My cousin Martin is about to embark, in about four weeks, on a solo two-month journey across Mexico. He’s just finishing his sophomore year at American University, where he’s majoring in Latin American Studies.
I’m going to join him for four full days in Mexico City in late June. Technically I’ve been to Mexico once before (I went on a church trip when I was in 8th grade to help build houses outside Tijuana, but that doesn’t really count) — but this will be my first real trip.
So, here’s what I want to know from you guys who’ve blazed this trail before me:
– What and where should we eat? Preferably local specialities/hangouts. (We love tacos, but eat everything.)
– What should we see? Aztec sites? A Pumas match? Palace of Fine Arts? Local markets? (I love markets!)
– Know anyone we can stay with? We’re quiet folks who love to kick back and cook a good meal. We don’t smoke or drink heavily or anything like that, but could enjoy a beer or three. We wouldn’t need much more than a blanket and some floor space. (I’ve already got an email out on CouchSurfing.)
Given that Martin’s going to have a bit more time before me, how would you spend two months in Mexico, ideally seeing as much of the country as possible, but not at a breakneck pace?
I was thinking that he fly from his home base of Hartford to San Antonio on Southwest ($100), then hop a bus from San Antonio to Monterrey ($30), and then bounce down the Gulf Coast for awhile, swing over to the Yucatan, meet me in Mexico City, slide over to the Pacific Coast (Manzanillo?), hop a ferry to Baja, and then roll up to Tijuana.
Then, because he wants to come visit me, my brother and grandparents here in the Bay Area, he can ride the bus to San Diego, take a train to LA to visit my parents, then fly up to Oakland. Then from here he can hop a JetBlue or a Southwest back to Hartford sometime in August.
Thoughts?
