After nearly eight months in South America, stepping off the plane in Mexico City felt like entering a different world. Taking the metro we made our way across the city, resurfacing in the lovely neighbourhood of Polanco, our home for the next week.
13-20 July.
The city was buzzing, not only with its usual energy, but with the excitement of hosting the FIFA World Cup . Everywhere we looked were jerseys, flags, fan zones and an atmosphere that seemed to pull everyone into the celebration.
This time everything went exactly to plan. Here’s how we spent a week in beautiful Mexico City.
After the stress of shipping the truck and saying goodbye to Colombia, it was wonderful to settle into a lovely apartment , with a teal velour couch and simply spend the evening together watching a movie.
POLANCO
Polanco reminded us a little of Vancouver. Tree-lined streets, fresh air, cooler temperatures and parks full of people walking dogs, jogging or enjoying a coffee outside.
After months of weaving through motorcycles and unpredictable traffic, we found ourselves surrounded by big cars that actually stopped for pedestrians. English was spoken almost everywhere, there was virtually no litter, and for the first time in a long while we could simply walk wherever we wanted.
It felt weird, yet wonderfully familiar.
CHAPULTEPEC PARK & CASTLE
We visited Chapultepec Park, one of the largest urban parks in North America. Rising above the trees is Chapultepec Castle, perched on the hill whose Nahuatl name means “Hill of the Grasshopper.”
For more than 3,000 years, Chapultepec Hill has been a place of great significance. Once a sacred retreat for Aztec rulers, the castle that crowns the hill was built in the late 1700s as a grand residence. It later became the only castle in North America to house an emperor, serving as the home of Emperor Maximilian I and Empress Carlota. Over the years, it also served as a military academy and the official residence of several Mexican presidents.
Today, Castillo de Chapultepec is home to Mexico’s National Museum of History, where beautifully preserved rooms, murals, paintings and historic artefacts bring the country’s fascinating past to life. The views from the balconies are spectacular, stretching across the park and out over one of the world’s largest cities.
LUCHA LIBRE – MEXICAN WRESTLING
No visit to Mexico City would be complete without going to a wrestling match. Not really my thing, but everyone says it’s a ‘must do’ and very entertaining. So we booked tickets online and rode the subway across the city. We knew we were getting close when we could see lots of people dressed up in capes and masks.
Outside Arena México, the streets were packed with vendors selling colourful wrestling masks while fans of every age proudly wore them as they streamed inside. Starting on time, it was quite the production with all the showmanship you could imagine. The audience wasn’t just watching the action—we were part of it!
Everyone cheered wildly for the técnicos (the heroes), booed the rudos (the villains), laughed, chanted and reacted to every spectacular flip, flying leap and body slam.
Even the women’s match was incredible. Their strength, athleticism and fearless high-flying moves had the entire arena on its feet. The lighting, music and drama—it was all there. From the opening bell, we were completely captivated. It wasn’t just wrestling. It was theatre, sport, culture and entertainment all rolled into one.
ANTHROPOLOGY MUSEUM
Arriving just after 9 a.m., aiming to beat the crowds, we still found a line up, thankfully only 5 mins long. Entry fee was just for Tim and I, the kids entered free! A pleasant surprise as each country in South America charges a ‘tourist tax’ which can often be 4-5x higher.
Even before stepping inside, we were impressed with the architecture. Built around a vast courtyard beneath its iconic floating concrete canopy and water fountain, the museum is every bit as remarkable as the priceless treasures it contains. We spent hours wandering through galleries showcasing thousands of years of Mexico’s history.
As usual, Charley and Jaxon approached another museum with about as much enthusiasm as a wet cat. But we dragged them in anyway — and this was no ordinary museum. Beautifully laid out and incredibly engaging, it was fun watching their expressions change as they suddenly recognized artefacts they had studied during the past school year. Seeing Lucy, one of humanity’s earliest known ancestors, and standing face-to-face with the colossal Olmec stone heads transformed what had once been textbook lessons into something tangible and real.
