Travel – John Collings

Eat Like A Local – Mexico City Food Tour

One of the greatest parts of travel is eating the local cuisine, and there has been nothing that has excited me than to travel to Mexico for the first time in my life and eat one of my favorite cuisines, Mexican. I know. Here I am, world traveler, who has been to almost 60 countries, and I still have not been to Mexico, even though it is right next door to America. Yeah, I know. There was a time in my life where I thought I would never make it here, but we decided to do a five day stay over in Mexico City before making our way to America for the summer months, and on our first full day here, we went on a food tour with the perfect choice for this kind of excursion, Eat Like a Local.

Eat Like a Local is a food tour company that grew out of an inspiration that tried to create a different experience than the ones that many tourists join when they are traveling around the world. The food tour companies are not always about finding those little hidden gems that the locals know about, but instead, they are looking to make deals with bigger stores to help them bring in more business. This is where Eat Like a Local is different. They want to guide people to those spots that help support the local economy and showcase what Mexican food is all about.

This took us to the markets, and street vendors that are all over Mexico City. It wasn’t just about the food, but also being a part of the local culture as we went to La Merced, an underground market filled not only with fresh produce, but flowers, and many other little necessities that people might need to make it through their day to day routines. It was also great to go through with a guide because she was able to point out some things that I would have never noticed if I had not been with her.

The subway trains were the ones that fascinated me the most. I would have just gotten on and off them without really looking around. The trains looked old, and most of the time packed, so I was trying to find my space without having to get too close to any other stranger on the subway. The ride was a little jittery, but not as bad as some of the other older subway systems I had been on. When it was pointed out that Mexico City had one of only a couple of subway systems that put tires on their trains, I started to understand why.

Each subway stop also had its own decorations. At first, they were used during the Olympics to help guide passengers to the correct stop, but some of them had more symbolic meaning behind them. My favorite was the ducks. The station was originally built on wetlands, but the designer of the station included ducks because it was also the entrance to one of Mexico City’s oldest markets. Because it was such a busy location in the city, it attracted a lot of pickpockets and thieves, and the duck was a symbol of tricksters and criminals. They eventually moved the center of the legislative government to this location, and some people thought that the ducks were a no longer appropriately symbol for this stop. Fortunately, more people thought that they were even more appropriate and they stuck around.

Still, the tour’s main focus was about the food, and there was a huge variety of food to be had along the way. Mainly they involved different types of tacos that were made right there in front of you, and there is a huge variety of tacos to be had in Mexico City. We had tacos filled with pescado (fish), chorizo verde (a green sausage made with spinach, nuts, and spicy meat), carnitas (pork), and mixiote (a traditional way to cook meat that involves boiling it for hours in the skin of an agave plant, and my favorite). Each dish was more delicious than the next and included esquitas (roasted corn), fresh fruit, and quesadillas, and I was able to enjoy all of it. The only dish I could not bring myself to eat was the plate of bugs that was offered to us. I am adventurous and have eaten bugs before, but once in my lifetime was enough for me, and I could not do it again.

The Eat Like a Local food tour through Mexico City was a great way to spend a day and made me so full that I had to wait until later that evening before I wanted to eat again. I would recommend doing it on the first full day that you are in Mexico City because not only is it a great way to get to know the culture, but it also helps to establish the lay of the land as you spend the next few days navigating this large city. I appreciate Panda, our guide, as she showed us around and it will be a day that I soon will not forget.

Teotihuacan Pyramids – Mexico City, Mexico

Every tourist location has its must-do locations; otherwise, you will leave feeling like you really did not experience that place. For Mexico City, it is a location about an hour drive outside of the city, the Teotihuacan Pyramids. This ancient city predates the Aztec culture that is so associated with this part of the world, and it is just as impressive as any of the other ruins that people can visit in Latin America.

