Summer 2022 in Mexico

My husband and I have been exploring Mexico for about 12 years now. Until 2021, we also took our daughter, but since she turned 18, she's been off the hook for being "dragged all over the world" (as she describes it.) My husband's maternal grandparents were from Jalisco, so we started there, but we've managed to visit most of the southern half of the country, avoiding the coasts. This past July, we spent time in Zacatecas and Cuernavaca, along with Morelia, Mexico State and Mexico City.

We flew into Mexico City late at night, stayed in a nearby hotel (actually a room in a house), and got on a domestic flight to Zacatecas early the next morning. Since Covid and being in our 50s, we now spring for first class on domestic flights in MX. It tends to cost less than $50 more for both of us and is well worth it. If you think you can't afford to upgrade, check the price just in case. Often it is barely more than the extra fees it includes, like luggage. The staff is more careful to make sure we know what's going on (it can be confusing if you struggle with Spanish, which I'm ashamed to say I still do.) And we usually find our luggage right out in front tagged with "Primera" so we walk off the plane, grab our bags, and are out the door to catch a ride in a jiffy.

View as we departed CDMX

Zacatecas did not disappoint! One of my favorite cities is Guanajuato. Zacatecas City has a lot of the same elements: incredible mountainous surroundings, historic city center, old mines and a teleferico (aerial tram.) 

Riding the Teleferico in Zacatecas

There's a particularly striking rock formation on top of a mountain overlooking the town called "La Bufa". It looks as if lava squirted out of the mountain like liquid styrofoam from a can. We drove up to the top where there are shops, museums, a cathedral, bars and a park with hiking trails. On another day, we took the teleferico.

It's much larger than it looks in photos.

We rented a car for one day and drove out of town. The Zacatecas state border undulates, so we actually traveled into and out of other states throughout the day. Our goal was to find traditional dance masks, which is Mike's particular passion. We drove about 3 hours to Teul and, after asking about 10 different people for help, we found ourselves in front of a doorway with "Mascaras" printed on a small sign above the doorway. As it happened, a truck with the whole family arrived at almost the same time. We explained our quest and they asked for 10 minutes. Soon, a smiling gentleman re-opened the door and welcomed us in. He showed us the masks he had in the studio as well as the ones in his workshop, in progress.

Introducing Cruz M. Jacobo, traditional mask carver in Teul.

Mike convinced him to sell an unfinished mask as well as a completed one.

This has become one of the most fun parts of our travels; tracking down artists in their studios and buying directly from them. We get to meet them, see how they work, and we pay them more than their usual buyers do. And it takes us off the beaten path, so we find parts of MX we wouldn't otherwise. Just outside of Teul is a very cool ruin that is built into a mountain. Ceremonial areas are located at different points along the path to the top, where there's a small pyramid; it's a platform rather than a building. It was a good hike, and the reward was a gorgeous view from the top.

On another day, we hired a taxi to take us to an archeological site just outside of Zacatecas City called La Quemada. This place is very impressive; much more expansive than I anticipated. This site is unique because it features giant stone pillars that once supported a vast roof. I haven't seen another example like it. Also, the rest of the ruin is built into the mountain, so it's a strenuous hike to the top. We actually didn't go all the way up because there was a large school group ahead of us and they were pretty rowdy. They were extremely friendly, calling to us to take photos of them and shouting hello at every point where we could see each other.

There was so much more to Zacatecas than I have room to share here. I did share photos daily on my travel instagram (@folkartadventures.) After 5 days, we flew back to Mexico City, where we relaxed in our favorite airbnb (Villa Alfonsina) in Coyoacan for a few days. This was our 4th trip to Mexico City and it's such a huge place with so much to see, we still have more to find there. On this trip, we learned that eating in the mercado is far more economical than in restaurants. We wondered why we hadn't been doing it all along. In the mercados, you can order a combination of small items for less than $1 each, so a meal can be a taco, a sope and a flauta with a beverage for $3-$4. It's more than enough for me and I get to try new things more easily. We also discovered Palomas, which became the drink of choice for the trip. We tried Palomas everywhere, from dive bars to fancy restaurants. There are some crazy variations! It might be made with Sprite, or with fresh squeezed grapefruit & lime, and a range between. I don't think it was ever the same drink twice.

Tacos in the Coyoacan mercado with horchata. $2.50

One of the things we've always wanted to do was to ride through Xochimilco on a gondola-style boat. Renting a trajinera is expensive: $100 for 3-4 hours. If you have a large group or can team up with others to share the cost, it's very affordable. But we've always been just us. Finally, we broke down and paid the full cost and had a boat to ourselves. We arrived just as they were getting started and it was a gorgeous day. I honestly had no idea that it was such a natural setting; it's right in the city! As the "gondolier" navigates through the canals, you soon find yourself in a lush environment full of birds with fish jumping out of the water. 

The destination for us was La Isla de las Munecas (The Island of Dolls). We both enjoy a creepy aesthetic and this place is as creepy as they come. I'm going to just share a link to information about it, rather than writing it all out: https://www.atlasobscura.com/places/la-isla-de-las-munecas The story is compelling.

