Despite our positive experiences in Palenque we were still feeling a little overwhelmed by Mexico making it feel harder than it probably was. This continued in San Cristobal where we arrived late at night to find our accommodation was shut. We tried to contact them but the number on the website wasn’t accurate and after being told by the person who did answer they would contact the owner but no one showing up we gave up and went in search of another place to stay. We were extremely lucky and stumbled across a lovely old man at Hotel Miramar who kindly opened his door at 11pm to let us in and had a room available for 400 MXP ($27.45 AUD/21.35 USD). Looking back I think San Cristobal would have been one our favorite places had it not been tainted on the first night (They cancelled our booking without our permission after they had left us on the street late at night). This experience coupled with our travel fatigue meant that we didn’t really give San Cristobal a fair chance. We did however do the free walking tour (which was honestly one of the best we’ve ever done) run by Carlos who is an ex-Zapatista with lots of wonderful stories to tell and then made the decision to push on to Oaxaca a day early (427 MXP/$29.25 AUD/22.75 USD on ADO). It’s definitely worth noting that if you are taking ADO buses they are often cheaper the earlier you book them. If you are not travelling on any kind of schedule it can be hard to plan in advance when and where you are going next but as soon as you have decided it’s best to book the bus at a local ticket office or bus station as this is likely to save you money. On departure day our bus wasn’t leaving until late that night so we decided to head to a film about the Zapatista being held at Foro Cultural Kinoki which was incredibly interesting and well worth watching for a better understanding of what is going on in the area. The cinema shows a free social commentary film every night and they come with English subtitles so if that’s your kind of thing this is your kind of place! Despite our positive experiences in Palenque we were still feeling a little overwhelmed by Mexico making it feel harder than it probably was. This continued in San Cristobal where we arrived late at night to find our accommodation was shut. We tried to contact them but the number on the website wasn’t accurate and after being told by the person who did answer they would contact the owner but no one showing up we gave up and went in search of another place to stay. We were extremely lucky and stumbled across a lovely old man at Hotel Miramar who kindly opened his door at 11pm to let us in and had a room available for 400 MXP ($27.45 AUD/21.35 USD). Looking back I think San Cristobal would have been one our favorite places had it not been tainted on the first night (They cancelled our booking without our permission after they had left us on the street late at night). This experience coupled with our travel fatigue meant that we didn’t really give San Cristobal a fair chance. We did however do the free walking tour (which was honestly one of the best we’ve ever done) run by Carlos who is an ex-Zapatista with lots of wonderful stories to tell and then made the decision to push on to Oaxaca a day early (427 MXP/$29.25 AUD/22.75 USD on ADO). It’s definitely worth noting that if you are taking ADO buses they are often cheaper the earlier you book them. If you are not travelling on any kind of schedule it can be hard to plan in advance when and where you are going next but as soon as you have decided it’s best to book the bus at a local ticket office or bus station as this is likely to save you money. On departure day our bus wasn’t leaving until late that night so we decided to head to a film about the Zapatista being held at Foro Cultural Kinoki which was incredibly interesting and well worth watching for a better understanding of what is going on in the area. The cinema shows a free social commentary film every night and they come with English subtitles so if that’s your kind of thing this is your kind of place! Probably due to pushing ourselves a little hard Dani came down with a bug on the night bus to Oaxaca (Our 2nd night bus in 4 days). This meant that when it came to trying to find accommodation we didn’t do much hunting and basically opted for the easiest option. It was more expensive than we had been used to paying (500MXP/$34.30 AUD/26.70 USD) but still reasonable and turned out to be a great decision. Hotel Magda had the combination of comfortable beds, hot showers, clean towels and peace and quiet in a private room and was everything we so desperately needed! Oaxaca is a striking city and great to wander around. After a rest day (read me forcing my wife to stay in bed) we spent the next day wandering and trying to organise a day trip to see Hierve el Agua that are petrified waterfalls outside of Oaxaca City. These day trips all seemed the same and include visits to the Arbol Tree El Tule, a mescal factory, Mitla (ruins), a textiles factory and Heirve el Agua. Some include entrance, some let you pay on the day, some include lunch, some don’t...but they are all pretty much the same with an English speaking guide and transport in a minivan. We found a lovely woman opposite the cathedral whose trip cost (200MXP/$13.70 AUD/10.65 USD). This wasn’t including entrance fees (130MXP/$8.90 AUD/6.90 USD in total but this may change based on bribes and your tour guides unofficial cut) or lunch but seemed like a good deal nonetheless. Although worth noting that you can do Heirves independently, we found both the textiles and mescal factory quite interesting as extras (even bought a rug at the textiles factory because you know...all backpackers should travel with rugs!). If you like mescal there is also a lot of free tasting but we just stuck to the liqueurs. We also took our own lunch but I think it may be worth paying the extra as there is nowhere comfortable for you to hang out during the hour over lunch and also it’s supposed to be great to taste all the moles (sauces) that Oaxaca is famous for. Overall it’s a very reasonable day trip and it seemed worth doing it all together rather than independently