It’s been an exciting week.

Last week, five months after launching our travel budget app Trail Wallet, it flew up the charts in the US App Store and hit the top 20 in the Travel category. It peaked at number 14 giving us our biggest day yet, beating even our launch day.

It didn’t stay at those dizzying heights for too long but, man, was it a good day.

Woohoo! Trail Wallet at Number 20!

It’s been a dream of mine to do something like this for a long time and this lifestyle was supposed to be about these dreams and not the money. So seven months ago we checked our emotional baggage and took off into the dark and foreboding skies[1] of independent app development.

Those last seven months have been a turbulent plane ride of internal instability, with doubts flying around the cabin of our minds and whacking us in the confidence like so much unsecured hand luggage.

THWACK! Was this really a viable business?

WALLOP! How are we going to reach enough new people every month?

BOSH! What if we spend all this time and the world hates it or, worse, ignores it entirely?

We have now had a tiny and fleeting taste of the possibility that there is enough interested people and enough money in the App Store to support yet another independent app developer in a world that is not short of them.

The relief that choosing to stop client work and pursue this thing may not have been such a crazy decision after all is palpable and feels a lot like your two-sizes-too-big favourite sweater that’s just come out of the drier and this is entirely due to…

Our Fabulous Trail Walleteers

There have been some very shaky moments, but through these times our users have been smiling, sure-footed flight attendants, just as geeky about tracking their travel expenses as we are: Little rays of sunshine breaking through the thick grey fog of our collective tumultuous psyches.

Many have become addicted to entering their expenses in Trail Wallet while they are travelling, and in the voices of confident Captains coming over [This metaphor has gone far enough. ~Erin]…they’ve said some darned lovely things:

“Trail Wallet…is the best travel-centric expense tracking app I’ve used. It’s quick, intuitive, pretty(!), and has easily customizable categories so you can organize and record your expenses in a way that makes sense to you.”
Nora, The Professional Hobo

“I am currently 1 month in to my 6 month round the world trip and have been using this app daily to keep track of daily expenses. Love that you can have multiple foreign currencies, can export to excel and set a daily spending limit. Definitely the best app for long term travel!!!”
Limelicious

“Because Trail Wallet is super easy to use, fast, and has a fun and beautiful interface I’ve found myself tracking all of my costs for the past couple of months — and actually enjoying doing so!”
Lauren, Too Many Adapters

Some of them have even been sharing their ultra-private financial data with a world of anonymous strangers and, in celebration of this fearlessness, we’ve compiled a list of Trail Walleteers over on our Voyage Travel Apps site who’ve shared their travel budgets for New Zealand, Bali, Buenos Aires and more[2].

The feedback and support we’ve received has been simply phenomenal. Overwhelming, in fact. We’ve had 23 reviews in the App Store with an average rating of 4.5 stars which boggles my mind.

Press

If you are as insecure and lacking in self confidence as I am, then you can understand how entirely unbelievable it is that something I made is not only being written about openly on the Internet, but the words being used don’t involve “sucks”, “crappy” and “ugly” (the reviews in my head all involve these words).

Instead, lots of nice words are being used.

• Nine Apps That May Change How You Travel – Smarter Travel
• The Best Travel Apps of 2013 – Triphackr
• Financial Travel Tip: Tracking Expenses with Trail Wallet – The Professional Hobo
• Review: Trail Wallet for iOS Review – Too Many Adapters
• RTW Budget – Trail Wallet for iOS Review – Travelling 9 to 5
• Trail Wallet App Review – Magic Travel Blog
• App Review: Trail Wallet for iPhone – Amateur Traveler
• Travel Apps We Love – This World Rocks
• 5 Great Apps for Travel Money & Financial Management – Landlopers
• Tracking Your Tuppence with Trail Wallet – Indie Travel Podcast
• Apps for Travellers – Indefinite Adventure
• App Armada for the Modern Explorer – Colour & Clarity
• Christmas Gifts for a Traveller – Chrystal Clear

Trail Wallet Tips

We’ve made the app super simple to use but there are some things you might not be aware of so we’ve also written about some tips and tricks to help you get the most out of Trail Wallet.

That’s really all there is to say about that. This probably didn’t deserve its own section but it didn’t really fit anywhere else.

So…the weather…is nice…and stuff…

What’s Next?