Sadly, not a lot is known about this culture except for the fact that it has been around from 200 B.C.E. and that the Aztec people discovered this abandoned location when they first settled in what is now Mexico City. Despite the fact that the history of the place has been pieced together from what archaeologists can determined based on what they find while excavating the site, it was, at one time, an impressive civilization, and this city took up an area about 28 square kilometers, much of which is still taken over by the forest that surrounds this area.

Though they know the size of the original city, they have only recovered an area that is six square kilometers big. The part that they allow visitors to see is by far the most impressive of what has been uncovered. This included the two main temples, the temple of the sun, and the temple of the moon with the path between them also being uncovered. This major thoroughfare would have been where all of the important people of the Teotihuacans would live, but today, it is known as the path of the dead. This is because when the site was first being excavated, archaeologists believed that many of the structures that were left behind were tombs, but this is no longer the believed theory. Still, the name stuck, so like many other sites in Latin America, it is still what it is called today.

The path is just as impressive as the temples that it connects. The smaller steps that were used for the houses leads one to imagine what it would have been like to have lived in this part of the world at the height of its civilization. There are also a well, and murals along the path that if you know where to look, give even more hints of what it would have looked like back in the day. We were lucky enough to have a demonstration of how the Teotihuacans made their paints from the various materials they found in the area, and then how that could be used to make these paintings. It added so much to the experience, and only comes from having a guide to take you through the sight.

I definitely recommend having a guide that will take you through the sight. There are a lot of secrets held in these ruins beyond the murals and names, and the sight does not have any signs that explain what you are looking at. Some companies will even arrange for pickups at certain places around Mexico City, drive you out to the ruins, take you on the tour, and make sure you get back. The whole experience takes no longer than four hours to complete.

This part of Mexico is rich with history, and ancient cultures just waiting for you to explore, and it is a great way to spend a day if you are staying in Mexico City. Though it is a little out of town, and there is some hiking involved, it is mostly flat, and not very long. The hardest part was walking up the Temple of the Moon which has massive steps that you will have to climb up, but it only take a minute or two to make it all the way up. It gives you some amazing views of the whole place from up there, and makes you feel like at one time you could have been a part of the Teotihuacan cultue.

The National Museum of Anthropology – Mexico City, Mexico

When people think of Mexico City, they often think of the great food that is available there, and then they think about the various civilizations that span centuries and makes this one of the most in interesting cultures that the world has to offer. There are ruins both inside and outside of the city that offer a glimpse at these civilizations, but the country was smart enough to gather the most important antiquities and put them together in a museum that allows people to explore these cultures and learn a little about what mankind knows about them. This place is found on the edges of North America’s largest park, Chapultepec Park, and is open six days a week from 9AM to 5PM called the National Museum of Anthropology.

To start off with, this museum is huge and holds a massive collection of mesoamerican pieces that cover cultures from the Mayans to the Aztecs to the Teotihuacans and many more. It is not as large as the British Museum but all of the pieces on display here actually come from the region that the museum is in, and does not take the treasures from other parts of the world to put on display. Though not as big as the British Museum, it would still take more than a day to cover all that this place has to offer. You could probably do it if you wanted to, but you would be exhausted afterwards and everything would blend together in the end, not allowing you to get anything out of the experience that you could if you just took your time instead.

I would recommend just picking and choosing what you want to look at instead of trying to take it all in. The museum is laid-out exceptionally well which makes finding what you are looking for easy. The civilizations are divided up into separate rooms with the main descriptions of what you are seeing written out in both Spanish and English. Unfortunately, when it gets to the more singular piece details, they are usually written in Spanish, so you better brush up on that language if you want to know all the in-and-outs of what you are seeing. But still, there is plenty enough English if you do not know Spanish that you will be satisfied with the knowledge that you will gain visiting here.

