Aztec Trek - Part 1 – Dead on Arrival

Staying the night at a Heathrow hotel before we departed on our trip, I was amused to discover that we had been allotted “Room 101”.  For those who haven’t read George Orwell’s “1984” or seen the BBC TV series, Room 101 reputedly contained “the worst things in the world”, a torture chamber from which they would never return!  I could think of a few things I’d like to put into Room 101 apart from us, but nevertheless, we managed to get a good night’s sleep…

Our flight across the northern Atlantic was uneventful, as we winged our way down the east coast of Newfoundland, Canada and the US.  I was awestruck by the sheer vastness of this huge landmass as we flew over many a location made famous by some of my favourite songs.

Our destination this year was Mexico, a place I had visited and fallen in love with on my year long trip some 14 years ago.  We had placed the famous “Day of the Dead” celebrations in Mexico City on our wish list, after watching the James Bond film “Spectre” and were looking forward to the big parade (which fortunately was, albeit belatedly, confirmed for the weekend after we arrived). Unlike the spooky connotations we associate with Halloween, Mexicans use this holiday to celebrate and honour their departed relatives, with music, food – and basically have a good old party.

But first to re-familiarise myself with this vibrant city, we booked a walking tour around the main historic sites.  The Zocolo (the central square) was already gearing up for the parade with giant skeletal parts being constructed, and several “Catrinas” (the iconic, elegant white-faced ladies of the dead) posing for photos for the tourists.  Highlights included the Templo Mayor, the excavated ruins which were believed to be the centre of the Universe by the Aztecs and where human sacrifices became “a thing”!  The imposing cathedral, taking over 200 years to build (using most of the Templo’s stones and a lot of slave labour) dominated one side of the square, and the Palacio Nacional – home of the president of Mexico, along with several Diego Rivera murals – another.

Our next “must-see” were the ancient ruins of Teotihuacán (and yes – I still struggle with the pronunciation if not the meaning (the birthplace of the gods)!  The tour promised to be “free of tourist traps and shops” and was proving to be quite popular – so what does that tell you?!  Our guide, “Hermes” had a far better delivery than his courier company namesake, and made the tour interesting and fun. The site was vast, and much of the main temple and the two immense pyramids, dedicated to the moon and the sun, were intact.  Sadly (I say with more than a hint of irony!) the mighty 200+ feet tall pyramid of the sun had been closed to visitors since the pandemic, but I have fond(ish) memories of climbing it on my last visit! The city was abandoned around 700AD, and it seems that most of the buildings surrounding the pyramids were razed by fire – why or by who remains a mystery.

The tour failed to deliver on its promise, as we were constantly surrounded by vendors touting tourist paraphernalia, including incredibly irritating whistles that were supposed to resemble the snarl of the jaguar, but at best would probably scare next-door’s cat away.

After a romantic stroll down “The Avenue of Death” (so called because the Aztecs thought it was surrounded by tombs – it wasn’t!), we felt very “British” as we found a spot in the shade to enjoy our picnic lunch before our return to the city for an afternoon siesta.

Intent on experiencing “real” Mexican cuisine and discovered it was quite different from the “Tex Mex” we were used to.  It was all very “meaty” and seemed lacking in the usual rice, guacamole and veggies, so I settled on fish tacos.  It was going to be quite challenging being vegetarian here, although being an alcoholic was incredibly easy with the wide range of mescals and tequilas on offer.

We quickly got the hang of the “metro” – it was one of the best signposted andmost user friendly that I had ever experienced, although uncomfortably crowded at times.  Although at 5 pesos a trip (around 20p) you couldn’t complain, and they even had separate carriages for women and children – which Ian discovered to his discomfort! – and I was offered a seat on several occasions (which rarely happens in London).

After a nourishing breakfast of Huevos Rancheros (a rather unappetising but delicious slop of eggs, tomatoes, beans on soggy tortillas) the next day at a chic Italian/Mexican bistro, we made our way to the renowned National Anthropological Museum. The scale and presentation of the history of this ancient civilization was impressive, but there are only so much pottery and clay masks sporting strange facial expressions that you can take in an afternoon.  We were notching up the miles as we walked through the huge Chalutapec Park to the Lion’s Gate – where the annual Day of the Dead Parade was due to start that weekend.  Stalls selling “Dia de Meurtos” souvenirs were already set up, alongside giant paper mache alebrijes – the Mexican folk art sculptures of mythical creatures, which had taken part in their own parade the weekend before.

Our anticipation was building and as we made our way home through streets strewn with papel picados, colourful paper cut outs, interesting family ofrendas (shrines containing photos, marigolds, food and personal items, build to honour the dead and welcome them) and the more familiar site of children dressed up to go “trick or treating”…one tradition the Mexicans have appropriated from the West!

Next:  Don’t rain on my parade…