Mexico City

Now, having arrived from Oaxaca and my travels in the Southern States I’m on a Day of the Dead tour, beginning in Mexico City. There are just three other people. A married couple, Sheena and Malcolm and Sheila a G.P., of Indian heritage. We have guide Yosa (his mother was from a Lebanese family) and driver Ivan.

Mexico City is home to some of the oldest and most influential pre-Columbian civilisations, as well as being the capital of the Spanish empire in America. So, I'm going to work chronologically.

Pre-Columbian Mexico City

Teotihuacán

Teotihuacán, 25 miles outside the main city, in the State of Mexico, takes an age to get to. (But so does anywhere in Mexico City.) This is Mexico's most visited archaeological site, with close to 4.5 million visitors per year at its peak (pre Covid). It is vast. The Avenue of the Dead (Avenida de los Muertos), believed to have been paved with tombs, lined with ramps and miniature pyramids, links the Temple of Quetzalcoatl (winged serpent god) and the huge stepped Pyramids of the Moon (deceptively on higher ground than its twin) and the Sun (third largest in the world).

The first time I went you could climb up both, for the panoramic views of the site and surrounding Valley of Mexico from their summits. Today, only the Moon is open and that only half way. At least, I don't have to exhaust myself with too many frankly perilous climbs, up steep stairs. I'm not the only one who is struggling. Some folk are literally throwing themselves over the top step, so relieved are they to have arrived. One guy lands heavily on my foot.

This area has been populated since 600 BC, though its origins are said to be 'mysterious'. At its height, it was the largest city in America and one of the biggest cities in the world, described as the first true urban experiment. Though estimates of the population vary wildly from an official estimate of 25,000 to a quarter of a million at its peak, in 450 AD. The influence of the powerful Teotihuacán culture, extended through much of the Mesoamerican region. and encompassed Tikal, in Guatemala. Teotihuacán fell in the eighth century. it is often advertised as an Aztec site and the Aztecs claimed descendance from the Teotihuacán peoples, but it's not even certain that they ever lived here, though they adopted much of the culture.

Today. as with most Mexican sites, archaeology is ongoing and erratic, depending on access to funding. The relics and restored colourful animal murals reinforce the idea of a high-level civilization. They depict what awaited those who were killed by Tláloc, the water god. And there are more gory stories. There is a giant pedestal atop the pyramids. This is where the human sacrifice, was performed. During this sacrifice, five priests, sometimes with their faces painted with different colours, performed certain rituals. The heart was cut from the live victim, (referred as precious eagle cactus fruit) and burned, on a fire, in the temple.

The Templo Major

Mexico City is the capital of Mexico and its largest city, by some way. Home to some 26 million souls, in the Greater Metropolitan Area, it ranks amongst the most largest, most crowded cities in the world. It came to importance when the colony of New Spain established its capital, at what was then the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan (not to be confused with Teotihuacán), now called Mexico City. (Mexico means in the belly button of the moon, as it's in the centre.)

When humans arrived in the Mexico Valley, as long ago as 30,000 BC, the valley floor was a chain of lakes. The water has been receding ever since and agriculture became an important way of life. According to Aztec mythology, a tribe called the Mexica (hence the name Mexico) left their mythological home, called Aztlán (hence the name Aztec), and journeyed in search of new lands. They eventually came to a lake called Lake Texcoco, where they saw an eagle landing on a cactus, with a snake in its claws. They took this as a sign from the gods telling them to stop here and build a new city, So they did. And they called it Tenochtitlán, which means ‘Place of the Cactus Rock’.

Mexico City is built on the lake, (and it's suggested that the Spaniards dried it out, looking for the gold.) There isn't much left of the Aztec ruins either. But, the Templo Major, from the city, has recently been reconstructed in the centre, on the edge of the Zocalo, on what could be reached of the remains. The Spanish built their own capital on top of the old Aztec city, to make a point. So, that's where we start, in the city proper.

The Museo del Templo Mayor opened in 1987. As do most Mesoamerican culture museums, it focuses very much on
the cult of human sacrifices in Tenochtitlán (there's a whole floor on ritual sacrifice), the Aztec warriors (the elite were the jaguar and eagle divisions, so there's an area called the House of the Eagle, where they were stationed), the cultivation of cereals and corn in the floating gardens, and the Aztec temples. There's a wall of skulls. Its star exhibit is the eight-tonne stone disk, carrying an image of the moon goddess Coyolxauhqui. There are (very) restored and not very exciting ruins (the Spanish did their best to eradicate the original), but more interesting artefacts in the museum building.

