After two very long flights, Rio-Bogota-Cuidad de Mexico with Avianca we arrive at night in Mexico City, we catch a taxi from the airport and get to the Hotel Bristol, for an excellent value for money room. We get up next morning, have a couple of spicy tacos for breakfast and get down to sightseeing. We walk down Paseo de La Reforma, one of the main arteries of the city, until we reach the square - Zocalo. We check out the Merced Markets and all the gorgeous attractions of the Centro Historico, including museums, cathedrals, palaces and the city's pumping streets. We also stop along the way to taste the colourful array of amazing street foods. A guy just calls out to me to let me know that 70 pesos fell out of my pocket, respect! After walking around all day and feeling unusually tired, we go back to the hotel and realize we are 2,400 metres above sea level, well, altitude sickness strikes again. Not so bad as we are able to do everything but definitely in a bit of slow motion. Quickly back to the room for a bit of a rest as tomorrow is Pyramid day!
We get up early as we decided to visit the Teotihuacan pyramids independently instead of buying a guided tour. It is not only cheaper but it is also a way to experience a bit of the local life, including using public transport. We walk to the metro station, change 3 different lines till we reach the bus Terminal Norte, from there a bus ride of about an hour and we reach the Teotihuacan pyramids. The pyramids are quite impressive however the site is very arid and the asphalted streets compromise a bit of the magic of the place. We retrace our steps to Mexico City then lunch at the Zona Rosa, the nightlife-party district, burritos & tacos at “Tacontente”. We are kind of looking forward to getting out of Mexico City, not only because of the altitude but also as soon as we reach a smaller touristy place, we start to feel we are on holidays, so we head to Palenque the next afternoon. It is a 14 hour bus ride with the ADO Bus Company.
We arrive in Palenque at 6AM and check in at the Xibalba Hotel, basic but clean and comfortable. They tell you the Wi-Fi works in the room but it doesn’t, they tell you they are going to have a look at it, but they won’t, just get over it already! We rest for a little while but, being too excited to sleep, we get up, shower and go to see the Zona Arqueologica de Palenque. The Mayan archeological site it just amazing, it is set amidst a tropical jungle and surrounded by rivers and waterfalls. The ruins are really lovely and the weather is great, hot and humid, we finally fell like we are on holidays. We walk around all morning and head back to the town where we have lunch and walk around a bit more. The heat and humidity are almost impossible but the town is nice with just about the right combination of touristy and chilled. Before we retire for the day, we buy the tickets to Merida for tomorrow morning, adios Palenque!
