schlegal1

We just got back from a wonderful two-week trip to Mexico and here's the report. It'll be in parts and I'll add photos once we've picked out the good ones.

Our itinerary (against the advice of Fodorites) was the following, which worked out perfectly for us (with minimal snags, mentioned below):

Nov. 16 - Fly into Cancun, drive to Valladolid
Nov. 17 - Ek Balam in morning. Then bike to cenotes in PM.
Nov. 18 - Chichen Itza
Nov. 19 - Coba and Tulum
Nov. 20 - fly Cancun to Mexico City, Half day Mexico City
Nov. 21 - Teotihuacan
Nov. 22 - Explore Mex City
Nov. 23 - bus to Morelia
Nov. 24 - Explore Morelia
Nov. 25 - Sierra Chincua Butterfly sanctuary, bus to Guadalajara
Nov. 26 - Explore Guadalajara
Nov. 27 - Hike La Barranca de Huentitan
Nov. 28 - Guided trip to Tequila
Nov. 29 - Fly back to USA


<b>General Impressions</b>
-Credit cards are not widely used. Be prepared to use a lot of cash. Even major sites like the Anthropology museum in Mexico City didn't take plastic.

-A little Spanish plus hand gesturing goes a long way. English was most widely spoken in Guadalajara. It was rarely spoken (except by guides) in Yucatan.

-Being a vegetarian in Mexico is hard. I ate lots of cheese quesadillas before I realized most places were willing to accommodate an off-menu request for &quot;verduras a la parilla con tortillas.&quot;

- We had no instances where we were scammed by either officials or business owners (I mention this not because I expected it but because it is an impression many people have about Mexico and which our families/friends &quot;warned&quot; us about endlessly). I am sure we paid too much for things along the way but that's because (a) we felt the price was fair for what we received (b) we are uncomfortable bargaining. But there were many chances for people to rip us off and didn't and instead explained that a price was lower than we thought or that the amount in pesos we were trying to pay was 10x the amount requested (we took a day to adjust to the conversion and had to get out of thinking in dollars!).

Little_Man

thanks! Tell us your favorite spots/experiences!

schlegal1

<b>First Part of the Trip (November 16-29, 2006):</b>

<b>Valladolid, Yucatan -
</b>We found this to be an excellent city in which to base our exploration of the ruins--thank you to the Fodorite who suggested it over my initial choice of Playa del Carmen!

<b>Getting there-</b>
Flight into Cancun from the U.S., then rented a car and self-drove the remainder.

<b>Hotel </b>
Mansion del Marques ¡V Excellent. Lovely courtyard and restaurant. Very friendly staff. We really enjoyed our stay here. Gated free parking area. Cash or American Express only.

<b>Activities </b>
Our main activities were visiting Mayan ruins and we got really into the history involved. Every site was so different and so fascinating. We kept saying, &quot;oh, maybe we should save and not get a guide this time&quot; and then we'd inevitably get a guide and be glad we did. On Sunday, Nov. 19th we visited both Coba and Tulum in the same day, which was a plus since sites have no entrance fee on Sundays (we still had to pay our guides, of course).
Our secondary activities included walking around Valladolid, swimming at Tulum, and biking from Valladolid to the Cenotes Dzitnup and another one nearby. These were fascinating natural underground pools but we weren't brave enough to swim in them (too cold!).

<i>Ek Balam </i>
Loved these ruins. They were the first ones we visited and so wild seeming and also very uncrowded. Our guide here was fabulous and we loved being able to climb the pyramids and the intact stucco tomb area was absolutely stunning.

<i>Chichen Itza </i>
I have been looking forward to this site forever. We got there early and I was awestruck by the main pyramid. Again, our guide was excellent, even though he had to break up our tour to meet up with a previously scheduled group. He's guided there since the 1970s and has had the opportunity to watch as more ruins are excavated and restored¡Xhe has photos showing the before and after of excavation, which is really fun to see.
We were sad we couldn't climb the pyramid but it means we got nice photos without people standing on the stairs--a fair trade off! We loved everything about Chichen¡Xthe ball court, the cenote, the carvings. We just spent time wandering, admiring, and wondering about the Mayan culture.
For lunch we ate in Piste and I mention it because it was such a delicious surprise. It's called Chichen Itza (NOT the hotel/restaurant). Our guide had recommended it as a place to eat well that is clean¡Xhe was right. Lots of delicious food for $35 pesos a plate.

<i> Tulum </i>
The location of these makes them amazing, well worth the visit for the chance to swim in the Caribbean beneath Mayan ruins!