The ruins contain some of the reconstructed temple walls. The Templo Mayor, as the name suggests, was the main temple, built in the late Postclassic period. The temple was called Huēyi Teōcalli and (this gets complicated) was dedicated simultaneously to Huitzilopochtli, god of war, and Tlaloc, god of rain and agriculture. Each of these gods had a shrine, at the top of the pyramid, but with separate staircases. The central spire, however, was devoted to the creator god, Quetzalcoatl, apparently in his avatar as the wind god, Ehecatl, though he's usually a serpent and there are plenty of those. There's also a section  for the  elite of the Aztec army, the jaguar and eagle divisions.  It’s known as the House of the Eagle because of the eagle sculptures which adorn it.

The National Museum of Anthropology

The National Museum of Anthropology is one of the most visited museums in the world (3,700,000 visitors in 2024). Naturally, it concentrates on the Meso-American pre-Columbian cultures. It's taken some stick for placing the Mexica (Aztecs) in the central hall central. But, there excuses. The museum is in Chapultepec Park, originally a retreat for Aztec rulers and now the second largest park in Latin America (smoggy Mexico City needs all the oxygen it can get). There is a castle and a zoo and lakes, ponds and sculptures, to amuse the joggers.

The Colonial Centro Historico of Mexico City

Hernán Cortés, led the Spanish conquest of Mexico in the early sixteenth century, laying the foundations for New Spain, centred on its new capital, Mexico City is the oldest city in mainland North America. Last time I was here it was crowded and the traffic moved at snail pace. Nothing has changed.

The must-see is the massive main square, the Plaza de la Constitución, colloquially, known as the Zócalo, fronted by the enormous Palacio Nacional. It is built on the site of Montezuma’s Palace. This is a revisit. Previously, I was able to see the Palacio entrance and the historic murals by Diego Rivera, telling the story of the revolution. Now the palace is closed to visitors, as controversial president Claudia Scheinbaum lives and works there.

 Last time I came, the palace was decorated with swathes of material, in glittery Mexican national colours, all ready for Christmas. This time, it’s hard to get a complete view  of any of the buildings, as the Zócalo is crammed with visitors. Numerous stalls and pitches with indigenous people dressed in their finery and touting their wears, ready for the Day of the Dead festivities. There are huge skull and Catrina statues (La Catrina, a skeleton dressed in a fancy European-style hat, is a famous icon of the Day of the Dead, inspired by an early 1900s satirical etching.) and enormous patches of the orange potted marigolds. It’s an exciting place to be. Sheila undergoes a purification ceremony, and is brushed with burning coriander, to give her protection.

Neither can you miss the imposing Catedral Metropolitana de México of the Spanish Conquistadores, the largest cathedral in the Americas, deliberately built right on top of the Templo Major (or most of it). The cathedral, despite its enormity, (there are two parts and countless altars) is known as the Little Brother of Seville Cathedral. It has the same footprint. (Seville Cathedral is the largest Gothic cathedral in the world, by area.) Depending on which part you choose, this cathedral dates from 1573 to the 1800s. It's been continually rebuilt,  a unique mix, or a clash of styles, depending on your viewpoint. It includes Renaissance, Baroque, and Neoclassical features.

There's a striking black crucifix, known as El Señor del Veneno" (The Poisoned Lord) said to have given miraculous protection. Legend says that a wealthy man was placing gold coins in a box, near the crucifix, every day. But, he was poisoned by an enemy. However, the sugarcane paste of which the statue is made absorbed the poison instead, turned black, in the process.

Plaza of Santa Domingo

The Plaza de Santo Domingo is one of the most important plazas in the City Centre, after the Zócalo itself. This was the site of the legendary home of Cuauhtémoc, who became the last Aztec Emperor, in 1520, but it was quickly assimilated by the Dominicans, who ruled the area for most of the colonial period.

Santo Domingo (St. Dominic) is a prominent figure in Latin America, not least in the capital of the Dominican Republic. He founded the Order of Dominican Preachers. His story goes, that before his birth, his barren mother made a pilgrimage to the Abbey (of another earlier St Dominic), at Silos, in Spain and dreamt that a dog leapt from her womb, carrying a flaming torch in its mouth, and seemed to set the earth on fire. This fits nicely with a play on words: Dominicanus in Latin could be interpreted as 'Dog of the Lord.'

The square is dominated by the Santo Domingo Temple to the north, (the open space in front of the church was used for evangelization and other conversion efforts). Like so many of the colonial churches here it's tilting and has to be propped up. Next door is the old Palace of Inquistions.

