This was a one-week solo trip I did in December 2018. I had five days of vacation that I had to use before the end of the year and wanted to go somewhere. A friend of mine at a party recommended Mexico and I didn't really want to travel too far. I wanted somewhere relatively cheap and with good food. Mexico checked all the boxes! He had never been but said friends had gone and loved it, so I decided to look up flights in late October. Surprisingly, five weeks before the trip, flights were only ~$500 round trip. It was perfect. I hoped to spend less than $1200 for the week and I came in just about on budget for this trip!

I didn't plan anything as work was hectic, but a colleague had been there recently and loved it! She sent me her itinerary and between that, trip advisor and other people's blogs, I figured out my itinerary on the fly. I booked the first night in a hostel in Centro, Mexico City and took off!

I arrived in the mid-afternoon and picked up a local SIM card at the airport. They are dirt cheap and made life super easy. You get unlimited data and I can't imagine having spent more then $15. I was only there for a week, but I think that was the price for the full month. I decided to take the metro to the city from the airport instead of an uber to try and save some money. I would find out later that Uber was super cheap in Mexico City.

The Inauguration

I checked into my hostel and was starving. I was a little worried as there were police everywhere, dressed as if they were ready for a riot. I'm talking hockey shinpads, vests and batons but I figure that meant I'd be safer, right? Anyway, I went to this local spot recommended by some of the people at the hostel. I had some great enchiladas for my first meal, with enough hot sauces to experiment for multiple meals.

From there, I decided to walk around and take a few pictures. I was on one of the main shopping streets and so there were people everywhere.

I soon found myself immersed in a massive crowd with an ice cream cone. I realized I needed to get out of there or I would end up shoving my ice cream cone in someone's face with all the bumping and elbows going around. I found my way out and ended up walking a few blocks down to get an outside view of the crowd. It turns out it was the inauguration of the newest Mexican president: Andrés Manuel López Obrador or AMLO for short. This is why there were police everywhere. I learned later that he was bringing a lot of hope to the people. He wanted to end corruption in Mexico and was vocal about it.

I stuck around for a bit and then headed back to my hostel. I was exhausted from the long flight and needed to sleep.