<i>Coba </i>
This was fun because the site is of older ruins and also because we were permitted to climb the pyramid.

<b>Fun Foods we Tried in the Yucatan </b>

<i>Cream of Chile Poblano Soup </i> Not too spicy and totally delicious.
<i>Sopa de Limon </i> We loved this and I will be searching out a recipe online ASAP. (I know it's chicken and chicken broth but I'm veggie cause I don't like meat, not other reasons so I ate around the chicken and Dh finished it off)
<i>Michelada </i> DH was surprised that his &quot;beer with lime, salt, and spices&quot; was, in fact, spicy--which was funny since his meal was too and he had no drink to cool off with!
<i>Licuados </i> I had papaya with water, DH had banana with milk. Both were delicious.
<i>Salsas</i> Every place we ate had a different one and all of them were fabulous and usually had some kick. Yum!
<i>Cheese &quot;Fondue&quot; </i> Surprised when it came out as it was not dipping-type fondue but a pan of melted cheese with onions, peppers, and potatoes in it that I ate with tortillas.

<b>Resources used- </b>
<i>Planning -</i> Fodors and tripadvisor to choose the hotel and city.
<i> Once there - </i> We relied on hired guides at the ruins and for driving, restaurants, other activities we used a map from www.cancunmap.com -- thank you to the fodorite who recommended it--I heartily agree it was worth its weight in gold!

pepper131

OMG!!!
This is a great report..and I know there's more to come.
We have similar diets; you didn't have problems with the chicken stock?...I'm always afraid I'll have an upset stomach, so I usually starve.

I think the sole veg option at Meson de Marques is cottage cheese enchiladas. And at the restaurant in Chichen Itza, there's a grilled panela cheese (nonmelting cheese); I thought it was good.

Can't wait to hear more....

SusanInToronto

Sounds like you had an excellent trip!

schlegal1

Pepper131- That's funny, I find so few people who eat like I do. Chicken stock was no problem but that's cause I eat it at home, too--no tummy problems the whole trip.

I ate Molletes at Marques--they were pretty good.

schlegal1

<b>Second Part of the Trip: Mexico City (November 20-23</b>
One day on tour
One day around the city on our own

<b>Mexico City, DF-</b>
We chose to spend a brief time in Mexico City because it was an easy stop between the Yucatan and getting to the Monarch migration. We’re not “city people” but appreciate how much culture and history cities offer so we didn’t want to skip the DF entirely.

<b>Getting there – </b>
Flight on Aviacsa from Cancun to Mexico City. Easy flight, on time, no problems. Problems only arose once there—we’re doofuses and arrived on Revolution day, which was also the day to the faux inauguration for the losing Presidential candidate. Our taxi took us as far as he could, then left us to fend for ourselves. It was like trying to walk through the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. We looked ridiculous, toting a gigantic suitcase through the streets of the DF, heading toward the zocalo, and trying to cross the parade route. There was nowhere to cross! We saw Bimbo, Spanish conquistadors, and lucha libre wrestlers pass and every school, club, and sports team in the DF in front of our eyes on floats. Finally, a police officer told us to stand at a corner. At a break in the parade there was a mad dash as they opened the gates. We made it to our hotel, worn out and wide eyed (we didn’t know yet what was going on!).

<b>Hotel – </b>
Hotel Catedral. Perfect location behind the Cathedral and the Zocalo. Very reasonable price, decent restaurant (dinner was “meh,” breakfast was best), large and clean room and bathroom and an extra blanket on the bed for the unusually cold weather we encountered. Nice front desk staff, fairly cheap internet access, and a travel agency desk (though the agent spoke zero English, which seemed odd since Spanish-speakers probably need less help arranging tours, but who knows).

<b>Activities – </b>
<i>Protest rally – </i> The day we arrived, Sr. Lopez Obrador had a rally in the Zocalo claiming that he was the real legitimate president, complete with a faux swearing-in. So we went out and watched a bit. Our Spanish is super basic to all we understood was the shouts of “Presidente” and we didn’t stick around long. Still, it was an interesting experience.

<i>Cathedral – </i> Just popped in quietly to see some of the inside. Always masses going on. Amazing building.

<i> Tour including Three Cultures Square, Basilica a Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe, and Teotihuacan</i>

<i>Three Cultures Square – </i> This was an interesting mix of native ruins, Santiago Cathedral, and modern Mexico. We particularly appreciated the story of the student massacre that occurred there and how the “official version” contrasts sharply with what really happened. It was really very sad and we lamented that we had never learned about it in history class.

<i> Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guadalupe – </i> Part of the tour and interesting to see the power that the image of the Virgin has for her pilgrims.