The Pantheon of San Fernando

Traffic is increasingly terrible with festival traffic, protests against the government and roadworks. They're constructing a cycle lane, to the Azteca Stadium, in anticipation of the Football World Cup, next year. According to Yosa, however, the Mexicans don't cycle. It's too far and too hot. There's also a St Jude the Martyr pilgrimage. October 28th is his feast day and it's customary to march to the San Hipólito Church dedicated to him, and make offerings, asking for intercession. He is the patron saint of lost causes, after all.

We're heading for the Pantheon of San Fernando, which is home to 'the city’s foremost necropolis'. It seems appropriate for the Day of the Dead. But it transpires that San Fernando is closed for the march. Folk are queuing round the church, which is directly opposite the necropolis and, in the past, have been known to desecrate the tombs. It's the one day of the year when it is shut. I'm not amused. We peer at the nineteenth century tombs through the railings. Some of them are very elaborate, mini temples. The most high profile grave is that of ex president Benito Juarez, but he isn't in it. He was moved to Puebla.

Whilst Mexico was a colony, it was generally believed that the closer you were buried to the church altar the more chance you had of getting to heaven. So the San Fernando church is crammed with the graves of important figures - those with money. But this resulted in extremely unpleasant smells and unfortunate spectacles for temple visitors. Eventually, at the end of the eighteenth century, the Archbishop of Mexico, ruled that the deceased should be buried in cemeteries, built in elevated places, far away from the houses.  Initially, the San Fernando Pantheon was the most expensive in the city, but it was later forced to go public.

The Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe

There's also the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadalupe, in the north of the city. This is a national shrine of Mexico. The Virgin Mary is believed to have appeared to an indigenous Aztec man, named Juan Diego, here, in December 1531. She told Juan Diego to ask the bishop to build a a church in her honour, on that spot, so she could show her love and compassion to her people. Unsurprisingly, the bishop was sceptical and demanded a sign of proof. Mary then instructed Juan Diego to gather Castilian roses from the barren hilltop, in winter. When he presented them to the bishop, wrapped in his cloak, the image of the Virgin was found imprinted on the fabric. This event was responsible for the conversion of millions and the building of a major basilica on the site.

The cloak (tilma) is still preserved today, in the new basilica (1970s), which has been built alongside the old one, to accommodate the 20 million or so pilgrims who arrive annually. This is the of the most important religious sites in the world. You view from an escalator, to keep the crowds moving, and there are plenty of gaudy souvenirs on sale.

Modern Day Mexico City

Then, there's the modern day sprawling city. At over 2,200 metres Mexico City has one of the highest elevations for capital cities in the world (remember Bob Beamon’s long jump?). It's built along the Valley of Mexico, sometimes called the Basin of Mexico, in its turn, in the Trans-Mexican Volcanic Belt, of the high plateaus of south-central Mexico.

Mexico City primarily rests on what was Lake Texcoco. Although none of the lake waters remain, the lake bed's heavily saturated clay is prone to collapse, due to the over-extraction of groundwater. That's why so many church towers are leaning. Since the beginning of the twentieth century, the city has sunk as much as nine metres, in some areas. And there's no no natural drainage outlet for the streams, which flow from the mountainsides, so the city is also vulnerable to flooding.

Mexico City is sometimes referred to as Chilangolandia, especially in a derogatory fashion, in other states, where, ahem, Mexico City residents aren't always beloved. The Nahuatl (language of the Aztecs) word 'chilan-co,' once referred to people from Central Mexico.

It's not a pretty city, but endlessly fascinating and constantly developing, rebuilding, renovating. The main cultural centre, The Palacio de Bellas Artes, is a good example, now in its art nouveau incarnation. There's also an iron bridge (further out), designed by Eiffel. The streets are buzzing and there are plenty of tiles (azulejos) in the centre.

All cities in Mexico feature three important street names based on dates: September 16th (Independence day, dating from 1810 when Hidalgo called for independence from Spain, May 5th, (the battle of Puebla, 1862, when the Mexicans beat the French, though I don't understand this one, as they eventually lost the country to the French, who had the largest army in the world at the time) and November 20th ( I highly approve of this one, as it's my birthday, but here it refers to the day when the Mexican revolution began, in 1910).

Coyoacán

Coyoacán (place of coyotes) is a colourful southern suburb, which predated Mexico City. There's a Franciscan arch, leading through the Jardín Centenario, to the old convent and the church of St John the Baptist. Plenty of market stalls, quaint cafes and a relaxed lyrical vibe. Chapulines, grilled grasshoppers, are on offer. Past the Fonoteca Nacional, the national sound archive.