I spent most of my three hours in the museum in the rooms about the Aztecs and the Mayans. It is impressive the amount of pieces that were spared from the Spanish colonial period as they went through destroying much of what they had to offer the world considering it blasphemous to their religion and thinking. I am also amazed at how much can be learned about the culture by looking at these pieces because, especially with the Aztecs, much of it was lost due to the conquistadors and priests that came over from Europe. They had spent a lot of the time destroying the stone statues believing that they were blasphemous towards the Catholic religion. I am grateful that there was such a vast collection out there that I was still able to view so much of it, but it also makes me wonder what treasures were lost.

If I have any complaint about this museum, it is a minor one and it is more of a reflection of who I am rather than what this museum has to offer, and that is with the gift shop. Most of the time, I believe gift shops to be a waste of time filled with a bunch of silly trinkets that don’t really mean anything, and this museum keeps up with that tradition, but I still go and visit them anyway to see if I could find a book that would help me learn more about what I just saw. I have found some really good books all around the world that have helped me dig deeper into the cultures I am exploring, and there were some books that looked really good in this museum’s gift shop, except they were all in Spanish. My Spanish is not strong enough yet to be able to read these more complex texts, so I wish that they supplied some books in English so I could have known more about the Aztecs and the Mayans. Still, I should be able to find this information elsewhere, and like I said, it is a small complaint about an otherwise wonderful experience.

Even though it might not be on your radar if you are visiting Mexico City, it is a place that you should consider adding to your itinerary. It is something that is truly a part of the area, and explores its long history. The National Museum of Anthropology is easily one of the best museums I have ever been to, and worth the visit.

Game Day in Mexico City

When we booked our trip to Mexico City a couple of months ago, the World Cup was the last thing that was on our minds. We just thought it would be a great stop-over on our way back to the United States for the summer where we could get a little culture, and enjoy some great food. What we found was a little bit more than that. It was a celebration of a sporting event that brings the world together to see which nation has the best football team for the next four years.

There has been an electric vibe to the whole city ever since we have arrived. I have seen many different jerseys as we have walked around from Columbia to the Netherlands to Ecuador, but the one that is most prevalent has been the green jersey of the Mexican national team. Everywhere we have gone we have seen street vendors selling this jersey, and I have been told that it is easier to find the knock-off version rather than the official version as a symbolic middle finger to FIFA has overcharged for anything concerning this event for the fans that truly buy into all of the hype.

Things built up to a crazy amount of enthusiasm on Tuesday night as Mexico played in their first knock-out game of the tournament. People starting filing out onto the streets around four o’clock to find their special spot where they could watch the game. The bars had all of their seats taken and vendors started popping out from all corners of the city to sell jerseys, horns, drinks, and flags. Everybody was excited to see Mexico move on to the next round for the first time in decades.

It got so crazy last night that there were places where you could not even more except for the way that the crowd pushed you to go. Cars could no longer travel on some of the major thoroughfares because they were packed with people. And the whole crowd cheered their team onto a victory that could be felt throughout the whole city. I have been around the World Cup before, but never like this, and it showed me for the first time how much people love this event.

Congratulations to Mexico for winning the game and moving on, and I wish them the best in the next round.

Lunahuana – An Experiential Vacation

I recently asked one of my students where people traveled to in Peru. He rolled his eyes, looked at me, and instantly said Cusco. I realized my mistake, and asked for clarification; where did Peruvians go to for their getaways. He talk about many spots along the coast, and then mentioned one spot not far in the Andes where Peruvians went in the Andes mountains not far away from the coast where some went to play on the river or around the surrounding mountains. There are ruins, and playgrounds set up for both children and adults. It is not well known by people outside of Peru, but it is a great getaway for those that live in Lima. I got to learn about all it had to offer as I took my students out on an experiential education trip to this region of the Andes Mountains.

There are many things to do in this valley, and a bunch of vans to take you up and down the main road that follows the river to take you to these activities. The travel only takes fifteen minutes at most from the furthest away hotel, and some of the hotels even have some of these activities available on their grounds. All of the activities are great outdoor experiences throughout the year because even in the coldest months, it is still warm enough to enjoy these activities.

