Finding Magic in Mexico

How far would you go to visit a dream destination? It seems surreal now, sitting in our living room with the suitcases unpacked, to think that we’ve spent the past two weeks in Mexico. Just a few nights ago, Bama and I completed a marathon two-day slog that began halfway across the world. My seatmate on the 16.5-hour flight between Mexico City and Istanbul (with a stopover in Cancún) couldn’t believe we were in Istanbul for a 16-hour layover before the 12-hour flight back to Jakarta. “That is such a long journey,” she exclaimed in wide-eyed shock. “¡Qué horror!”

I replied that Mexico was worth it. Twenty-eight hours in a confined economy class seat was an inescapable price to pay for this milestone trip: the occasion marked Bama’s first time setting foot on the Western Hemisphere and also our first-ever foray into Latin America. This year, the stars aligned to make things happen. Online research suggested that weather-wise, one of the best times to visit Mexico coincided with an extended public holiday in Indonesia. Taking another six or seven days off would give us a vacation of roughly two and a half weeks, the longest our work commitments would allow for. And Turkish Airlines was offering tickets at a third of the cost of going via Japan.

For me, traveling to Mexico was the realization of a childhood dream. I fondly remember Saturday nights parked in front of the TV with my dad and older brother, watching National Geographic documentaries on the ancient Maya civilization that once thrived across Mesoamerica. I admired these advanced societies that built the magnificent cities we now call Palenque, Tikal, Uxmal, Copán, and Chichén Itzá. During my early teens, I borrowed history books about the Maya from the school library and meticulously copied glyphs by hand. If my memory serves me right, some of the inscriptions I drew were from Palenque, and the idea of walking among its ancient pyramids and royal buildings shrouded in tropical jungle sounded magical.

So, I knew we simply had to make the detour to Chiapas — Mexico’s southernmost state — for several days in Palenque. Before going, we managed to figure out overland transportation from Villahermosa airport and then onward to Mérida, the Yucatán state capital and a place we truly enjoyed despite it being a sweltering 40°C (104°F) at midday. Bama was most looking forward to Uxmal (just over an hour’s drive from Mérida) for its unique architectural style; together with a handful of smaller sites down the road, it makes up what’s known as the Puuc Route.

A replica of a mural found at Teotihuacan’s Temple of Agriculture

Entering the Ex-Convent of San Antonio de Padua in Izamal, Yucatán

Sopes de Cochito Chiapaneco (Chiapas pot-roasted pork on fried masa) in Palenque

Amid the ruins of Palenque — my favorite Maya site in Mexico

On board the Tren Maya from Palenque to Mérida

We bookended the trip with a couple days in Mexico City: first to see the National Museum of Anthropology for a primer on the archaeological sites we were going to visit, then to get a feel for the sprawling and energetic capital of this colorful nation. Bama and I had just enough time for an afternoon at the awe-inspiring ancient city of Teotihuacan, an hour to the northeast by car.

Adding to the excitement was the novelty of savoring regional Mexican dishes and ingredients we’d never get back home in Jakarta. Bama and I sampled three kinds of mole; munched on nopales (prickly pear cactus), first sliced up in a salad and then stuffed with chicken and stringy cheese; and feasted on Yucatecan favorites like queso relleno (meat-stuffed edam cheese) and the pit oven–cooked pork dish cochinita pibil. I took an immense liking to the ubiquitous “refried” pinto beans served at breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Being adventurous eaters, we did not shy away from insect-based proteins like escamoles (ant eggs) or zatz (cicada larvae) or chapulines (Sphenarium grasshoppers).

Longtime followers of our blogs will know that we have a soft spot for food history, and it was pretty special to taste chocolate, chilies, avocado, and corn-based foodstuffs in the part of the world where they originated. What also struck us was the familiar range of tropical fruits commonly found in Indonesia, including soursop, guava, and passion fruit. Alongside other New World ingredients like potatoes, tomatoes, peanuts, and corn, all three were introduced to Asia by Portuguese and Spanish traders in the 16th and 17th centuries. At the same time, Mexico’s indigenous chocolate-making tradition was transferred across the Pacific to the Philippines through the Manila–Acapulco galleon trade, and in return, luscious Philippine mangoes were brought to Mexico. The culinary links between Southeast Asia and Mesoamerica run much deeper than most people realize.

Traveling to Mexico was a rare opportunity for me to brush up on the Spanish I learned 15 years ago in Salamanca, Spain, when this blog was still in its infancy. Lingering doubts about the state of my rusty español had all but evaporated by the third day of our trip. I was surprised at how quickly my vocabulary returned, and how much I could still speak and read and understand. It came in handy for decoding menus and ordering food at street stalls and restaurants, buying tickets and transit cards, navigating the intercity ADO buses, and checking in for our domestic flights with Aeromexico. My decent grasp of conversational Spanish also gave us the chance to foster a brief connection with taxi drivers, shop clerks, and restaurant servers we encountered along the way. Bama and I found an unexpected new friend in Abdiel, the fatherly Cuban driver who ended up taking us on day-long excursions around the state of Yucatán.

After spending 13 days in Mexico, I’m envious that readers in the United States and Canada have such a unique and remarkable country on their doorstep. I now understand why a culture-minded uncle and aunt in Toronto have recently taken longer vacations there to escape the Canadian winter. Mexico City is five hours by air from Toronto — exactly the same flight time between Hong Kong and Jakarta or Bali. If Mexico were that close to us, I’m sure we’d go at least once every two years. ◊

Swimmers taking a dip in the waters of Yokdzonot Cenote, Yucatán

A dessert and ice cream shop in a converted railcar at Mérida’s new La Plancha Park

Distinctive Puuc-style reliefs at the Quadrangle of the Nuns in Uxmal

Our first meal in Mexico, enjoyed at a Oaxacan restaurant in downtown Mexico City

Jacaranda trees in bloom along Mexico City’s Avenida Juárez