The most beautiful country in the world!? - Mexico! 🇲🇽

'How do you like Mexico?' 'I love it! The nice and loving people, the incredibly delicious food, the beautiful colorful streets, the music. Everything is just perfect'. A sentence that I often repeated and which is 100% true. I hope that as a reader, you will always remember this sentence from the beginning while I describe what I have experienced in the following post.

One of the most beautiful pictures! It can't get more Mexican than this. Spontaneously taken on the street because there were such artworks on every corner. 

As described in the previous post, I counted the hours until my flight and was very excited to finally travel to Mexico!
Mexico is always portrayed as so dangerous, so how could I dare to wander around freely? Because I knew that others had done it before. The sister of my good friend Clemens Niekler, Sophia, was in the country a few weeks before me and had good experiences. She helped me a lot, took away a lot of fear, gave me many tips, and even provided contacts. I am very grateful to her for that!

And where do you fly to in such a large country that is about the same size as all of Europe? The cheapest flight connection decided: Guadalajada!
Just the name itself is difficult to pronounce, but it got even worse! Spanish is spoken in Mexico. I knew that, of course, and had already started learning Spanish in advance. (I will explain in another post, but I will write it towards the end of the trip) However, being thrown into the deep end like that is not easy, especially when you are using public transportation from the airport to the city. After 5 hours of sleep at the airport, on a bench in front of Burger King, I looked for the bus. That alone was already a challenge because public transport is a nightmare in Mexico. No signs, no stations, and no fixed, regular schedules. But somehow I managed to do it, and I can still remember the feeling I had on the bus: finally an old, rickety, overcrowded bus. Without windows, with people pushing in the aisle. Finally, dirt on the streets again. Finally, poorly installed power lines and people who look different from me. It was a wonderful feeling!! Doesn't that sound ridiculous? Maybe. But somehow I already knew that I would feel more comfortable there again after the not-so-nice time in California. These first feelings and thoughts were confirmed again and again, day after day.

So I finally arrived at my hostel, where I had booked 3 nights in advance. These were actually the only nights I paid for in 3 and a half weeks!!! (only 20 euros) How was that possible? Because of the people. Mexicans are just lovely, helpful, and incredibly nice people. Through 1000 coincidences and 10000 contacts, I always found someone with whom I could stay the next night or in the next city. And if necessary, Couchsurfing helped out.

I will describe in the course of the post how exactly it worked for me, and I will try to explain it as well as possible, as it can be confusing when I talk about who I met and when. I will simply assign numbers to all my contacts or now friends. This way, you might get a feel for it.

GUADALAJARA 

Welcome! 

When I arrived at the hostel, I quickly met new people again. On the first evening, I met Caesar Gonzales #1. He is from Cuernavaca (near Mexico City) and wants to travel to Argentina on his motorcycle. I only briefly met him in the evening, as he told interesting stories about his life as a doctor in Mexico. (Which is really different from ours in Germany) The next morning, he already left. He had heard about my route the evening before and asked if I wanted to give him my contact information because he has a similar route. Why not!?

During the 3 days of my stay, I explored the city. It is unbelievably beautiful! I don't think I have seen anything like it because it, like other cities as it turned out, is incomparable to previous ones. Simply because the wonderful culture of Mexico is reflected on every corner, every street! Colorful houses, great painted pictures on the walls (instead of the graffiti you find in German cities), many statues, colorful pennants, and to top it all off: sunshine every day, all day!
See for yourself:

During the 3 days, I also met Isy #2. She is from Stuttgart and fell in love with Mexico years ago during a semester abroad and has been traveling through the country ever since. We went partying for a night or two and danced salsa. It was really great because even the music is different from what you hear in many clubs. She told me a lot about her life and also about her travel route. Maybe we will see each other again!? 

In Guadalajara, I also visited the production of the famous tequila for Mexico. It is traditionally made from these agaves. The tasting was also great. With blazing noon sun, you can imagine how quickly I felt the few shots :D

Although I didn't see everything in Guadalajara, I wanted to move on because Mexico has so much more to offer! And unfortunately, I didn't have much time before meeting my mom in Playa del Carmen on the east coast of Mexico.

LEÓN

Next stop: León! Why? Because Sophia gave me a contact, and he offered me to stay with him and his family. I gladly accepted the offer.
We set off with the bus without suspecting anything. His name is Christian #3, and he picked me up from the bus station. Everything was great right away, and I felt really comfortable. When we arrived at their family home, his lovely mother immediately offered me food, and I made my first acquaintance with the naked dog. A naked dog!? I was surprised too! They are super typical for Mexico, are even considered to be quite expensive and more or less a status symbol. I found the little Maya cute and always cuddled with her. It was still strange, though, because even dogs have pimples. Normally, you can't see them under the fur. But Maya's big, yellow pus pimples were visible. Well, it's just a matter of getting used to it. 

