The Surprising Allure of Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico (B)

You know sometimes you go to a place, not quite sure what to expect but willing to give it a go anyway?

You get there and you’re quietly impressed. It all functions just a little bit more easily than you thought it might, the people are that bit friendlier than you expected. Not that you had any real expectations, at least, you didn’t think you did. But now that you’re there, you kind of realise, maybe you did.

I turned up in Mexico to host a tour with Two’s a Crowd. The tour was sandwiched between a South American tour – think Peru, Bolivia and Ecuador– and Cuba.

Mexico was up against some amazing experiences, Machu Picchu, the Amazon jungle, the Galapagos Islands and then, well, you know, CUBA. How could it possibly compete?

But here’s the thing about Mexico. Somehow it quietly gets under your skin. And when I say quietly, I actually mean at high volume. Our guide, Balam, warned me at the start of our tour that the country seems to be on steroids, everything is over the top – he said. From the music, to the colours and the street odours and the food spices, everything is turned up a notch. ...... (follow the instructions below for accessing the rest of this article).