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MEXICO - Spanish colonial heritage
GUANAJUATO - night view
HOW TO GET THERE
We flew into Mexico City. We travelled around on buses or took local taxis/other transport options. The inter-city buses are the Pullman/Executivo type with massive legroom and reclining seats. As we had pre-booked all our accommodation and knew our departure dates we bought our onward coach tickets at each arrival point after leaving Mexico City.
ROUTE
This is a tour focused on the Spanish colonial cities to the north and west of the capital.
WHERE TO GO SAFELY
We were fortunate to have a contact in Mexico who offered to have a look at our itinerary before we finalised our plans and booked accommodation. We were advised not to go to destinations in our original plan that were further north and on the west coast as they were not deemed to be so safe.
All the places on our route were safe, and the people were very friendly and helpful.
Parts of Mexico do not have a clear rating for safety/security, so you will need to check your own Government's travel advisory page for the latest updates. Our trip was without problems, but we do not have a high risk traveller lifestyle, choosing not to hang about anywhere late at night, and preferring to relax in our accommodation after taking an early evening meal.
MEXICO CITY
We chose to stay in the Coyoacan district, a little way out of the centre but with a metro station within walking distance or a short cab ride away. This had a small town feel with good restaurants, lively plazas, and pleasant parks. There are many well preserved historic buildings, set in tree-lined small streets and wide avenues. The museums sited in the former residences of Frida Kahlo and Leon Trotsky are nearby.
COYOACAN - Street scene, great chocolate at blue shop!
Mexico City has many attractions for the visitor. We enjoyed the central Zocalo square with the Cathedral, which is the largest and oldest in Latin America, and the nearby Aztec ruins of the Templo Mayor. The ruins were only discovered during some public works in the late 1970s. The next door Archaeological Museum contains sculptures and other artefacts discovered during excavations on the site which housed a series of 7 pyramids. We also took a look at the fabulous Palacio de Bella Artes, which has ornate decor inside as well.
Palacio del Bella Artes
We went a little further out to the Chapultepec park, a favourite with local families, where we saw the spectacular Danza de los Voladores where 4 men pirouetted on the top of a 100 foot high pole. Click the video below to view
Chapultepec park: Danza de los Voladores
Nearby is the not to be missed Museo Nacional de Antropologia which houses the treasure trove of much of Mexico’s cultural history.
Museo Nacional de Antropologia - Aztec statue
Further afield we went out to Diego Riviera’s museum which contains a lot of the partner of Frida Kahlo’s work, including some large murals. We also took a metro and bus ride 50 km outof the city to the Aztec site at Teotihuacan, Mexico's biggest remaining ancient city. This contains the Pyramid of the Sun, at 210 feet it is the 3rd largest pyramid in the world, set amongst a number of smaller temples. Climbing up a pyramid allows an appreciation of the whole site and its mountain setting.
Teotihuacan
SAN MIGUEL DE ALLENDE
The bus ride from the capital to San Miguel de Allende is 170 miles, taking about 4 hours. The historic centre is fairly compact with some beautiful plazas, churches and other well-preserved buildings. The town is well endowed with accommodation and restaurant facilities. The main square's restaurants are complimented by roaming Mariachi bands in the evening. Whilst there we did short trips out to the interesting large and well stocked market on the outskirts, and a little further out to the botanical gardens above the town at El Charco del Ingenio which had a well informed and engaging guide to show you round the large cacti gardens. There were some nice trails there too offering lovely views of a small canyon and the town below.
San Miguel de Allende
GUANAJUATO The journey on to Guanajuato is 1.5 hours. Guanajuato is very scenically located in a bowl within its surrounding hills, with its multicoloured buildings littered across the hillsides and some impressive churches and other large buildings within its core. A great viewpoint over the city is at the Monumento a Pipala which can be reached via a funicular. We spent time viewing the churches, the beautiful Teatro Juarez and the busy and cavernous old market hall. The centre has an interesting network of tunnels to carry traffic beneath its narrow streets. These were originally designed for flood management and then converted into roads in the 1960s. As well as experiencing them in your travels by taxi or bus you can also pop down stairs from the street to view.
Guanajuato - Market Hall
Guanajuato - market stall
Amongst the art museums are the childhood home of Diego Rivera(Frida Kahlo's partner), and a modern gallery showing the surrealist sculptures of the British artist Leonora Carrington. Mariachi bands are again a major feature of evening dining in the town.