But the main attraction is Frida Kahlo's house, La Casa Azul. It is indeed very blue, vibrant in and out, with some original art. (Most of that is elsewhere.) But it’s fascinating to see the place where the artist struggled, first with polio, and then with the after effects of her car accident. Her turbulent marriage to Diego Rivera. Her extra marital affairs, with both men and women and, most notably, Trotsky, who travelled here, after his exile from Russia. Trotsky and his wife shared the Blue House with Frida and Diego for some time. But unsurprisingly Rivera and Trotsky quarrelled and Trotsky  moved a few streets away. This is where he was famously attacked and killed, with an ice pick, after several botched assassination attempts.

Frida's ashes are in an urn, on the dressing table.

Xochimilco

Even further south than Coyoacán, Xochimilco Floating Gardens is one of the many UNESCO World Heritage Sites in Mexico, because it is a vestige of the extensive lake and canal system, which once connected most of the settlements in the Mexico Valley. There are 2700 colourful gondola-esque boats (but squarer) called trajineras. These are navigated through the 20 kilometres of canal between artificial islands, in turn called chinampas. These are floating horticultural beds (a revival of an ancient practice). We are punted along with six metre poles. But that's where the resemblance to Venice ends. The waterways are vibrant and jammed with vessels. Heaven knows what it's like when all the boats are rented out. Mariachi bands tout for business, sailing alongside. There are floating cafes and tortilla stands and men clamber on board to try and flog jewellery from suitcases.

Tequila

And, of course, we visit a tequila museum, which explains how tequila and mescal are extracted from the blue agave plant. I'm not going to explain the whole process, but tequila involves harvesting (by jimadors), cooking the piña (the soft core), to soften the fibres, extraction (of the the sweet juice, called mosto) by rolling, fermentation (with yeast) and distillation. Then, there's ageing, depending on what type of tequila is required. In contrast, mezcal is more traditionally made, from over 30 types of agave and less industrial, typically roasted in underground fire pits, which gives it a smoky flavour, to be honest I'm not hugely keen on either when served neat. I'll stick to my margaritas.

But this is not really a museum, of course. It's a shop selling tequila. We get two shots included in our entrance. and sit at a table looking out onto a hidden plaza. By coincidence, or not, its a haunt for mariachi bands, who offer their services, for a fee. We club together and buy one song.

Mariachi is a well known genre of regional Mexican music, which has evolved since at at least the eighteenth century and been promoted, as part of Mexico's cultural identity. Wikipedia tells me that the usual mariachi group today consists of as many as eight violins, two trumpets and at least one guitar, including a high-pitched Mexican Vihuela and an acoustic bass guitar called a guitarrón. All players take turns singing lead and doing backup vocals. It's mainly more economically viable quartets on offer here, with a female singer. No hats and the trumpeter isn't really earning his money - watch the video here.

Mexican Hats

• The mariachi players are almost the only people who wear the large, colourful, wide-brimmed hat we refer to as sombreros. Those are actually called a sombrero de charro.
• The word sombrero simply means 'hat' in Spanish, derived from the word sombra meaning 'shade'.
• A variety of hat styles are worn by men and women across Mexico, mostly of the wide brimmed type.

Savoury Notes

Sampling restaurants in Mexico City is rewarding. Dinner at Azulísimo, Ricardo Muñoz Zurita’s upscale restaurant is very nice indeed and proof that tortillas and enchiladas can be tasty. Though the highlight is pumpkin flower, stuffed with cheese and drizzled with honey.

The Prime Steak Club Dinner at The Angel of Independence burns a considerable hole in my wallet, but the steak is delectable and the service faultless. The glitzy restaurant looks out over Independence Square.

The whole of the area around Avenida Paseo de Reforma is buzzing. This is the edge of the Centro Historico abutting the Zona Rosa. The streets are lined with bars and small restaurants. There's a chain called Casa de Tono which serves up authentic Mexican food. All kinds of tortillas in there, once you've translated the menu. It's cheap and very popular with Mexicans, who queue for tables - which is presumably a good sign.

