The Facts
Capital: Mexico City
Currency: Peso
Time Zone: GMT -6 to -8
www.visitmexico.com
Introduction
Ruins and riches go hand in hand in Mexico where you can climb ancient Mayan pyramids or joint the glitterati in Acapulco with its bars and bay. Over 19 million people squeeze into the capital, Mexico City, which packs a few sights too, including Aztec temple ruins, UNESCO 'floating gardens' and a Historic Centre. Head out of the jostling capital and there's 10,000 km of coastline, cloud forest and emerald jungle to explore.
This is a nation that knows how to party with carnivals and fiestas a plenty, they even throw a festival for the dead. They don't let the desert get in the way of a good time either. The blue agave cactus has been cultivated to make one hell of a tequila, which makes a wild presence in party resorts like Cancún. For quieter times slip to the Sea of Cortez and Baja California where cactus studded desert mountains plunge into turquoise waters and gliding manta rays and pods of migrating orca can all be viewed from the silence of a sea kayak. On the Yucatan penisula delve deeper and discover coral reefs and sea life just as colourful and showy as the rest of the country.
Where To Go
Mexico is located in the south of the North American continent. It is bordered on the north by the United States, on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean, on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize and the Caribbean Sea and on the east by the Gulf of Mexico. Known officially as The United Mexican States the country is a federation of thirty-one states. Covering almost 2 million square kilometres Mexico is the fifth-largest country in the Americas and has the biggest Spanish-speaking population in the world.
What To Eat & Drink:
- Chile relleno or stuffed pepper originates in the city of Puebla, consisting of a roasted fresh poblano pepper stuffed with a melting cheese, such as queso Chihuahua or queso Oaxaca, and/or picadillo meat made up of diced pork, raisins, and nuts, seasoned with canella meat, covered in an egg batter, and fried. It is often served in a tomato sauce.
- Guacamole is an avocado-based relish or dip.
- Quesadillas are a flour or corn tortilla with cheese. Beef, chicken, pork may be added.
- An enchilada is a corn tortilla rolled around a filling and covered in chilli sauce. Fillings include chicken, beef and vegetable combinations.acanora is a liquor made in the Mexican state of Sonora.
- Pulque, or octli, is an alcoholic beverage made from the fermented juice of the maguey, and a popular drink of the Aztecs. Though it is commonly believed to be a beer, the main carbohydrate is a complex form of fructose rather than starch.
- Corona is a Pilsener brewed in Mexico and the country's top-selling beer.
Unmissable Mexico
5 things you really should do in Mexico
1. Get the hump
Go to Baja, Mexico's finger-like peninsula and keep your eyes peeled for migrating humpback and grey whales from January to March. Over one third of the world's dolphins and whales live in the shimmering Sea of Cortez.
www.bajawhale.com
2.Feel the spirits
Take part in the Day of the Dead festival, Los Dias de Muertos in Oaxaca. This Catholic celebration is held in the memory of deceased ancestors from November 1-2. Whilst the festival is celebrated nationwide Oxaca is renowned for hosting a ceremony with more ritual and flair than in any other town in Mexico. Despite the morbid subject matter the emphasis is on celebrating and honoring the lives of the deceased.
www.dia-de-los-muertos.com
3.Go full steam ahead
Located in Mexico's Sierra Madre Mountains, Copper Canyon is four times larger than the Grand Canyon and homeland of the cave-dwelling Tarahumara Indians, the world's greatest long-distance runners. You can explore on board one of the world's most spectacular train rides.
4.Climb some steps
Clambour up the steps of Chichen Itza's Mayan ruins in Yucatan. Go during the spring or autumn equinox and you might just catch a glimpse of its iconic serpent slithering after you. As the sun rises it can cast a particularly eerie shadow.
www.mysteriousplaces.com/mayan/TourEntrance.html
5. Be serenaded
Listen to some live Mariachi, a type of musical group, originally from Cocula, Jalisco. Usually a mariachi consists of at least three violins, two trumpets, one Mexican guitar, one vihuela (a high-pitched, five-string guitar) and one guitarrón (a small-scaled acoustic bass).
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