The English are embarrassing

What the title said, really. I am now back in Mexico city and yesterday I did something I never thought I would do. A TOUR! God no! Whatever for?! I hear you cry! Surely you would rather gauge out your own eyeballs and eat them for dinner?! I know, I know... What could I expect? Of course it would be hideous and awful and cringey and tedious and exasperating... Well, turns out the tour itself was not so bad. Checked out the awesomely impressive Teotihuacan Pyramids, built before Christ himself was born. The largest city built in Meso-America. So ridiculously massive and permanent and the site struck me with an even greater sense of my own mortality and unimportance in the scheme of universe. Obviously even more so than the cathedral in Morelia. Sitting atop the Pyramide de la Sol was (excuse the cliche) breathtaking. I marvelled at the view of D.F. and the ruins beneath me and realised there and then that the UK should build such a construction and send all the miserable, depressing inhabitants of England to the top and make them realise life really aint that bad. Although i dont know if it would work on some of the monstrosity of human beings I encountered on the trip...

A British couple with an awful regional accent harped on all day, insisting on talking to me as I was one of the only other English-speaking on the tour. They apparently came to mexico at the wrong time of year (winter) as they ALWAYS do whenever they go on holiday... (Yeah it has been 27degrees on average each day, seriously hot hot sun. And winter has just meant a cool breeze for the evenings. It is SNOWING in England you disgusting excuses for people.) And the food is too spicy, not like back home. (Urrgh kindly REMOVE yourselves from mexicos presence.) Oh and the best was that there is too much construction in the city. (And yeh I am pretty certain that the Mexico government would appreciate less construction too should they not be RESTORING ancient buildings. Effing vile vile cretins. And just SO EMBARRASSING for England. Im just saying...) Awful company aside, yesterday was amazing. We also checked out the revered image of the Virgin of Guadelupe which apparently appeared on a little old Indians poncho way way back.

Today I visited the Xochimilco canals with a really great English traveller, Alex an ex-TV-production-coordinator-turned-traveller-fo-life and a Singaporean photographer from NY, Alvin. We spent a glorious day outdoing the Lonely Planets advice for chilling in the gondolas and beating the cheapest of local prices. Then strolled through a super colourful artisans market. A truly lovely day. Tomorrow Alex and I head to Puebla as a stop over for Oaxaca city... South baby, south!

A xxx

a piece of peace

Luisa and her horse

Today I am writing from the remotest forest hills in the state of Michoacan, the nearest village a tiny one called Patzcuaro which reminds me of a 'kampong' in the Malaysian countryside. I am staying at an eco village here called the Bosque Village, a magical place from first impressions, for the next month or so. I am currently in one of the cabanas here which is where the internet computer and electricity to power phone, camera batteries etc is located. This particular cabana is called The View. This is because it is at the top of one of the forest's hills and it over looks the Patzcuaro lake. Absolutely stunning! More on this later...

A Mexican family of lovely, strong women 

So Friday I was still in Mexico city. In the morning I visited Luisa's horse with her at the stables and then after we all went around to her Grandmother's apartment in the south of the city for lunch. It was so delicious! Zucchini soup, Tinga con pollo (which is a kind of enchilada but more tasty!) and a tasty pastel for dessert, a Mexican recipe but I cannot remember the name. What I enjoyed most about this lunch was seeing a Mexican family together. Mariana and Luisa's auntie was also there, together with two of their cousins. And from the minute we walked in there was an extreme warmth about the place. Everyone was so happy to see each other and did not stop laughing right up until we left. There was no reluctance or sense of obligation as there is, ashamedly, with my family and I think with many other Western families.

Girls night out in Mexico City

That night, I hit Mexico City's nightlife with the girls and a bunch of Luisa's girlfriends. She is leaving (today I think) to study a semester in Madrid so it was her leaving party. We pre-drank at one of Luisa's friends' places. Her girlfriends are all gorgeously stunning! This was extremely handy for getting in to the club as I later found out. So we pulled up to the club, Classico in a taxi and I noticed about 100people crowded around outside. Wow, I thought, that looks like the most disorganised queue I've ever seen, really couldn't be bothered to queue in the cold! However, as the girls explained to me, in clubs here there is no queue. Instead everyone gathers around the ropes outside the club and the bouncers take their time to hand-pick only the prettiest people or the sons-and-daughters-of kids. It was hysterical! So we pushed the prettier girls amongst us to the front so the bouncers saw them and let us all in within minutes. I couldn't believe it and felt so bad just walking past some of the people who had been waiting there for ages (many of whom were significantly more attractive than myself) simply because I was with hotter people! I can imagine this process can be quite humiliating, demeaning and painful for one's ego...