Mexico City and the Day of the Dead

The centre of the city is still rammed now, both with people and traffic. There’s to be a parade tonight, La Mega Procesión de las Catrinas, to open the Day of the Dead celebrations. They’re putting up barriers  and folk are taking up positions. We’ve been clamouring to see it. Yosa doesn’t seem so keen. He says it’s over by now and there will be a better one in Puebla. However, there are still crowds lining the streets, when we emerge from our meal. Yosa insists we've missed all the procession, but we have take to e bike rickshaws as the car can't get through the remaining crowds – our hotel is a long way from the centre. This is a big city.

After an extremely hairy journey, speeding along, veering left and right, without warning, rocketing over bumps and swerving round cars coming in the other direction, we are forced to halt. To my delight, it’s because the road is blocked for the parade, which only just seems to have started. So, we watch it pass by, very skeleton orientated as one would expect, this is a Catrina parade. But it's not at all devilish, or evil, and very good natured.

Now, it's time to take to the road and really get 'into the spirit' of the Day of the Dead, starting with the city of Toluca.

Aftermath - Mexico City

Two days to rest and recuperate, after the Day of the Dead Tour. Mexico City is still buzzy, but most of the Day of the Dead decorations and altars have been dismantled. Christmas decorations have replaced them in some of the department stores, The zocalo is barricaded off. Protests are expected and there are police everywhere. There's news that Carlos Manzo, mayor of the Mexican city of Uruapan, in the cartel controlled state of Michoacan was assassinated at the Day of the Dead celebrations. He was known for standing up to the gangs.

I've chosen a very lovely, very hip hotel right in the centre - it's called The Downtown and it's in a 'seventeenth century meets urban chic' building. They've upgraded me to an enormous suite. There's a bar and swimming pool on the roof and the breakfasts are served in front of a painting, 'The Holocaust' by Mexican artist Manuel Rodríguez Lozano, on the main stairwell of the hotel. You can order everything from European yogurt and fruit to traditional beans and tortillas swimming in red sauce. They even offer those grasshoppers.

Downstairs, The Azul Historico, a famous old restaurant, very chic. It's a great way to end my month in Mexico.

Mexico - Facts and Factoids

• Estados Unidos Mexicanos (United Mexican States), is the official name of Mexico.
• Mexico is often known as El Tricolore, because of its three coloured (red, green and white) flag.
• Mexico is one of the world's 17 megadiverse countries, ranking fifth in natural biodiversity.
• Mexico has 32 UNESCO world heritage sites (first in the Americas and seventh in the world).
• This is the northernmost country in Latin America.
• There are more Spanish speakers here, than in any other country.
• Mexico is a federal republic, with a presidential system of government' The federal legislature consists of the Congress of the Union, comprising the democratically elected Chamber of Deputies, which represents the population, and the Senate, which provides equal representation for each state. Mexico's federal structure grants autonomy to its 32 states, and its political system is influenced by both indigenous traditions and European ideals.

• Mexico has coasts on both the Atlantic/Caribbean and Pacific oceans. The longest river is the Rio Grande, forming a natural eastern border with the United States.
• Mexico is volcanic and most of the Mexican central and northern territories are high altitude. Two mountain ranges, the Sierra Madre Oriental and Sierra Madre Occidental, are extensions of the Rocky Mountains, from North America.
• Every year, millions of monarch butterflies migrate from the U.S.A. and Canada to Mexico. (I would love to see this - it's described in Barbara Kingsolver's novel Flight Behaviour).

Mexico - A Very Brief History

• Mesoamerica was one of six cradles of civilization worldwide, with the first inhabitants settling over 13,000 years ago
• The Mesoamerican area gave rise to a series of cultural developments which included complex societies, agriculture, cities, monumental architecture, writing, and calendrical systems. Agriculture was developing here by 6,000 B.C.
• The development of civilisations in Mexico was complicated:
  • Pre Classic Period: The earliest complex civilization in Mexico was the Olmec culture, which flourished on the Gulf Coast, from around 1500 BC. The Maya and Zapotec civilizations developed further complex centres at Calakmul and Monte Albán, respectively. The Mixtec culture began to develop farming settlements in the mountainous region between the current Mexican states of Puebla, Oaxaca, and Guerrero.