One thing about our Walleteers, they’re not shy about telling me what they want. I have a laundry list of new features to add (and quite a few bugs to fix) and I’m already hard at work at getting those things done.

The next major update will introduce Trips, which will allow you to budget by trip or country as well as by month. Trail Wallet One Point Two is going to be huge—look out for it in the next couple of months.

Finally, and sincerely, thank you. For every purchase. For every tweet, blog post, review, comment, or mention. It means the world to us and it’s melting both our minds that we have such support out there.

Trail Wallet is available in the Apple App Store for the iPhone/iPod Touch. 

Last week we spent a blissful three days at Majahuitas Resort, an isolated bay south of Puerto Vallarta, Mexico that can only be reached by boat. Despite being stranded on the beach (poor us!) we still found plenty to do, including trying stand up paddle boarding for the first time. Thankfully it’s much easier than surfing, and it helped that we had some expert instruction from the resort’s resident labrador.

Gazing at Trinidad from above I’m reminded of a tropical Tuscany. It’s as impossibly picturesque as so many Italian towns and there are the cobbled streets, and the terracotta tiled roofs against a backdrop of rolling green hills. But we’re in Cuba so there are Caribbean flavours: the blue sea in the distance, the palm trees lining the streets, and the one storey houses in bright and pastel shades—saffron yellow, sky blue, pale green, apricot orange and soft pink.

Trinidad is often described as an outdoor museum. It’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site with carefully restored Spanish colonial architecture. At first glance the pristine historic centre seems touristy, perhaps inauthentic, but it only takes a few minutes walk to discover the vibrant street scenes of Cuban life: peso pizza stands, old guys in cowboy hats playing dominoes with serious expressions, the “jitomate” cries of a roving tomato seller, the squeals of a pig kept in a courtyard. As elsewhere in Cuba shops here look like something from the Wild West—in the dim interior sparse wares are lined up in single rows behind a wooden counter, so unlike the overstocked, sanitised, fluorescent-lit supermarkets we’re used to.

Although not quite as soporific as Viñales, the pace is slow and street noise comes from vociferous conversations and enthusiastic vendors rather than traffic. Bicycles, cycle rickshaws and horse carts are more common in the centre than the occasional 1950s car.

Trinidad comes to life early in the morning. We woke to the clip-clopping of horses, and the sales pitches of roaming food vendors hawking baskets of bread, vegetables in wheelbarrows or boxes on the back of bicycles, buckets of biscuits, or simply strings of onion and garlic draped around a neck. By the evening our neighbourhood went quiet except one night when we heard the frenzied drumming and singing of a santería ceremony next door.

In multisensory Trinidad it’s the sounds and the colours that I remember the most.

The blue waters of the Caribbean at nearby Playa Ancon

San Pancho, the tiny Mexican beach town where we are living for a few months is full of surprises. One of them is that it has its very own polo club. It’s particularly strange that being British and growing up around horses it took coming to the Mexican coast to attend my first ever polo game.

La Patrona polo club is fancy for San Pancho, as you’d expect for the sport most associated with the rich, but is a good place for a splurge. We enjoyed a leisurely mimosa brunch one Sunday and returned last Saturday for a glass of wine to watch the Easter Polo Cup. It’s a fast and furious game and things got rather dramatic when this horse lost his balance while galloping around a tight turn. Thankfully despite the rider being taken off on a stretcher, it was just a precaution and horse and rider were fine.

I still want to learn to play polo.

We emerged from the traffic of Havana onto the quiet roads of rural Cuba, driving past bright green rice paddies and tobacco fields, little wooden houses, and horses and cows grazing in the fields. Our fellow road companions were the occasional rusting 50s Buick or a horse and cart, and the the roads were empty of shops and advertising save for large billboards bearing motivational Communist slogans. It was pretty, peaceful, but the scenery really turned to spectacular four hours later as we neared Viñales and got our first glimpse of the bulbous limestone rock formations called mogotes rising from the verdant landscape. Even the rain and grey skies couldn’t dampen the impact of the view.

One of our favourite things about Cuba is the extensive network of casas particulares or home stays, which made travelling around the country so easy. Our Havana host had called ahead and booked us a room with friends of theirs in Viñales, so when we got off the bus our new host Marco was waiting for us with our names on a handwritten sign and a warm smile. He led us in the drizzle along Viñales’s main street and we turned off down an unpaved lane to reach their little blue house, pink rocking chairs waiting invitingly on the porch.

