Mexico is my love and one of the most exciting countries I have traveled. In total I have spend nearly one year in this amazing country. Since I started my world trip in 2015 I have spend more than 3 months there. Why did I return and spend so much time in Mexico?
Dangerous Mexico
Frequently the media reports about criminal statistics and mortality rates going higher every year. Many travelers get influenced and avoid visiting.
But how are the mexicans really and is it everywhere in Mexico dangerous?
little boy guarding his parents sales stand
For sure the drug war is a constant topic, everybody in Mexico talks about this and it is definetly one of the tasks this country has to overcome. The reality is that you are going to change your behaviour while traveling through Mexico.
Move safely
Especially when visiting Mexico City or other big cities your are going to think about what you are carrying on you. And you will have to ask yourself what you really need for the day.
One of the most important briefings I got from my mexican friends!
ugly and beatiful at the same time: Mexico City
Dont carry a watch, dont use a purse and hide your expensive necklace and bracelet or better dont put them on. During a 4 months stay in Mexico City I visited the UNAM (University of Mexico City) to take part in a spanish course, I have experienced that you only carry the money with you that you need for the day.
Walking around with a backpack especially when using public transportation is not really a good idea.
visiting the aztec site Teotihuacan close to Mexico City
For example my books and learning materials I always carried in my hands. Like this everybody can see what you have and potential thiefs will not ask themselfes what you could have inside your backpack.
Get in tough with locals
Mexicans are a very proud nation and love to show and teach you about their impressive culture. Besides the great nature and an unbelivable big amount of historic places its just an amazing country with awesome people who still have the love for humans inside them. And if you open yourself for the mexican culture and start to learn about habits and conventions you are going to have access to a completely new world.
enjoying Palenque with mexican friends
From the very beginning of my mexican travel experience I started to build up friendships and serious relations with locals.
This opened possibilities for me that you never could experience as a tourist. As someone who lived most of his life in Europe I had to a adapt my habits to be able to come along in Mexico.
Sharing everything
First that sounds weird, because I was raised in a western society where egoisms and individualism is the religion. There is no: thats mine in Mexico! We are friends so we share everything!
mexican couple celebrating dia de los muertos: day of the deads
When I learned to relax in these situations, I started to have one of the most valuebale times of my life!
beautiful sunset at Rio Lagartos
And yes for a german thats not that easy but I am so happy to have done this personal process of sharing. However if you want to be friends with mexicans you are going to know about differences of real friendships.
Historic places
All over the country you can visit archaeological sites and formerly I used to think about temples as boring places. When I learned more details and stories from my mexican friends about their culture and history, the pyramids and temples turned into the most fascinating places for me and I couldnt stop visiting mayan and aztec sites. Everybody knows Chitchen Itza and for mexico travelers it is one of the priorities to go there. Even if Chitchen Itza is a great place I can really recommend to visit as many temples and sites as you can.
not so popular, but amazing: mayan site Ek Balam
In almost one year traveling through mexico I have done more than 15 different ruins and I still have the feeling that I want to do more of them.
Once you start you can not stop! In one of my clips I have summarized my visits in the mayan world. However the mayan world spreads also on Guatemala, Belize and parts of Honduras.
Mayan Underworld
Because diving is one of my most favorite activities, I also did many dives on the pacific ocean (Oaxaca) and the caribbean of mexico. Did you hear about cenotes in Yucatan (south of mexico)? For sure you heared about it!
It is the biggest underground river system in our world!
And for the mayans these cenotes are sacred places and one of the connections to the underworld. Almost in every trip I did to Mexico I visited different cenotes and swam and dove inside them. Cristal clear and fresh water is playing with the shining light of the sun and when going inside the cave system you are entering this underworld of the maya. Therefore the caves are filled with stalagtites and stalagmites, sometimes grown together to a huge pilar.
entry to the underworld: a mayan cenote
A visit in this different world gets you back to your own connection with god and the universe!
Stay healthy
When I started to travel Mexico 10 years ago I had no task to eat healthy. My only focus was to try all the new foods and enjoy the great mexican cuisine.
drinking healthy and fresh pressed juices
But honestly now I think and act different!
Yes, the mexicans have exeptional food and they have their reasons to be proud of it. But I had to learn that mexican food isnt always that healthy! A lot of meat, many fried things and too much industrialized sugars are nearly everywhere. And I am not talking about all the fast food that is spread all over the country. It is obvoius that many people in Mexico have serious issues due to the unhealthy food that is available everywhere. But in the same time the mexicans have so many great vegetables and fruits.
one of the most impressive mayan sites deep inside the jungle: Yaxchilan
Coming back to Mexico was a little difficult for me, because I was scared to fall back into some of my old bad habits.
But when I opened my eyes for the healthy stuff I realized that its so easy to maintain almost all my healthy food habits. Wherever you are you can get fresh pressed juices (take care for added sugars), smoothies and lots of salads. In conclusion it is the every days choice you make on your own. And everywhere there is healthy and good food. After I teached myself to maintain my healthy habits, it is so easy to make good choices while traveling through Mexico.
You want to know more about my healthy food habits? Check out my posts about some of my food inspirations:
https://wahhoud.de/food-inspiration-juices/
https://wahhoud.de/food-inspiration-smoothies/
If you want to try out my most favorite recipes that helped me to get my health back on track, get your free E-Book here:
My E-Book “3+1 Power Recipes” is now available for downloading on this website. All you need to do is to subscribe with your E-Mail below this post down here or in the side bar.
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Then you have to confirm an E-Mail you will receive from Traveling Adventures. After that you will be directed to a Welcome page with more details about my personal change. There you can download your free version of my E-Book 3+1 Power Recipes in german or english.
Have fun and hope to C U again on Traveling Adventures!
Lui