<i> Teotihuacan – </i> Can you tell we love ruins? These pyramids were so different from the Mayan ones. We loved roaming around here and enjoying climbing up the pyramids.

<i> Diego Murals – </i> Free to see in the Presidential Palace. Need to show ID (though the guards merely glanced to see that it was a picture of someone with some kind of writing on it).

<i> Supreme Court – </i> Free to enter and view the murals. Lovely works and a free English headset. The best are the ones on the Mezzanine, up the small set of stairs—very intriguing artwork.

<i> Templo Mayor – </i> It’s so strange to see ruins in the middle of a city, and right next to the Cathedral. We took our time wandering along the path and spent plenty of time in the museum. This was the first museum of relics we saw and they were just beautiful.

<i> Chepultepec Park – </i> We took the subway here (just 2 pesos each!) and went to the Castillo. It was a lovely view of the city and an interesting combination of preserved furnishings and the national history museum. We had a nice lunch in the park, too.

<i> Anthropology museum – </i> It lives up to its reputation. Very well organized and easy to get through. We spent a long time here and, of course, the highlights were the sun stone, the onyx monkey vessel, and the Olmec heads.

<b> Fun Foods we Tried in Mexico City </b>
<i> Corn Roasted on the Street - </i> Big roasted ear of corn with chili and lime and salt. Tasted unlike any other corn I have ever had.
<i> Mexican Hot Chocolate – </i> As a chocolate fiend, I was in heaven with this stuff. Especially since the weather was cool.

<b> Fun Things that Happened in Mexico City </b>
We met a delightful Candian/American there who was studying the political happenings. He was helpful, kind, interesting and joined us for dinner one evening.

We got a view of the mountains! The cool air and wind blew off the haze and pollution so we saw the two beautiful snow capped volcanoes and other surrounding mountains. We realized how lucky we were when the next day we could barely see the buildings ten blocks down.

We used the subway at rush hour! Oops! It was a crush of people but we made it through.

<b> Rouurces Used </b>
Fodors Guide - Mexico 2006
Insight Guide - Mexico
Suggestions from our new-found friend mentioned above.
Tour desk at Hotel Catedral


<b>More to come after the weekend.</b>

Pausanias

Great report. Didn't know about the Supreme Court murals. We also glimpsed the volcanoes one morning from the terrace restaurant of the Hotel Majestic. The view was clear and beautiful when we began breakfast and gone by the time we had finished.

Enjoyed your first installment on the Yucatan, too. Looking forward to hearing about Morelia, where we haven't been yet.

schlegal1

<b>Third Part of the Trip: Morelia (November 23-25)</b>

<b>Morelia - </b>
We used Morelia as a base camp to fulfill my whim of seeing the monarch migration. We knew it was a UNESCO heritage site and hoped it had lots to offer.

<b>Getting there – </b>
First class bus on Primera Plus for $230 pesos each. Great way to travel—comfy seats, snacks, toilets, movies (though ours were not to our taste—Proof, Freedomland, and a Disney movie called “Aliens of the Deep” that was in Spanish and that we’d never heard of).

<b>Hotel –</b>
Hotel Mansion Acueducto. It was fine but seemed overpriced for what we got (but then, I think our prior hotels spoiled us with low prices and nice rooms). It was within walking distance (for us, we like to walk) to the historical center. But this is the only place we stayed that I wouldn’t stay again. It has a really nice lobby but the room was bare, freezing cold, with a small hard bed and it smelled of a mix of paint and cigarette smoke (this was a “non-smoking room”). We checked out a day early in part because the hotel wasn’t great, in part because we were done with Morelia. There was an extremely nice, English-speaking front-desk woman.

Oh, and I was fairly warned on this hotel because it had mixed reviews on trip advisor. We're not picky on hotels and this fit our budget but it just wasn't particularly nice.


<b>Activities – </b>
<i>Day In Morelia – </i> We couldn’t get a Monarch tour for Friday (try as we might) so we had a whole day to figure out what to do. You know how sometimes you have a free afternoon and you debate so long over what to do you do nothing and feel disappointed—that was us with Moerlia. We just weren’t that excited with the city and we didn’t really plan enough to go to Pazcuaro or something.

That said, we do think Morelia is beautiful. DH likened it to where I work in Charlottesville, VA-- A great place to live and plenty to do for a resident or for a person interested in U.S. history but you’d never recommend it to someone coming from another country. Morelia felt like that to us—plenty of historical places relevant to a detailed knowledge of Mexican history and similar museums that are great if you are Mexican or particularly interested in Mexican history, plus a bustling historic district, pretty Cathedral, and friendly-suburban feel but not a place to really “tour” for us.

