I arrived in Mexico City at 9pm on Tuesday 10th September. After wrangling a whole row on the airplane to myself, I had a comfortable, but tiring flight. I didn’t get any sleep at all so when I got to my hostel I was shattered. The hostel I was staying at is called Viajero CDMX Centro Hostel and as soon as I arrived I went straight to bed.
Day 1 in Mexico City
After a mighty 12 hour sleep I set off for my first exploration of Mexico City. Initially I was really surprised at how quiet it was. I knew that it was one of the most populous cities in the world so the lack of people, cars and anything really surprised me. Especially as I was staying bang in the centre of the city. However, as I made my way into the main square I was greeted by a huge gathering of people. There was dancing, singing, flares, you name it. I later found out that Mexican Independence day is on the 16th so the whole city was gearing up for a huge party. In fact, there were tonnes of Mexicans staying at my hostel who had come from all over the place for the celebrations.
Continuing my exploration, I walked to the Roma Notre district in the West of the city. To be honest, the walk wasn’t a particularly nice one. The city was a lot more rundown than I had expected. On my walk there were streets with a lot of rubbish, homeless and graffiti. Don’t get me wrong, it was super interesting to see and but not what I had imagined. Due to my lack of planning, I had no idea what to expect. I sort of assumed Mexico City would be more built up, with skyscrapers and modern buildings. It certainly isn’t, at least in the areas I was exploring.
Day 2 in Mexico City
On Thursday I went on a free walking tour of Mexico City. The historical centre of the city that is. It was my first ever walking tour and it was amazing. Luis, the guide, was so entertaining and really knew his stuff. Here are some of the best facts I learnt:
- Mexico City is actually sinking as it was built on a lake, because of this it still experiences earthquakes 5 times a day
- The lake which it was built on was drained by the Spanish conquistadors when they took over from the indigenous people
- Pre-hispanic temples and buildings were built over so they are sat underneath the current city. As the current city sinks, the top of the ancient buildings are starting to crack the modern buildings including the main cathedral
- The Aztecs sacrificed 1 person every day to please the Gods and because there weren’t many animals around, they were thought of as holy. This means they used to eat people instead of animal meat
- The cinemas within the historical centre are actually porn cinemas where people go to enjoy orgy’s.
In hindsight I should have done the walking tour on day 1. Luis gave out so many good recommendations that I won’t have time to get round to. Because of the independence day celebrations, all the hostels are fully booked over the weekend so I have to move on to my next stop. Unfortunately there were loads of things I didn’t get round to doing in CDMX, but at least it gives my a reason to go back.
I spent the afternoon/evening just chilling at the hostel making some friends. There’s a huge range of people here in Mexico City which is cool. People from the US, France, New Zealand, UK, Germany etc.
Final Thoughts
That wraps up my short stay in Mexico City. Whilst I didn’t have a great first impression, the city did grow on me and it’s a shame I only got to spend 2 full days there. There is so much to do in this massive city and you could probably spend weeks here. Personally I didn’t particularly love the city, but I would definitely come back one day.
Anyway, onto Oaxaca …