Mexico 25.08.2011 - 08.09.2011
● | 25.08.2011 Mexico City |
After installing us in a nice hostel in a safe area of the City, we will start our trip with a visit at the financial quarter of Mexico City. Our first station will be the Swiss embassy, and then the German-Mexican Trade Chamber nearby. You will get to meet people related to economic issues in the country. The aim of this day will be to show you the most developed areas of the country. |
● | 26.08.2011 Mexico City |
In the morning we will meet a group of law students who are engaged in Human Rights and International Law. We will have a walk with them around the Universitarian Campus and will finally have a meeting and discuss with them the topic “human rights and the perpectives of young people. After that we will have a talk with a Human Rights Experts and talk about problems and challenges in national politics, such as the internal war with “narcos”. We will further visit the southern side of the city. In the evening we will have a City Tour in Coyoacán. |
● | 27.08.2011 Mexico City |
On Saturday we will have a tour around the historic center of Mexico City. We will explore the buildings and see face to face the market culture, which has remained in the country since the founding of city. The Mexican central square is one of the second biggest in the world and is probably the most alive. After that we will head to a mystique market where you can find all about Mexican witchcraft and superstition. |
● | 28.08.2011 Mexico City |
Southern Part of the city. We will make a tour around the lasting part of the city’s lake and get to see the way the city was structured in the pre-Hispanic time. As according to the general Mexican culture we will have cultural activities on Sunday. We will visit the Universitarian Cultural Center of the famous University UNAM where visitor will be able to choose whether to watch an artistic movie, enter a concert or a theater play. Afterwards we will have dinner near Xochimilco and have a look at the famous colorful boats there. |
● | 29.08.2011 Mexico City |
In order to start a fresh week and to prepare ourselves to the coming visits we will meet the Correspondent of the NZZ newspaper in Mexico and have a conversation with him about the situation Mexico’s living and his point of view. Finally we will meet, Daniel González politician engaged in environmental care as one of the youngest members of the Mexican Chamber. During our last dinner in Mexico City we can talk about all the impressions we got of this huge city, and afterwards go to sleep early, in order to be prepared for our journey to Puebla. |
● | 30.08.2011 Puebla |
We get up very early in the morning and leave Mexico City in a private bus in direction to Puebla, a beautiful colonial city. There are some pre-hispanic ruins on the way which preserve one of the best conserved Murals of the time before the conquest. After this we will stop in a small town called Tlaxcala and will have lunch there. We will reach Puebla before noon and leave our things in the hostel, so we can explore the city, get some “mole poblano” (the traditional food of this region), and relax after the intense days in Mexico City. |
● | 31.08.2011 Puebla |
We will stay in Puebla until early afternoon. We are currently trying to arrange a meeting with somebody from PEMEX (the national Mexican oil company) or an expert on the topic of oil production, as this is an important topic in Mexico. We leave Puebla around 3pm in our private bus, and arrive to Oaxaca around 10pm, having dinner on our way. |
● | 01.09.2011 Oaxaca |
We are still working on our program in Oaxaca but the main topic will be the conflicts that took place in this city in 2006. We will meet a local journalist from the zone in order to gain a deeper understanding of the situation there. We hope that there will be some time left to talk about the Zapatistas, who are of more importance in Chiapas, but also have some influence in Oaxaca. There is still a lot of civil movement in this region and an active social society with local NGOs, so we would like to know their point of view. |
● | 02.09.2011 Oaxaca/Ayoquesco |
In the morning we will visit a small town nearby, which is called Ayoquesco. This town had huge problems some years ago when the tobacco production stopped and many men migrated to the USA. The women were left alone and decided to build their own business of nopal (a popular eatable cactus in Mexico) products. We would like to visit this fabric and talk to the women about their success and the problems of migration. Back in Oaxaca there is enough time to have a look at the famous chocolate production in the city and of course taste some of it, before we go to sleep early. |
● | 03.09.2011 Flight to Merida |
We will leave very early and get our flight to Merida, via Mexico City. We will arrive in Mérida in the afternoon, get to our hostel and have a look around the centre of this beautiful colonial city. In the night there is always a big “fiesta Mexicana” in the Paseo Montejo, the main street with a lot of bars and good food. |
● | 04.09.2011 Merida/Dzibilchaltun/Progreso |
Every Sunday there are cultural events in Mérida, such as traditional dance and typical trova music concerts. We will have a look at the market in the centre where you can buy souvenirs and traditional Yucatec clothes or the famous hammocks. Before noon, we will make a short trip to Dzibilchaltun, a very interesting archaeological place with ruins and a beautiful Cenote (cenotes are limestone sinkholes that are filled with water, typical for the Yucatec Peninsula), where you can refresh from the heat. Afterwards we will continue to Progreso, the most popular beach, where the people from Mérida spend their Sundays and eat at a typical restaurant with lots of local food. |
● | 05.09.2011 Mayan Village |
In order to get a better understanding of the Mayan culture nowadays, we will meet Miss. Hilaria Collí, a Maya teacher who was born in a small town near Mérida. She has been teaching the Mayan language for years and can teach us some basic expressions and talk about the life in her town, which is very different from Mérida. After this preparation we will visit a small Maya town and stay there over night, in hammocks, if possible. We also will get in touch with the locals and have a traditional dinner with them there. |
● | 06.09.2011 Mayan Village/Merida |
After a relaxing night in our hammocks, we start the day with a nice breakfast and get around the town. We are trying to arrange a meeting with a h-men (something like a shaman or a medicine man in Maya towns). Unfortunately there are very few left, but we surely can arrange another interesting meeting about Maya traditions or traditional medicine, in case we don’t find a h-men. In the afternoon we get back to Mérida and visit a local NGO that is working with Mayan people. Surely we will have a better understanding of their work after our experience in the village. |
● | 07.09.2011 Cancun/Tulum |
Early in the morning we leave Mérida in direction to Cancún, the famous tourist destination at the Caribbean Sea. We will meet a hotel or event manager and talk about the effects of mass tourism in this area. Then we continue our journey to Tulum, a quieter place. Here we are going to sleep and enjoy the Mexican way of life at beautiful Caribbean beaches. |
● | 08.09.2011 Tulum |
On our last day of the trip we can meet some students of the UQROO and talk about ecotourism. Or you can visit the famous archaeological site in Tulum and enjoy the beach. There will be enough time to discuss all our experiences and impressions we made during the trip. Then it’s time for everybody to prepare his/her return and to say goodbye…-until we meet again in Switzerland for our feedback-meeting. |
Our program is subject to change. Nevertheless the destinations and the main topics are not going to change and we will keep you informed as soon as you apply.