On March 20, 2017, after being more than 2 months in Isla Mujeres, one of the 10 Caribbean's most beautiful islands, we set off for our Mexico tour.
We rent a car for 1 month in Cancun and start our tour to discover the wonderful Mexican cities.
We start our tour by visiting the Maya world so the first ruins we encounter on our route are those of: Tulum and Cobà.
But for this part we have prepared a dedicated article
So after Cancun, Tulum, Cobà we resume our journey to discover colorful embroidery, colorful pottery, hammocks, leather, wood, stone and much more ... the first country we meet is Valladolid.
VALLADOLID
Obligatory stop in this pretty little town ... Valladolid.
With its colonial atmosphere, it is the third largest city in the Yucatán and an excellent starting point for exploring Mayan ruins in Chichén Itza
Here I met a lot of women working hand-crocheted and packing beautiful items, and in their hands I see the hands of my sister Lilia as good as they do with the irons.
After the visit to the Mayan ruin of Chichén Itza we continue our journey to Izamal
IZAMAL
When they spoke of this city completely 'yellow' I did not want to believe it ...
Simply UNIQUE !!
Izamal is an enchanting colonial town and is one of Mexico's magical pueblos, a nomination offered by the Mexican Tourism Secretariat to cities with an important historical or cultural heritage.
All the houses, shops and churches of Izamal are painted with a golden yellow that has earned it the nickname "Yellow City".
In Izamal not only the homes are original, but the horse is dressed in yellow
The YELLOW city of Izamal in Mexico is very YELLOW
Our journey continues and after Izamal's yellow we fill in the eyes of a rose never seen in Celestun
CELESTÚN
Arrived at Celestún, a myriad of pink flamingos was waiting for us.
It looked like a pink colored sea from how many were.
It is an environment characterized by low waters surrounded by dense mangroves, where about 304 species of birds - frigates, pelicans, eagles, but stealing the scene - are undoubtedly the balance of flamingos, pink flamingos.
These gorgeous flamingos called "Flaminio" in Mexico become pink in the fact that they are fed with pink gambetti
In front of my eyes a natural spectacle has opened up to me that has left me in a keen way.
On board a small launch starts looking for these pink protagonists: flying flamingos.
Full of birds here in Celestún.
The pelicans close up are a show
But where are we?
We ended up in the Celestún mangroves and for peace we were recommended to make the bath in spring water but ... attention to the crocodiles
Well ... I did not get my hand out of the boat
When you arrive at sunset, this photo is commented alone.
Sunset and Love
Going into the wild coastal Yucatan region, where pink flamingos, the beautiful flamingos, are more than the inhabitants, has been an exciting experience.
Celestún, which in Maya Yucateque means "painted stone", is a quiet fishing village
Here we have found over 300 species of birds, such as turtles, pelicans, herons and a flamingo colony that exceeds a thousand specimens.
Once in Celestún, we rented a boat to visit the reserve, a very stimulating experience.
As we approach the flamingos they took shape.
We approach, but not too much, respecting a certain distance to not disturb them while they are intent on getting full of energy, eating a little worm living on these backdrops.
Pink worms! That's why the flamingos are pink.
Our idle guide to continue the tour, because pink flamingos are certainly not the only attraction of the Celestúan Biosphere .... And he is right!
After a swing at speed that almost jammed us out of the boat, we walk into a mangrove tunnel looking for the crocodile.
And then ... looking for the pelican too.
Wonderful birds everywhere, of all kinds.
My eyes no longer knew where to look and when the sunset of an orange ever seen came down in the evening, my eyes are lost in nothingness.
After leaving the wonderful Celestún, we continue to Mérida, one of the most important places to discover the maya heritage of Mexico.
Mérida
Today's stage "Merida", the largest city in Yucatan.
Mérida was born as a fortified city and boasts the second largest historical center of all Mexico, only topped by the capital of the country, Mexico City.
It was nicknamed the White City for its abundance, its palaces and monuments, of a very clear limestone;
But local people say that this nickname is also needed to clean up its streets and public areas, not to mention its high security.
While waiting for dinner, we enjoy the lights playing around the city from above.
Casa de mi Tía has pampered us with a delicious Mexican style dinner.
Go to Tacos .. Hole.