• Classic period (roughly 200–900 AD): saw the further development of the Mayans and the ascendancy of Teotihuacán, a military and commercial empire, in Central Mexico. Teotihuacán, with a population of more than 150,000 people, built some of the largest pyramidal structures in the pre-Columbian Americas. The Teotihuacán Empire collapsed, around 600 AD
• Early Post-classic Era (1000–1519 AD) saw the Toltecs migrate into the central valley of Mexico and establish their capital at Tula around the 10th century. A revitalized Maya developed in the northern Yucatan, with major cities like Chichén Itzá and Uxmal. This was the height of the Mixtec civilization. And the Aztecs (Mexica) arrived in the Valley of Mexico and founded the city of Tenochtitlán in 1325. They become the dominant force in central Mexico by the 1420s, establishing a political and economic empire based in the city of Tenochtitlan (modern Mexico City), which extended from central Mexico to the border with Guatemala. Mēxihco is the Nahuatl term for the heartland of the Aztec Empire, namely the Valley of Mexico and surrounding territories, with its people being known as the Mexica. was dominated, by the Mixtec in Oaxaca, and the Mayans area at Chichén Itzá and Mayapán. Toward the end of the post-Classic period, the Aztecs (or Mexica) established dominance,
• The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire began in February 1519, when Hernán Cortés founded the Spanish city of Veracruz. In 1521 the Spanish captured Tenochtitlan and founded their capital, Mexico City, on its ruins. This was the beginning of a 300-year-long colonial era, during which Mexico was known as Nueva España (New Spain).
• New Spain became a major centre of the transoceanic economy, during the Age of Discovery, fuelled by silver mining (there were vast deposits) and its position, as a hub between Europe and Asia. This gave rise to one of the largest multiracial populations in the world.

• Chocolate, chillies and corn were introduced to the world from Mexico.
• Napoleon's'' invasion of Spain, in The Peninsular War, led to the 1810–1821 Mexican War of Independence, as the Mexicans took advantage of European unrest
• The First Mexican Empire quickly collapsed into the short-lived First Mexican Republic. In 1848, Mexico lost nearly half its territory to an American invasion.
• Civil war, followed by French intervention, culminated in the establishment of the Second Mexican Empire under Emperor Maximilian I of Austria, but he was overthrown by Republican forces, led by Benito Juárez.
• The late nineteenth century saw the long dictatorship of Porfirio Díaz, whose modernization policies came at the cost of severe social unrest. the 1910–1920 Mexican Revolution led to him being overthrown Díaz.
• Rapid industrialization and economic growth have sat alongside ongoing political unrest. Despite high levels of poverty (30%) Mexico's economy continues to grow rapidly and is projected to become one of the largest in the world.

Is Mexico Safe to Visit?

Most visitors to Mexico have no problem. Travellers report that most of the violence (and there undoubtedly is some) is between cartels. But poverty levels remain high and the FCO list a daunting list of possible issues. It's essential to exercise caution, take advice from the locals and stay alert.

Issues include:

• Terrorism and kidnapping - avoid crowded places and public gatherings in large Mexican cities.
• Gang violence.
• Protests and civil unrest - ditto. It's illegal to participate in political activities as as a foreigner.
• Road blocks set up by cartels and areas controlled by cartels. Take local advice and stay away. Acapulco is sadly, no longer a good idea.
• Street crime is common in cities and tourist areas. Hide your phone and camera. Don't wear valuables. Watch your luggage and belongings, even in hotels and on public transport.

• Take care withdrawing money from ATMs or using exchange offices (bureau de change). Criminals have targeted people using these services. It’s generally safer to use ATMs during daylight hours inside shops or malls. Avoid withdrawing large amounts and watch who is around you while you are at an ATM.
• Be wary of criminals posing as police officers and trying to fine or arrest you for no reason. They have targeted travellers driving rental cars. Also, be wary of genuine police officers extorting money from tourists for alleged minor offences or traffic violations. Uber and Didi services are deemed safe. But Uber is banned in many cities and I couldn't get Didi to download on my British registered phone, even with a Mexican e-sim.
• Unlicensed taxi drivers have robbed and assaulted passengers, including in Mexico City. Use the better regulated ‘sitio’ taxis from authorised taxi ranks or ask your hotel to order you a taxi. At airports, only use authorised pre-paid airport taxi services.

Remember, most travellers encounter no problems and have a great time!

What Can I See and Do in Mexico?

Mexico is a diverse and absorbing country. Read about what I did here:

• The Yucatan
• The Southern States
• Mexico City
• The Day of the Dead Festival

32 UNESCO Heritage Sites in Mexico

Mexico is a major tourist destination, currently the seventh most-visited country in the world. I was really looking forward to visiting. I'm travelling with friend Pat and we're visiting the Yucatán Peninsula and Mexico City.

The Yucatán Peninsula

The Yucatán Peninsula is a huge chunk of land, in the southeast of Mexico, which also encompasses parts of Guatemala and Belize. So, some would argue that this part of Mexico lies in Central America. As far as the politicians are concerned all of Mexico is staying firmly in North America. There are three Mexican states on the peninsula: the State of Yucatán, Quintana Roo (named after a Mexican liberal politician, lawyer, and author and pronounced Kintana Row, to rhyme with bough) and Campeche.

