2023 Colorado Academy Mexico Program
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Day 7
Written by Tyler H, Program Leader
Greeted by the Oaxacan sun for our final day in Mexico, we started with an early breakfast before leaving town to head back to the capital to spend our final afternoon and evening. After a picturesque drive through many mountains and different rustic sceneries on our return to the gran megapolis of Mexico City, we finally pulled into our hotel by 4pm and proceeded to visit the Secretary of Education building. Inside, the students were floored by the stunning murals by Diego Rivera that line the equally beautiful building with a blooming jacaranda tree in the middle. We walked for about 40 minutes viewing the famous works of Rivera and taking some final group photos, and then proceeded to get a snack of delicious street quesadillas that squashed our hunger after a long drive. After lunch some of us went back to rest at the hotel while others stayed out to shop for a bit in anticipation of their reunion with friends and family tomorrow. We then set out for the final activity of the trip–Lucha Libre–but not before stopping for dinner at a local pizzería owned by a Chicago native and friend of mine! The students loved their dinner and were all set for the walk to Arena México where they shopped for luchador masks while I purchased them the best seats I could secure. We then proceeded to be seated in the arena and took in about 45 minutes of the show. The crowd was going wild on a Friday night for the several matches we were able to see, and the acrobatics and antics were top notch! Since it was already late and the group departed the next morning early, we called it a night and returned on the subway for one last ride back to the hotel. The subway was particularly crowded but both groups managed to navigate our way on the relatively quick ride back home. Tired and dare I even say exhausted–the group went immediately to bed in anticipation of an early wake up the next day.
It was a great privilege to lead this group and watch them discover México with new eyes. I am very proud of them and hope they will return to Mexico City with their families someday soon! There is so much more to see and do, as this trip was a great introduction but was over all too quickly. Thank you, parents, for all you do to raise and nurture these wonderful youngsters. I enjoyed them immensely and am very grateful to their teachers for all of the hard work they did both before and during the trip. It would not have been the same without them at the helm.
Day 6
Written by Tiffany and Audrey
We woke up in our cabins up in Cuajimoloyas, had breakfast and were soon driving back to Oaxaca City. The drive back to the city felt shorter than the drive from the city to the small town. It was really cold this morning, but quickly warmed up. Once we reached Oaxaca City it was super hot! When we returned to the city, we dropped off our bags at the hotel, got some snacks at the mercado next door and set out for our tour of the Oaxaca Botanical Garden. It was really hot but totally worth it, we learned all about the richness of the different plants varying from food, rituals, medicine, etc. After the tour of the garden we were all pretty tired and drained from the heat, we went back to the hotel for an hour rest before setting out for lunch!
Lunch was amazing, we had tlayudas (for many the first time ever) and they were really good. They were huge! It was hard to finish both but totally worth it. Lunch was a cool experience, the kitchen was sort of right in the middle of where the tables were so the people could see them prepare the food, but it wasn’t like a watch them cook type of restaurant. Also during lunch, 3 people came in and started singing a classic Mexican song, La Llorona. It was composed of a man on a type of drum, and two ladies. One singing, the other playing a guitar and singing too. It was nice to hear during lunch.
After that we walked down to the zocalo where we began a scavenger hunt, and shopping! For the scavenger hunt, we split into groups with our roommates walked around Oaxaca city to accomplish different tasks in the scavenger hunt. For example, we took pictures with different people around the city, tried different foods, searched for different locations, and even made a human pyramid. After that, we reunited and used our free time to explore the city. For example, some of us went shopping for clothes and food, some of us went to see the parade, some of us tried a refreshing Mexican chocolate drink, etc. After that, we returned to our hotel to rest and get ready for our dinner at Las Quince Letras. There, we enjoyed a fancy meal, with most of us ordering moles of different varieties from Oaxaca. We were also served crickets as a dish, which was an interesting but delicious experience!
Day 5
Written by Aliza and Avery
Today our eyes were still barely opened we indulged in a continental breakfast from our hotel. Then we hurried out to the van as we knew a big day was ahead of us. After two hours of driving across the scenic countryside of Mexico, we finally reached our destination: Cuajimoloyas, Oaxaca. The beautiful town welcomed us as honored guests. Two locals let us through a series of caves and tunnels across the Mexican mountain range. Clearly veterans in hiking discipline, they taught us all about the local wildlife and landscape. Our host then gave us a delicious homemade lunch from scratch with all the food locally grown.