Mariana & cousin Diana

So once we were inside I was confronted by the largest collective of beautiful people I have ever witnessed under one roof. Mexicans are very aesthetically pleasing! It was a really fun night, nineties Mexican pop music was the theme. However I really enjoyed myself dancing to this somewhat niche genre of music. And they threw in a couple of Fat Man Scoop and Bon Jovi type tracks here and there (the best of English-language music of course) so I didn't feel completely lost! We all got very drunk on tequila and reached home around 6am...

Only to awake again at 8am to catch my bus! Mariana was wonderful and despite feeling horrifically hungover herself, she helped me wake up, made me a packed lunch for my journey AND drove me to the bus station! The biggest sweetheart I've met in a long time! I got on my luxury bus and slept for the next 7 hours until I reached Patzcuaro. Here I enlisted the help of an elderly gentleman who could speak some English to help me get a taxi to drive me to the Bosque village. The driver was the sweetest man, he looked about ninety-five and he insisted that his rickety little taxi would be able to handle the bumpy dirt road and the forest hills of the journey, despite me protesting that I'd need a Servicio Mixto (a van) on the advice of the village. So I ended up believing him and then proceeded to spend the next two hours driving around and around dirt tracks and through trees for a 5km journey! And despite his lack of English and my lack of Spanish, the driver and myself were able to form quite the bond in this time! I actually quite enjoyed the journey and even the occasional stroke of fear that would grasp me when I'd realise that we had passed the same bunch of cows for the fifth time in the last half hour and were circling upon ourselves.

With a bit of faith and a lot of giggling later amongst my new friend and I, we finally made it to the Bosque! The relief I felt was incalculable! Here I was greeted by some of the other volunteers, Jenny and Crystal, two friends from Minnesota who are travelling across Latin America together and separately. They showed me to my cabana which I am sharing with two other girls, Genevieve from the state of Oregon and Alejandra from Mexico City. I then got a brief tour and met some of the other volunteers and then at 7.30pm we sat down for a communal dinner on the main lodge terrace. We ate a deliciously healthy dinner of black bean soup, homemade humuous and fresh bread! Here I met Marie and Brian, the owners/organisers of the Bosque. They are so lovely and friendly and also surprisingly young to be running such an efficient and wonderful project.

Casita

After dinner we all hung out in the Casita, a small cabana lodge with a large fireplace where everyone chills and I got to know everybody a little better. They are all very lovely, quite worldly people. Most are travelling around Mexico, Central America or through the whole of Central and South America. Some have been here for a month or so, some for only a few days. Most stay for about a month before moving on and so some are leaving in the next week. Apparently volunteers come and go fairly often. Whilst during the daytime it is warm and sunny, at night it is MIND-NUMBINGLY FREEZING!!!!!!!!!! This is because of the altitude at which the village is based in the hills. I have also found myself to be a bit short of breath because of the altitude but everyone has told me that this will subside within three days. The cabanas are not insulated but as it is so cold I had to sleep wearing most of the clothes I brought with me all at once and with five blankets over me!! I slept early as I was tired from my trip, a little overwhelmed by my new environment and embarrassingly enough... I could feel myself growing very crabby and irritable from my first day of no smoking. The village is completely smoke-free. I am happy about this as it will be exceedingly healthy for me, but I can't say that it has been easy!

Cactus

Today I woke up early but found it difficult to clamber out of bed as I felt so cold! It warmed up rapidly though and so I made my way to the Casita where people were having breakfast and ate a warm bowl of oatmeal. And then Alejandra cooked some delicious eggs with mexican beans for everyone. The craving to smoke after breakfast was intense! However I didn't bring ANY cigarettes with me and also I think I'd be kicked out if I did ever smoke here so it just wasn't going to happen. A place like this is probably the best place for addiction. I say we ship out all the heroin addicts to the remote hills of Mexico for rehab. I found out my working hours, 8.30am-2pm from Wed-Sun. Monday is a day off for everyone and Tuesday is my own day off. Everyone I've spoken to has said that the work is so varied so I'm surprisingly looking forward to Wednesday! So this means from today to Tuesday I am free to adjust to my surroundings, familiarise myself with nature and just chill out...