Cuddling with Maya during movie night!  

And now for one of the craziest experiences of the entire trip:

Wtf!? Christian #3 and his friends took me to an 'underground party'. What awaited me there left me speechless for hours. I certainly didn't expect an S&M or bondage party when, after a few hours, it was announced that the show was starting soon. Yes, the people were dressed strangely, but this!? In the middle of Mexico?! After that, I really thought that I had already experienced almost everything.. But well, they are just people. With slightly different preferences :D (Christian still seemed perfectly normal to me the whole time, so no cause for concern :D) 

The plan was to stay in León for 3 days. I didn't have much time, after all. But 3 days turned into 4, 4 turned into 5... And then I ended up staying for a whole 7 days. The whole family was just incredibly nice to me. We went on many trips to beautiful cities, and I am still enchanted. It makes me really nostalgic when I look at the pictures. Here are some pictures of the many things we did:

I had a hard time saying goodbye, especially because his mother was so sweet. Despite language barriers, we understood each other like mother and daughter. We cooked together, sang, went shopping, and laughed. Beautiful, right?

But these days also passed, and I wanted to move on and see even more. 

Moreover, I had to get out of there. The mother was super nice, but she fed me a lot. I don't want to know how many calories my body consumed per day. BUT! Mexican cuisine is simply a dream. Everything is super delicious, but low-carb is not part of it. Here are some impressions. One more question: why the hell are there hardly any Mexican restaurants in Germany!? 

Top: Beans. Middle: tender pork with peppers. Bottom: Nachos with guacamole. A dream! 

Molcajete! A huge bowl with all kinds of meat and seafood. Yes, I even eat that now. My journey has expanded my sense of taste a lot!

His mom also showed me how to prepare Mexican salsa. Caution! Super spicy!! But really delicious. Another thing that I now eat, although I used to dislike it at home. Spicy food.

They say in Mexico: now I can get married, because I know how to make salsa! :D But hey, where is my dream man? 

MEXICO CITY

Where to next? Mexico City is on the way. And even though it is huge and supposed to be somewhat dangerous, I didn't want to miss this stop. There was also Caesar #1. I texted him, and everything worked out timing-wise.
Caesar offered me to stay with his cousin. He is a lawyer and has an apartment in the city with his girlfriend. They picked me up from the bus station, and I rested first. The next day, we explored the city, and in the evening, we went to Caesar's aunt. She also took me in without hesitation. I was completely blown away by this hospitality!

Mexico City is beautiful, but huge. You could spend weeks exploring the city.. Here are some pictures of my impression of the city. 

Modern art in Mexico, crazy, right? Definitely not what you imagine when you think of the country.. :D

Trying out a bed in Mexico :D

The church in the city center. These beautiful places of worship can be found in every city. I now have about 1000 pictures of churches on my phone. 

Mexican newspapers.. Help! 

Culture and tradition in the big city! Did you know that Mexico City is the 10th largest city in the world? 

However, a few goals within the city were enough for me, and then it was time to move on.

CUERNAVACA

Next on the list was Caesar's hometown, Cuernavaca. After all, he can give me the best insight into life in Mexico. We stayed at his mother's house, and she was also very lovable. We explored the beautiful city and went to parties with his friends. It was a lot of fun but also quite exhausting. In any case, we were always busy. 

Visiting the Mayan ruins in Cuernavaca. It was really nice to see them, and Caesar explained a lot to me. In general, he told me a lot about Mexico. About the culture, the history, problems within the country, and much more. He was a good companion whom I really appreciate, not least because of his knowledge. 

A snapshot of me while visiting the ruins. Somehow, I like the picture! 

We also went to a party! Pauli behind the wheel after a long time and even wearing makeup! Exceptional situation :D and especially in such a cool, huge car.. 

Visiting an old mansion of a Spaniard. Back when Mexico was still occupied by Spain, they built these magnificent mansions. Today, it is used as a hotel, restaurant, and spa. I could have stayed there for days; it was really beautifully arranged! 

Just a place to feel good! 

I have thousands more pictures of it; it was just so beautiful there! 

And who is joining me on the next Mexico trip?! 

A little exercise also shouldn't be missed: A hike to a ruin on a mountain. Bonus: this beautiful view of the city! 

Afterwards, we had a little snack. Tortillas! Filled deliciously with mushrooms for me. 

And for Caesar, there was.. INSECTS!!! A delicacy in Mexico! Just like guinea pig or chicken feet, for example. HELP! 

Equally delicious, right? A market in Cuernavaca. 

At the end of my time in Cuernavaca, we went swimming in his uncle's pool. A nice refreshment and relaxation after so many experiences! 

Cuernavaca was definitely one of the most beautiful cities.. Although, they are all beautiful. I think I'm in love with this country! 

By the way, I uploaded a few more pictures than I included in the post. It's worth taking a look!