After our scrumptious lunch we hiked up a small, but steep, hill to get to a zip line. A very kind man checked all of our gear, and off we went. Aliza went first, of course, for she is the bravest, awesome-ist, and the most humble. It was quite enjoyable. After the invigorating zip line we changed into swim suits and went into a very interesting sauna. A dedicated woman hit us with herbs to cleanse our blood. Most of us were scared of the small hot space but not Avery. She handled it with grace and elegancy as well as had the strongest arm when hitting her fellow students(especially Aliza). Post sauna, we showered and cleaned up before having some free time to wander and chat. We then had a wonderful dinner cooked from scratch. Before heading off to Tyler’s room for some reflection and journaling. After, we went to our rooms to our warm fire the people of this town had kindly created for us, and went to sleep.
Day 4
Written by Millie and Fatima
We started the day off with an early morning call time to leave from Mexico City to Cholula. After the two-hour long car ride, we stopped for a bathroom break and began to explore the wonders of Cholula. We saw some ancient ruins and we began our hike to the top of the hill, where the church resides. After the treacherous journey from the stairs and incline, we finally arrived at the church. You could see the entire city from our view. The inside of the church was filled with gold detailing and beautiful designs. We were shocked to see the beauty of the church and it made the hike worth it. After taking some pictures and grabbing some snacks, we made the journey back down the hill. Then, we walked to a restaurant where we ate delicious tacos and sandwiches. Then, we began our 5-hour car ride to Oaxaca City. The scenery was beautiful… or so we heard, we were asleep. Once we arrived, we settled into our hotel rooms and walked to the city square. From there, we headed to our dinner spot and ate even more delicious tacos. Finally, we stopped by to get some ice cream and snacks and made our way back to the hotel to get a good night’s rest.
Day 3 Monday
Days 1 & 2: Saturday and Sunday
Written by Tyler Hansbrough (Walking Tree Travel leader)
The group arrived on time from Denver, passed through immigration relatively quickly, and proceeded with our driver to the hotel while taking in the first sights this incredible city has to offer. Then they really had quite the greeting–as we had to navigate our way through a massive march in support of Mexico’s president, AMLO (Andrés Manuel López Obrador) with what were quite literally hundreds of thousands of people crowding the very streets where our hotel is located. This gigantic spectacle might have otherwise overwhelmed us, but thanks to the skill of our intrepid driver we were somehow able to get close enough and find a location for us to stop the van, unload it quickly, then take to the swarming streets with our luggage. We proceeded to walk with bags in town down a street with AMLO supporters flooding in every single direction, but since everything was blocked off to vehicles it made our path to the hotel relatively simple and we arrived in about 15 minutes. It was quite a sight to behold for the students as their first impression of CDMX!
Once we settled into the hotel we quickly went out for our first excursion, walking through the main square called the Zócalo and then ending up at dinner at the famous Casa de los Azulejos building where we feasted on a meal of Mexican favorites such as enchiladas and tacos–and of course a few Mexican Coca-Colas! We then returned to the hotel and had an orientation meeting on the rooftop terrace before settling in to rest and begin our official adventure the next morning.
Sunday was a tiring day, as we walked many many miles and rode the subway south to the neighborhood of Coyoacán, an oasis of green with a slower pace from the rest of the city. We walked from the subway to the Frida Kahlo House, otherwise known as Casa Azul, where we learned a bit about the life of this famous Mexican artist and her husband the muralist Diego Rivera. Departing Casa Azul we walked just two blocks to the Mercado de Coyoacán where I treated the group to one of my favorite bites of food in the city–a simple tostada that is loaded with toppings like shredded beef or chicken, cream, cheese, and of course slices of rich avocado. They also got to enjoy amazing “aguas frescas” of pureed fruit sweetened with sugar–many ordered tropical fruit “waters” they could never get to try as fresh and as easily back home.
Leaving the market we had some free time to people-watch and shop in the main squares of beautiful Coyoacán, before walking back to the subway for another long ride back up north to the city center. We walked to Chapultepec Castle where the group got to tour the only castle in the hemisphere that ever housed royals from Europe! The entire Bosque de Chapultepec was packed with tourists and locals taking advantage of a gorgeous Sunday afternoon in CDMX and we finally made our way out and over to the Condesa neighborhood where I reside. We walked to dinner through this stunning area filled with green, dogs, Art Deco buildings and new modern apartments before settling in to have dinner at one of my favorite locals-only spots, a family restaurant that sells Yucatecan food. We feasted on platters of succulent cochinita pibil and pavo en escabeche, two special taco fillings from that region and the students absolutely loved it. After dinner we made the stroll back to the subway to return to the hotel, but not before stopping to sample the famous nieves and helados (sorbets and ice creams) at Roxy, a venerable institution in my neighborhood. We made it home in time to rest well before continuing with another Monday excursion the following morning.
I now turn the blog over officially to the students for the remaining posts, and we will have as many of them help as we can depending on our busy schedule.
It is my great pleasure to guide these students in the country I have now called home for 7 years, and I know they will return to you safely and with many memories made.
From the Program Leader
Dear parents, family members and friends–