Cancun

The tour starts in Cancún, in Quintan Roo. It's a horror - an utterly gorgeous beach, with the bluest of Caribbean waters, ruined by strings of high rise hotels and souvenir shops. This was a tourist project, financed by the Mexican government and very successful in terms of income, exceeding expectations (over 20 million visitors a year). In 1970, when they began work, the island/sandbar had three inhabitants running a coconut plantation. It was separated from the mainland by a lagoon system, so they built two causeways, to attach it to the mainland. This became the Cancún Hotel Zone. It stretches a long way.

In addition, whilst most of the Yucatán Peninsula has remained relatively safe, compared to other parts of Mexico, avoiding the violence associated with the trade of illegal drugs, Cancun has developed a drug culture in its many bars and night clubs. It's a centre for money laundering. and the number of homicides is increasing, mostly related to drug trafficking.

Chichén Itzá, Yucatán State

Yucatán, the Mexican state, is famous for its Gulf of Mexico beaches and Mayan ruins and I'm happy to drive here, over the border, to the Mayan site of Chichén Itzá. Famed Chichén Itzá, one of the largest Mayan cities (750- tenth century AD) is huge and includes three main complexes.

The Great North Platform encompasses the monuments of the Temple of Kukulcán, also known as El Castillo (picture uptop), The Temple of Warriors and the Great Ball Court. El Castillo is suggested as one of the Seven Wonders of the World, on some lists.

The Osario Group includes the pyramid of the same name, as well as the Temple of Xtoloc. The Central Group, includes the Caracol (domed observatory, named for its snail like staircase), Las Monjas, and Akab Dzib (The House of Mysterious Writing). The Thousand Columns are a vast quadrangle, linking the Temple of Warriors to the market and are what's left of a group of halls. There are actually only 200, but it's thought that there seem to be more....There's also the sacred cenote (open well).

The Mayan Civilisation

• The Mundo Maya is the Mayan World or civilisation, which included Guatemala, Belize, Honduras and El Salvador, as well as southern Mexico.
• The Mayan civilisation is divided into several periods, but the earliest, the Archaic period, dates back to before 2000 BC, and saw the first developments in agriculture and the earliest villages.
• The first Mayan cities developed around 750 BC; by 500 BC these cities possessed monumental architecture, including large temples with elaborate stucco façades.
• Beginning around 250 AD, the Classic Period saw the Maya civilization develop many city-states, linked by a complex trade network and the two great rivals, the cities of Tikal (in Guatemala) and Calakmul, became powerful.
• The Classic Period also saw the 'intrusive' intervention of Teotihuacan in Maya dynastic politics, followed by the ninth century political collapse of the central Maya region, resulting in civil wars, the abandonment of cities, and a northward shift of population.
• The Terminal Classic (c. AD 800–900) saw the rise of Chichen Itza, in the north.
• The sixteenth century brought the Spanish and the destruction of all the Maya cities.

Uxmal

There are plenty of Mayan sites around this area, but the other main site of significance, the second most popular, is Uxmal. It's known for its vast terraces and plazas, columns, and archways, smooth walls and intricately carved facades. Uxmal is roughly contemporary with Chichén Itzá, built over several centuries, with its greatest period of construction taking place between 700 and 1000 AD. Its name means 'thrice-built' - it was continually being remodelled and embellished.

The buildings which attract the most attention are The Governor's Palace, (the longest façades in Pre-Columbian Mesoamerica) and the tallest (and probably steepest) monument - The Adivino. Otherwise known as the Pyramid of the Magician, this is a stepped pyramid structure, with five levels. Legend says that the pyramid was magically built, overnight, during a series of challenges issued to a dwarf by the gobernadora (ruler or king) of Uxmal.

The Governor's Palace is oriented to the main pyramid of Cehtzuc, (a small site located nearby). Observing from there, Venus as evening star, when reaching its maximum northerly extremes, (every eight years) would have set behind the northern edge of the Governor's Palace. This heralded the onset of the rainy season, in late April or early May. The palace's facade contains almost 400 Venus glyphs, placed in the masks of the rain god (called Chac here), demonstrating fascinating knowledge of astronomy.

There's also The Nunnery Quadrangle (thought to resemble a convent, but actually four palaces placed on different levels which surround a courtyard). And, of course, a large ballcourt.

