Sunday 4th April
Arrival!

I arrived in Mexico City from Peru and because I had a transfer in Bogota in Columbia, customs were pretty thorough in checking all our luggage so we were all waiting for over 2 hours at the baggage claim before our luggage eventually came out.
As I left the baggage reclaim, I saw the Frontier Tour Guide, Mike, waiting for me which was good, so after a quick “hello” we headed to the hostel in the centre of Mexico City and put all my bags in the room. It was then I found out that we were on the 5th floor in a place that did not have a lift so after carrying my bags up, I was pretty surprised to find myself a bit light headed. Mike then told me that we were still at a reasonable altitude so that, coupled with my recent recovery from altitude sickness resulted in me being a little bit weaker than I thought but after a brief rest I was good to go. I found that I was the first person from the group to arrive with the others arriving later that night and over the next few days. After a much needed shower we went out to grab a bit to eat and my first meal in Mexico was not the usual burrito, tacos or nachos as I was expecting, but instead spaghetti, but as I love pasta, this was good.
After the meal, I was pretty tired so I headed off to sleep whilst Mike had to go back to the airport to pick up one of the other group members arriving that night.
I was pretty glad to find my bed and as soon as my head hit the pillow I was out!

Monday 5th April
Sinking Cathedrals, Tacos & Metro Rides!

So here I was, my first day waking up in Mexico. I woke up to the sound of a bustling street outside and quickly showered and got dressed ready to grab some breakfast before it all finished at the hostel. I rushed down to the communal eating area and managed to get some toast before it all disappeared. Now in the daylight I was able to appreciate more the hostel which is a very quaint international hostel right in the middle of downtown Mexico City. After a slow start to the day I had the chance to meet some of the guys I would be spending the next 10 weeks with and after our quick hello´s we were out into the city to explore. The group were all from England and so far consisted of Andy (from Scunthorp), and Paul (from Brighton). First stop was the beautiful Cathedral in the city´s main square. Built on the old site of the Aztec´s Temple of the Sun it is one of the oldest cathedrals in the New World, beautifully decorated both inside and out. Most of the centre of Mexico City was built on old lakes and this is highlighted perfectly by the cathedral which over the years has sunk a number of feet and now has an undulating base rather than being flat as in its original design.
Following on from this we visited an art exhibition focusing on the photographs by Willy Sousa documenting the aboriginal Mexican groups. From here we went in search of our first proper meal and had an abundance of street traders and tiny shops to choose from. In the end Tacos at 4 pesos (roughly 20p) were the order of the day for most of the guys in our group and they were quickly munched down. However, with me being a vegetarian there was no veggie option at the stall so I ended up getting a roll with just cheese and salad from McDonalds. I couldn’t believe it was so difficult to get veggie food in a big city! Next was my first experience of the Mexico City Underground System and what a treat it was. Very much with the hustle and bustle of underground systems you would find across the world in London, New York etc. but perhaps lacking some of the courtesy as there was certainly a lot of pushing and shoving. Also Mexico City´s metro possesses very unforgiving doors. Rarely do they given warning as to when they are going to close and when they do they don´t always do so gently… unfortunately I found out the hard way!
Our metro ride was taking us to the airport where we were picking up one more of the gang, and after a few delays we were on our way back to the hostel as by now it was already around 8-9pm.
Having had only about 5 hours sleep the previous night my plan had been to get an early night in order to recharge the batteries, but as with all good plans they don´t always work out. Instead I found myself chatting to a few other travellers who were staying in the hostel. One of the wonders of travelling and staying in hostels is the complete range of people you get to meet and all the stories that they have. I met a Brit, an Aussie, a Canadian, an American and an Isreali and we spent most of the evening exchanging travel stories and travel plans which were pretty cool to hear about.

Tuesday 6th April
Teotihuacan Pyramids!

