This is a great trip - very colourful!
This was a really well -planned full itinerary with little down time and early starts every morning! The traffic in Mexico City meant that journeys between locations always took a long time but Berto, our driver was very calm. On the first day you are still recovering from the long day of travel but the visit to the Frida Kahlo House was very worthwhile and the canal boat "dodgems" at Xochimilco was great fun! It was nice to get out of the City to the site at Teotichuacan the next day - the large pyramids are stunningly impressive but you can no longer climb them. The best time was in Oaxaca as we spent 4 nights at the same central hotel and we had plenty of opportunity to soak up the festive atmosphere and see plenty of costumes and parades. The food is very good here and, of course, we learned how to make some salsas and mole. We were lucky enough to spend time at the cemetery with a family where the son was playing the guitar and singing ballads to the dead relatives - very moving and atmospheric. Monte Alban was my favourite archaeological site, partly because of the stunning views but Palenque was lovely because of its jungle location with the howler monkeys screeching in the background and the fact it was possible to climb the Pyramid of the Cross to have a view across the site. Unfortunately, we only had less than an hour at Uxmal as we arrived late in the afternoon and our visit to Chichen Itza was quite short as we had to leave for the airport. We did so many extras and Arturo always ensured we had good places to eat and drink!
Most Inspirational Moment
Difficult to single something out as the trip itinerary was so diverse and enjoyable but my least favourite location was San Cristobal, although I did buy some fabulous hand-painted wooden masks there! We did a sneaky swim in a small cenote too - the water was crystal clear and a pleasant temperature - so refreshing!
Thoughts on Group Leader
Arturo was absolutely smashing! He always had a smile on his face, was super organised and packed so much into the day. He had a great sense of humour and really gelled with the group. He was really charming and kind too. We always had so many questions about the history and culture which he was able to answer very knowledgeably.
Advice for Potential Travellers
The trip notes are somewhat misleading on some points: Currency - really get mostly in Pesos to cover what you will be spending on food and drinks. I only used USD for the tips and the additional boat trip in the canyon. Eating out is relatively expensive and a 15% tip is usually applied. You can use credit cards in the more touristy areas but usually cash is preferred. Packing - I was led to believe a warm jacket and jumper would be required so I ended up taking some non-essential items. It is generally very warm and humid and balmy in the evenings so no jumpers or jackets required. I only wore a fleece when we had to leave San Cristobal at 4am. A denim jacket was fine. But DO take a raincoat - we got absolutely drenched in flash floods in Puebla. Girls - ignore the comments about shorts not being acceptable. They are commonplace both with tourists and locals - and essential when climbing up pyramids! Skirts very impractical.
Suggestions
Yes, there are far too many long bus journeys and the minibus was crammed full - for a large group, couldn't a larger coach be used so there is a bit more space to spread out? There were some bus politics going on which wasn't always pleasant. Unfortunately, the journey from San Cristobal to Palenque was not only on winding mountain roads but was through a lot of community areas where there are speed humps so the drive was quite slow - we were on the bus 8 hours - and also very bumpy and jolty. We seemed to do quite a few "sales" stops. I would prefer these are kept to a minimum as they were quite time consuming and the products so expensive - probably geared for visitors from the US - and they are en route so not optional. I would probably cut out the visit to the tile factory in Puebla and the painted wooden artefacts outside Oaxaca - these tours were quite long. and the wood carvers was full of coach parties and the products 100s of USD! I wasn't keen on the black pottery or the rug weaving either. I don't remember having so many sales visits on Exodus trips before. On the other hand, the hammock maker was very amusing and the Panama hat maker was interesting and both were short and sweet. All the hotels were clean with plentiful hot water and large comfortable beds. However many of the breakfasts were disappointing with few choices.
