Thursday, August 4, 2022
This morning I’m heading off to my next adventure: Mexico! I’ll be honest, I booked this flight a month ago after my back was hurting. Up until then, I was actually thinking about how much I loved Colombia and might spend the entire summer there. After I hurt my back in a place without many amenities my mindset changed. I decided I need to go somewhere where I could hop from city to city and take excursions from there, rather than living in the rain forest.
Well, to be honest, I would consider this a mistake. Everyone will make the mistake of over-planning their trip at some point, and I hadn’t really until now. I’m more likely to under-plan my trip. After a few weeks on the coast, I went from hating it to loving it and I was super sad to leave. I like being in the city for the convenience but the more rural areas of Colombia are so peaceful and friendly. It’s okay though because I’ve also never wanted to return to a place so much, and I already have a list running of things to do when I can return, so I’ll definitely make that happen someday soon.
Normally, I would never have Mexico on my list of places to go. I originally planned to go to Colombia and continue to Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia afterward. After a while it became clear that I would definitely not make it through all of those countries this summer, and I just kept hearing about Mexico. After seeing how cheap flights home were from Cancún, I made the choice to head to Mexico City and backpack to Cancún. It’s going to be a tight fit, but I think it will be exciting. Mexico didn’t appeal to me at first because it’s such a common destination for Americans, but I just keep hearing about the food (which is the one thing Colombia is kind of disappointing to me for), and I can’t help but want to try it.
I shared a taxi to the airport with a girl who I heard talking about her flight, and then I went to check in. I realized I hadn’t completed my exit form and it turned out I bought the wrong bag for my flight, so I had to buy a checked bag which cost $100. Kind of a disaster, but I’ll try to forget about silly mistakes like this.
When I got to CDMX, I took an Uber to my hostel (which was VERY cheap), and checked in. Hostel Regina is supposed to be a party hostel but it’s nice enough. The property is cool and they have a restaurant downstairs. There’s plenty of bathrooms as well as a kitchen.
For dinner I set out to find tacos. I ended up at a place called Los Trompos de la Corte and got several different types of tacos that were all delicious.
Friday, August 5, 2022
Today I’m trying to get my bearings in the city, so I’m starting with a tour of the historical center. I head to El Zócalo, and find out I have some time to spare before the tour. I ate breakfast at El Popular Café with an Israeli guy I met in the square. Then we returned for the tour with Estación Mexico.
We started with Templo Mayor, and saw lots of cool sites like the Palacio de Belles Artes and a building with special tiles. I met a group of four Americans and after the tour we headed out together to Cinco de Mayo Tacos, per our guide’s recommendation. Then we go to Churrería el Moro where we got classic churros and chocolate. I hate to say it but I still can’t get behind churros (not a huge fan of fried food), and especially not the sweeter version they have here compared to Spain.
The boys are going to Lucha Libre tonight and they invited me to join them. We met up for dinner a bit later at Rancho Birria. This was my first time trying birria and I really enjoyed it. Then we headed into Lucha Libre where we bought beers and found our seats.
There’s several rounds of fighting, alternating between men and women. I also didn’t realize that many of the fighters were foreigners. In fact, the Australian guy won. I still don’t quite understand how he won, but the event was still super fun and interesting. I love doing something that is unique in a new country.
After Lucha Libre we went to a bar named Cheers and then headed home. I needed to make it back soon because I had decided to do a tour the next day.
Saturday, August 6, 2022
Today I went to the ruins of Teotihuacán. The ruins were interesting enough, but I can’t say I was super fascinated. I wish I could’ve gone inside the temples. The tour guide was great though! I’d like to go back early in the morning for a hot air balloon ride one day.
Part of the tour was a pulque, mezcal, and tequila tasting, which we did before lunch. They kept giving us more and more tequila and I was on an empty stomach so I was not a fan. I wish I liked tequila but I just can’t get behind it.
For dinner, I went to a placed called Los Tacos and then went back to the hostel. The techno music on the Regina rooftop really didn’t seem my style so I took my chances and went to Casa Pepe a few blocks away. I went up to their rooftop, where several people were salsa dancing, and sat at the bar.
