After touring the Teotihuacan pyramids, we arrived back in Mexico City by the afternoon. Some of the group decided to go try a local drink called pulque, which is a slimy, slightly alcoholic drink made of fermented agave. It comes in a variety of flavors, so I tried a couple different types and settled on the guayaba as my favorite. Afterward, I had to run to make a hair appointment back near the hostel. I hadn’t cut my hair in over a year and it was taking longer and longer to dry, so, I decided to cut off about six inches. With the Dia de los Muertos holiday, many places were closed and the only salon with availability was named “Pretty Bitches” and had decent reviews. The haircut was quite affordable and turned out great. So much so that everyone I met at the hostel the night before didn’t recognize me when I returned.
That night, a group of new hostel friends was organizing a trip to the Lucha Libre wrestling. The entry fee was only $5 for nose-bleed seats. We ordered some cervesas and cheered with the crowd as the wrestlers came out in sets of three with their metallic Speedos and face masks. It was basically just the Mexican version of WWE with the super exaggerated moves and drama. It’s hard to understand how Lucha Libre is the second biggest sport in Mexico behind soccer and I was a bit disturbed to see some midgets dressed up in costumes being used as some kind of mascots for the different teams. Overall, it was about what I had expected.
The rest of my time in Mexico City was spent exploring the different Dia de los Muertos decorations in different neighborhoods around the city. The holiday is from October 31 to November 2 and various shrines are erected and decorated with skulls and marigold flowers. I ventured south toward the neighborhood called Coyoacan, famous for where Frida Kahlo used to live. There was a Chocolate and Pan de Muertos festival going on and I walked the rows and rows of stands selling, yet again, the exact same items of bread and chocolate. I was a bit confused why they would place vendors with identical products next to each other, and how I was to select one?
On the Sunday I was there, there was a Dia de los Muertos parade scheduled along a main street in the afternoon. James and I headed out and met a few others from the hostel. The streets were PACKED. So packed that by the time the parade started, you couldn’t see any of the floats or performers and I had to take a few pictures on my phone by lifting my hands above the crowd to even see any of the floats. Apparently, the parade last year was canceled and this year there was more of a turnout than usual. Unable to see much, we decided to get our faces painted with skulls and grab a few beers at a nearby brewery instead.
I planned to spend my last day in Mexico City at the giant Chapultepec Park to explore the famous Anthropology Museum. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize most tourist attractions are closed on Mondays, including the entire park. Instead, I wandered around the Roma neighborhood and explored the different cafes and restaurants. The neighborhood was exceptionally cute and trendy and reminded me a lot of Buenos Aires, with its lush green streets. I stopped at El Morro, which is famous for its churros, but remain confident that the churro guy in San Blas still has the best in Mexico.
Overall, my stay in Mexico City was really nice and it was great to see a different part of Mexico, away from the coastline. During my previous travels I had heard so many wonderful things about Mexico City and can understand why people love it so much. It’s a shame that Americans have been led to believe that Mexico is such a dangerous place and I hope that the pandemic and the country’s relaxed COVID restrictions have led more people to discover it. Mexico, in general, has been a great home for us over the last year and being there on November 1 marked my one-year anniversary since moving aboard S/V Sierra Wind. I will share more on my one-year reflections next week!
