Today our adventure is going to take us on a Mexican gondola. Are you guys ready for an adventure? Let’s begin. Have you guys heard of Xochimilco in Mexico, In Mexico City? This place is incredible. It is a market on canals in Gondolas, right? So obviously it’s not the kind of gondolas that you would expect to see in Venice, but they are colorful, very Mexican style. The word Xochimilco itself literally means where the flowers grow.

So many years ago, over a century, as a matter of fact, this entire place, which is around 45 minutes by car or an hour and a half by public transportation outside of the center of Mexico City itself, it’s this area which is now this amazing, thriving, bustling market used to be a place where the flowers grew. This was a place where they used to cultivate and grow flowers. Today you could probably still find some flower areas, but overall, it is now this market. So what’s amazing, first of all, as you start to pull up, it is definitely a touristic spot. But you’d be surprised at the amount of Mexicans that go there to enjoy this.

I guess it’s a cultural thing because there’s mariachi, there’s Mexican food everywhere. You go there, this is what you will experience. So first and foremost, I have been to the Venice canals, and I know that in the Venice canals, there is this actual issue that it smells right. Like the stench of the Mexican. I mean, the sewage water and whatnot.

So here in Xochimilco, I was super impressed that it didn’t smell. It was super clean. And you could tell that there is a lot of love and organization going on in this particular area. The organization begins with when you get to the Embarcaderos, right? So what is the name?

Embarcado is the actual mini Port. And Interestingly enough, there are many ports, right? So you need to find out which is the best in Embarcadero. The one that we went to was called Nueva Nativitas.

So Nuevo Nativitas is pretty much, I would say, the most popular spot. However, as you are driving there, you are going to be stopped as you’re waiting at traffic lights by people on motorcycles saying, oh, that place is closed and they’re all sold out. You got to go with me. They are scammers. Do not, do not go with them.

Just get to that Embarcadero that you are going to. Because the actual organization happens in these places because they are corporate Activas or cooperatives, right? That means that all the owners get together and they have a really good system that every single person gets their turn and the owners own the difference between one to ten boats or whatever, it doesn’t matter. And they all have these people working together, part of this cooperative. So every person who works there actually gets the money.

The person that helps you find the boat, the one that arranges it and the captain of the boat. I mean, it’s the captain pushing a wooden stick. But regardless, that is where the structure and organization really works from. So make sure that you follow that place. You’re not going to get scammed in that respect.

And that was something that was really interesting to see. Now I personally recommend getting there and going for breakfast, get there as early as possible Because the later you get the crazier it becomes. So we got there pretty early. We were there around 930 and we had breakfast in one of the Mexican co melodies and there’s hundreds of them and they’re going to be pulling you in and they all pretty much sell the exact same thing. So you’re just going to have to decide which one works for you.

And we enjoyed a really beautiful, typical Mexican breakfast with the coffee and everything before finding our boat. And once we found the boat, the cost of the boat was 500 pesos per hour, which is approximately $25 per hour. We got 2 hours worth, Which I recommend. 2 hours. 1 hour is definitely not enough.

2 hours is just enough time. So you can also eat on the boat, right? Once you get on the canal, There are hundreds of vendors Selling you all sorts of food and drinks and alcoholic drinks, you name it. And there’s also the mariachi, which is apparently a very popular thing to do. You could rent the mariachi.

I think it’s like $15 for one song. It might sound a little bit expensive, but there’s like ten people that are part of this So they’re barely making any money at all. So honestly, it’s not that expensive and it’s just an experience. Overall, it is just a crazy great experience. And if you have half a day Because that’s all you really need to go and do this journey when you are in Mexico city, I really recommend it.

It is definitely one of the coolest things. And my husband, who does not like touristy things, had a blast, right? So it goes to show that even though it is touristy, It still could be super fun, super colorful and just a great way to spend a morning. Okay, so take my advice, go in the morning. And if you guys want more adventure ideas, Go to my travel site, mytravelexperta.com travel expert with an a dot com.

I have a ton of free ideas for you to go and choose from. And if you enjoyed this episode, Please leave me a review and share it with your friends and check out these amazing Mexican gondolas and remember, make every day an adventure.