<i>Eating Out – </i> This became our main activity since we didn’t plan others very well. It was nice as this was the first city that seemed to have some really “upscale” restaurants convenient to our hotel. We enjoyed beautiful meals at prices along the lines of what one would spend at an Applebee’s, Chili’s or the like in the U.S.

<i>Monarch Butterfly Tour – </i> Harder to schedule than we had imagined. Finally paid to take a “tour” (really just paid for the ride because entrance, meal, guide were not part of said “tour”) and were driven to Sierra Chincua Reserve about 3 hours away.
The monarchs are breathtaking. I was blown away. I felt like I was in a fairyland. Butterflies filled the blue sky like orange confetti. It was worth every penny of the ride and every iota of “inconvenience” to me. The most magical moment happened when DH said, “You want to stand next to a butterfly for a picture?” No sooner were the words spoken but a butterfly landed on my shoulder as if it were a brooch; I held my breath I was so excited—no one else in the group had one land on them! The hike up was a nice change—we love to hike and bike outdoors and while we had been walking a lot, this was the first real hike. Others opted to ride up on rented horses.

<i>Fair – </i> Some kind of fair was going on in the square just outside our hotel. We walked around there at night and observed all the food, socializing, and fun people were enjoying.


<b>Fun Foods we Tried in Morelia </b>
<i>Enchiladas Morelianos - </i> I may be spelling that wrong but it was a delicious veggie dish (DH got his con pollo) of the region that I liked so much I had it twice!
<i> Sugar Cane – </i> So we kept wondering (being somewhat ignorant about foreign foods) why people were buying giant bags of bamboo at the fair. I became convinced I wanted to try it—they sell it in giant bags it must be good, right? Luckily a booth offered us each a free piece to taste. We figured out that it was sugar cane and that it’s to chew only, not to swallow. That was about all we cared to know about it. Needless to say, we didn’t buy a bag.

Next Installment is the last. Pictures should be up later today.

tina_p

Reading your report makes me want to get to Mexico...Now!
Actually we're going to Chichen Itza &amp; Cancun the day after Christmas and I'm wondering if you remember the name of your guide at Chichen Itza (or does anyone else know of a good guide?) We'll be staying at the Mayaland Hotel for a couple nights so will have lots of time to explore.
Welcome home and thanks for the great trip report!

vacationtimeagain

I had to reply...my husband and I went to Morelia a few years ago and took the 3 hour ride to see the Monarch Butterflies, I have never found anyone else who has done it to share the amazing experience with. I too was taken aback by the beauty of it, it truly was like being in a fairytale. thanks for sharing, you brought it all back.

schlegal1

Ok, photos took longer than expected because I had to upload one at a time and then rearrange. Blech.

Here's the link:
http://tinyurl.com/y6s6c3

(It's Kodak easyshare, no need to sign in)

These aren't stunning photos--just the sites we saw but it's fun to share, anyway.

I realize this forum section isn't as big on trip reports/photos as others but I hope it helps those doing future research.

schlegal1

tina_p - Our guide in Chichen Itza was Felipe (don't know a last name) he was excellent. And I know it's possible to book him in advance and for a certain time since he (with extreme apology) abandoned us briefly to take his pre-scheduled group (who he didn't expect until later that day)

vacationtimeagain - So glad you had the same experience I did with the monarchs. I oohed and ahhed so much it was ridiculous!

mikemo

And you missed Patzcuaro and Costalegre?
M

tina_p

schlegal1 - thanks for the tip on Felipe! Did you just meet him at the entrance? We're staying at the Mayaland and I'm wondering if we could find him through the hotel. We are flying in to Cancun and driving right to CI and want to get an early start the next day (before the buses!)

I've also read on other postings about IK-KIL and Xel-Ha - and, as it often happens, I'm getting mixed signals. We love to see things and explore, but are not particularly interested in real touristy experiences. Anybody have any thoughts?

schlegal1

<b>Last Part of the Trip: Guadalajara (actually Tlaquepaque) (November 25-29)</b>

<b>Tlaquepaque – </b>
We didn’t plan on staying in this lovely suburb at first but it was where our chosen hotel was and it ended up being perfect for us.

<b>Getting there – </b>
First class bus on Primera Plus for $230 pesos each (same as from DF). Movie this time was Swept Away (blech) but we slept since we left Morelia around 8pm.

