Xochimilco, Mezcal, Handshake

On my last day in the city I slept in until 8, then Misha and I took Archer for a walk to a vegan food stall about half an hour away. Once we found the place I was disappointed to see that they only start selling tacos at 1:00, so we settled for a couple of their breakfast options. I got Molletes, which were a cheesy bean toast with avocado and vegan ham. We added some hot sauce and it was a nice breakfast! The cheese was really cheesy and melty.

We walked back to the house, did a bit of packing, then headed back out to Xochimilco where we had a tour of the waterways booked. We got there about 15 minutes early and got two Micheladas, two different options. One was more limey and salty, and one was more spicy and salty. Both delicious and about a litre of beer each.

We found our group and our tour guide offered that we buy some “beers or chasers”, so we followed one of the guys and got a couple each to bring on board.

We introduced ourselves to the two older guys and one of them, Mark, was a lawyer from KC, Kansas. The other, Don, was a supply manager of snowboarding gloves and gear from San Diego. He was a broncos fan, so I offered my feelings about that off the bat, to get it out of the way.

We got on the boat and further introduced ourselves to the group. We all said our names, where we were from and our jobs. There were folks from eBay, Amazon, finance and construction. The boat had a long table down the middle and it was setup with limes, oranges, and jicama with Tajin on it to snack on.

Our tour guide Maria gave us the info on where we were and the history of Mexico City. She also quizzed us, and when we got an answer right we got a shot of mezcal. I got the first answer right, then fed answers to the group that I learned on my other tours.

The mezcal was exceptionally smooth and smoky. Too easy to sip on. The chasers for mezcal were orange slices with Tajin on them. Delicious!

The river is fresh water, though very murky. We learned that the banks are artificial and made solid by the tree roots that were planted years ago. The plots of land are used for farming mainly, but also can be rented out for local weddings or other celebrations. The waterways are popular on Sundays with the locals who like to let loose and get drunk on the boats. So, we were doing what the locals like to do today!

Our first stop was to a little store, a washroom and a bar stall that made the “most delicious margaritas in the world” according to Maria. Of course we had to participate. The bartender was using a jigger but free pouring anyways, she used half a squeeze of fresh lime, a ton of triple sec, tequila and some other kind of liquor I didn’t recognize. Salt on the rim, it was large, boozy and delicious.

This sweet dog was on the property and so happy to see people. She was such a sweet girl, and she was full of fleas and ticks. I couldn’t help but feel so sad for all the dogs not being taken care of. But this is reality unfortunately.

Back to the water we had a Mexican shot, representing the colours of the flag it was a like wedge for the green, tequila for the white, and a red spicy liquor for the red called sangria tequila. Delicious! I sipped on the red one, it was really tasty. Maria was great at confirming everything that was vegan for me to try.

Next stop was an open field with washrooms, very green and serene. The sounds of birds has not gotten old since I’ve been in Mexico.

Back to the water we were joined by Mariachis, who sung La Bamba and Despacito, and other Spanish songs that the whole boat seemed to know the words to, except up Canadians. They were very talented!! We all contributed to their songs, and at 200 pesos each song they were not cheap entertainment.

One of the final stops were to see the axolotl ambhibians. These are native to the area and are endangered. I was hoping to see them but they were kept in a large tent, in aquariums, and for a fee, so I opted not to pay. I sat by the water and enjoyed the rest of my margarita.

Back on the boat we had lunch. I had shared that I was vegan, and my meal was really great. Tostadas with roasted zucchini, cabbage and salsa, it was just spicy enough and so tasty and fresh. I loved it! We also got to enjoy some Agua de Jamaica, and I added some of my remaining tequila to the drink.

From here it was all party, chatting with the others in the group. One of the married ladies startung giving lap dances to the other couples. Hilarious. We were letting loose! I chatted football and travel with Don, a 50 year old American guy on a trip to escape his wife and five year old (his words, not mine!).

Misha was really letting loose at this point too. He and Alanna have worked a lot in the last few months and he had managed to get this day off of work to spend the day with me. I was continuing to sip my boozy agua de Jamaica, and before I knew it misha was hurling over the side of the boat. I should have been paying closer attention to how much he was drinking!