Marco & Isabel’s house

The one storey home is surrounded by lush green vegetation—banana plants, avocado and mamey trees, and exuberant flowers. Behind the house is nothing but farmland and we’d often hear horses trotting past our window. It felt utterly tranquil although we’d discover the next morning that the roosters make more noise than the cars of Havana.

Marco’s wife Isabel greeted us just as warmly as she showed us our room and invited us to make ourselves at home in the living room or on more of the rocking chairs on the garden terrace. She brought us glasses of thick pink guava juice and proudly encouraged us to try the sweet, juicy, locally grown pineapple.

Our experiences in Cuba wouldn’t have been the same without the families we stayed with and it was no different with Marco and Isabel. They were always smiling, quick to laugh, and willing to help us with anything, eager to make us feel at home. We felt like we were staying with our grandparents, especially when they dished us up huge breakfasts and dinners, more than we could possibly eat.

The rain kept us inside most of our first afternoon but we were perfectly content rocking away on the terrace, hearing nothing but chirping birds and the creak of our chairs, easing into the slow pace of Viñales life.

We did brave the downpour for a quick wander around town. The main street is lined with terracotta tiled, brightly painted, single storey buildings, the little traffic consisting of classic American Fords, Plymouths and Chevys mixed with horse carts and bicycles. One guy rode his horse bareback dressed in a tshirt, shorts and bare feet, despite the chilly rain. Street food choices included sugary churros, frozen pina coladas, deep-fried plantain chips, and Cuban peso pizza cooked in makeshift oil drum ovens.

The town hub is the small central plaza with a simple church and an open air music venue where we later enjoyed a night of live music, impressed that the locals didn’t let the rain stop them showing off their salsa moves.

Vinales town square

We were pleased that despite far fewer vehicles than in Havana there was still plenty of classic car eye candy in Viñales.

Humbler transportation is just as common though

Viñales sees plenty of tourists but has kept a very laid-back atmosphere and you won’t be approached by the hustlers you find in Havana. Isabel and Marco were proud of the friendliness of their town and assured us that anytime we needed to escape the rain we could shelter on the porch of any house in town and would be welcomed.

The main reason people come to Viñales is to explore the valley on foot, bike or horseback. Unfortunately our four days in town were blighted by torrential rain, plummeting temperatures (well, it was cold for the tropics at least), and a stomach upset. We kept occupied by taking salsa lessons, rocking in those chairs, and walking around town whenever the rain let up.

One walk took us through the tobacco fields towards the mogotes in heavy red mud. The local kids walked barefoot ankle deep in the sticky stuff and we realised they were probably the smart ones when we returned to the casa with our shoes caked in mud. In one of her extraordinary acts of grandmotherly hospitality Isabel tried to clean our shoes for us and when we refused she hovered around giving tips and correcting our technique. Seriously, why would you stay in a hotel in Cuba?

On a longer walk out of town we passed cute little colourful houses surrounded by flowers, all immaculate and with the requisite rocking chairs on the porch. It didn’t take long to leave the “bustle” of town behind and find ourselves in rural Cuba.

We walked up towards Hotel Los Jazmines and along the way a tobacco farmer invited us to have a look around his small farm. He explained how he uses ecological fermentation practices with no chemicals or nicotine to make his cigars. He showed us his drying room, a little thatched hut packed with crumbly brown tobacco leaves, and rolled us a cigar to try. When in Cuba…

Tobacco drying

Tobacco farmer rolling us a cigar

Of course, this is Cuba and even in gentle Viñales a sales pitch was inevitable and having no need for a $15 bundle of cigars things got a little awkward, but we managed to get away with giving him a few dollars for his time and the cigar.

Smoking a cigar in Cuba had to be done

Hotel Los Jazmines lived up to its reputation of having the best view in Viñales and we spent ages gazing down at the lush green scene—craggy mogotes looming over the red earth farmland and tobacco fields.

The Vinales valley from Hotel Los Jazmines

Despite the rain and the fact we didn’t get to do any of the things we planned—long hikes, horse riding, a motorbike trip to the beach—we loved Viñales and the insight into rural Cuban life. The pace is wonderfully slow, the people are friendly, and the scenery amongst the best in Cuba.