Another early start after another late night, this was already beginning to become a theme to the trip so far! Arriving in plenty of time for breakfast my toast was accompanied by melon and papaya. We then hit the metro again (which costs just 3 pesos/15p to travel anywhere around the city) and took it to the main bus station in the city. From here we bought our bus tickets for the 1 hour journey out of the city to the archeological site at Teotihuacan. This hour long journey only helped to highlight just how big and sprawling the city is. Mexico City is the worlds third biggest metropolis behind New York and Tokyo and as we left the centre of the city we passed large stretches of shanty town settlements before entering the countryside and reaching our destination.
Teotihuacan was an ancient city that later developed into the Mexico City we know today. The architects of this once great city are unknown and it is dated to over 2000 years ago. Showing similarities to the Mayan tribes it is believed that the original inhabitants will have just left the city as it was traditional to do in such cultures and move on to pastures new, leaving it to be found years later by the Aztecs.
The highlight of this ancient City is the 3 large pyramids that rise up out of the skyline and are encompassed by surrounding mountain ranges. These pyramids included those dedicated to the Sun and the Moon and were used for sacrificial offerings and other such ceremonies. Setting ourselves the challenge of scaling each of these 3 peaks we set off to explore. Exploring meant climbing, and at 2500m (around 7000ft) above sea level this meant we quickly found ourselves out of breath. I had discovered the affects of altitude on my arrival at the hostel on the first day but my climbs up the pyramid soon provided me with some good altitude training and my time in Peru really helped and it was well worth the exertion once we had reached the top and could experience the spectacular views. We spent most of the day exploring the old city, taking a number of fantastic photos whilst also having the experience of numerous street traders selling their products.
One thing I have noticed about Mexico City is the sheer number of street traders plying their trade here. Whether it is when visiting the pyramids and being offered interesting masks or devices that allow you to make the sound of a bird or a jaguar, by one of the 50+ street traders there, or walking through the droves of street traders near the central square. Perhaps my favourite though are the metro´s street traders. Spending their day hopping from train to train selling anything from sweets and cds to the latest windows computer package. The CD sellers come complete with backpack containing speaker system in order to display their wares.
After a busy day at the pyramids we headed back to the hostel, cooked ourselves pasta and then decided an early night was the next best step as we would be up early the next day ready to take the long trip to our next destination, San Cristobal. The City was a great place to explore but I am now looking forward to getting out and seeing what Mexico really has to offer!

Wednesday 7th April
Welcome to World Travel!

Wednesday saw the arrival of our last group member and completed the team! The group has a really nice mix of people with a whole range of ages and backgrounds represented and I have really enjoyed getting to know them over the last few days. The group were all from England and consisted of Andy (from Scunthorp), Paul (from Brighton), Izzie (from Surrey), Mary (from Essex) and Naseem (from London). With the team complete the plan was to get out of Mexico City and start to explore what the rest of Mexico has to offer. Mexico City is also notoriously more expensive than elsewhere in the country so it was a good idea to get out and have our money go further elsewhere! Unfortunately due to a few complications we didn't board our bus until late afternoon and therefore today unfortunately goes down as rather uneventful and we were adamant not to waste more time on our trip. The journey we were to take was an overnight 14hr+ trip to San Cristobal, a small colonial town in southern Mexico. Perhaps being slightly pessimistic in my views of Central American transport I was actually pleasantly surprised when we arrived at our air-conditioned coach complete with TV´s and more importantly for me, a decent amount of leg room! It was as the journey unfolded that I began to realise just how vast Mexico City is! It seemed to take forever until we had passed mile upon mile of suburbs and shanty town sites before we eventually broke out into the Mexican countryside! With darkness setting in and my lack of sleep catching up on me I soon found myself drifting off to sleep! In some ways a rather disappointing day but safe in the knowledge that a long days travel was taking us onto new and exciting experiences.
Thursday 8th April
Saddle Soreness & Easter Festivals
So today began with the remainder of our trip through Central Mexico down to San Cristobal. Overnight we had reached altitudes of over 10,000ft as we wandered our way through the mountainous region of Central Mexico and I'd even managed to sleep through a police check. As the sun began to rise I awoke to some beautiful scenery and found myself staring out the window for the rest of the trip until we reached our destination. San Cristobal was put on the map in recent times when it was taken over and seized by the Zapatistas, locals indigenous to the area who seized control from the local government. This brought the Zapatistas story to national attention before the town was eventually stormed by police and recaptured by local authorities. Unfortunately this resulted in the deaths of many Zapatistas with the remaining then banished to the hillsides surrounding the town where they can still be found. On arrival in San Cristobal we went through the usual bartering process of trying to arrange a suitable hostel before grabbing a taxi and heading to our home for the next few days. After grabbing some lunch we decided we wanted to make the most of the rest of the day and signed ourselves up for a horseback mountain trek. Arriving at the stables I was designated my horse and quickly saddled up and got on the trek. Being a complete horseriding novice it took me a while to get used to the ride but with a very competitive horse that wanted to be at the front leading the group I found that he would often break into gallop without warning and I gotta say, it was pretty painful but once he settled down we experienced a very pleasant trip through the mountains surrounding San Cristobal until we reached the nearby town of San Juan Chamula. As I took a photo of the village on arrival I was informed by our guide that the camera would have to remain in my bag once we entered the village as here locals believed that taking photos would steal their spirits. This was a shame as we came across a lovely little village with a beautiful church and busy market place. The church itself was rather unusual with grass flooring, lots of candles and chickens inside also. Apparently the chickens were to be used as sacrifices as part of the church ceremonies. We were informed that in this region there is a religious mix of Catholic (brought over by the Spaniards) and Mayan (from the indigenous population). Having explored the town we returned on our 1.5hr trek back to San Cristobal.
It was amazing how quickly you can become attached to an animal as I found myself chatting away to the horse in my own little world as we passed through some beautiful woodland. On return to San Cristobal we thanked our guide and set off back to our hostel, looking forward to the much anticipated saddle soreness the following day. Having explored the local market and grabbed ourselves some supplies to cook up we ate our meal back at the hostel and then headed out to explore the town. This week in San Cristobal is Feria de la Primavera y de la Paz (Spring and Peace Fair) which is a week long event taking place after Easter Sunday. The town centre was therefore full of character with live music, street stalls and plenty going on. After enjoying the atmosphere we headed back to the hostel for a relatively early night as we had an early start the next day!

