chiapas and Veracruz, for numbers of reptiles, amphibians, mammals and plants.

Put another way - this is old Mexico - relatively unspoilt - where they are actively and earnestly fighting to retain and promote their cultures - not least their festivals - crafts - and what I particularly came for - cuisines (or more to the point street foods).

Again I could write masses about Oaxaca. I really loved it there. It felt very safe. It is colourful. Despite the tourism (which they are desperate to promote as their main income earner) it feels original and authentic. Much is beautiful. The food is something else - the range - the produce available. I signed up for a 10 hour street food tour in Oaxaca City. It was so much fun to do. Just as an instance we sat down in a market and tasted 11 diferent fruits I had never seen or tasted before. The same could easily have been done with vegetables. Much of original Mexican cooking does not require meat.

Just on Mexican food - part of my interest in visiting Mexico and Oaxaca particularly was to learn more about it - maybe with a view to expanding my repertoire beyond chilli con carne - ha ha! However - my conclusion - I have come away confused. Take Mole sauce - a staple - simply put - a savoury sauce mixing chilli with chocolate. The reality there are many mole sauces and vast numbers of recipes - each of the many indigenous groups have their own. From now on I am just happy to eat it and pretty much leave it at that.

I would recommend Oaxaca as a place to visit.

Finally I flew to Cancun on the eastern side of Mexico. Why Cancun - a place with a reputation as a brash large glitzy modern tourist hot spot that specialises in beach holidays and all inclusive hotels. Well I thought a few days in the sun by the pool (after some reasonably hardcore travel) before returning to the UK winter would be just the ticket. Cancun also provides easy access to Chichen Itza (see previous blog) which is somewhere I wanted to go. I stayed in a luxuriously appointed large hotel on the beach front at Puerto Morelos. You couldn't fault it. It was great for a few days but it is not long before the excesses of food and drink and mind numbing entertainment wears a bit thin - ha!

Overall it was a privilege to be able to do this trip (and I have not written about Cuba yet). Mexico is an amazing country - not without its problems of course - but it has much going for it xxxx

Here are some mob photos :-

MEXICO CITY