Why Did I Decide to Visit Mexico City During the COVID-19 Pandemic?
By: Jesus F. Brito
Tags: Frida Kahlo, Mexico, Solo Travel, Covid 19, Traveling

Thanksgiving break was around the corner and I was going to get a decent 5 days off from work, and I was excited to do something useful with that time, maybe try out doing something exciting after several months without going anywhere. I have been living alone in California for the past six months; so unfortunately, spending this time with my family wasn’t an option, specially since I had already purchased a plane ticket to go visit them over the Christmas break. So what was I going to do? I began to explore my options.

Since I moved to California I have not explored or visited San Diego, which a lot of locals consider “the best city in SoCal”, and of course I wanted to see it for myself, but hotels/airbnbs were ridiculously expensive for that time of the year. Spending $200–400/night was definitely not in my budget, and that did not include any of the meals or any extra money in expenses that I would have to put aside for the trip.

In all my craziness, I decided to check Google Flights, having the thought of flying out of the state and going somewhere, haha. Flights to Seattle were at a reasonable $286 roundtrip, whereas Portland (Oregon) were at $300-ish. Not bad for that time of the year; but while looking to the side of the screen, the website shows you a map of cities around you with their respective flight prices, and I saw a whooping $190 roundtrip deal to Mexico City. Of course it caught my attention, and after doing my research I found out they were allowing U.S. Citizens to enter the country during the pandemic, which was good to hear.

Now, keep in mind that I live by myself, my job allows me to work remotely if I have the need to do so, and I do not have lots of friends or people that I might need to get in contact with after traveling. So for me it was definitely a viable option to go out there, COVID-19 was not a huge concern for me. I could self-quarantine after coming back and continue with my life if everything went as expected (and it did). In addition to that, I got tested before and after traveling (both tests came out negative).

After finding a cheap deal for the flight, I looked at hotel prices and for my surprise I found a 5-star hotel right by the iconic Ángel de la Independencia, for the amazing price of less than $500 (for the entire weekend). With that amount I could’ve only paid for 1 or 2 nights at San Diego, which definitely had me shooooked. All in all, I paid for all my s**t and off I was to Mexico City.

This is the hotel I stayed at Sofitel Mexico City Reforma [I do not own this image, credits to ZOOMER].

While in Mexico, everything was amazing. Cheap food, cheap drinks, cheap transport around the city, incredibly warm people, and a lot of amazing places to visit and explore. Traveling solo was not an issue whatsoever. I felt very safe at all times, but I do have to recognize that being a fluent Spanish speaker was definitely a huge asset for me, because I was able to blend in with the locals.

A lot of people asked me: Why Mexico City and not the common Cancún/Tulum, Quintana Roo? The answer is simple. Those are mainly tourist destinations to enjoy with a lot of people, and I’m not usually a resort type of person. If I’m visiting a new country, I want to explore everywhere, get immersed in the culture and see the real version of the country, not just some instagrammable beach, a nice pool and fancy drinks/food (no offense to anyone).

I had the opportunity to visit two places that I always wanted to visit: The Frida Kahlo Museum and the Pyramids of Teotihuacán. Places full of history, that made me appreciate so much the culture and the idiosyncrasy of the Mexican people. Frida Kahlo has been an incredible inspiration for me, because she embodied a woman that despite all hardships still lived an inspiring life and served as a role model to anyone -specially women-, and let’s not forget about her iconic looks and fashion statements. One of my favorite phrases of her has always been: “Pies para que los quiero, si tengo alas para volar.” Which translates to: “Feet why do I need them, if I have wings to fly.” Written by her a year before dying, after suffering several health related complications that caused her to be amputated. Pretty f***ing inspiring, I know.

Me at the Pyramids of Teotihuacán [I own this picture, don’t y’all dare come for me].

I could go off and share with you all a full list of the amazing places, scenery, restaurants and monuments that I had the opportunity to see, but that would just make this a very very long entry and that’s not fair on you, first time readers. All in all, Mexico is a country full of amazing things to offer to the world, and I would a 1000% recommend anyone to visit it at some point in their life. By any means, please reach out to me on instagram (@brito.tv), if you want any extra details or information on my trip. I am always open to share my experiences with anyone that might need it.

Thanks for reading cuties, xoxo. Until next time.