Next, we caught a bus to Tepoztlan, only about an hour outside of CDMX. This is a Pueblo Magico that is truly magical. It was a side trip that we added at the last minute, eating the cost of our room in Mexico City. The room in Tepoztlan was only $25. The town is so quaint, tucked into mountains covered in dense forest with interesting rock formations. The markets are excellent. We found a lot of items, like masks, at really good prices. 

   

If I had it to do over, I would spend more nights in Tepoztlan rather than heading to Cuernavaca. There are some nice museums in Cuernavaca, but I didn't find it charming. One or two days would have been plenty. I did have the surprise of finding a swimming pool mosaic by Diego Rivera by accident. We were also invited to sit with a family for lunch one day, which was a lively and interesting experience. They were so kind, they really wanted us to stay with them, even offering to take us back to Mexico City because the guy on the right was visiting from San Angel. But we had other travel plans still ahead of us.

Corn goddess

Swimming pool mosaic by Diego Rivera in what was a private home, now a museum.

Incredible beadwork; dance costume

A very nice family in Cuernavaca.

A highlight of the Cuernavaca experience, for me, was a trip to the Perdomo factory. Perdomo is one of a handful of companies that produce smalti; a thick, colorful hand-made glass widely used in mosaic. When I've had the opportunity to use smalti in my projects, this is where it is made. (I purchase through Smalti.com.)

After Perdomo, we caught a taxi out of town to another archeological site, Xochicalco. This was yet another unique ruin and also far more impressive than I expected. There is a great museum housing a ton of artifacts excavated from the site, including a large stone mosaic. The site is vast, with well preserved structures throughout, from lower level housing for the regular folk, to upper level structures that were for royalty, priests and ceremonial buildings. We spent hours hiking and climbing to try to see everything, including the stunning views from the top. The relief carvings on the buildings at Xochicalco are crisp and intricate.

A stone mosaic at Xochilcalco.

A corresponding statue at Xochicalco.

Incredible relief carvings at Xochicalco.

Stunning views from the top of Xochicalco, from every angle.

Xochicalco from the museum at the bottom level.

Next, we took a bus to Taluca in search of a couple more bucket list destinations: Cosmovitral and the Otomi Ceremonial Center in Temoaya. We had a hotel booked in Toluca, but next time, we'll stay in Metepec. Toluca probably has more to offer than is obvious, but it doesn't have a historic feel. Metepec has the quaint pueblo atmosphere that I prefer. However, what Toluca does have is Cosmovitral! That alone is worth the trip. This is a stained glass building designed by Leopoldo Flores that is about the size of a whole city block, and filled with gardens.

Artist Leopoldo Flores

Finally, we caught a taxi to Temoaya and the Otomi Ceremonial Center. This place is incredible. Unfortunately, we happened to arrived on a day that everything was closed, so we were able to explore outside, but the vendor market and museum were cerrado. This was a huge disappointment because I love Otomi arts and crafts and hoped to purchase directly from artisans. It's always a gut-punch to travel so far to find you picked the wrong day. However, the center itself, massive and stunning, built into a mountainside with amazing views of the land below, made it well worth the trip. 

The Otomi Ceremonial Center looks much like a traditional MesoAmerican ruin, but this is a contemporary structure built in the 1980s. It is a gathering place for the Otomi community to practice their cultural traditions. All of the colorful designs you can see in the photos are stone mosaic. I really hope we find our way back to Temoaya area before too long because a few hours was not enough time to absorb this place. Also, at this point, I was feeling very fatigued, with a scratchy throat and sniffles. I chalked it up to allergies, which I often experience when traveling. But, I took a test when we got back to Mexico City that confirmed I had Covid. 

We had a few days before flying home, so I slowed down, took some supplements provided by the very helpful pharmacists in Coyoacan, and we were careful to stick to outdoor activities like walking in parks and eating street food. One striking aspect of this experience was how easy it is to access non-emergency medical care in MX. Pharmacies, like most businesses, have walls that roll up like a garage door with a counter facing out, so you can just walk up and speak with a pharmacist without entering an enclosed space. They will recommend over-the-counter treatments, which have always been sufficient to help us recover from whatever malady we are suffering. But there is also a doctor on duty in many pharmacies, so you can get assessed for anything more serious and be treated right there. We visited two other times during the pandemic before their vaccine rollout had taken place and there were long lines for the pharmacy medicos, but by summer 2022, things appeared to be a lot better.

Normally, we would be in MX during the winter holidays, but we decided to stay home this year for a number of reasons. It has been nice to spend the break with friends, but I'm feeling a little achy for the place that has become so familiar, so I've enjoyed revisiting our summer trip. I hope someone out there finds this helpful for planning their own visit to Mexico. It's truly a beautiful, friendly country with so much history, art and natural wonder, and it is very much connected to the U.S. in ways most people don't recognize. We are all one, with a shared history and fluctuating border. 

Happy New Year!