Viñales Information: Viñales is four hours from Havana. We took the comfortable, air-conditioned Viazul bus for 12 CUC (about $12) at 9am (there is also a bus at 12pm). It’s worth going to the Viazul bus station in Havana a few days in advance to buy your ticket as when we were there in March they were selling out two days in advance.

Have you been to Viñales? Did you get to do more than us? Leave a comment and share your experiences.

Many people are surprised that Cuba is not a cheap country to travel in. The average Cuban salary is around $25 a month after all, and travellers expect prices similar to those in Central America. But as we’ve said, Cuba is unlike anywhere else we’ve visited and you can’t expect things to be that straightforward.

Cuba has a dual currency system: Cuban pesos (CUP) or moneda nacional are what locals earn/spend while convertible pesos (CUC) are what tourists spend and locals need for any kind of luxuries. 1 CUC is about equivalent to US$1, and 1 CUC buys 24 CUP. Tourists can use moneda nacional for a few things like street food which is very cheap but everything else (accommodation, transport etc) must be paid for with convertibles. It sounds confusing but you get the hang of it once you are there.

Cuba Travel Costs

Here’s what we spent during our two weeks in Cuba visiting Havana, Vinales and Trinidad. These costs are for two people.

This is the breakdown of how much this works out on an average daily basis.

We budgeted £70 a day which is about US$110 or 110 CUC for two people so we were pretty happy that we came in under budget at £58/ $88 a day or £29/ $44 per person. I doubt we could travel for that on any other Caribbean island.

Accommodation

The room of our casa particular in Trinidad

• We stayed entirely in casas particulares or homestays where Cuban families rent out one or two rooms in their homes. They are cheaper than the government-run hotels and you get the benefit of the wonderful hospitality and home-cooked meals. We paid between 20-30 CUC per room which were always clean, simple but comfortable, and equipped with private bathroom, hot water, A/C, and often a fridge.
• As the price is per room accommodation costs are higher for solo travellers.

Food

Breakfast at the casa

• We ate in our casas for most meals. Breakfast was 3-5 CUC each and dinner was 7-8 CUC each—portions are huge. We also ate peso pizza from street stalls for about 10 CUP ($0.42).
• Bottled drinking water is included in this category and was a substantial expense—we spent £50/$76 on water, but we do drink a lot of it.

Transport

Our taxi in Trinidad

• We travelled by comfortable Viazul bus between cities (12-37 CUC for 4-9 hour trips).
• A taxi from the airport into Havana is 25 CUC.
• We paid US$25 each for a Cuban visa at Cancun airport.
• Exit tax from Cuba is 25 CUC.

Entertainment

The view from Trinidad’s Museo Historico Municipal

• This includes a few nights out seeing bands, two private salsa classes, horse riding, and entrance fees to museums and galleries.
• We only drank alcohol a few times so if you plan to drink a lot of mojitos (2-3 CUC each, more in Hemingway bars) this category will be higher.

Miscellaneous

• This includes laundry and tips, often for the bathroom attendant. Tips are a must in Cuba as locals rely on them for access to convertibles.

Other Costs Not Included Above

• Our return flights from Cancun to Havana with Cubana cost US$282 each.

Things to Know About Money in Cuba

The money situation in Cuba is more complicated than in other countries so you’ll need to be prepared before you arrive.

• There are some ATMs in big cities in Cuba but your card won’t work if it’s issued by an American bank. Although our British bank card may have worked the ATMs can be unreliable so we decided to take all our money in cash.
• Outside of big resorts credit cards aren’t commonly accepted. We didn’t use ours.
• As we were travelling from Mexico we took all our cash in Mexican pesos. Other good currencies to take are Euros, British pounds, and Canadian dollars. US dollars have a 10% exchange rate penalty so it’s best to avoid them.
• Only change some of your money at the airport when you arrive as rates are better in Havana.
• We used one of the cadecas (change booths) to change money from Mexican pesos to convertible pesos. The one we used was at 257 Obispo in Habana Vieja.
• We also changed 20 CUC (convertible pesos) to CUP (Cuban pesos or moneda nacional) which we mostly spent in street food stands on peso pizza. This was actually quite a lot for two weeks as Cuban pesos go far and can’t be used for many items.
• Prices in the Lonely Planet were surprisingly accurate, even though our guide book was an older version published in 2009.

