Finally, I'm excited to share with you my favorite thing - from this moment I am starting to write about our adventure to the country of cacti, tequila, sombrero, and, of course - ancient Indian civilizations - Mexico!
To see all the sights of this huge and culturally rich country, even one year isn’t enough. We had only three weeks, and we tried to take the trip to the maximum.
Our rote:
Mexico City - Ancient City Teotihuacan - Chihuahua - Copper Canyon - Los Mochis - Puebla - Veracruz - Villahermosa - Palenque - Yashchilan - Gulf of Mexico - Campeche - Uxmal - Merida - Chichen Itza - Riviera Maya.
The journey began:
We left Kiev early in the morning. 4 hours to Amsterdam, one-hour transfer to the KLM airlines, and then 12 hours to Mexico City. The longest light-day in my life) Race against the sun – incredible feelings! The flight trajectory kept the mainland - from Alaska and to Florida.
Of all the in-flight entertainments, my favorite is a navigation map, showing the current location, height and speed indicators.
You feel like a tiny electron, with incredible speed moving in space!
The sky was clear and I watched as the snow-covered steppes of Canada melted and changed to the landscapes of the southern states ..
Close to Mexico, a ridge of mountain ranges of Sierra Madre appeared, covered in haze - the Mexican prolongation of the Cordillera.
When it was already deep night in Ukraine, we finally caught up with the sunset over Mexico City.
First of all, I’d like start with some interesting historical facts and cultural peculiarities of the country:
1 The first thing that impresses not olnly at the airport, but in every city - is a lot of police with carrying weapons in their hands. After all, it's no secret that Mexico is among the top ten criminal countries of the world. However, there is only one shop, where locals can legally buy weapons! Most of the firearms are illegally imported from the United States.
2 Mexico City International Airport has very funny and weird baggage control system - Wheel of Fortune called "The traffic light lottery ". You press on the button, if the green light turns on – Welcome to the Mexico city!, if the red one turns - be ready for thorough examination of your bags. We got Lucky)
3 Mexico is the most "working" country in the world - the average citizen works 2,446 hours a year or 43.2 hours a week. Only Costa Rica, South Korea, Greece and Chile can compete with it in that matter.
4 One of the national symbols of the country is a female skeleton, dressed in an elegant dress with a hat, which can be seen near cafes and restaurants, on advertising posters, illustrations and souvenirs. Her image was first created by the artist Guadalupe Posada. Later, his student Diego Rivera (Frida Kahlo lover) created his interpretation and gave her name La Katrina. Initially, the artist depicted the image of a woman who was ashamed of her Latin origins, that was dressing in French manners and trying to make her skin lighter with tons of makeup. Today Katrina is a cult image in the Mexican culture and a traditional character on the national holiday - the Day of the Dead, that shows the Mexicans' attitude toward death.
5 In Mexico, the Government has officially accepted 68 languages! However, 90% of the population speaks Mexican Spanish, and less than 10% are native speakers of the pre-colonial period. Despite the fact, that English is the second popular language, we found complete . International English is not in vogue there, even at the in a hotel in the center of the Mexico city, and my poor knowledge of Spanish helped me, perhaps, only to understand the inscriptions on the doors of the toilet.
6 Mexico City is built on the lake and is constantly sinking. Over the past 100 years, the city has fallen by 9 meters, because of the fast-growing population is constantly pumping lake water.
Despite the fact that building a big city literally on the water is not the easiest solution, there is a logical explanation for this. Mexico City is based on the ruins of the ancient city of the Aztec Tenochtitlan.
According to legend,the god indicated their new home with a sign in the place where an eagle sitting on a cactus and holding a snake in its beak. For 200 years the Aztecs wandered before the prediction came true, then they built the city on the place of the present capital. This legend formed the basis of the design of the national flag.
7 Mexican men are incredibly demanding in their appearance. Apparently, for the same reason, the Mexican city of Torreon, imposed fines on shaving an electric razor while driving. :) Despite the heat at 30 °, men wear strict formal suits. Shoe cleaners are the main businessmen in Mexico City.
8 That was actually my first time I saw funny device called "Child Leashes". So it's a common thing there. You can buy it everywhere - great variety of a color and size. Leashes paradise!
Hola @evstigneeva-ann, upv0t3
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