It is so peaceful here that I know I am going to enjoy the next couple of days immensely! I have spent the last hour doing some writing amongst the trees. Such an inspirational place, I know it's only my first day but I feel I could stay here forever! Also, they have such an extensive library that I'm looking forward to spending my days reading in one of the numerous hammocks they have here. Estoy contenta!

Anetta x

Ojo de Anetta

(Apparently attention-seeking me) at Frida's place

Today I learnt something about myself; that I am not as shy and introverted as I often assert. My friends and family have been telling me this forever but lessons about yourself are always more meaningful when you learn them yourself eh? This evening I was chilling in the trendy La Condesa district of Mexico city, drinking cervezas with Luisa, Mariana and Luisa´s friends. They all speak good English but obviously much of the conversation took place in Spanish. And as much as I enjoyed listening to the gorgeous cadence of their language, as i couldnt understand anything I had to sit quietly as the sweet, shy girl. So i discovered that I DO NOT LIKE being the sweet shy girl!!! Haha even though I couldn´t chip in as i had no idea what they were saying, i REALLY wanted to say something at all times! Sweet and shy does not suit. And i have realised that I must often speak JUST so i can speak. Am i one of those people who like the sound of their own voice?! FECK.

Anyways, another observation I made about social interactions is that often when we are talking with our friends we must find laughter and smiles SO contagious that when our friends are telling a story, it helps when they are laughing to lighten the mood in general and keep everyone compelled and uplifted! I say this because, again, even though I could not understand much of the conversation, I found myself constantly giggling when everyone else giggled and naturally beaming throughout the conversation just because everyone else were clearly enjoying themselves! What a beautiful aspect of human empathy. I really enjoyed discovering this.

Frida Kahlo's home

We visited the Museo Casa Estudio Diego Rivera y Frida Kahlo in Coyoacan today. This is where the famous artists and lovers Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived and it is such a beautiful and inspirational house. Everything about it is so warm and it seems the kind of place that if you lived there, you would never care to see the outside world. I can imagine them just staying in and being creative together. I loved the colourful monster puppets that Frida made and decorated the outside of the house with the most! And also, bizarrely, their crockery really caught my attention as they were handpainted with charming child-like creatures by Frida and Diego together. My heart broke though as Mariana translated a love letter from Frida to Diego whereby she asks him to not see other women (unless he really can´t help it) and ends the letter with ¨please love me a little, I adore you¨... But then next to this we were presented with a love letter from one of his Italian lovers written in the same year professing her love and how much of a sweet time she´d spent with him. ALL MEN ARE BASTARDS! Especially as Diego has been known to say such eloquent and touching praises of Frida and he clearly loved her. I guess, as with all men, his ego swallowed his dignity and his respect for love. We then walked around the lively Coyoacan, strolling around the Plaza San Jacinto. Filled with people and live guitar music yet extremely chilled and relaxing, I really enjoyed this vibe!

Coyoacan

Sitting in La Condesa this evening, I made my mind up that I should go to the eco village this Saturday… I realised that whilst I did want to see more of Mexico city, one of the reasons why i was putting the Bosque Village off is because i´m scared!!! I am so nervous that i will not survive there and everyone will think i am a bad example of a human being and i won´t like the outdoors living, the vegetarian food, the no smoking and the physical labour! And here in Mexico city i am getting very comfortable with my great company and English speaking hosts! It is time for me to throw myself in the deep end again. After all, this is exactly why i CAME to central america… it´s once again time for sink or swim! So i just booked my ticket to Patzcuaro in the state of Michoacán for Saturday morning so I will arrive at the Bosque Village on Saturday, where I will hopefully (if they let me!) spend the next two months…

Hasta luego!

Anetta xx

The first day of the rest of my life

Mexico in Y tu Mama Tambien

¡Hola Mexico City! Wow. Ok so this is still very surreal for me. I can´t quite believe that after NINE YEARS of dreaming about it, i am actually here in Mexico city… I feel so proud, a bit smug, lost, confused, welcome and overwhelmingly intensely happy. The smile that ate my face ever since I landed here has yet to subside. I still remember when I was a naive (ish) and impressionable (very) fourteen year old and I watched the Cuaron brothers´ Y Tu Mama Tambien… I think it was the combination of the dangerous adventures in the context of the hot climes that I found outrageously sexy. The youthful abandon of Diego and Gael Garcia, the rather trite symbolism of the road trip signifying freedom and of course the hot, sweaty boys sold Mexico to me and I vowed to one day venture there alone. 

