A Mexican adventure in high style
The last time I came to central America was 15 years ago on my gap year. Bed for the night tended to be a hammock, or mosquito-infested beach shack if we were pushing the boat out. Clothes were stuffed in a backpack, made heavier by my inspired first day purchase of a 5kg granite pestle and mortar that came with for two months, and still to this day remains untouched. Montezuma took his revenge on every street corner, as did the bandits of Guatemala who held us up with AK47s and machetes on the road between Belize and Tikal. The trip ended with me running away from my travel companion in the dead of night, trying to hitchhike as far north as possible, before catching a cranky bus to Mazatlan, a sorry place full of drunken Floridian sailors, weeping into their mezcal and telling their tales of woe and patrimony battles.
Flash forward to 2012 – and things are looking up. Our hotel, Condesa DF, located in the hip neighbourhood of Condesa in Mexico City, has home-made granola to die for, a sushi bar on the roof and a fashion shoot taking place inside – not the Mexico I left all those years ago. Dinner our first night is a spectacular tasting menu at Pujol – the hottest seat in town – that put many Michelin-starred places I have tried to shame.
I have come with my husband on a whistle stop two-week tour – how much could we pack into a fortnight? A lot, as it turned out. We would start on the Pacific coast of Mexico, weave our way through the bottom to Guatemala, through to Belize and up to the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico.
Our first stop is Puerto Escondido. Here we find a lovely small hotel, Flor de Maria. Rooms are simple, but with a huge roof terrace and a stone’s throw from the beach, it is a perfect rest stop for a few days. Known for its surf, mornings are spent checking out the talent – including a three-year-old boy who puts many of the others to shame with his junior moves. The surf beach is dangerous to swim in, so we stick to the one outside our hotel, which is also part of village life. Here we watch the boats come in, and everyone crowds around to haggle over the shiny daily catch. After three days, we feel the pressures of London ease, aided by regular visits to the terrace of hotel Santa Fe, our pit stop for the best ceviche in town.
Next stop is Oaxaca in the heart of Chiapas, a short flight from Puerto Escondido. Home is a chic posada, Milagros, a lovely family-run place with a gorgeous terrace. This is a beautiful city: roads are lined with brightly coloured colonial houses; the town square – zocalo – is abuzz with families; men sit reading their daily newspaper, and I get the best shoe polish I have ever had, for a princely $2. Although the taco stands in the market are quite tempting, they are not enough to lure me away from the new gourmet restaurants that have cropped up over the past few years here, making this the new gastro capital of the south. We feast on venison mole, a salad that arrives actually smoking, and black bean soup with exploding cheesy balls in the middle, courtesy of the talents garnered by chef Jose Manuel Banos Rodriguez during his stint at El Bulli. Other culinary highlights are Los Danzantes for unbelievable beef tacos.
After many an ethnic disaster, I am wary of buying too many woven or kitsch local delights, knowing that once at home it looks like you haven’t quite escaped the clutches of the gap year. However, I cannot resist the brightly coloured tin pieces in the shape of skeletons, cacti and hearts: perfect for adding some gaiety to the Christmas tree.
A slightly roundabout two flights takes us via Mexico City to Villahermosa in Tabasco. A two-hour drive later and we are in the ruins of the Mayan city Palenque, which is blissfully empty. We stay in a lovely lodge, Quinta Cha Nab Nal, built in the pre-Hispanic style, with large airy suites. Its Italian owner is a Mayan scholar, who gives us a welcome tutorial over drinks. Dinner is delicious, except for a scary looking garfish, which has its head and huge jaw with sharp gnashers intact. Definitely on the prehistoric end of supper offerings.
