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DebConf6 - Fun in .mx

There are plans to travel around in .mx around DebConf6, as many of us have a long way to go there, so we could use that for more than only DebConf6. If you are interested to join add your name below. The trip is planned to be right after DebConf. See http://lists.debconf.org/lurker/message/20060106.195759.eb272555.en.html and now, more recent: http://lists.debconf.org/lurker/message/20060202.231009.8d1e21dc.en.html

*new* - Oaxaca: http://lists.debconf.org/lurker/message/20060211.171743.e5e32a02.en.html

Participants

*AFTER* Debconf!

Currently most people plan to travel around after Debconf. http://wiki.debian.org/MatejVela

Planning the trip

This section is meant to help forming groups and deciding what to really to. Below is the list of people repeated, sorted on their departure date and very shortly the destinations and kind of trip you're interested in.

When you decide to travel alone, please move the line with your name to the table below the "traveling alone" caption.

When you form a group and decide where you're going, please take your names out of this table and create a separate table below the "groups" caption containing just the members of your group and your initial destination.

Next meeting is Friday 21:00.

Traveling alone

Groups

Initial destination:

Before Debconf

Some people have time to spare for a trip before Debconf, but not after.

Random Information

Before anything else: Mexico has a fame of violence, of being a crime-prone country. This fame is overrated, it is quite safe to be mostly anywhere, as long as you keep your eyes open. An important advise is to try to arrange to travel along somebody who speaks Spanish, specially if you go to smaller towns, as few people will understand English - In any case, you can get along with a very basic phrasebook... But try to convince Spanish speakers to tag along your trip.

Please note that Mexico is a very large country - Almost two million square kilometers. It is also a very varied country, with enough things to please practically everybody (module those looking for a good place to ski). And of course, the following recommendations mainly follow what I have seen - I (GunnarWolf) am far more familiar with Central and Southern Mexico than the Northern and Western parts. Doing an arbitrary split of the country:

• Mexico City: It's not (just) because I live here - but if you want to do some tourism in Mexico, you simply cannot miss Mexico City. Here you will find everything you want - Museums, colonial and prehispanic architecture, modern city life... Even some adventure if you go to the not-so-tourist friendly regions Some great aereal pictures of Mexico City

• Colonial architecture: You have beautiful samples of colonial architecture all over the country, but IMHO the best exponents would be cities in Central and Central Northern Mexico:

  • Querétaro

  • Guanajuato

  • Morelia

  • San Luis Potosí

  • Zacatecas)

  You can easily spend a day at each of them, and they are roughly two hours away from each other in order (being Querétaro roughly two hours north of Mexico City)

  • Puebla has also some impressive buildings, and is much closer to Oaxtepec (about two hours north of neighbouring Cuautla).

  • Oaxaca deserves a very special mention as well, but is a bit farther away, ~5 hours South-East of Puebla. More info: http://lists.debconf.org/lurker/message/20060211.171743.e5e32a02.en.html

• Archeological sites: You will not find Mexico's reach archeological past just about anywhere. If you are interested in prehispanic ruins, feel lucky, as in Morelos state there are many such places, mainly of Aztec origin:

  • Xochicalco (another link, in Spanish, one of the most important archeological sites in Mexico, and the top one in Morelos. About 45 minutes away from Oaxtepec.

  • The neighbouring town of Tepoztlán, charming by itself, sits at the bottom of the Tepozteco mountain. You can walk from Tepoztlán up about one hour, and you will reach the Tepoztlán pyramid. But if you dare go beyond Morelos state:

  • Teotihuacán is Mexico's probably best known and preserved archeologcal city, just by the North-Eastern edge of Mexico City.

  • Close to Teotihuacán, Tula is also impressive, built by the still misterious Toltec culture.

