After spending almost 11 months traveling from country to country....believe it or not we were physically tired. We were at the point in our trip where we needed a little vacation from the vacation. The one thing we had in mind was spending some hardcore time on a beach!
After doing a little research in Peru we decided that we were NOT trying to spend too much money. So places like Baja California, Puerto Vallarta and Acupulco were considered off limits. We had heard of a place called Puerto Escondido (PE) through a friend of ours from Germany. The prices seemed a lot better and it was quite close to Mexico City....so we decided to go for it. PE is situated in the state of Oaxaca (pronounced wa-ha-ka) along the Oaxaca coast.
Mexico City was a place we always wanted to check out. Partly cause it is the second largest city in world with a population over 18 million, it is also the capital city of the country, it sits inside of a large valley, and it is the most important economic, industrial and cultural center in the country. It is somewhat notorious for having a lot of crime.
Well, flying from Lima, Peru we landed in Mexico City in the morning. After reading about the many stories of people being jacked for their money in taxis we opted for an "authorized taxi". Essentially, authorized taxis are booked inside of the airport at a customer service desk. You pay the people at the desk and you take your receipt to a particular set of taxis or in our case a certain color. We also read that you must make sure to give your receipt to the "actual" driver and not some person who may pretend to be a coordinator or manager.
The hostel we decided on was located in the neighborhood of Zona Rosa, its an area w/ plenty of restaurants, sidewalk cafes and good streets to do a lot of walking and people watching. We didn't realize at first but it also "THE" place for the gay and lesbian scene. A few clubs, and major hangout spots as well.
While we spent most of our first day in the local area of Zona Rosa, the next day we took ourselves to the Historic Center. We started by walking to largest plaza in the world called the Plaza de la Constitución aka Zócalo by locals. The plaza is probably one of the most important places in Mexico also representing the heart of Aztec culture. It includes Templo Mayor, the Palacio Nacional (presidential palace), Cathederal Metropolitana and offices of the Distrito Federal. Its a little wild because the plaza is paved with stones from the ruins of of Temple Mayor as well as other Aztec buildings.
Prior to the Spainards, the city was known by the Aztecs as Tenochtitlan and the Templo Mayor was called the Teocalli of Tenochtitlan. As far as Aztecs were concerned the temple marked the center of the universe. It sits on the very sacred spot that the Aztecs saw their symbolic eagle, with a snake in its beak, perching on a catus,....this is essentially the symbol of Mexico today. Take a look at the Mexican flag and you can see this same symbol in the center. The temple had been built over and top of its self about 8 times. Although you are not allowed to go into every facet of the temple....you can still see alot, as well as the museum that houses a lot of stone sculptures. It seems that on Sat. and Sun. some of the streets in and around the Zócalo are closed to traffic but are available to street vendors to sell their items. The place is PACKED w/ people.
We wanted to try the street food but we were concerned about getting sick so we balked at the idea. We stayed safe by eating at established restuarants. After walking from Zona Rosa to Zócalo and back we were pooped!
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