[+(pre-) and (post-)] Malinalco

It seems that I cannot go for more than a few days without some sort of road trip this year, so that’s exactly what happened after my few days in Tepoztlán.

The prelude to the weekend away was half a day in Cuernavaca, which is more than enough time to spend in that particular city, in my humble opinion.  Although, I did enjoy the evening, as I spent most of it hiding in the Jardín Borda.

They had an exhibit featuring Zárraga, which wasn’t really up my alley, but the museum space was great.

There, I met a young man who was fretting about his current situation in life, so we had a hearty heart-to-heart conversation for a couple of hours, and then he invited me to his piano recital at the garden theater.  It’s been too long since I had attended a piano concert, so it was thoroughly enjoyed.  After that, it was time to seek refuge with a salad and a cup of espresso, and call it a night.

The next morning, off to check out Malinalco, a town fabled to be the next Tepoztlán.  The drive there was great, with lots of mountains and cliffs and tall trees and winding roads to enjoy in the sunlight.

I can see why people compare Malinalco to Tepoztlán; both are in a valley with ruins up above, and both have a generous handful of hippie and boutique nooks to satisfy the international traveler.  Overall, I do prefer the smaller size of Malinalco and its proximity to more nature and seclusion, but I like the hike to the ruins more in Tepoztlán.  And Tepoztlán does have some sort of mystic feel that did not penetrate quite as deep in Malinalco.  But, still special in its own way.  After all, it is the rumoured home to the goddess Malinalxochitl, so you can’t be completely magic-less.

The main attraction here are the ruins build upon Cerro de los Idolos (Hill of the Idols)- most importantly, Cuauhcalli (House of Eagles):

, which boasts a great view over the town and has some nice cliffs and cliff cacti:

But there are also a few charming churches in town:

, and plenty of cobblestones streets to skip down:

I particularly enjoyed the colorful buildings:

, and this rooftop coffee shop, which provided hours of things to sip on and cards to deal (all while enjoying the view onto the mountains):

I also did appreciate a lot of the interior designs here- a lot of clear and furnished looks out of recycled materials, and a lot of rustic feels.  Like at the hotel, which had no shortage of warm sienna hues and textured wood:

And we all know that orange and blue is my favourite color combination for a cozy house, so all of the sponged paint and hand-painted ceramics were very much to my liking:

After a night of strobe lights and a lazy morning of markets and church courtyards, it was time to jump back into the car and head back to Mexico City, as my next adventure would be taking the bus from there to Oaxaca the following day.  I highly enjoy all of these little jaunts into the city; easing my way into it.

This time, it was spent mostly walking around random streets in the dark:

, but also venturing into national museums and zoo’s.  To be honest, the main mission of Mexico City this time was visiting its most famous bookstore branch: El Péndulo.

And not just one of them- four of its stores.  Which was a great tour of the city, as it required us to walk through four different neighborhoods: Condesa, Polanco, Zona Rosa, and Roma.  All of the bookstores were quirky and special in their own way, with an impressive selection of books and a yummy food menu for the café portion of the Cafebreria.  If all of the books wouldn’t be sealed in Mexico, I would call this place perfect and would have probably not have made it out of there in time to catch my night bus (or any bus, ever).  I loved the walking tour accompanying all of them, but my favourite one was the first one, in Polanco.

Maybe it had something to do with the accompanying breakfast on painted tables though?

Either way, it was a satisfying urban pit stop before putting on the red backpack again and venturing out alone to explore the next region of Mexico: Oaxaca!

Mexico City + Other Mexican Cities

… 23 days into the new year, and it’s the first day that I find myself just sitting and contemplating the future (as in, the upcoming week), instead of being swept up in the wonderful wave of unexpected adventures and encounters that 2015 has brought with it.

Ten days ago was my birthday, and I celebrated by getting on a plane to Mexico City.  And since then, it’s been a whirlwind of emotions and places, and I’ve been loving every single moment.  I’ve given up trying to understand how life works, and why we end up where we are, and the series of events that lead us there.  So, let’s just begin the narrations.

A friend greeted me at the airport and took me on an extensive evening tour of Mexico City, which might just be the biggest juxtaposition of a city that I have ever seen.

New next to old, architecture from all over the world (which makes sense, as it seems that everything there is some sort of present from one country or another), sounds and smells that make one’s head spin and tummy crave for every single food cart that you pass.  And there’s a lot of them.

The next morning, it was time to get up early and battle the seemingly-perpetual traffic jam filling up the entire state of Mexico City.   Time to get in another car and spend another week on the road, exploring little towns and vast nature scenic spots.

We drove north, to the state of Querétaro. The first three days of our road trip consisted of skipping between pueblos mágicos– towns that have been deemed ‘magical villages’ by Mexico’s tourism board in order to promote their uniqueness.  Whether their value is natural, historical, or cultural, these scattered towns are supposed to make you feel like you are in some sort of fairytale.

And they do, and they appear so unexpected on the horizon. Our first stop was Tequisquiapan, where I was treated to my first Mexican breakfast (gorditas) and horchata.  And a town center of colorful houses:

, and patriotic decorations flying between all of the buildings:

After a leisurely stroll, off to Bernal:

More empty fountains and bright buildings:

The main attraction of this town is the Peña de Bernal, or the world’s third-largest monolith of rock.  When my travel buddy told me that there is a rock to climb, this wasn’t what I had in mind:

But, there was lemon ice cream with red wine at the base of the rock for encouragement, and the challenge was enthusiastically accepted.  The hike was a blast, with numerous opportunities for death and great views from the top.  And, these flowers, everywhere:

Then, time to hit up another food market, have another picnic by the town’s zócalo, and get back into the car. Driving west, toward San Miguel de Allende:

San Miguel de Allende was a cozy hilltop town with a beautiful main plaza- of which the lounging-in was enhanced by Mexican/Aztec hot chocolate and various flavours of churros.  After a nap and another breakfast fit for a king (fried chicken tortas before 9 AM? At least there are mamey milkshakes and fresh-squeezed orange juice to justify it), it was time to move the culinary celebrations to Guanajuato.

En route, we crossed the beginnings of a desert with all of the stereotypical views of Mexico.  Such as donkeys:

, cows:

 

, rugged fences:

, and horses and cacti and monument huts to the Virgin Mary in the most random spots in the middle of nowhere:

And then, unexpected and colorful, appeared Guanajuato:

This town is truly magical- as was my experience of it. A former mining town, there are underground tunnels that run below the entire city and are used by both cars and pedestrians. And there are so many cute little plazas, each one more colorful than the other.

Our hostel matched the coziness of the town, situated in a tucked-away plaza and decorated exactly how it should be:

But, the best part was the balcony- which made me feel strangely Parisian.

Except that instead of the Eiffel Tower, there was a hill of rainbow blocks staggering in front of me:

and instead of a lone accordion on some secluded street corner was the chorus of the callejoneadas– groups of musicians and students that wander through the streets, drink wine, sing, and exchange funny stories about the town.

I could have walked these streets for days, poking my head into every corner.  Like a never-ending labyrinth of vibrant hues:

, with no shortage of stairs:

, and old churches:

, and theaters:

, and cobblestone streets:

, and electrical wires between houses:

24 hours here felt like a lifetime, complete with sunsets and sunrises and a full band playing jazz covers and friends recording bachata songs in the nighttime plaza, and all sorts of yummy treats.  It is definitely one of the most special places that I have ever been to, and a perfect way to wave au revoir to the towns and shift focus to the second half of our roadtrip: nature.

Stay tuned!