Friday 9th April
Mexican Driving, Mayan Ruins and Waterfalls!

Our early start meant catching a 6.30.a.m tour bus that was going to take us on our day trip. Our bus was shared with a group of Mexican students, a young couple from Barcelona and an American who was down in Mexico working for his sisters charity which aims to provide Mayan families with a better standard of living as many are still very primitive in their lifestyles. Our early start was required as we faced a long journey ahead before reaching our first destination. Stopping en route for a breakfast of papaya and melon, and a short delay as we had to fix one of the tyres on our fan we arrived at our first destination. Agua Azul Waterfalls.
Here we found a whole selection of beautiful cascading waterfalls to be explored and had an hour or so to wander around. Our journey had began beneath grey skies and mist but as we reached the waterfalls the sun began to break through the clouds and reveal the waterfalls true beauty. Whilst taking photos at the top of one of the waterfalls we bumped into the young couple from Barcelona who we had met on the bus. They informed us of a beautiful little pool and waterfall that was hidden away off the beaten track and that no-one else seemed to have come across. So quickly trekking to this site some of us changed into our swimwear jumped in and enjoyed the cool water. It was then a quick rush back to the bus for the next stage of our trip. After a short ride we reached our next stop, Misol-Ha Waterfall. Due to a few delays earlier on in the day we only had 30mins to enjoy the 100ft+ falls and take a few pictures before getting back on the bus for our final stop, Palenque!
The Palenque ruins are a set of old Mayan ruins dating back to 100 B.C. when the Mayans first settled in the area. We were able to spend a few hours wandering around what was once a great city with its central palace, surrounding temples and various other buildings. With the park shutting around 5pm we headed back to the bus, grabbed some food and set off back to San Cristobal. This day trip was my first real experience of what I have now seen as classic Mexican driving. Our route took us through a large mountainous region with many twists and turns and ups and downs. For most this would seem to limit the opportunity for overtaking but I have never seen so much blind-bend overtaking in my life but I am pleased to report that I am still alive to tell the tale, despite some close calls! I have also never seen so many speed bumps along mountain roads but I guess their existence is explained by the driving styles mentioned previously.
Arriving back in San Cristobal after 10pm we decided another early night was due as we were up early the next day ready for our first border crossing.