to get the few extra stops. We were wrapping up Mexico now, which meant that we were finally heading out of Latin America. Having traveled from Argentina all the way up to Mexico in two chunks, (unfortunately not seeing Paraguay, the Guyana’s, Suriname or Venezuela) it was an odd thought that we would no longer be trying to fumble our way through in Spanish or that we would no longer be in the Americas in a few weeks time, after a year and a half of ducking in and out. Our final stop in Mexico isn’t usually on many people’s itinerary but Dani’s Mum had a friend in Cuernavaca who we were going to stay with. This turned out to be the perfect end to Mexico and Latin America. We finally got the rest we needed after an intense few months through Central America and it turns out that Cuernavaca is pretty beautiful. On our last day before we caught our late night bus to Mexico City Airport we finally went in to central Cuernavaca (after days of lazing in the sunshine by the pool and learning how to make sopes) and visited the Tom Brady House museum. I’m not going to go in to detail about it because I don’t want to ruin the mystery but trust me on this one, if you find yourself in Cuernavaca it’s definitely a must visit. There is a direct bus from Cuernavaca to Mexico City Airport and as we had a very early morning flight to New York we chose to take a late bus (250MXP/$17.15 AUD/13.35 USD) to the airport and then sleep there. Well we’re definitely too old for that these days and it most certainly meant a night without sleep before a long day heading to New York. This being said it made sinking into the cloud like bed in our hotel in Time Square all the more magical once we finally got there! Overall we loved Mexico. It was a lot harder to travel in than we were expecting but as I’ve said above that may have been because we were tired and had just come from Cuba where everything was harder than it should have been. Mexico has so many wonderful things to offer and is a fantastic place to start off a Latin American adventure (we know we’re some of the very few travelers who did it backwards). Random tip - be warned that the food gets significantly less flavorsome from Mexico down so stock up on the wonderful variety of tasty treats while you’re there if you plan is to move south down the continent! Now it's off to Asia for us... LGBT: We found Mexico to be extremely accepting of us as a couple. We didn't face any problems with getting double rooms and found it quite easy to be out. We even learned that the Mayan's believed in fluid sexuality so in Mayan communities there is a lot more acceptance. There is also legal reccognition of our relationship in some states but not all however and it does pay to check as you may need to show discresion in these states. Mexico's LGBT protections vary from state to state so it pays to research a little before traveling. However Mexico has drawn in LGBT travelers for years and it remains a fairly accepting place where there are a lot of tourists. Budget Time $$$So, Mexico! Before we entered Mexico we had heard the full range of things regarding the cost of travel in and around this fairly well trodden country. We knew everything from luxury travel right down to super basic backpacker style was available but we were unsure upon entering how easy it was going to be to navigate our way around such a broad spectrum of possibilities. It turned out that getting what you wanted throughout Mexico was super easy and it’s very much a country where you get what you pay for.
Our greatest expenses while in Mexico were transport and accommodation. Transport is expensive because Mexico is a big country and unless you are willing to take multiple forms of local transport and turn an 8-10hr journey into a multiple day adventure then you have little choice but to use the long distance bus companies which charge for convenience! As I’ve said in the main blog, with companies like ADO, the further in advance you book the cheaper the fares. Advanced planning obviously isn’t always possible but when you can it’s a good money saving tip. Accommodation doesn’t have to be as expensive as we made it. There are major budget options in every touristed location around the country. While we were in Mexico we opted to have a couple of mid-range splash outs as these were still comparatively cheap and offered the comforts of aircon and en suite bathrooms that we just felt we needed at the time. Activities and food are not expensive in Mexico. Tourist attraction entrance prices are rarely more than a couple of dollars and a good feed, either in a basic restaurant or from street food vendors is unlikely to cost more than $3-5 per person. Local places can be found around the country serving Mexican staples like burritos, tacos and quesadillas and these are always freshly prepared, super tasty and great value for money! In terms of infrastructure, Mexico is incredibly well equipped. This means that accessing all the basics of travel requirement like transport, accommodation, food, excursions etc is generally really easy. It pays to shop around as the sheer amount of options for all of these things means there is often some bargaining to be done, especially in shoulder or quiet season and also if you plan to stay somewhere for a while or do multiple trips/have a larger group. Like I said, this is definitely a country where you get what you pay for though, so that’s worth keeping mind. Finally, Mexicans generally aren’t shy of having a go at getting a bit more out of you than they should, so try to be a bit savvy and have an idea of what something should cost/what you are willing to pay before you enter any kind of negotiation. It’s not uncommon to hear of backpackers being ‘gringoed’. Sometimes this is almost unavoidable but most of the time some educated reasonable discussion will result in a fairer price being able to be settled on! What it really cost: $1365.51 AUD Transport: $386.52 Accomodation: $355.97 Food: $253.26 Souvenirs: $175.24 Entertainment: $118.24 Drinks: $57.57 Miscellaneous: $18.04 This is a daily budget of $37.93 AUD per person per day.
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