Mexico

This week’s Polaroid features one of Mexico City’s most iconic attractions: the Beetle taxi. Sadly, they all have to retire by the end of 2012 – find out why!

Although Valladolid is with 45,000 considerably big, it has more the feel of a sleepy Mexican village, with pastel colored colonial buildings and a tranquil town center. A lot of the women still wear the typical Mayan dresses and sell hand-made dresses and other crafts around the town square.

Mexico City’s Plaza Garibaldi is best known for the gatherings of the Mariachi musicians, especially on the weekends. The Plaza is located a ten minute walk up the Eje Central …

My last stop in Mexico was the tiny island of Isla Mujeres with its picture-perfect Caribbean beaches and laid-back vibe. The perfect place for a mini vacation!

The ceremony was originally held to reconcile the gods for rain and a rich harvest and is still very important for the folk groups as the indigenous culture still plays a significant role in Oaxaca.

Chichen Itza is one of the best known Mayan ruins in all of Mexico, and has been voted one of the Seven New Wonders of the World.

I spent several weeks in Mexico, and yet I feel I’ve only scratched the surface! One of my favorite places? The Coyoacan neighborhood, and Frida Kahlo’s Casa Azul.

Where does Tequila come from? How is Mexico’s national drink made? I visited the little town of Tequila in the state of Jalisco to find out exactly that…

During our stay in Mexico City we took a day trip to Teotihuacan, one of the world’s most famous pyramids. The remains of the ancient city, which is believed to have housed up to 250,000 people, is located around 30 miles / 50 kilometers north of Mexico City and buses run every 30 minutes from the Terminal del Norte (At the station, look for ‘Sala 8’ and buy tickets there). Researchers remain unsure why Teotihuacan was deserted by its inhabitants – though a commonly held theory involves a big fire which may have destroyed a large part of the town.

The name Teotihuacan means “City of the Gods”, a name given to the city by by the Aztecs who populated the city in more recent history.

Surprise! I am in Mexico! This was a rather spontaneous change of my plans to stay in South America for a bit longer, but ancient ruins & Mexican food were calling my name..