The biggest problem with the whole area though is the river. There is always water in a very dry climate, and this creates the perfect conditions for mosquitoes. They are all over the place, and they are hungry. If you come to this part of Peru, remember to bring your bug spray because you will want it to keep these critters away. I had not sprayed any on me when I first arrived, and I had my one bottle hidden in the bottom of my suitcase. I thought I would be okay, but the bugs just saw fresh meat and they were all over my legs within seconds. There are still welts all over my body from those first few moments that I arrived, and I am sending out that warning to anyone that comes.

Do not let the bugs discourage you from coming. As soon as you lather yourself in the bug spray, the activities are a joy. There is rock climbing, high ropes courses, zip-lining, kayaking, rafting, bird-watching, camping, ruin exploration, and just taking a stroll along the river. Each of the activities take about an hour or two to accomplish which makes for the perfect trip experience where you take on a challenge in the morning, head back to the hotel for some downtime, and then heading back out for a completely different experience in the afternoon. It makes for the perfect balance of fun and relaxation so you can come back from the trip feeling refreshed and yet having experienced something that you can hold in your memories.

It is definitely not the first place you should choose if you are coming out to Peru. Go to the Sacred Valley if this is your first trip out here. But for those who live in Lima, and have done all of the big things that Peru has to offer, and are looking for something new and exciting, Lunahuana is a great place to consider. It will give you a unique experience out in this country that you might not have thought to have in the first place.

Semana Santa – The Unofficial End to Summer

You can already feel a nip in the air. The autumn equinox has already come and gone, but people are not ready to believe that the weather is going to turn and they will have to retreat to the safety of their homes. Luckily, in the southern hemisphere, there is a week that is held with reverence that allows for that one last fling to enjoy the weather that is usually enjoyed during the summer months, Semana Santa, or as it is known in the English speaking world, Holy Week. In Peru, this week is treated as a national holiday, and everybody has the long weekend off to enjoy with their family and friends.

This combination of weather, vacation, and attitude creates a pilgrimage to the beach towns along the Pacific coast as people try to squeeze in those last moments of summer. It is not so much about the Holy Week as it about enjoying what the last vestiges that the warmer weather has to offer. It reminds me of Labor Day weekend in the United States as everybody leaves the big cities to find those places on the coast or in the mountains where they can find time to relax and pretend that winter is not so far around the corner.

I should have expected this from one of the beach towns that was closest to Lima, the big city where I live. But I was not thinking of this when I booked my weekend getaway. I was thinking more about a beach that I could relax on, a place not far from my where I could unwind for a bit, and a place that had a little bit of culture and cuisine that I could say that I had experienced something new by going here in the first place. And I do have to say that I did experience something new by coming down here, but I came down during the wrong weekend because everybody else had the same idea that I did, and came down to Paracas as well. It created crowded beaches, and restaurants, and the whole vibe was a big party that everybody was there to get their last moments of fun.

Despite the crowds, we were still able to find the charm of this city. It was not in the places where we expecting; instead, it was in the back streets further away from the beaches. It was here that you were able to get away from the DJs and large concerts going on to mark the end of the season. Instead, we saw the things that make Peru a great place to be. There was a street food section where the flavors of the grill could be smelled wafting over the brick walkways. Each little booth was run by a different family and they had a small selection of seating next to the spot where they cooked your food. You could find anticuchos (grilled cow’s heart), picarones (fried sweet potato rings), and chicken or pork tamales. It was the perfect place to grab a local cerveza, and grab a bite to eat.

That is not to say that you could not find the better restaurants that carried the cuisine that Peru is famous for. There are many of those as well, but you will definitely want to get away from the main drag to find them. There are many restaurants right on the beach, but each of those has quick easy meals because they know they will garner the attention of the tourists that have come to visit. When you head in a bit, you can find the fresh ceviche, Peruvian soups, and chaufa that will make the trip memorable. The best one we found was called Christina’s and it was a fine minute walk in-land from the beach, but was well worth the walk to get the better meal.

