Mexico Part 2: Mexico City (CDMX): A home away from home
As a long part series of documenting my last couple of years as a digital nomad in Latin America, I am working back. I spent close to a year in Mexico and divided my time between the Sayulita (West), Mexico City (Central) and Merida (East).
Caveat: I am not great with taking Instagrammy photos; this is a as much as nostalgic reference as its a effective recommendation for what friends ask me when they go to Mexico City.
Summary: Mexico City (Distrito Federal or CDMX) was by far the most homely experience I had and the longest I stayed for over 6 months. Living in the Brooklyn area of the city at La Roma, and having taken a dedicated desk at WeWork Varsovia, life could not get more comfortable. The city has amazing food options, a great art culture (I credit Frida Kahlo & Diego Riviera amongst others) and a rather slow pace to it.
Just after I landed, took a Uber to my apartment and getting of, this was my first impression - and I knew I was setting myself up for an amazing time ahead. 😀
First off, Mexico City boasts a population of 8M+ and if you imagine it like a square, 50 kms wide; and to get from one end to another by an Uber, would take 45 minutes if you don't take traffic into account, so I would recommend choosing where to live well. That being said, in select areas, there are New York City style Citi bikes that you can take on for short rides that I used every day.
Having met digital nomads months before in Medellin, Colombia who were in Mexico City during the time I planned the trip, we decided to take memberships at WeWork; I took a 6 months dedicated desk at WeWork which made my life convenient as I could leave my computer there. Further, the team at WeWork were great at bringing the community together - specifically the local startup scene, Silicon Valley esque founders who moved to Mexico City to increase their run way and the weekly football world cup screening!
Another day at @WeWorkMX pic.twitter.com/wvYDLO0ms9
— Gaurav C (@cggaurav) February 27, 2018
My apartment was two blocks away from one of CDMX's best and my favorite cafe/bakery, Panaderia Rosetta; where after a couple of weeks, the baristas knew my morning routine so well that they featured me on their Instagram page, my shot at getting famous for a week with the satisfying realization that it wasn't for me.
Culture, Art and History
Before you visit Mexico, I would recommend you watch Coco, the Disney Pixar movie on the plane
- Frida Kahlo Museum - What I loved about Mexico City is the thriving art culture; thanks to Frida Kahlo (watch that movie too), visit her museum. Book in advance.
- Teotihuacan - the Mexican pyramids.
- Bellas Artes - for the art murals.
- LGBT museum - Mexico is one of the leading countries because of gender opennnes.
- Lucha Libre - the Mexican World Wrestling Entertainment - watched this as a kid but excused myself from friends after 15 minutes - because of the macho culture and loudness.
- Dia de los Muertos - the Mexicans believe, which is beautiful that the ancestors come back during this day - as seen in Coco, and the parade and celebrations are magnificent.
- Xochimilco - Floating gardens with boats, that come with the mariachi band. Great socializing and drinking tradition.
- National Palace Museum
- Bosque de Chapultapec + Niños Heros
FOOD
Restaurant Recommendations
- Blanco colima, la Roma, very chic, for dates.
- Ojo de Aguat, amazing breakfasts.
- El Califa, tacos. Don't miss the Taco de Pastor and Taco de Bistec here!
- Limantour, one of the best bars in the world, was a few blocks away from home.
- Gatorta vegan tacos
- Mercado Roma
- Huset - all organic produce - lovely cozy setting.
- Paramo - cozy
- Taco de Orinoco - for their tacos de chicharron
- Los Loosers - great vegan place - highly recommend. I wish I had more photos.
What to eat
- Carajillo, a coffee liquior as a digestive after dinner.
- Chiles en Nogada
- Great vegetarian options
- Huitlacoche - Corn fungus
- Nopales - catus
- Queso oaxaca - loved this cheese for the texture
- Tamales oaxaneos (for some reason, there is always someone in the morning screaming selling this).
- Guac
- Heuvos rancheros, the original gangster
Mountaineering
-
Mexico City boasts mostly sunny weather through the year and is lovely for hikes during the weekends - I recommend Bosque de Chapultepec for runs near the city center and the one below is Acopilco
-
Nevado de Toluca - beautiful mountain lakes, tough climb as I got used to the altitude.
- Iztachiuhatl - challenged myself to do a 5Km+ technical climb, thankful to a great guide, started at 2 am in the morning and hit the peak around noon.
Weekend Get Aways
I spent two long weekends, one each in
- Puebla, known for the battle of Puebla and Mexican army's defeat of the French forces on the 5th of May / Cinco de Mayo; hence marked as one of the magical towns (Pueblo Magico) - recommend a weekend get away.
- Puerto Escondido in Oaxaca (needs a post of its own)
Other stuff
- If you don't know any Spanish, just say, "No mames guey", or "Que onda", or "Que tal", and you have a friend.