Tan llena de vida (so full of life)

Mexico City - wow, full of life, colours and smells. Police seem to be everywhere, with sirens piercing the air and guns, even shotguns, openly displayed. We are not sure to feel safe or intimidated. Salvador our G Adventures guide informs us that Mexico has one of the most corrupt police services in the world - but added he thinks it's getting better with the current government in place.

After an evening's introduction to our fellow travellers from across the world (USA, Norway, Switzerland, Canada, and the UK), we took in some local food and then returned to hit the sack. The next day, after visiting a local market, we visit Xochimilco, a series of canals called chinampas originally constructed before the Aztecs. It's a fabulous few hours on boats, with many locals out for their Sunday lunch! Tequila and local beer lubricated a feast of local food, and Jacqui spotted an aptly named boat ('Jacqueline'). Colourful, cheerful people and vibrant music filled the air.

Later, it's a TripAdvisor must do - the Capital Anthropology museum offers a feast of Aztec, pre-Aztec, Mayan artefacts and history - quite mind-blowing. What they achieved 1000+ years ago is unbelievable, without machinery, metal or the wheel. At every engraving, we refer to the 70's book, "Chariots of the Gods", and Martin has even found a small artefact that looked like a spaceman! (See the previous blog)

We then travelled to Puebla by minibus, first visiting the Teotihuacan ruins some 40 miles from Mexico City (1AD and 500AD). The site is breathtaking, with estimates that the population was 125,000 -500,000 people. The guide then 'guides' us to his father-in-law's house, a ramshackle place where they brew an Agave based alcohol, algae marmalades, then they showed us to their shop full of Obsidian stone carvings.

Later we arrive at Puebla, which kicks off with an orientation tour and dinner. Then WHAT A CRAZY NIGHT. Almost everyone opted to go to Luche Libre wrestling, a 20-minute walk from the hotel. Martin debated buying a mask (a couple of blokes in our group had them) but thought better of it - too much '50 shades', and we have a lot of airport security to get through in the next few weeks!!

Tacos are everywhere here; almost every few yards someone is selling their 'filled' version, and shops sell plain Taco by the Kg. Tacos are to Mexicans what Tea is to the Brits.

The next day we visited Cholula, a 30 minute £3 Uber ride away with Catherine, one of our party. Cholula features a Catholic Church on what seems to be a hill at first sight. It isn't. It's actually a pyramid. Its base is four times the size of the Great Pyramid of Giza and is the most extensive pyramid base in the Americas. It remains mostly un-excavated. Pottery is scattered everywhere, and after searching the ground for ages, Indiana Robinson found a tiny piece of painted Mayan pottery.

After negotiating a taxi ride back (as we now have no WiFi out of the hotel for Uber), we visit the cathedral in Puebla. It is elaborately decorated, standing next to the city's main square. We also take an opportunity to visit another small church. It looks ordinary from the outside, but inside, it's bling hits you, particularly an inner chamber smothered in gold leaf. The streets of Puebla are very pretty, colourful and lively.

On the practical side, our Taxi experience has motivated us to buy a local phone Sim for on-the-go Data access - just £5. We've also dumped some impractical clothes and picked-up up a few extra T-shirts and dresses.

The next day we have a 5 hrs bus trip to Oaxaca. A quick trip to the bus station and our worry of clapped-out vehicles abate. They are better than UK coaches, and the journey is a dream, crossing a spectacular mountainous region (apart from the violent, bloody films being shown on board - hardly family viewing!).

M&J