The bars along the beach are great to get a pisco sour, especially during happy hour when they are two for one, but it is still a crazy mash of people and does not offer the relaxation that we were looking for. I am sure that Paracas has those quiet weekends that we would have enjoyed the experience a little more, but for Semana Santa, it is a time to party. It is a loud, raucous time that it great for many people, but this is not a part of my life anymore. I will come back some day when it is not as crazy, and hopefully then, I can find the weekend that I am looking for. Maybe at a time when it is not the end of summer, and I am not a part of a group of people who feel like that they have to get in those last moments of the season before it is gone for another six months. Instead, I can just enjoy the time that I find myself there, and understand that all times are great in Peru, no matter what season it is.

Ballestas Islands – A Morning Boat Tour

Paracas is not one of the top destinations for people visiting Peru and who only have a week or two, but for those who spend time in the country, they find a way to make it down to this beach town. The town itself does not boast anything special that you could not find in any beach resort anywhere in the world. There are numerous restaurants, and sandy beaches, but it is when you get out of the town and look at the sights a little distant from the shores that you discover what Paracas really has to offer.

One of the things that many people do is to take a boat trip out to the Ballestas Islands, a group of two jagged outcropping that was once used to harvest guano and brought to Peru many riches. It has since been taken over by the government and kept as a nature reserve that you can take a two-hour boat ride out there to see the various animals that now overrun the islands. It is often called the poor man’s Galapagos, and though the islands are rich with animals, you cannot see the diversity that Darwin discovered that made the other island chain as famous as it is today. Still for only twenty U.S. dollars, you can enjoy a nice morning traveling around the islands and watching the birds, crabs and sea lions that call it home. It will also take you along the coast of Peru where you can witness one of its more famous Nazca lines, strange traces in the earth all along Peru that were left behind by an earlier civilization and nobody knows much about except they are cool to look at.

The islands itself is best visited in the months of December through March because that is when the wildlife is out their in abundance. It is the perfect place to look for penguins as they jumps their way over the rocky cliffs and jump into the water to go for a swim.

It is also the time of the year when the sea lion are out there engaging in their mating rituals. They will move off to warmer waters soon afterwards, but at the end of March, they are engaged in raising their newly born children and relaxing on the beaches that are a part of this island.

It is not always the perfect nature reserve though. There are still the remnants of a time when humans controlled the islands. Most of these ruins have been left behind, but the Peruvian government has built up a couple of the buildings so a couple of people couple work there to make sure that they could conserve the area of this preserve and make sure nobody came along to destroy the delicate balance of nature that is left behind.

Though many people who make their way out to Peru will never witness this little piece of paradise, it is a nice spot to go to for those who are willing to spend a little more time out in the area. It is easily the biggest highlight on a trip to Paracas and one you should consider if your path takes you our here during the months of December through March.

The Life of a Snowbird – La Quinta, California

Who wouldn’t want to be surrounded by palm trees and swimming pools on a hot day? Who wouldn’t want this to happen in February, usually one of the coldest months in the Northern Hemisphere? There are many people in the northern part of the United States that ask themselves this question every year, and some of them actually do something about it. They pack up their belongings, hop on a plane or rev up the old car, and head south to warmer climes. If they live on the East Coast of the United States, they usually end up in Florida, but on the West Coast, they end up scattered all over the Southwest. One of the places that you can find a lot of them is in Coachella Valley in California.

Coachella Valley is the perfect place to escape to during the months of December, January, February, and March. Basically, the place is a desert, but during these months, it is not too hot, and it makes for each day to be a pleasant experience where hanging outside, and enjoying the stark landscape is all that you need to feel like you have escaped from the cold weather from the north. Oddly, it felt a bit warmer there from where I had just voyaged from, and that was in the southern hemisphere where they were experiencing summer. However, I was on the southern tip of South America in the Patagonia region, and even though it is summer there, it still has the ability to get quite cool there. So I was enjoying the warmer weather and it was perfect.