Next ... There is room for everyone. Wonderful colonial house.
We continue for another Maya ruin: Uxmal
Under a sunny day we visit the Indochina pyramid and at the end of the day we resume the car and km after km we arrive in Campeche.
CAMPECHE
Arriving at Campeche we immediately realized that it was a city rich in baroque Spanish architecture and ancient beauty.
Turning around the streets it is normal to find DIY fishmongers.
Why make so many problems?
Fish can also be done this way
Easy!
Visited Campeche our trip continues to Ciudad del Carmen
Ciudad del Carmen
Ciudad del Carmen is a small town where we spent 1 night and breakfast.
These are some moments of life that we have learned in Ciudad del Carmen
After that ... they leave for innocence for Veracruz, one of the most important port cities in Mexico
VERACRUZ
Arriving in Veracruz we were greeted by musicians everywhere .. oleeee
This guy with the sombrero has conquered us
It combines music with the sea and good gastronomy.
It sings everywhere: El Merenderooooo ... Let them, let them ...
Attending a "serenade" is not that difficult.
The Mexicans are caliente !!
From Veracruz, made full of gasolina, we continue for the WONDERFUL city of Puebla
PUEBLA
The city of Puebla, declared a Cultural Heritage of Humanity, is also known as the "City of Angels".
We immediately perceived its climate is temperate, with cool summers, the average annual temperature is 16º C.
Finally a bit cool !! We thought...
So take a break, go for a walk in the city of Puebla in search of culture.
Walk we walked into the oldest Palafoxiana public library in America.
Over 6,000 books, cataloged and dusted only on the occasion of the last 1985 earthquake, including the only incunabula of the continent that came more than 500 years ago from overseas.
In the wonderful Puebla each corner is a color
A whole street of local craft shops where not to stop is impossible
Of course we could not miss our tour, a tour of the handicraft market
Wonderful !!!
The city of Puebla has been a spectacular discovery
The most beautiful Mexican town view so far
I would buy everything
But in the backpack there is no more space
Delicious sweets shops
Sssss ... Luca is making a trip ..
We salute Puebla with a delicious Mexican breakfast and away ... the trip continues for Cholula.
CHOLULA
At Cholula we read that there is the largest pyramid ever built by man !!
Before going to visit we have breakfast:
In the beautiful Cholula in every corner the Mexican comida is sublime.
Km after kilometer we arrived in Cholula, a small hermosa town
Here we have visited the Great Pyramid of Cholula also known as Tlahchiualtepetl, or mountain made by man is an ancient Aztec temple big four times more than the other pyramids scattered all over the planet.
It is 64 meters tall and 500 meters wide. With its 4.5 million cubic meters, it has been awarded the world's largest pyramid primate.
Mucho HERMOSA
At the top of the Cholula pyramid, once there was a temple, there is now a Catholic church dedicated to Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, which should date back to the sixteenth century.
Its interior is all in GOLD
Under the burning sun, thinking of being above the world's tallest pyramid makes me shudder
The pyramid is under the mountain
Strengthening our feet gives us thanks
Here we are, we have arrived on the whirling of the Cholula pyramid
This church is covered in gold
This grandmother with her antenna radios makes me think of the flowing time ...
Leave Puebla we drive over Mexico City to go to another important Maya ruin: Teotuhuacán
Teotuhuacán
The Teotuhuacán site is one of the most incredible of all over Mexico!
Aztecs believed that gods had created the universe in this ancient city, which flourished to become the hub of culture and commerce in the Mesoamerican classical period.
Here the cacti abound
We arrived at the top of the sun pyramid at the archaeological site of Teotuhuacán in Mexico, the mysterious city of the gods
We were fascinated by the marvelous buildings that arise in this archaeological site of Teotuhuacán in Mexico.
The vastness and size of Teotihuacan's buildings are another of my memories: being in front of these immense pyramids makes you feel really small and insignificant, a flea in front of the greatness of centuries of History.
The Sun pyramid perfectly in line with the axis along which the sun is falling every night, has allowed us to recharge us with energy.
According to the legends of the city, however, as you climb the steps you can express a desire
Then we went to admire the Moon Pyramid
The pyramid is equipped with a sort of platform on the top that was used for ceremonies and religious rituals.