Nine years later and I can afford it (just about) and now with Belize, Guatemala, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Costa Rica added to my itinerary, accrued over the last few years as other latin american countries I MUST VISIT. Alone is a very important aspect to my journey. I have spent my life thus far dedicated to finding myself. I hate that expression because it is ridiculous, but what I mean is I have been seeking the abolutely individualistic way in which I wish to live my life, free from as many influences as possible so as to obtain a complete sense of self. I have been on several trips with and without friends, slowly piecing my soul together. However I have found that the most introspective and the trips when I have learnt the most is when I have travelled alone. Couchsurfing solo in Granada and attending the film festival tour across the south of Italy alone were two of the scariest and yet most incredible memories of my life. They taught me that to me the most important facets of life are independence, freedom and individual experience. I wish to enrichen my life in all ways possible and I know that the next six months are going to be an invaluable experience for me. Especially somewhere as sexy and tempting as latin america. I am so excited for each day and every experience and every person I will encounter!

So today has been my first day in Mexico City. Here I am staying with two sweet, wonderful and pretty local sisters, Mariana and Luisa Benitez. This morning Mariana took me to a local market… In my opinion, markets the world over all look the same, the only difference is the few bits of unique local produce that they offer. Here, all the Mexican vendors insisted on force-feeding us various types of local cheeses (not that i took much convincing!) and I discovered a new favourite cheese, which has the weirdest texture but delicious flavour, Queso Oaxaca! I can´t wait until I visit the state of Oaxaca now as I have this idealistic impression in my head that this MUST be all they eat for breakfast, lunch and dinner... I also tried he strangest fruits which I have neither seen nor tasted anywhere else in the world! And I discovered a hidden passion for a flower named the Jamaica flower, which produces a sweet juice, bright pink and tasting like bittersweet plums. Mmmm....

Local fruit in the market

We then hit Downtown Mexico City, also known as Centro Historico where all the museums, palaces and various monuments are. In all honesty, I had been nervous that as this is a typically tourist spot, it would be jampacked with fugly Western tourists snapping photos in my face (abroad, I have a bizarre aversion to all things British), but in fact the tourists were locals! Mexicans still discovering their own Mexico. We began with Avenida Madero, a long cobbled street breathing the influence of the Spanish conquest. It was clear to see that this is where the Spaniards mowed down the Aztec city and built their own over from the architecture lined with typically hispanic ornately detailed balconies. Here is situated the impressive Casa de Azulejos, translated as the House of Mosaic. Stunning teeny blue tiles decorate the outside of the building where apparently an ex-president of Mexico (I wish I could remember who!?) was assassinated.

Mexican charity for Haiti

Then we strolled in to the pride of Mexico city, the Zocalo. This claims to be the largest city square in World. Here I found the Catedral Metropolitana. I always find Cathedrals to be one of my favourite erections in a city and this one is no exception. It is large and stunning from the outside and even more humbling on the inside. There was a mass going on as we entered and I became acquainted with the various saints that Mexicans are loyal to. In particular is the Virgin Guadelupe, an icon in Mexican culture and religion. Not my favourite though. If you´re asking, that would be Saint Antonio, whom if you pray to will bring you a boyfriend! Luisa tells me that it is very common to see girls in their late twenties (who are clearly getting past it) on their knees praying to Antonio to send them their ónes´. The Cathedral also has the largest Organ in the world apparently too. I´d love to tell more about this but as I do not have an acute appreciation of organs, I can simply confirm that it really is very big. 


Outside the Cathedral was perhaps more fascinating to me though for two reasons. First is that it is sinking! When the Spaniards invaded the city, they drained all the surrounding lakes and built their city on the weak, soft earth. As the Cathedral is so heavy, over the centuries it has been slowly sinking in to the ground. Also outside was an aid drive for the suffering people of Haiti. There was just thousands of bottles of water and other food and clothing supplies that had been dropped off by the compassionate people of Mexico city. Apparently the Embassies, Red Cross and other charities have had to publically announce to the people of Mexico city to stop donating as it is too much for them to physically fly over to Haiti. Astounded by the level of goodwill, the girls explained that Mexico City had witnessed its own devastating earthquake in 1985 which destroyed much of the city and killed 10,000 of its inhabitants. This is still very much alive in Mexican memory so they are empathising very strongly with Haiti.