  • Of course, if you go to Oaxaca, you will go to Monte Albán, practically inside the Oaxaca metropolitan zone

  • Also in Oaxaca, the amazing Mitla, ~2hr west from Oaxaca city

  If you are really serious about archeology, you will be truly amazed if you reach the Mayan South-Eastern Mexico, maybe even reach to Guatemala - Mayan culture and architecture are completely different from other meso-american ones. It's a long way - From Mexico City to Chiapas, where you will find the first such sites, it's over 16 hours by bus. In Oaxaca and Chiapas you will find so much cultural and natural richness you will want to spend a longer time there. But once there:

  • Palenque is by itself the reward for such a trip

  • Don't overlook La Venta in Tabasco, of the mysterious Olmec culture.

  And further to the East, in Yucatán (~8hr after Chiapas by bus - Think about using a plane, please!):

  • Chichen Itzá and Uxmal are plain breathtaking - Very large and beautiful structures in the middle of the very thick jungle.

  • And not much farther to the East, in Quintana Roo (near Cancún, see beaches) you will find yet another site famous for being simply incredible, and that I have yet to know: Tulum.

  Oh, and by the way: If you can only afford to be a tourist in the Mexico City area and are interested in archeology, don't miss the Museo Nacional de Antropología. It's big. It's huge. It's very well done and complete. It's too tiring for some people, though.

• Beaches: We are surrounded beaches. Mexican beaches have great warm water (not unlike the Mediterranean beaches, to give as a parameter). The landscape around most of them (except for the arid Northwest - Baja California, Sonora and part of Sinaloa) is incredibly green, quite humid, maybe even too hot for some people's taste... But hey, there is a reason our beaches are so famed in the world

  • The closest beach we have from Oaxtepec is ~3.5 hour to the South, is the world-famous Acapulco, a beautiful bay with all the tourist infrastructure you can imagine - unfortunately, it also hass all the tourists you can imagine, so if you are looking for a calm beach, that's not for you.

  • All of Guerrero state, just south of Morelos, is famous for its various beaches, most of them really less crowded than Acapulco. Among them, I know only a few:

  • Ixtapa Zihuatanejo is 180 Km west of Acapulco.

  • I have nice memories of a little known place between the two called Papanoa, a small and simple hotel with a beautiful beach.

  You will probably find many such places if you travel along the Guerrero coast. Beaches in Oaxaca, to the East of Guerrero, are also famous. If you go there, note that the best route is probably not going through Guerrero and then eastwards, as both states sit on the Sierra Madre del Sur mountain range, and roads are not very good - Go instead North-east to Puebla, then East to Tehuacán, then South-East to Oaxaca, and from there South to the coast. In Oaxaca you will find beautiful spots as:

  • Huatulco (apt for those looking for a beautiful place with all the amenities - a top tourist resort)

  • Puerto Escondido which, although far more developed than some decades ago, is still more known as a genuine spot

  • Nudist and hedonist Zipolite.

  Now, the most famous beach in the country is quite far, in the Eastern end of the country (over 20 hours by bus, don't try it, you want to fly there): The Mayan rivera, with touristic destinations ranging from the suntuous and over-sanitized to the small and genuine.

  • Cancún, with beautiful, clean, white sand and amazing turquoise sea. Cancún is the most visited and famous vacation spot

  • Isla Mujeres

  • Playa del Cármen

  • Cozumel

• Nature: Did I mention I love this country? There are plainly too many places to list - This list is necessarily too short. I know only some spots in Mexico. I'm mentioning first places in the area, then only the most famous places in the rest of Mexico.

  • Tepoztlán sits at the bottom of Tepozteco - literally, the broken mountain. I just love looking at it. And it is just around the corner. Of course, you can go up the Tepozteco and have a great view of Morelos state.

  • If you are a mountain person, you will be delighted to know we are reasonably close to Popocatépetl (smoking mountain) and Iztaccíhuatl (sleeping woman or white woman), mountains dividing Mexico, Puebla and Morelos states. The Popocatépetl is closed to the public as it has entered (over 10 years ago) an active phase, and sadly its glaciars have melted, but you can go up Iztaccíhuatl, Mexico's third highest mountain, with 5230 meters above sea level.