From here our real adventuring begins: a six-hour taxi ride through the jungle of Chiapas to Tikal in Guatemala. For the next four nights we were staying at two of Francis Ford Coppola’s three lodges and the first stop is La Lancha. Arriving there after our stunning but long and bumpy ride is almost the highlight of the whole trip: stumbling from the car onto a terrace flooded with light, overlooking the clear waters of Lake Peten Itza, birds and butterflies flitting in and out of the lush jungle canopy. It is utterly divine. Built on many different levels, rooms are individual villas with terraces and hammocks. There are no TVs, the phone is in the form of a huge conch shell which you speak into: the on button summons the reception. We laze by the pool, swim in the beautiful waters of the lake and dinner is washed down with some excellent wines from Coppola’s Napa estates.
The following day is a visit to the Mayan ruins of Tikal, one of the greatest sights in the world. Not only are these some of the tallest pyramids, but despite being one of the country’s main tourist attractions, it is only partially excavated due to massive costs involved, so everywhere beneath your feet lies unearthed history. We have an excellent guide organised through the lodge and as we weave through the jungle paths to out of the way ruins, and through the old town squares, he brings to life this ancient culture for us.
Our next stop is into Belize to one of Coppola’s two lodges there – Blancaneaux – his old family home. Here is where Hollywood stars come to stay and recuperate in comfortable wooden villas hidden within the chirping forest and bathe in a warm pools overlooking bubbling rapids. We go on a guided nature walk, where we miss a jaguar by a hair’s breadth, and startle a highly poisonous coral snake; brightly coloured Morpho and Julia butterflies flit past; king vultures circle above. We spy some stately stygian owls resting on a tree. For nature lovers, it is absolute heaven. On the way back a sombre procession in horse and cart turned out to be members of a local Mennonite sect, complete with straw hats, braces and plaid dresses. I am told they relocated from Europe in the 1960s and now lead a quiet, electricity-free life. We are reminded that cameras are unwelcome, but still, it is hard not to stare at the antiquated scene.
Then it is half a day’s overland travel back to the east coast of Mexico. We end our journey with three nights in the divine Escencia, a luxurious resort located on the stunning Caribbean waters. Here we furtively hide our filthy trainers, still soaking and mud caked from our Belize hike. Lodges are chic and white, salad-y lunches are taken overlooking the pool, washed down with an ice-cold Modelo Especial. This is where jungle gear does not cut it, so out come the kaftans and bejewelled flip-flops. The beach has little huts serviced by white-clad staff, who, while we are there, spend most of their time attending to some NY party boys letting off steam for the weekend. For me, a book and a stare into the middle distance over the gentle waves is enough. The only thing marring my peace is the realisation that we have to go home soon.
WHERE TO EAT
Oaxaca
Pitiona: here ex El Bulli chef Jose Manuel Banos Rodriguez rustles up delights such as venison mole and a delicious black bean soup with stringy cheese. They take their Mexcal very seriously here. www.pitiona.com
Los Danzantes: a cool open space with a sister restaurant in Mexico City – amazing beef tacos. www.losdanzantes.com
MEXICO CITY
Izote: veteran chef Patricia Quintana serves up incredible takes on regional dishes. The ceviche with Mezcal is surprisingly good, as are the chipolte prawn tacos. www.izote.com.mx
Pujol: one of the first fine dining restaurants serving Mexican food, this is Michelin standard in taste and presentation. Fish or meat tasting menus available to be paired with Mexican wines, or Mezcals and beer. A blow out treat. www.pujol.com.mx
Azul Condesa and Azul Historica: be-seen spots for the in-crowd, with yummy well-presented takes on regional dishes. The best cochinita pibil (Yucutan pork dish) I had, despite trying many in the Yucutan itself. Condesa is a lovely spot for lunch, with its little leafy courtyard. www.azulcondesa.com
Dulce Patria: beautifully presented food from Martha Ortiz at the chic new boutique hotel Alcobas. www.dulcepatriamexico.com
For accommodation: Use Mr and Mrs Smith (www.mrandmrssmith.com) to help book some of the hotels Jemima stayed in and for other ideas.