Mexico

From a weekend skiing in Jackson Hole, 5 days later I found myself on a Continental Jet bound for Monterrey, Mexico. The reason - the 'official' wedding of a work collegue & fellow Britlander.
We arrived in a rainy and cloudy Monterrey, and were met by the family, who informed us that if never rained in Monterrey, and we would be sure to see the mountains tomorrow.

After piling in to a taxi, we drove to the Hotel, the Radisson Casa Grande, which turned out to be one of the nicest hotels that I have ever stayed in. Lots of marble in the bathroom, glass & stainless steel everywhere, and a reasonably sized room.



The following morning dawned (still no mountains!) and we again piled into a taxi and headed off for a traditional Mexican breakfast. Now, the Mexicans are good at breakfast it turns out. There was the ultimate hangover cure, menudo, which is essentially tripe soup. In case you're interested, you just need some tripe, pig's feet and beef broth, together with quite a lot of chillis, beans, and whatever other spices you might have lying around.

On the more normal side there was fresh fruit, fruit juice, omlettes, pastries and interestingly some really nice chicken with bits of cactus. We had a great time, and after easting more than our fill we were back in the taxi, heading for the Grutas de García, some superb caves high in the mountains.

The mountains were still shrouded in cloud as we embarked on the quick cable car trip to the base of a big limestone formation, and the guided trip around the caves was spectacular. Over 2km of passageways led us through many stalagtites and stalagmites, over bridges and under fantastic formations that had formed over millennia. I'll have to get some photos up here soon - it's not really very easy to describe!

After the tourist day, we retired to the Hotel before heading out for a big meal with family and freinds. On the menu was Cabrito, which is baby goat - again, a Mexican speciality. After several tequilas, it was time for bed!!

The wedding day was run with military precision, we were collected from the hotel at precisely 10 past 10, taken to a 'safe house'(!) and from there to the Church. The ceremony was superb, and the reception afterwards was nothing short of spectacular. There was a live band, who played everything from Frank Sinartra, through YMCA (traditional wedding song?!) to traditional Mexican for 5 hours straight. There were carnival set pieces, with silly hats, streamers, whistles and conga lines as well as Mariachi. Superb. The food was great to, the menu designed by the Mexican 'Jamie Oliver' equivalent, who was sat at our table. She had her own TV sh0w too.

In the evening, we headed out into Monterrey's old quarter for a couple of hours bafore calling it a night. What fun!

All in all it was a fantastic trip, and really great to be invited. It was very easy too - everything was arranged, and I just had to do as I was told to get picked up and dropped off at the the right places at the right time. Thanks folks - wishing you all the best...

posted by Sam @ 13:34