Tracking Our Expenses

As all our money was in cash and we didn’t want to run out it was particularly important to track our travel expenses in Cuba. We’ve been using our Trail Wallet app to note down our expenses since late last year but in Cuba it really came into its own and helped us to come in under budget. We could make decisions like “can we afford that horse riding trip?” based on how we were doing against our daily budget.

Note that as there is no 3G and very limited WiFi in Cuba, if you use Trail Wallet in Cuba you’ll want to set the exchange rate before you arrive by going to settings and choosing Cuba (Convertible pesos) so that it’ll save the rate for you.

We hope you find Trail Wallet useful for keeping on budget on your travels. Trail Wallet is available for iPhone/iPod Touch from the App Store for just $1.99.

The search for an apartment to rent on our travels is often a struggle so we were happy with the wonderful instance of serendipity that led us to renting this cute little casita in the beach town of San Pancho on Mexico’s Pacific Coast.

While staying with our friends Warren and Betsy at their artist’s retreat in Guanajuato we mentioned that San Pancho was likely our next destination and they told us that their friend lived there and coincidentally was coming to Guanajuato at the same time as we were leaving. They put us in touch and we were able to rent her lovely house while she was away. We love it when things come together like that and it reminds us of the importance of connections.

The casita is the perfect tranquil retreat for us right now (we’ve both been ill with the flu). It’s colourful and artistic with lots of Mexican artwork and creative details, and best of all, it’s open air with views of the flower filled garden and jungle beyond.

Our first memories of Havana are ones of delight at every Cuba cliche: American classic cars; the sounds of son and salsa drifting from every bar; old gents sat in doorways smoking cigars and watching the world go by; the crumbling but colourful architecture of Old Havana.

Over the next few days we walked the streets of Old and Central Havana and dodged waves on the iconic malecón. There are many museums in Havana but with the exception of the excellent Cuban art collection at Bellas Artes we shunned them for life on the streets, always finding new avenues to explore.

There are no billboards or flyposters on the walls. Instead, we have images of Che and Fidel, Cuban flags and propaganda.

Life is lived on the streets in Havana. In Old Havana traffic is minimal with as many cycle rickshaws, bicycles and horse carts as 1950s Buicks and Chevys, and Soviet Ladas. Instead people fill the streets—kids playing baseball with broom ends and bottle caps, women hanging laundry from balconies, vendors pulling carts overloaded with fruit and vegetables, customers queuing outside the bare shops, waiting to use their ration cards.

These churro venders were among the most popular of street stalls. In the week we were away, their prices doubled from CUC$0.50 to CUC$1.00 with no obvious loss in popularity—a sign of the new layer of Capitalist entrepreneurship that is spreading out on top of this otherwise Communist economy.

There’s a striking difference between the restored pristine Disneylandia Havana full of tourists from all inclusive resorts and the touts who follow them, and the faded pastel colours of the decaying streets where people live, often only a block apart.

Along the malecón, Havana’s seafront promenade fishermen try their luck, kids dive in the water, and musicians hope for tips from the many strolling locals and tourists. Cars and people dodge the waves that crash over the wall, and at sunset the pastel buildings glow in the last light of the day.

Classic cars along the Malecón

We’re currently staying with Warren and Betsy from Married With Luggage in Guanajuato, Mexico and the day after we arrived we were up at 6:30am and hiking up the hills that surround this colourful little town.

Despite Warren’s constant reassurances that we were almost there when we blatantly weren’t, it was a fun (and, later, rather adventurous) walk with some lovely folks culminating in a wonderful view.

Want more detail? Click here for a larger version.

Food is everywhere in Mexico City, especially street food, but as vegetarians we had no idea what we could eat. It tempted but bewildered us and we kept our distance. We decided to take an Eat Mexico food tour of the city’s markets which included plenty of street eats too. Food tours have become our favourite way of learning more about the culture of a new place, and they come in especially useful when you are looking for information on something specific like meat-free eats.