Wonderful silence that was breathing from here
By force of climbing pyramids we are hungry
In order to stay on the subject, we got the CACTUS
Delicious his taste resembles our sweet pepper
Here in Mexico you always eat at the rhythm of music
El merenderoooooo
Here is our exciting adventure in the City of Gods
After the place of the gods we head to the capital city of Mexico City
CITY OF MEXICO
Arriving in Mexico City, one of the largest urban agglomerations in the world, we walked like there was no tomorrow under a burning sun.
We are coming to the university called UNAM, which is not a university like so many.
In addition to being declared World Heritage Site by UNESCO in 2007, it is a source of pride for the Mexicans.
We could admire magnificent works by Mexican muralists
Left the capital of Mexico City, we heard of a little village from Puebla called Chipilo with the peculiarity of being fully inhabited by VENETI.
Chipilo
Who could have imagined to find in Mexico a country entirely inhabited by VENETI
I asked Luca to deviate the chart because I wanted to meet them.
It was too exciting
I knew they were from Treviso and they spoke ONLY the Venetian dialect.
So here we are: arrived in Chipilo
We met the elders of the country and interacted with them in dialect.
That's weird! I no longer knew the language to speak: Spanish or English?
No! Venetian Dialetto
And here we are with Paolo Soliman, trevisano DOC, transferred to Chipilo for 15 years
We met her restaurant and enjoyed a great pizza and drank a coffee doc
It was great to chat with him and to understand why he took him to leave Italy and choose the village of venetian homes in Mexico
Turning the world makes us meet wonderful people with special stories
Thank you Paul for the hospitality with you I refreshed my Venetian dialect
As we ride our car for our journey I'm heading: Oxaca
Oaxaca
Arriving at Oxaca, which says "uaháka" we were greeted by the culture and warmth of the people
And right away we went to discover their market and we felt asked: "What damos?"
Among the many delicacies at Oxaca also the "chapulines", the roasted grasshoppers, beautiful crunchies were sold around every corner
And then to inhale the senses a little. Oxaca's typical liqueur is: "The Mezcal" derived from a particular type of Agave with a millennial history behind it.
Olè !!
All right
Do we want to talk about the "Mole"?
At Oxaca you will be fed up with this famous sauce every dish
It is a sauce prepared with several chillies and many other ingredients and spices
To remain breathless
Along the way that Puebla led us to Oxaca, we felt lost in the nothingness
Km and km without meeting a country or someone.
We cactus and coyotes
We did a lot of cars in the car with a hot increase.
With Mexican music that made us company we came to the mythical: Puerto Escondido
PUERTO ESCONDIDO
Arriving in Puerto Escondido after crossing the rugged and isolated mountains of Mexico I realized why Gabriele Salvatores chose this corner of Paradise to shoot his film "Puerto Escondido"
I love Puerto Escondido
Waking up in the morning at Puerto Escondido and diving into the fishermen's routines was wonderful
The fishermen glad of their fishing showed us their harvest.
There were fish everywhere, HUGE
Every morning a lot of people come to buy fish directly on the beach by fishermen
It's wonderful to see bargaining
These fish that destination will take? Restaurant!!
I had never seen such giant fish
Waiting for buyers
It will be 2 m long this swordfish
They invited us to pick it up with them
And then while I'm here I think they come too ... my friends squirrels
I love them
When we wake up in the morning the first person to take care of is us
Everything else matters nothing
An original way to park the boat in Puerto Escondido
Want to talk about sunset over Puerto Escondido?
Certainly the Pacific Ocean does not joke for waves
Surfers around the world come here to Zicatela to challenge the waves and take part in world-class races.
Californian surfers who discovered the strong sea currents of Zicatela and his monumental waves, sometimes at six feet high, called it the "Mexican Pipeline".
Without a doubt, Zicatela, 100 meters wide and 4 km long, is one of the world's top resorts for surfing.
Cooler than that ..
Pacific Ocean?
It seems to me quite different ..
Left Puerto Escondido in the direction of Chiapas informed us that we would immediately "strike for diligence"
In short ... a bit of concern in the head was there
But then..
After the assault a nice selfie all together
From Puerto Escondido we take direction: Chamula, a small village in the vicinity of San Cristobal.
