Day 3: Teotihuacan & Tacos
Today I’d booked an airbnb experience tour to the Teotihuacan pyramids and archaeological site. I always find airbnb tours are the best ones, as they’re typically smaller groups and feel a little more authentic.
We were picked up early morning by brothers Hugo and Gabriel who first drove us to their grandmothers house for pan dulce (sweet bread) and hot chocolate. There’s 12 of us on the tour, and I make friends with a couple of girls from Philadelphia, and my new gay best Mexican friend, Antonio.
After breakfast, it’s off to the pyramids where we spend the next few hours. Hugo is incredibly knowledgeable and passionate which makes for a really interesting tour. I usually tend to zone out when faced with too much history, but I found the whole thing fascinating.
After the pyramids, it’s back to granny’s house for some home made mole, beer and pulque tasting. Now you’re talking. We’re served two different mole sauces, both family secret recipes, both delicious! Another part of the family business is pulque, which is an alcoholic drink made from the fermented sap of the agave plant. It’s a pretty hard drink to describe, both in consistency and flavour! It’s a dying drink here, only really drunk by old men in pulquerias. There’s probably a good reason for that. The alcohol content is pretty low so you’d have to drink a lot of it to get drunk, but you’d probably spew first from the taste of it rather than the intoxication.
That night I head to my third taco tour, this time in the Narvarte area, which is known as “Tacoland”. I’ve been to a lot of big cities in my time, but I have to say the traffic here is fucking nuts! It took me 1 hour to drive 6km in an Uber. I’d have been quicker walking in hindsight! The trip cost me £7, so it’s a wonder they make any bloody money with journeys taking so long.
The guide, Nico, is waiting for me in the first stop with two other tourists, Paul and Sue from Surrey. The first British people I’ve met here so far (it’s been mainly Americans unsurprisingly). We have three taco stops and one mezcal stop on the tour.
On the way to the first taco stop, Nico tells us that the price of tortillas is regulated by the government as they’re seen as a constitutional right, which is kinda cool but also nuts. They literally eat tortillas for breakfast, lunch and dinner here.
We visit the infamous El Vilsito which is an auto repair shop by day and a taqueria by day and night. I might suggest this idea to my garage in Bruntsfield when I get home. There’s multiple taco stations where poor sods sweat it out carving the rotating meat. They’re famous for their tacos al pastor, and it’s definitely one of the best I’ve had so far!
It’s a very short walk across the road to Tacos Tony, another institution in the area, this time famous for tacos suadero - beef brisket cooked in lots of fat. Dirty and delicious!
We also check out a typical cantina, which is a restaurant/bar where lots of people congregate to drink and eat. Similar to Granada in Spain, you order drinks and you get a shit tonne of food! As you’d expect it’s a slightly higher mark up on the beer, but it’s still cheap as chips, and they only make money because produce is so cheap to buy here.
I jump in a taxi to salsa club, Mama Rumba, to check out the local dancing talent and burn off the tacos. Unsurprisingly most dancers do Cuban style, which is just as well as the dance floor is PACKED. Unlike at home, the guys don’t really pay any attention to where they’re flinging you here, and I found myself constantly bumping into waiters with trays of drinks. Still, I had a lot of decent dances, particularly with a couple of guys who wouldn’t leave me alone no matter how much I tried to hide. After 2 hours of dancing, I head home and collapse.
Day 4: Nacho Libre!
My friend Raquel arrived today which I’m excited about. I love to travel alone, but it’s also nice to share the experience with someone else! We walk to the town centre, grab a taco and sit outside in the sun drinking beer. Things are gearing up for the fiestas, so the centre is rammed with locals, tourists, singers and dancers.
We head to Plaza Garibaldi (where all the mariachi bands play) to meet our tour guide. Tonight is another Airbnb experience - nacho libre! Our guide explains the rules (or lack thereof) tothe group as we eat tacos and drink beer. We’re then handed our own masks before making our way to the venue.
We arrive for the last three matches, and the atmosphere in the arena is amazing! I used to have to put up with my brother constantly watching WWE when we were younger and I hated it because it was so ridiculously stupid. But I had one of the best nights in a long time, I fucking loved every minute of it!
Tonight was my last in Mexico City, and I feel ready to move on to smaller, less stressful towns. Next stop, Puebla!
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