Eat Mexico was started three years ago by foodie Leslie, an American who used to live in Mexico City and now divides her time between there and New York. She has developed a network of trusted knowledgeable local guides to run the street food and market tours and she met us with Luis. Groups are kept small (maximum four people) and are personalised based on your interests. As we had booked last minute we tagged along on another woman’s market tour, but Leslie usually recommends the street food tour for vegetarians. Still, we got to eat plenty of veggie eats and loved discovering the markets, which we could make the most of as we had a kitchen in our apartment.

We headed off to a traditional neighbourhood in the centre of the city, of neglected Art Deco buildings and blender repair shops (the workhorse of the Mexican kitchen is never thrown out).

Torta & Muffin

Torta stand

Our first stop was for a torta from a hole in the wall place that has been there for 60 years. These Mexican sandwiches are usually huge and stuffed full of a multitude of ingredients. Leslie likes this stall because they keep things simple—just turkey, avocado, and their delicious homemade chipotle sauce. We skipped the turkey of course and were amazed by how tasty an avocado sandwich could be, they are just so fresh and delicious here, and the chipotle sauce was the perfect counterpoint. We also picked some of the papaloquelite herb from the plant on the counter, which added a unique fragrant, citrusey flavour. Of course, this is Mexico so we couldn’t resist some extra servings of salsa on the side.

Papaloquelite herb

Avocado & chipotle torta

Next up was a Mexican muffin or panqué de nata, from another hole in the wall that sells only these. They are made with clotted cream rather than butter, and the result is a simple but light, moist and delicious muffin.

Mercado San Juan

There are a few San Juan markets in the area and we started with the gourmet market where the most famous chefs in the city come to buy their produce. You can get local and international specialties that aren’t easily found elsewhere and the produce is of the highest quality.

The pristine stands are piled high with perfectly stacked fruit, and unusual items like these huge garlic cloves.

We stopped at a stall specialising in items from Oaxaca including seasoned grasshoppers and tiny shrimps, a good snack to go with beer apparently, cactus tortillas, and mosquito eggs (really? who knew those was edible?!). We stuck to the tamer stuff—queso oaxaca and roasted peanuts and garlic.

Oaxaca stall

Roasted peanuts and garlic

We moved on around the stalls, tasting as we went—caramelised figs, fresh mango that have just come into season, sweet mandarins, and mamey, a delicious dark orange fruit similar to zapote that we’ve only come across in Mexico, Cuba, and Little Havana, Miami.

Mamey fruit

We learnt about different varieties of dried chiles, including some vary rare ones, and saw huitlacoche or corn smut for the first time—it’s a fungus that infects corn, and as we discovered later, tastes better than it sounds.

Dried chiles

Vegetarians will probably want to skip the meat section of the market. Piles of dead baby goats covered in fur looked freshly killed, rabbits still have fluffy feet attached to an otherwise stripped carcass, and you’ll fine delicacies such as ant larvae. It’s full on, in your face, and as much as we dislike seeing dead animals we prefer this to the sanitised supermarkets where people buy their meat in convenient packages, safely protected from where their food comes from.

As in every Mexican market there are food stands serving cheap comida corriente meals—three courses and a drink for just 40 pesos (US $3.20) or so. But this is a gourmet market so there is also an excellent coffee stand run by a lovely owner who obviously cares deeply about the coffee he serves. Simon was transported back to Italy with his tiny cup of espresso ristretto, strong, smooth, and without the bitterness that sometimes accompanies strong coffee.

The best stand was saved until last—the cheese stall. While sipping a cup of Spanish tempranillo we were given samples of a range of cheeses—soft panela, stringy Oaxaca, morral with pistachios, a strong goats cheese, parmesan-like sbrinz, and a Mexican version of fontina. They were all really good and restored our faith in Mexican cheese. We’d been buying from the supermarket where it was completely flavourless, and Leslie confirmed that buying from a supermarket is a bad idea as it’s low quality and often not even made from milk to keep costs down.

We were so happy to find good cheese, both Mexican and imported, that we came back to the stall a few more times during our stay. The stall also sells excellent baguettes—another thing that’s hard to come by in Mexico—and will make up a sandwich for you. On Sundays it’s popular with locals who come to enjoy cheese and ham baguettes and a glass of wine, standing in the crowded aisles between the vegetable stands.

