The New Year starts with reminiscence of the past: my trip to Mexico in summer 2010. My sister spent one year there as an exchange student and at the end of it my family and I went to pick her up. I did get to visit here before in December 2009 but that didn´t stop me from going again. And thanks to my travel experiences made in Costa Rica it was my job to organize the trip (not always met with huge enthusiasm on part of my family, when once again I woke them up before dawn so that we could visit the pyramids at sunrise and without millions of tourists around us – totally worth it!).

Mexico is a great country! My sister and I had the privilege to spend some time living in Central America (she in Mexico, I in Costa Rica) but even though some things regarding culture and climate are quite similar, a lot of things are very different as well. Mexico is a lot bigger and offers much when it comes to nature and cultural sites. Especially the pyramids which you can find almost anywhere in Mexico – good luck finding one in Costa Rica.

Our trip went from the north of Mexico to Mexico City, Puebla and then to Yucatán. We saw the pyramids of Teotihuacán, Cobá and Tulum, tasted a lot of great (and spicy) food and got a firsthand insight on the Mexican culture (it helps when your sister talks to everyone with a Mexican accent – astonishment and then enthusiasm everywhere). One waiter was so fascinated of us, we got free tequila all night and at the end he tried to marry my little brother to his cousin. So to keep the memories of this great trip fresh, I´ll be making a couple of Mexican recipes these days. Since this is also a food blog, stay tuned for Mexican treats!

Mexicans love to eat. And they love spicy food. This can lead to disputable experiments (gummibears with chili!) but anybody who likes it spicy is definitely at the right place in Mexico. One thing I learnt during my trip is that typical Mexican food is not what is sold to us in Europe or Northern America. Most dishes are served without much chichi and extravagant ingredients. Quesadillas are called Quesadillas because the main ingredient is cheese! And that is all you need for it to taste phenomenal. Other very important ingredients: beef, grilled, picked with your hands and spread on top of your taco, avocado, cheese, chili and beans.

Also very important: fiestas and tequila. I don´t know how many times my sister was invited to some sort of ball, birthdays had to be celebrated and there were Quinceañeras everywhere. When we got to meet the host family all the relatives where invited, there was a huge barbecue, music and tequila. Mexicans are very outgoing and festive – I love it!

Overall, the trip was just great. After seeing all these pictures again I wish I could go again. Guess I just have to stick to my memories and homemade quesadillas.