We spent the rest of the morning wandering through the massive halls, taking in literally hundreds of stone carvings. In particular, the Piedra del Sol – Sun Stone, carved from a massive 24-ton piece of basalt in the 1400s. This giant stone reflects the Aztec understanding of time and the universe, and their deep connection between astronomy and spirituality. Discovered in 1790, it had been buried beneath the main plaza in Mexico City for centuries.
ANNIE LEIBOVITZ EXHIBIT
The museum was also hosting a special exhibition by legendary photographer Annie Leibovitz, whose striking portraits of world leaders, actors, musicians and athletes reminded us how a single photograph can tell an entire story.
Rather than retracing our steps afterwards, we wandered home through unfamiliar streets, discovering another corner of this fascinating city before settling in for an afternoon dedicated to something every long-term traveller knows only too well…
TRAVEL ADMIN
For weeks, I’d been worrying about our Mexican Temporary Import Permit (TIP) and the fact that we didn’t have the actual document in our possession — something I’d accidentally left at home before we left. Entering Mexico without it caused a few headaches, and now, with the stricter rules around shipping, I’d been stressing about the possibility of them holding our vehicle.
Then, this morning, by a stroke of pure luck (or maybe my guardian angel looking out for me), I discovered a scanned copy of the certificate buried deep inside an email from 2019. I can’t describe the excitement and relief I felt. I immediately forwarded it to our shipping agent.
Phew!!
We had entered Mexico relying only on the official permit sticker attached to the windscreen. While that sticker is the actual permit, the scanned paperwork is an important record for re-entering Mexico and cancelling the permit when leaving the country.
I had even emailed Banjercito weeks earlier requesting another copy, but never received a response. Finding that forgotten email honestly felt like winning the lottery.
Next on my to-do list was contacting our bank, as both of our Visa cards had mysteriously been locked. My first call didn’t go well—I failed the security questions and was told I’d need to do a video call two days later to verify my identity.
The problem? The video call required my eSIM phone… which had run out of credit… and I needed the locked credit card to buy more credit.
You couldn’t make it up! Phew🤣
Thankfully, another attempt through the bank’s live chat sorted everything out before the situation became any more ridiculous.
Finally, we needed to figure out how to get to Veracruz. Fly or catch the bus?
Then came more welcome news, Bruce wouldn’t be released until Tuesday, which meant we could stay an extra day in the cooler, more comfortable Mexico City, and didn’t have to change apartments.
FIFA WORLD CUP 2026
Of course, with the World Cup in full swing, we couldn’t leave without joining thousands of football fans. Over two afternoons, we found ourselves in the city’s central plaza, surrounded by enormous crowds dressed in the colours of Mexico, Argentina and Spain. The atmosphere was electric. People sang, chanted, waved flags and celebrated every moment together.
The blazing afternoon sun eventually gave way to towering thunderclouds that drenched everyone. Most people ran for cover, while the four of us huddled beneath our newly purchased umbrella, which was useful for both sun and rain.
The next day, we were back again, joining an even larger crowd to watch the final. We stood for three hours in the full sun, but our umbrella was useless as there were simply too many people.
One thing that impressed us throughout our stay was Mexico City’s Metro. It was clean, efficient and incredibly cheap, making it easy to get around this huge city. More importantly, we never once felt unsafe. Even with thousands of people packed into the stations and trains, there was a calm, orderly atmosphere that made it feel like a safe and easy way to travel around the city.
Eventually it was time to leave. Before taking the metro one last time we left the apartment and made our way across the city to board a comfortable coach bound for Veracruz. Our shipping agent is unable to give us a pick up date, so we just have to be there and wait for the process to begin.
The mountain air was replaced by tropical heat and humidity as we descended to the Gulf Coast.
One Response
Earthquake in Columbia–45 fatalities –BC under fire alert–an interior town —summerland–under evacuation order –might be half burned down. Meanwhile our Prime Minister vacations in Italy–most of us are pissed.
sorry for the bad news