It wasn’t long before I started chatting with people and ended up joining a group who was heading out to Roma. After chatting with them for a while I realized I just wasn’t in the mood to go all the way to Roma so I went to bed. I am disappointed that I didn’t take the chance to enjoy the typical nightlife here but I only slept a few hours last night (my phone didn’t even have enough time to charge fully…) so I’m really just out of energy. I also have lots of things I want to do so I don’t want to waste a day hungover and tired.
Sunday, August 7, 2022
I’m not feeling great today so I’m trying to take it easy while stopping by some sites that I still need to see in the historical center. I started by walking to Merced, which is a huge market. I didn’t buy anything but not because there weren’t plenty of options. On the way back, I got tacos at Los Tacos.
Back near the Zócalo I take some time to really take in the Palacio Nacional and Catedral and then stop into the Gran Hotel Ciudad de México which has beautiful stained glass. Then I walked over to La Alameda (a park) and admired the fountains.
Next, it was time for a rest so I headed into the Sears across from Palacio de Belles Artes. There’s a cafe inside that faces the palace, and it did not disappoint. Afterwards, I stopped into La Ciudadela market, again not in the mood to purchase anything.
I went back to the hostel to get my stuff because I’m switching to the Roma neighborhood now. I take an Uber to Metro hostel and settle in. The property is nice, but the dorm is a bit cramped. Since it’s been a while since I was in a new city, I decided I need to go shopping. I went to Reforma 222. I didn’t really find anything I wanted to buy there either.
Lastly, I met up with the boys at El Califa for dinner. We agreed that this place didn’t really stand up to all the other tacos we’ve been trying.
Monday, August 8, 2022
Today I’m doing a day trip that I am super excited about. I almost gave up on it because the only options I saw online were $100, but then I saw something about it in the Casa Pepe groupchat for $50 (I recommend staying at Casa Pepe, or at least getting their Whatsapp group and hanging out at their bar).
I Uber to Casa Pepe, back in the center, early in the morning and we hop on a shuttle to Las Grutas Tolantongo. This is an Instagram worthy hot spring. I met some cool people from Casa Pepe and we hung out all day. There’s lots of different things to do at the springs. The most Instagram worthy spot was actually the furthest from the water source, so the water wasn’t super warm. The area is mountainous so it’s windy, and without the sun on you it gets a bit cold in that area.
Our favorite part was the cave because the water was the warmest and you could swim/walk into hidden parts in the back of it. On the way to the cave there was flowing water that we swam in which was super cool because normally flowing water is very cold. We took the bus back.
When I got home I took an Uber to Mercado Roma where I got a mediocre burrito for dinner.
Tuesday, August 9, 2022
I’m in the mood for breakfast food so I headed to Delirio and got some delicious avocado toast. Then I walked all the way to Chapultepec Forest. I saw a Starbucks on the way and couldn’t help but stop in because they had the strawberry açaí drink and it’s been a while.
I didn’t do much but wander around the forest and look at the different things people were selling. I took an Uber back from the forest because I’m going on the Estación Mexico tour of Roma, so I’ll be walking all afternoon. After the tour, I stopped at Taco Naco with some girls that I met per the guide’s recommendation. These tacos were really good.
Lastly, I have plans to meet with the boys at Hanky Panky Speakeasy. We made an appointment and when we got there (I found it first because I had looked on Google Maps), they led us to the back where the bar is. The vibes are really cool and the cocktails are all based off of different countries. This made me realize that I actually don’t really like cocktails because I don’t like many types of alcohol besides vodka and rum, and I’m not a fan of many of the flavors they add either. I’d much rather go to a brewery!
Nonetheless, we had a fun time in the speakeasy and tried lots of drinks. I took an Uber home since this area is known to be a bit dangerous.
My one regret here in CDMX is not trying the metro, but I didn’t find it to be super convenient despite having tons of stops. I was always way too far from a stop or in a rush and it would have taken me far too long to metro. I’ll definitely have to try it next time!
There’s endless things to do in CDMX and I’ve only scratched the surface. My friends are leaving though and I’m in a rush to get to Cancún, so it’s time for me to leave. CDMX will be a great city to stop at in the future though since there’s endless activities and it’s cheap to get to the center from the airport.
Check Out My Guide to CDMX ⧉
My Google Maps Guides have all the important locations I mention in my blogs, and you can open them right in Google Maps to make it easy to plan your own trip!