Made it to Mexicocity after cutting the Gordian knot of how to progress to mainland America from St Maarten in the Caribbeans. This was a bittersweet decision to make, because I was conflicted with the idea of trying to progress without fly from the Caribbeans via boat, but as
1. I have found myself in the middle of the hurricane season on the Caribbeans way too late, with zero to no boats heading west,
2. Having a tight timeline to reach Guatemala by early August,
I had to act, and making a fast decision was the way to go.
I made it to Pepe, who is my ‘long time no see’ friend from my Erasmus semester spent back in 2014 in Germany. Flying over to mainland left me with no doubt that if I do fly, it has to be directly to Mexicocity to meet him and progress down south from here.
About Mexico and Mexicocity
It’s my second time here in Mexico and Mexicocity, though the first time I only spent here a weekend going to Coyoacan, and Tepoztlan.
This time wanted to see more of Mexico than just the capital. Realizing it’s an enormous country, Mexico has 32 federal entities with 31 states (Mexicocity is a separate federal entity), I wanted to see as much as I possibly could based on the timeline and itinerary I had.
Mexicocity with it’s surrounding has a population of approximately 21 million people, being the 5th largest city in the world.
Mexico and some of the Mexican cities are also on the top of the homicide rate list, so having come here switched on in me a higher level of alertness. So far in the districts of Mexico I’ve been roaming around in, were highly safe and didn’t encounter any sort of criminal activity nor being approached by anyone. I think as long as you use common sense and know which districts you should avoid, you can avoid trouble.
What always surprises me about Mexico is the power of it’s economy.
There are a lot of stereotyping and racist jokes about Mexicans, but when you come here and feel the size of the city and the country, you are left humbled how strong the economy of the country is. It has the second largest economy in Latin America after Brasil, and alone the size of Mexicocity makes you double think of all the stereotypes you may have about Mexicans. Surely, poverty and criminal rates are way higher than in Western countries, but I have a feeling that the average law-abiding citizen can earn a living here, enjoying and embracing the wonderful culture of Mexico.
Next steps planning the itinerary progressing down south
This will be my rough planning to head down south from Mexicocity, as I’ll need to reach Guatemala by early August.
I will put together a no brainer itinerary with ChatGPT. My most awesome future tour guide in Guatemala, who I’m heading to, already did this for me, I’m just redoing again to make sure I’ll be okay. She is highly reliable though, the best tour guide ever, free of charge with a lot of know-how, and I’m not doing this to discredit what she did at all, more to internalize the itinerary as I’ll be on my own heading south with little to no Spanish knowledge and there is a lot to see on the go.
Planning to head off this Wednesday from Mexico-city, after visiting tomorrow the pyramids of Teotihuacan on the north east.
Prompting ChatGPT: for the next itinarery:
Heading down from Mexicocity via public transport to San Marcos La Laguna in Guatemala at Lago de Atitlan. I will have 6 days to reach destination. Meanwhile would like to hit main sightseeing points in Mexico and few in Guatemala. Put together a managable itinerary to reach destination on time with not too exhausting travel
Revised itinerary including Tuxtla:
With Overnighting in Oaxaca without losing key sights:
Okie, looks like we have something forming.
Let’s skip overnight buses.
Getting there. Per Pepe, Canyon del Sumidero is a must have, visiting Oaxaca and San Cristobal de las Casas should be giving enough traction for cultural sights. I will sacrifice Puebla for making the trip less exhausting.
Instead of ADO buses, Estrella Blanca or Estrella Roja can be used as form of public transports.
Also considering will need enough cash outside the residential area of Mexico and Guatemala.
Will also need to consider a lower-key outlook to avoid potential criminal approaches and better my chances for bargaining prices.
Hostels will be checked a bit later on.
Pepe’s key advise: EMBRACE CHAOS
Looks like a high level plan! Yaaaaaaaaay!