Even at night, it would cool off a bit, but I could still wander around the neighborhood we were staying in wearing the shorts and t-shirts designed for the summertime in other parts of the world. It was hard to believe that I was living in the heart of the winter months while I was there. I could see why many people travelled to this part of the world to get away from that cold.

It made me start to reconsider what I would usually do for vacation during those colder months of the year. I was able to start and see the benefit of being one of those snowbirds, of collecting my bags, and renting that house to occupy for a week or two. It made me feel like I was at home and on vacation at the same time, and I think that is what is at the heart of being a snowbird, having that feel of both things at the same time.

Until next time, I hope you look for those opportunities to live the life of a group that you never thought you would join before.

The Palm Springs Aerial Tram

Over the hills east of Los Angeles about two hours way by car, there lies a dessert valley that first got discovered by the stars of the golden age of movies. They built houses out there, and soon the valley became populated with tennis courts, golf courses, casinos, and polo grounds. It was a paradise surrounded by large granite mountains that protected the valley from harsh weather, and the prying eyes of the metropolis just 120 miles away. Way back in 1935 an electrical engineer named Francis Freeman Crocker proposed to build a tram up one of the mountains so people could explore the wilderness that sat on top of the rocky peak. It wasn’t until 1963 that his dream became a reality and it has since then been one of the larger tourist sights in the valley bringing thousands of people a day to ride up to the top and wander around through the beauty of nature that is possessed there.

The tram itself is the largest rotating aerial tram in the world, and the two and a half mile voyage to the top of the mountain takes about ten minutes to complete as the room they put you in rotates around so you can view all of the wonders that come with this spectacular spot. It is a crowded car where they put up to eighty people into it. Despite the numbers, it is still not as claustrophobic as you would think, and if you sit a little back away from the window, you can find a rail to lean against that will rotate with the room so you will not feel as if the room is rotating with you.

The ride is worth it because it does take you up to an amazing view of the valley below. From up there you can look out of the wilderness that sprawls out on top of the mountain or turn around the other way and see Palm Springs, La Quinta, and Indio as it spreads out on the dessert floor. Also if you look close enough, you can pick out the San Andreas fault as it threatens to split California in two. It is also a great way to escape the heat from the city as it can be over ten degrees cooler on the top even to the point of collecting snow on a few of the winter days.

As I looked over the valley, I couldn’t help but to think about how beautiful it would be looking at it when it was night and all of the city lights were on. There is an option with the tram to take it up there during the night time and have a meal at the restaurant that is on the top so you can look at the night lights. If you are thinking about doing this, keep in mind that it can be very expensive as an adult ticket costs at the time of the writing of this blog, 43 dollars per person and only offers a cafeteria style kind of meal. This does not include parking that you will need to get up to the tram, and that is an extra 15 dollars per vehicle. You can still get a reservation at the restaurant on top of the mountain but that is also expensive, and will require a ticket to go up the tram which is at 37 dollars per adult.

Just know that it does cost some money to take the tram up to the top, but once there there are many hiking opportunities. There is a three-quarter of a mile nature hike that is rather easy and takes you to some pretty spots. Or you could take the mile and a half trip out to the dessert viewing point, and for the very adventurous person, you could take the twelve hour hike that will take you past the campgrounds and deep into the wilderness. It can get cold up there which is a dramatic shift from the dessert floor where we originally started from, so if you do plan on doing some hiking, I recommend that you bring layers of clothes with you to make the adjustments needed depending on the changing weather.

It is a great day trip to take if you find yourself in the Coachella Valley. I spent a good four or five hours there, and did not really look into the museums that were at both the bottom and top levels of the tram. There is of course shopping there as well as a fifteen-minute informative movie that is shown at regular intervals. You have plenty of options of things to do, and all of them make for the perfect day up top of San Jacinto Peak.

Until next time, enjoy those little gems wherever you may find them.