After 6 weeks in the United States, we’re back on the road. First stop: Mexico City. We arrived on the 28^th of December without a hitch. We’re getting better at shuffling through long lines and crowds. At the start of our adventure 15 months ago, we each had two suitcases and a backpack for our laptops. Later, we reduced the number of suitcases to three total and during our stay in the states, we discarded more items. We are now down to one suitcase and a backpack each. It requires “precision packing”; knowing how to balance heavy and bulky items between suitcases to come in under the airline weight requirements. But, it sure is easier getting through airports and in and out of taxis lugging only two suitcases.

Maybe we should write a blog post about packing light for a full year of travel.

We also felt more comfortable and relaxed when we landed in Mexico City than we have when we arrived in other countries. We seem to have developed a routine upon arriving at a new destination. Two of the first things we do after finding our apartment is to check out where the grocery store and coffee shops are located. These are the first two places we usually visit after settling in. In Mexico City, the coffee shop is a ½ mile easy walk and the grocery store is also a ½ mile walk in the other direction. Convenient and we get our steps in every day.

Mexico City

Mexico City, known as CDMX (Ciudad de Mexico), is the 5^th largest city in the world with a metropolitan population of over 21 million people.

Weather

The sunny mornings and nights are somewhat chilly (jeans and light jacket weather), and the late-mornings/early-afternoons are shirtsleeve warm. The lows can drop to the 40s at night and the days are in the low 70’s. The city sits at a very high elevation — at 7,385 feet above sea level. Because of this, during our first day, we experienced a little shortness of breath.

Safety

I know what you’re thinking – is Mexico even safe to visit these days? Crime, drug cartels, gang-related violence, and kidnappings are all, unfortunately, associated with Mexico. BUT, the good weather, tacos, and friendly people brought us back. Mexico City is just like visiting any other big city. Sure, there are areas to stay away from and we wouldn’t walk around at 2:00 in the morning, but those are precautions we take everywhere. During our time here and during our three-month stay in Guadalajara we never felt unsafe.

Getting to know the city

One of our first activities was a 4-hour walking tour of the historical center. We usually take walking tours in each new city because it provides us a general understanding of the layout and gives us the history of the city. Later, we visit some of the sights we saw during the walking tour.

Holiday Festivities

During the holiday season, the main plaza called the Zócalo, is decorated for Christmas with activities for both adults and children. Each year, a large ice-skating rink is installed in the square. This rink is the world’s largest “Eco-Ice” skating rink which is a unique skating surface that offers an ecological alternative to refrigerated ice and operates at any temperature. We watched people struggling to stay upright and realized that for most it is probably the one and only time each year they skate.

There was also a 37-foot Christmas tree on display covered with 35 varieties of poinsettias (Nochebuenos).

While we missed Christmas Day in Mexico City, we participated in the New Year’s celebration and the celebration of Three Kings Day (El Día de Los Reyes).

New Year’s Eve

New Year’s Eve (Nochevieja) is a big deal in Mexico, and people like to get together with family and friends to celebrate the year-end. Fireworks, grapes, sparkling wine, hugs and music are how Mexicans celebrate the night.

Two popular dishes served during the holiday season are a traditional dish of Bacalao Navideño, dried salted codfish, cooked with tomatoes and olives and Pozole, a traditional soup made from hominy, chicken, lettuce or cabbage, peppers, garnished with radishes, avocado, and salsa (I loved this).

The huge New Year’s Eve crowd was on Paseo de la Reforma along with a carnival atmosphere of live bands and fireworks. On either side of the avenue, there were rows of nativity scenes displayed as well as vendors selling food, sweets and crafts.

The countdown in Mexico City has been compared to that of NY Times Square with a big-name entertainment lineup covered by the TV networks. We were too tired to wait until the New Year but saw on TV that fireworks were launched at midnight and everyone embraced each other for the “Feliz Año Nuevo!”

January 1st is a national holiday and many shops were closed.  The streets were peaceful and quiet and it seemed as if most of the people were at home recovering from the night before. This was the day we saw the voladores, a traditional rain and soil fertility ritual of the Totonac people which involves men in traditional costumes playing music and swinging around poles.

Day of the Kings

Day of the Kings (Día de Los Reyes) is celebrated on January 6 to honor the Three Wise Men. This holiday represents the day the Three Wise Men gave gifts to Jesus Christ, and the day ends the Christmas festivities. It’s also the day Mexicans exchange gifts.

Children in Latin America receive the majority of their gifts from the Three Kings, rather than from Santa Claus at Christmas. Before going to bed, they place their old shoes with a wish list on top for the Three Kings. In the morning, the shoes are filled with toys and gifts from the Three Kings.

Some children receive gifts from both Santa Claus on December 24 or 25 and from the Kings on January 6, but Santa is seen as an imported custom, and the traditional day for Mexican children to receive gifts is January 6.

On January 5 we saw men dressed up as the three kings posing for photos with children near the Zócalo plaza. Also, on the night of January 5th, the figures of the Wise Men are placed in the Nacimiento or nativity scene.

 

On Día de Los Reyes, Mexicans serve Kings Cake (Rosca de Reyes). “Rosca” means wreath and “reyes” means kings.

The Rosca de Reyes is an oval shape to symbolize a crown and has a small doll inside, which represents baby Jesus. The doll figure symbolizes the hiding of the infant Jesus from King Herod’s troops. Traditionally, roscas were adorned with dried and candied fruits to symbolize the jewels of a crown.

The person who gets the slice with the doll must host a party on Día de la Candelaria in February. We sampled slices of this cake (it’s delicious) and sure enough, Kathy got the infant Jesus. I can’t wait to find out how she is going to host the Día de la Candelaria party.

This is our third visit to Mexico City. It is not a destination that that first came to mind when we thought of where to spend the days after Christmas and New Year’s Eve.

But we agree that we had a great “after” Christmas and New Year’s celebration here with beautiful, tasty, colorful and new (to us) traditions…and, beautiful weather.