We took a short trip out to The San Gabriel Hacienda, formerly attached to a silver mine, that has beautiful gardens. Also we visited the Museo de las Momias, a bizarre collection of mummified bodies preserved above ground from a cholera epidemic that hit the city in 1833. They have been displayed to the curious public during the last one hundred years. Not to everyone's tastes, but if you're not scared of Zombies you'll be OK.
GUANAJUATO
An interesting feature of the city is its celebration of the Spanish author Cervantes - it holds an annual international festival in his honour and many shops sell merchandise or displays featuring the author and his works, particularly 'Don Quixote'.
ZACATECAS
The journey up to Zacatecas is very scenic, travelling through some pretty countryside and then climbing through some mountainous areas. This takes about 5 hours. Zacatecas is the state capital, with a long history of silver mining continuing to the present day with the largest silver mine in the world within the state. The wealth generated is evident in the architecture of the city.
ZACATECAS
There are splendid churches and other buildings from the Spanish colonial and more recent eras. The Museo Rafael Coronel has a huge array of ceremonial masks and puppets set in an old convent building with a nice garden. We visited the now disused El Eden silver mine which is a short walk up from the city centre. Zacatecas is a great place to land a silver item, with shops offering a wide range of jewellery and other items at keen prices. It's a short bus or taxi ride to the nearby town of Guadalupe with a fine complex of a convent, church and religious art museum with many beautiful paintings and frescoes.
GUADALUPE - Convent & Church
GUADALAJARA
The trip back down to Guadalajara is about 6 hours. This is Mexico's second largest city, with a small (relative to its urban sprawl) colonial era core containing beautiful plazas, fine architecture, museums and a massive central market. In the main square, in addition to the impressive medieval cathedral you will also find the Palacio de Gobierno with its impressive murals by Jose Clemente Orozco depicting the struggles of the Mexican people against slavery and fascism.
GUADALAJARA - Cathedral
Amongst the outer suburbs Tlaquepaque is a good venue for accommodation, or an evening stroll with its craft shops and dining options. Trips in the nearby area must include Tequila for its beautiful centre and distillery visits, which can now be visited in a luxury train from Guadalajara.
TEQUILA - Town Square
Also further afield but worth the effort in organising are visits to Lake Chapala which is the largest in Mexico, and nearby Lake Cajititlan where you'll find a pretty chapel dedicated to the 3 kings.
CAJITITLAN - Altar: chapel of the 3 kings
Even further out you can travel through scenic countryside to the pretty mountain village of Tapalpa and see the natural stone monoliths at Las Piedrotas with horse riding and zip-lining activities.
TAPALPA
LAS PIEDROTAS
MORELIA
The bus ride from Guadalajara to Morelia takes 4.5 hours. Morelia has many grand colonial era buildings - churches and secular buildings including mansions. There are a number of large plazas.
MORELIA
A large part of an 18th century viaduct is still in place near to the centre. The city has a number of museums and a convent now hosting artisan craft makers. The interior of the Santuario de la Virgin de Guadalupe has the most ornate ceiling and decorations, recommended to us by a local as being "Wow!", and he wasn't exaggerating.
MORELIA - Santuario de la Virgen de Guadalupe
Morelia is one of the quieter colonial era cities on this trip, and very enjoyable for having retained so much of its local appeal. We stayed in a small bed and breakfast house in the centre with a great roof top patio offering views over the city and surrounding area.
MEXICO CITY
The journey back to Mexico City will take 4.5 hours. That completes your trip.
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A road trip starting out from the Northern coast of Europe and travelling down through Holland. Germany and Austria into Slovenia and then Croatia. Including visits to Lake Bled, the Istria peninsula, Split, Zagreb, Ljubljana and the Plitvice Lakes. Photo shows: ROVINJ, CROATIA HOW TO GET THERE We started on our journey to Slovenia/Croatia from the ferry terminal at the Hook of Holland, because we were travelling with our caravan* (towed) from the UK. The main loop of the trip inside Slovenia/Croatia could just as easily start anywhere within it, and you could do it in a car staying in hotels or other accommodation. If you're not intending to travel across Holland, Germany & Austria please see the Route 2. map below and then jump forward in the itinerary to the section on the Slovenia/Croatia loop starting at Lake Bled. If you do the whole trip this will take you about 6 weeks, with 3 weeks just for the loop inside Slovenia/Croatia which is 960 miles plus mileage for side trip...
HOW TO GET THERE