Diego Rivera murals at Palacio Nacional

We then walked on to the MASSIVE Palacio Nacional, where the offices of the President together with the Federal Treasury are located. Even more impressive are the murals of Diego Rivera which adorn many of the inside walls. These murals are epically colourful and detailed, again humbling as they paint the entire history of Mexico´s story and thereby contextualised ME. I felt very small and unimportant! It apparently took Rivera six years to paint, from 1929. And I couldn´t help but think of how much he would have been paid for such a great commissioning! Call me a mercenary phillistine, but literally SHITLOADS of money. Also, the romantic deep down inside me was tingling with glee when I saw that he had sneakily painted his tempestuous lover Frida Kahlo in to the main mural. She was his history of Mexico.

Outside the National Palace is the Templo Mayor. In demolishing the city, the Spanish graciously left behind ruins of an Aztec pyramid. As impressive as this was to witness ancient history, I couldn´t help but feel the experience was somewhat tarnished with modern day scaffolding lining the ruins. What made this better was seeing the Mexican cactus, the Nopal growing amongst the ruins! Cactus is like, so MEXICAN! (or is it Tex-Mex?!)

My favourite - Palacio de Bellas Artes

We walked on to Plaza Tolsa where there was a bronze statue of Carlos IV. Also here is the Museo Nacional de Arte, which the girls told me is the second home of their grandmother who used to volunteer here as a guide as she loves the serenity of the building so much. This museum displays every school of Mexican art until the 20th century. Unfortunately I know little about art history but what I was able to pick up easily is that every school of Mexican art until the 20th Century was unable to escape religion from their paintings. It is known that Catholicism plays a dominant part in Mexican life and nowhere is that more clear than in their history of art.

Grand interior of Palacio Postale

We then walked on to another art museum, the Palacio de Bellas Artes which, I can confidently assert was the most magnificent building I saw all day! If I was being unpretentious I´d describe it as looking big, white and smooth. As that is not my concern, I will uninhibitedly describe it as overpoweringly beautiful in its Italian neoclassical design, with people gathered outside to marvel at its pearly splendour. It stands as the most dignified erection of the city, despite having fierce competition with whom it has a comparatively recent birth (1905). This and the Palacio Postal were probably my favourites of the day. And yes, the latter is simply Mexico´s central post office. But oh, the bronze staircases, intricately engraved and intertwined throughout the entire building! I couldn´t help stroke the railings and it reminded me of a fantasy staircase only witnessed in the world of a disney film!

Famous Mexican Mole

After our exhausting fix of history and culture, we went to feed ourselves with a different type of Mexican nourishment and went to eat in the upmarket neighbourhood of Polanco – lined with plush restaurants and luxury hotels. Here we went to a restaurant called El Bajio, which serves the best in Mexican cuisine. Here I ate Quesadillas con queso y hongas, (Quesadillas with cheese and mushrooms), Enchiladas con pollo y mole (Enchiladas with chicken and covered in the mole sauce, bittersweet and made from cocoa!), and finally, my new favourite dish in the world, Nopal! This is the same cactus that I saw growing on the Templo Mayor ruins! It is soooo tasty! Texture of mushrooms, taste a bit like green olives and best of all is the delicious novelty of eating cactus!!! Also, apparently it is absurdly good for you! Packed with vitamins and antioxidants, treating diabetes and even burning calories! Amazing.

I could write more about my gazillion other observations I have made about Mexico city, mainly the people, their ´conservatism´, their beautiful national pride, their ´mestizo´ faces, the nuances of their language etc but I have a feeling that as exhausted as I am is as exhausted as I am making one feel in reading this! Massive props if you have made it this far. All in all, my first impressions are that this is a really captivating city and it feels so surprisingly safe! I have even delayed the eco village so I can stay in Mexico city a bit longer and discover more of what it has to offer. As you can tell from the cheesiness permeating my every line, I am very excited to be here. I look forward to tomorrow and the next six months already. I know this has been the best decisión of my life.

Loads of love and buenas noches,

ANETTA xxxx