The Mayan Ball Game

• Nearly all the Mesoamerican archaeological sites feature a ball court. As with most of the archaeology of this era, there is still much to find out about the game known as pitz, but it's fascinating stuff.
• The game was a ceremonial ritual, rather than a sport, possibly representing the symbolic recreation of the mythical combat between night and day.
• It was played on an L shaped court with steep sides. There may have been spectators.
• The ball was made from liquid latex, extracted from rubber trees, but seems to vary in size and weight. Some are larger than a football. The ball could only be touched with the hips, knees, upper arms and thighs (no hands or feet) and had to be propelled through a high stone hoop.
• After that, hypotheses and accounts vary. Teams had 2-5 players. The game may have been used to decide conflicts, maybe even wars. Sometimes, a head was used instead of a ball. Maybe, either the winning team captain (or all of them) or the losing team were sacrificed. (The PR must have been very good.) The game could last up to two weeks.

Mérida

The roads between Mayan site viewings are long. The tedium of the jungle, monotonously uniform here, is relieved by a stop at Yucatán capital Mérida. Mérida is the capital of the Mexican state of Yucatán, the largest city in southern Mexico and the cultural capital of the Yucatán Peninsula. This is where the Maya and Spanish cultures met, during the colonial era. Although the phrase is a trifle ironic. The Cathedral of Mérida was built, in the late sixteenth century, with stones from dismantled Mayan pyramids. San Ildefonso Cathedral, built between 1561 and 1598, was the first cathedral to be completed in the mainland Americas.

Mérida has colonial charm, narrow streets, and romantic horse-drawn carriages. Colourful shops crammed full of hammocks. (Many Mexicans don’t use beds.) Mérida is also is among the safest cities of Mexico.

Sotuta de Peón

Sotuta de Peón is surrounded by expansive henequen (Agave fourcroydes) plantations, a legacy of the powerful barons, of the nineteenth century, when the Yucatán became a global centre for henequen fibre production (it was sometimes called 'green gold'). Henequen is similar to sisal: both fibres are derived from agave plants. Both are well suited to making ropes, mats, and sacks, but sisal fibres are generally coarser and stiffer than henequen. And, henequen thrives particularly well in the semi-arid conditions of the Yucatán.

There's a a tour of the plantations, the processing plant (where the leaves are boiled and beaten and the fibres extracted), and the magnificent colonial-era mansion. Eek, a tarantula...

Coba and Tulum

The tour finishes with a return to Quintana Roo, for Coba and the Mayan rock fortress of Tulum, located directly on the Caribbean Sea. The coastal area round here is now promoted as The Mayan Riviera.

Coba is located around two lagoons, Lake Coba and Lake Macanxoc. It boasts a Mayan ball game pitch with a stone hoop. But the highlight of the tour is definitely Tulum - an indescribably beautiful setting on the cliffs above an azure sea. This was one of the last Mayan cities to be constructed (actually a port), on 12 metre high cliffs. It survived Spanish rule for some time and is one of the best preserved Mayan sites. Its a walled city, with the most lauded buildings being (another) El Castillo, the Temple of the Frescoes, and the Temple of the Descending God. The Temple of the Frescoes was used as an observatory for tracking the movements of the sun and has more Venus type figurines. The Temple of the Descending God is just a single room with a door to the west and a narrow staircase, that was built on top of another temple.

The Castillo is a central pyramid, also constructed on a previous building, which was colonnaded and had a beam and mortar roof. There's even a small shrine, which appears to have been used as a beacon for incoming canoes, as it marks a break in the barrier reef, opposite the site.

A peaceful last few days on the island of Cozumel. Plastic bracelets to be endured in the all-inclusive resort, but more powdery white sand and great snorkelling, surrounded by scores of inquisitive barracuda, drifting on the second longest barrier reef in the world.

What Do You Think of it So Far?

Frankly, I am underwhelmed. The Aztec and Mayan sites are interesting, although the guides at the Mayan sites seem very unsure of their facts and, at times, seem to make up explanations of some of the archaeological features we saw. Heads of sacrificed victims used to play with in the ball court? Maybe, but a little evidence please.…

The food was also disappointing. Nothing like the ‘Mexican’ offerings in the restaurants at home – on the whole bland and poorly prepared. Maybe we just ate in the wrong places.

Endless traffic and the scenery in the Yucatan is relentlessly dull - mile upon mile of low uninspiring rainforest, all the same hue. Perhaps we just went to the wrong bit?

Mexico City

Next stop, Mexico City.