  • The Cacahuamilpa Grottos (Cacahuamilpa, other link) are a series of underground galleries, starting very near Taxco, over 1hr south of Oaxtepec, in which anybody can enter with a guided tour, and where speleologists can continue for hours, eventually surfacing at Grutas de la Estrella. Incredible stone formations.

  • Go North-West all the way to Los Mochis, Sinaloa, maybe stopping for a day or two at the beach in Mazatlán or San Blas - Beware: If you go by land, it is over 20 hour ride. But once there, you can take the famous train to Chihuahua through Barranca del Cobre (Copper Canyon). Go further down this page for Christian Perrier's description of this trip.

  • If you plan on going to the South-East, Chiapas has it all. 40 km from its capital, Tuxtla Gutiérrez, lies Cañón del Sumidero. Official cañón del sumidero site

    • In Chiapas as well, near the Guatemala border, the Montebello lagoons are probably Mexico's most beautiful lake areas, originally cenotes, with intense blue, violet and esmerald colors

    • Agua Azul waterfalls, near Palenque, are widely regarded as very beautiful. I cannot but recommend them to you as well.

• Adventure:

  • Although not a really a natural attraction (as it is an artificial lake), Tequesquitengo lake, near the small city of Jojutla, is an important destination for those looking for water sports. There is an underwater village whose church is known to be worthy, but it is not a place apt for beginners - Record of the descent to the Tequesquitengo lake, in Spanish.

  • You can get to know in a very different way Mexico City and Morelos state: By flying over them!.

  • In the Tequesquitengo and Cuautla areas there are some skydiving groups - Ask us and we will give you more information (I got 404s only right now :-/ )

  • There is a well known group for rafting in Veracruz, starting near the Filobobos archeologic zone

Some maps and other links

• General Mexico map Morelos State is just South of Mexico City (look for Cuernavaca)

• Morelos State Oaxtepec is located close to Yautepec, towards Cuautla

• Morelos State, split in smaller maps, but more detailed

• Map of roads

• Airports in Mexico Not complete (I know of at least one missing national airport), but might be useful

• Weather in Oaxtepec... well, is from Cuernavaca, but is the nearest city. Another weather site with Cuernavaca

• Climates in Mexico, so you know where to expect what

• Morelos Travel Morelos Tourism Board

• Mexico Tourism Board

• General information for tourism in Mexico, Secretaría de Relaciones Exteriores

• Ancient Mexico, with information on most of the main archeological sites http://www.visitmexico.com/wb/Visitmexico/Visi_Home

Copper Canyon and the Chihuahua al Pacifico (Chepe) train

From ChristianPerrier:

I originally intended a short trip in Northern Mexico before Debconf. This unfortunately will not be possible but I can recommend it to people who love the beauties of canyons and mountains.

You can travel north up to Los Mochis, or even better, fly to Los Mochis when coming from your place. From there (nothign really worth visiting), take the Chepe train to Chihuahua. The trip is one full day long. You can also go by bus to El Fuerte, then take the train from there.

An alternative is stopping at Creel on the trip. Creel in in the middle of the Copper Canyon scenery. You can spend a day there and then catch the train, the next day, up to Chihuahua.

From there, continue by train to Chihuahua and enjoy the city. Going back to Mexico City, eventually stopping at Guadalajara, could be a good idea. If you do so, do it by bus, using the lower class busses, to enjoy real mexican ambience. This is a one full day trip so you must not be afraid by riding a bus for long hours. Spending a day in Guadalaraja can be worth it.

This full trip should need 3 to 5 days, from Los Mochis to Mexico City. Be sure to take the Chepe train from Los Mochis to Chihuahua, not the other way.

There are two trains a day, each way. The 1st class train is mostly intended for tourists: less stops, more comfortable, more expensive. The 2nd class train is intended for locals. Of course, Debianers should use the 2nd class train..:-)

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