Traveling in Magnificent Mexico

     Me and my husband Jeff live in New Mexico, and up until Covid plagued countries nationwide, our travels were put on hiatus, and we didn’t know how long it would last. What we ended up discovering during this time was that Mexico was open for traveling, with a few minor contingencies of course. Although many people have tried to dissuade us from traveling to this country due to certain areas being particularly high in crime, we still wanted to travel to Mexico. I wanted to write this post in hopes of shedding some light about traveling to this beautiful destination. Sadly, Mexico gets a bad rap, and it’s such a shame. The key to traveling safely is by doing research and learning which states in Mexico are the safest. To be honest, there really are no guarantees that you won’t get hassled on the streets but playing it cool and going about your business is the best way to avoid any potential problems. Once you get past that, you will notice a beautiful country with breathtaking scenery and indigenous locals.

     Mexico not only has friendly locals, but also a wide array of authentic Mexican food.  Traveling to this country has even inspired me to become a more authentic cook.  Since I happily abandoned my vegetarian lifestyle, I’ve learned to appreciate mouth-watering tacos de pollo, which are chicken tacos.  In fact, it’s personally one of the favorite dishes.  When we’re in El Fuerte, Sinaloa, another favorite is the tostada de pescado.  Most of the time, we try to eat the local street food which is not only cheap, but is delicious as well. 

     One of my main priorities while traveling in Mexico is learning Spanish.  It will probably take me years to become fluent, but I’m slowly getting better, thanks to language apps like Babbel and Duolingo.  Of course, the best way to learn is simply by practicing and speaking with the locals.  In a pinch, Google Translate also helps me out when I’m trying to carry on a good conversation.  The more we travel to Mexico, the more inspired I am to learn the language and become proficient at it.  Of course, learning Spanish has had its share of comical moments, such as making small talk in Spanish, under the assumption that the couple I spoke to didn’t understand English.  I said buenas noches, which means goodnight in Spanish, and instead of saying it back in their native language, they said good night in English.  Then we all started busting up laughing. 

     There is something that Jeff and I have discovered about Mexican culture, and that is their love of ice cream.  Every culture has their favorite indulgence, and in Mexico, it’s the ice cream.  I personally think it takes the lead over tequila.  Unlike tequila, ice cream won’t give me a hangover.  I avoid hard liquor like the plague, because my body rejects it.  I will stick to the ice cream.  Another thing locals love to do is dance to music in the plaza.  I can really appreciate their simpler way of life.  It reminds me of how things were when we were younger.  Mexico also has these cute little party trains for tourists to ride around while they listen to music. One of them is called the Chepita Express.  Some of the trains even have dancing poles.  One classic scene we saw while we were in Creel was a group of local bikers riding one of these trains.  They ride motorcycles across the country, and seeing them on these trains enjoying their beer and riding around town was the cutest thing we ever saw.  I love how they didn’t think they were too cool to have that kind of fun.

     I hope you enjoyed my post about Magnificent Mexico.