<b>Hotel –</b>
Quinta Don Jose B&amp;B. This was the most wonderful place we stayed. It was a little oasis. Friendly, English-speaking staff (they cater to English-speaking travelers), good rate ($75 U.S./night, included breakfast), fabulous front desk (helped arrange activities), wonderful bar (and drinks were pretty cheap $35 pesos for a huge mixed drink), and adorable resident pets (dog and cat who wander the property).


<b>Activities – </b>
<i>Shopping in Tlaquepaque – </i> Really, for us it was more browsing as we aren’t big shoppers. There are some beautiful things in this area, though.

<i> Hiking in La Barranca de Hentitan –</i> This was both fabulous and a fiasco. First, the hotel front desk barely had an idea what it was we wanted to do (hike the canyon!). So they found a cab driver who said he’d take us. Well, he took us to the overlook, not the hiking trail and so we were stranded after we got in and figured that out. Wandered around the street for a little while, and flagged a cab that took us to the right place. The canyon was lovely, the hike was a bit challenging, and it was nice to enjoy all the friendly exercisers/hikers and pretty views and wildlife.
Poor planning (on our part again) kicked us in the rear again when we were done with no transportation back to the hotel. We didn’t have a phone number for the cabs in the area so we walked around trying to find the main intersections where we could flag one—problem was this was a residential area. It took an hour of wandering (and two attempts to ask for help that were fruitless) before we flagged a taxi. Relief. The up side was it was interesting to see the nice neighborhoods in the area, most of which had put rather elaborate nativity scenes in their front foyers (visible through their front gate).
This was a lesson in thinking ahead that luckily turned out well.

<i>Tequila Tour – </i> I don’t even like tequila but we had to go since it was so close. The hotel arranged for the most helpful and knowledgeable driver, whose name I never quite caught. I loved the tour (and even tasted some tequila—which was significantly better than I had ever had before). We went to Cascuin, a small tequila distillary (loved that one) and Cofradia Distillary (larger scale and still quite pretty). We also stopped in the town of Tequila and looked at the huge and very commercial Jose Cuervo distillary and opted against the rather costly tour (considering the other places let us in for free) and just took a photo. The drive itself was very lovely with the Sierra Madres looming all around.


<b>Fun Foods we Tried in Tlaquepaque</b>
<i>Stuffed Chilis- </i>Not unusual except that the description stated, “and covered with a delicious traditional walnut sauce, wizard’s.” Wizard’s?! It was begging to be tried, which DH did, but he didn’t care for it. Though the sauce was excellent the stuffing was meat, beans, etc., and not to his taste.
<i> Margaritas – </i> Not novel but delicious. The bartender at the B&amp;B made awesome drinks and though I am not a tequila fan, if I was going to like a margarita, it was going to be here. The funniest thing was that it was two-for one Happy Hour. We thought that meant if we each ordered a drink, we’d get them for the price of one. We almost died laughing when we each received two drinks at the same time.
<i>Guava Candy Roll – </i>I really wanted to try Mexican candy and chose this. It was different from what I expected. I thought it would be like a fruit roll up. Instead, it was like a chunk of gooey fruit with spicy chili in it. Two bites were enough for me.
<i>Other Mexican Candy – </i> Don’t know what they were but they were little soft sugar coated jelly things that tasted really really sweet. One and a half was DH’s and my max. My office loved them, though.
<i>Tequila – </i>Aged (anejo) was better than any I have ever had. DH was a big fan of the Cascuin brand.

<b>Resources Used:</b>
Insight Guide
Fodors and Trip Advisor
Our hotel Desk.

thit_cho

Thanks, an excellent report. I have been to Mexico several times, and I always find new places to explore. I also really liked Coba and Tulum, but found Chitzen Itza a bit too reconstructed (but when I visited, in 2001, I did climb the pyramid).

I haven't been to Guadalajara or Tequila, but I do intend to explore that area on one of my next visits to Mexico. Now off to look at your photos.

Thanks, Michael

Stewbear

Nice report. I must agree about Morelia. A nice large clean handsome city but just a bit of a bore compared to Patzcuaro, Uruapan or Guadalajara. My favorite thing there was the Zoo with it's huge in a bit old fashion enc losers for the animals interspersed with lovely picnics areas. You certainly covered a lot of ground. Makes me tired just reading it! LOL

schlegal1

OK, when Mikemo and Stewbear both tell me I missed something by skipping Patzcuaro, that really makes me want to kick myself--you guys have all the inside info on Mexico! But hey, that's an excuse to go back to this beautiful country, right?

SusanInToronto

You know, we liked Morelia and stayed there a few days, but only made a day trip to Patzcuaro. It was a very good base for side trips (also went to see the monarchs from there). I would definitely go back to Morelia again.