We have to grind a lot of km, better to go !!
CHAMULA
A small village in the vicinity of San Cristobal absolutely to be seen is: San Juan Chamula
This mountain village is inhabited only and exclusively by maya, the Tzotzil Maya tribe, and where the official language is the Tzotzil.
What makes this village special is what happens inside the main church open 365 days a year 24 hours a day
Walking around the Chamula market where every woman was firm there to embroider me, I was enraged.
True masterpieces
Here in Chamula women are real artists
Silent and always reserved with their look on their embroidery
Probably one of the peoples where indigenous traditions survive totally is Chamula's.
Men wear knickers made of white or black sheep wool and women's blouses and skirts made with the same raw wool but only black
There is so much grass in the Chamula church on the floor, one after another there are statues of saints to which the locals are devoted and to whom they offer gifts.
Saints dress garments with mirrors because tradition wants them to reflect the evil of the devil.
The church is always full of people.
Women, children, men sitting on the ground sing, pray, cry.
Everyone has a bottle of coca cola in front of him and a bottle of posh an alcoholic drink, sacrificial candles and in front of them he prays in a loud and almost hypnotic manner.
Eventually the men leave the church borraccios (drunk), but this is another story.
These rituals are halfway between Catholics and Mayan traditions, a mix that makes this place so special and worth visiting.
After Chamula we continue to visit another very characteristic village: Zinacantan
ZINACANTAN
Unlike San Juan Chamula, the Zinacantan community seems more open, so much so that we could visit the interior of a house, that of woman Cecilia.
Here they asked if we wanted to wear their traditional clothes
We welcomed their proposal, it was a way to feel even closer to their culture.
We sat down, drank their drink and the skilled women showed me all the embroidered clothes from them.
I could not give in to the temptation to bring with me their memory
Thank you woman Cecilia
My dress packed it with this rudimentary chassis
What an emotion
In Cecilia's family they all live together.
Inside a dark room that would be the kitchen, a woman offered us their Café de Olla.
The real Mexican coffee, a flavored beverage with spices and bitter chocolate.
It is prepared by boiling the water in a pot of beef (be in Mexican), then adding cinnamon sticks, cloves, crushed chocolate and Mexican cane sugar.
Serve hot in juniper cups, accompany each cup with a cinnamon stick instead of the spoon to adorn it all.
I LOVE Café de Olla
Here we are, almost there! After 2 wonderful villages it is time to visit: San Cristobal de las Casas
SAN CRISTOBAL DE LAS CASAS
San Cristobal de Las Casas in my opinion is one of Mexico's most beautiful Mexican colonial cities.
It is a beautiful town where intricate colorful lanes and palaces with brightly colored walls and red roofs are intersecting.
Here we are in one of the many churches in the country that we have reached step by step
In this stunning Pueblos, in the middle of the Chiapas Mountains, we find 2,100 mt.
In San Cristobal de Las Casad the temperature is very sparkling and the night is very sleepy with wool blankets.
The city is surrounded by mountains and numerous maya villages where indigenous dialect is still spoken and dressed in typical clothes.
This makes San Cristobal one of Mexico's most beautiful and characteristic cities.
In the main square of San Cristobal de Las Casas in the background the Diocese and around a market of handicraft objects everywhere.
Many women who showed their handmade masterpieces, carrying their children tight in their bands on their shoulders.
And then immerse yourself in their 1000-color markets and you would like to make some shopping.
Then I think how much way we should do again and how much my backpack should remain light on my shoulders
Wonderful San Cristobal de Las Casas
Left San Cristobal de Las Casas after 8 hours of car ride in the mountains of Chiapas there came a certain languorino
Who would ever think of finding some sheepdogs offering us delicious Tacos
Delicious Chiapas strawberries
This bunch of roses for all the wonderful women who follow us on our trip around the world
This is our restaurant today
The essentials are all they need to be happy
Good. Now we are moving to Chetumal where we will stop sleeping for one night and then proceed to Playa del Carmen where we will take the ferry.
We have gone 6,000 km on the road and now we expect two other wonderful Caribbean islands to visit: Cozumel and Holbox. But we'll talk about these on our next page on the logbook.
See you then boarding !! I'm walking we go by the sea ...
Namastè
Elisa & Luca