Lastnight was my final night at Casa Pepe Hostel as today I was starting a 13 night tour through Mexico with Gadventures. I was feeling quite hungover again, a mixture of jet lag and excessive alcohol consumption at yesterday’s boat party. I pulled myself together and had the worst shower I’ve had since I was working up North in Bidyadanga. Not only was the water cold but it dripped out the shower head slower than a dead snail.
I had a few hours before I could leave and Uber to the hotel where my tour would begin, only 15 minutes away. I chilled on the hostel couches and chatted to many of the people I had spent the previous nights with.
A girl I met convinced me and another bloke to go to the cat cafe for lunch with her. I hadn’t heard of this place but after going I can see why it didn’t appear on any Lonely Planet ‘Must Do’s’ for Mexico City. The idea was nice – a place for homeless cats to be saved but the whole place was just a little weird. The cats there just walked around while you ate and they had toys you could use to play with them. The highlight for me was the cat latte art that appeared on my cappuccino which I have to give credit for. Being more of a dog person was reaffirmed after this visit.
After lunch I took a short Uber ride to the hotel where my tour was to begin. Carlos was prompt and began chatting to me until he realised my current Spanish vocabulary consists of ‘Si’ ‘Ola’ and Gracias’ . Nethertheless he seemed nice and I even tipped him 5 pesos through the Uber app’
We had an orientation talk with the tour group which has 17 people in total. I am one of only 2 blokes on the trip and the only Australian which was quite surprising. I get on really well with the guy thankfully, he is an English bloke that lives in London. He is a football fan and a Chelsea season ticket holder so we mutually bonded over football quite easily. The tour I chose was called ’18 – 30 somethings’ which means anyone can join in the age category of 18 to 39. The tour is definitely a bit older than I was expecting and seems to be a bit more relaxed than past tours I have done. I have to remind myself that this is probably a good thing, the Contiki tour glory days of drinking through Europe may have surpassed me at age 26.
The tour guide, Pamela, who is Costa Rican, took us all out to dinner and some drinks. The good thing about tours is going to places that I would never otherwise find on my own. We went through a backdoor alleyway that didn’t even look like anything to what seemed like an authentic, Mexican restaurant that was full of local people. The food was cheap and great and we stayed here before moving on to a couple of bars.
The next morning we had a walking tour of Mexico City. Some of the places I had already seen but most were new. We went to a food market and I tried cactus in a taco for the first time. It was sort of slimy but also quite nice. We toured various churches and food spots with a local guide. It was good to hear a bit of background about each place that I didn’t get when I walked around the first couple of days on my own.
We then went to… Xochimilco. Suppose I should have read the tour itinerary better before going on Saturday because I was going back. It was quite funny comparing the 2 trips to Xochimilco that I went on. On Saturday, my hostel advertised the trip as a ‘boat party’ where there would be ample tequila and music and the tour advertised the trip as a ‘historical boat trip down a famous site’. It was fair to say going on a Monday afternoon and with a different crowd, this trip was a lot calmer than my first visit. I did learn a lot more about the history of Xochimilco than my first alcohol fuelled visit though, so I felt it was still worth going to again.
https://photos.app.goo.gl/1bWubBQRUiWDHAsw9 – Day 3
The cat cafe Lol!😂
Loving the blog Ben !