One of the guys broke the only rule of the tour which was not to jump in the water. Maria was next to him, doing shots of tequila along with the group, while he stripped down to get in, so I think her only rule was a loose one.

We rounded out the tour and got back to the main docks, said goodbye to our new friends and got into an Uber. The driver was a sport, he and I were chatting and maybe 10 minutes into our 40 minute drive Misha said something in Spanish which must have translated to “I’m going to be sick” because the driver confirmed it, and promptly pulled over. There we were on the side of a busy highway in CDMX rush hour with my gringo friend on all fours puking in the grass. Once back into the car the driver asked if we had any beer, and we did! We hadn’t touched the four we bought prior to the tour. He said that Misha should take very small sips of the beer and it would help his stomach. So I cracked it open, poured a little into my empty water bottle and kept reminding Misha to sip. I happily enjoyed the rest of the beer in the back seat. I asked the driver if it was legal and he made a hand motion and sound to say, “eh, kind of?”

I enjoyed the long drive through the city while Misha fought sleep, and when we got home we put him promptly to bed. Alanna was still very into going out on her Friday night, so we made sure Misha was ok (he was upright and hugging the toilet), and we got an Uber up to Roma Norte. We got a sunken in table at Plantasia, an all vegan Asian cuisine inspired restaurant with a gorgeous interior.

We order beyond meat dumplings which were good, nicely fried and very meaty. For the main we shared three rolls of sushi which were huge. A kimchi roll, a California type roll with hearts of palm, and a mushroom roll. Two of the rolls were deep friend with a crunchy exterior. All were absolutely delicious!

We wanted a cocktail but they didn’t seem to sell liquor there, but they did have CBD infused cocktails so we got one with lavender, elderflower, lemon and 30 mg of CBD, claiming we would de-stress and relax. Sign me up! It was really nice.

We had reservations for 7:30 at a cocktail spot and by the time we paid it was 7:35, and we still had an 8 minute walk. We hoped they would be “on Mexican time” and we walked through the Friday night city vibe to find the cocktail spot.

Handshake Speakeasy, Alanna and Misha had tried downstairs before I arrived here, and our reservations this time were for upstairs. We were led inside through black curtains into a small dark room. The bartenders and the host yelled something when we walked in, much like they do at Korean places. We were helped into our tall stools, which was part of the experience as I noticed men got the same treatment. We were pushed in by the host and I felt very ticked until the bar like table we were sat at. Our server came around with hot towels treated with essential oils for our hands, and told us we would have 110 minutes to enjoy our time. Ok, this is shaping up to be quite the experience so far!

Next he walked us through the menu. They suggest starting with a mini cocktail for just 100 pesos, while you look through the rest of the menu which was a bound book. The cocktails were sorted into mini, carbonated, special, and then really special. The back pages had cocktails for 600, 1000, and 15,000 pesos. Sheesh! Y’all can do the conversions on that. The server also asked if we had allergies or dietary restrictions, and so when I said I was vegan he was eager to walk me through what I could enjoy on the menu. Love that! I started with a mini Manhattan.

Next we ordered from the carbonated menu. Alanna got a strawberry, lychee and elderflower cocktail that came with actual elderflowers balancing on the long and skinny ice cube. I ordered a pina colada with coconut washed rum and micro cilantro on top. The cilantro was so fresh and earthy and it really made the cocktail special. We both enjoyed these!

At the same time we were watching what was around us. A cocktail ordered next to us came with a wooden coaster on top and some sort of black moss looking stuff. The server set it on fire and it flowed with star like embers. It was truly mesmerizing and something the videos I took did no justice.

Another fancy cocktail ordered looked like my pina colada, but the server came over with a very real looking smoke gun, and from high above he blew out of the tip of the gun a smoke bubble that the guest was meant to catch with the top of their glass. Wow! We were witnessing a show all around.

Our final cocktails were ordered off the more unique menu. Alanna got one with gin and blue cheese, and mine was a tequila with tomato water and basil oil. Both came in these very skinny and delicate and tall coupe glasses. These were our favourites of the night!

We were given a ten minute warning to the end of our time so we paid up, finished our cocktails, and were “untucked” from the tall bar seats. We were given a goodbye yell from the bartenders, got an Uber, and said goodnight on such a great evening!