Tortillas

Corn tortillas are the staple of every Mexican meal, and are government subsidised so everyone can afford a kilo of tortillas for the set price of 11 pesos ($0.90). We visited the last corn mill in the area, as too often now people use corn flour to make their masa dough, which is easier but nowhere near as flavourful. We watched them grind the corn which had been dried and boiled, and then mixed with water to make the masa.

A simple tortilleria a few doors down, which has been running since 1937, buys masa from the mill. There we watched them feed the dough through the tortilla machine where they are cut and cooked.

There are tortillerias in every neighbourhood in Mexico. People send their kids down every day to pick up fresh, warm tortillas and on the way home perhaps enjoy one sprinkled with salt and rolled up. It’s one of our favourite things in Mexico, and so unlike the dry, pre-packaged, chemical-addled tortillas found in supermarkets outside of Mexico.

Tlacoyos & Quesadillas

On the corner of a busy street surrounded by chicken shops, a petite camera-shy lady sits next to a comal over a coal fire surrounded by pots of salsas, vegetables, and cheese. She lives 1.5 hours away and treks into town each day with all the food that she’s prepared the evening before, after the long commute and day of serving hungry workers. Many street vendors do the same—Mexico City has become expensive to live in, and although it’s hard work and long hours they can earn a decent living.

Her speciality is blue corn tlacoyos, which traditionally must be cooked by a woman. We perched on tiny stools, feeling the heat of the comal, and watched her artfully shaping the blue dough and stuffing it with beans, cheese, or fava beans, before letting it puff up on the comal. It was our first experience of tlacoyos and a good find, as they are usually vegetarian-friendly. We chose fava beans and topped them with nopales (cactus), onion, cilantro, and salsa. Delicious!

Tlacoyo

The tlacoyo lady also makes quesadillas with the lovely blue corn masa and we tried one with huitlacoche, the strange looking corn smut we’d seen in the market. We expected it to have a strong mushroomy flavour, but it was quite mild.

Huitlacoche Quesadilla

Juice

We visited the other Mercado San Juan, less fancy than the gourmet one. Vendors like using encouraging signs advertising the prices of the produce with messages like “Why not?” and “Only today!”.

We were there for a juice, one of Mexico’s simple pleasures. The juice vendor recommended his special of the day—mango, strawberry, guanabana (soursop), and orange. You can ask for any fruit mix you like at Mexican juice stalls, or choose one of their set health combos such as for dieting, your kidneys, or anti-flu.

Tacos

Tacos are the most common street food in Mexico, and as Luis explained are a way of eating not just a dish. You can put any topping on a tortilla and it becomes a taco. Unfortunately we’ve found that the favourite toppings are meat, and we haven’t had much luck finding veggie tacos. Leslie and Luis ordered us a potato and cactus taco but the potatoes had been cooked with meat so we had to pass. A warning for vegetarians in Mexico: a little bit of meat often doesn’t count as meat so always check before you bite.

Potato, nopales & guacamole taco we couldn’t eat

Pulqueria

By mid afternoon we had one last stop—a pulqueria. Pulque is the fermented sap of the maguey (agave) plant, which is the same plant used to make mezcal and tequila. It used to be the drink of Mexico but beer has taken over. Still, judging by the crowd in the bar on a Wednesday afternoon, it’s making a comeback.

We pushed our way amongst the students into the pulqueria, the ceiling and walls decorated in psychedelic coloured murals, and squeezed ourselves into a corner while Luis brought us a sampling of the day’s special flavours. We tried the pulque in its original milky white form, but the yeasty flavour was a bit sour and we preferred it curado. We tried them all: guava (my favourite), mango, almond, celery, melon, and oatmeal. We’d never heard of pulque before and would never have found the place without our guides. The curious looks aimed our way suggested that not many tourists make it here, and it reminded us of why we love taking food tours. It was the perfect way to end the day.

Different flavours of pulque

Food is such an important part of Mexican culture and it can be overwhelming making sense of it when you first arrive and realise it’s nothing like the Tex-Mex you’re familiar with. If you are feeling a bit intimidated about diving into the street stalls, have dietary restrictions like us, or just want to learn more about Mexican food culture and spend a day stuffing your face, then we highly recommend the Eat Mexico tours. After the tour it was like a light bulb went off in our heads and we started to see vegetarian street food everywhere and felt more confident in what we were ordering.

Eat Mexico offers a range of tours including street food, markets, and tacos, starting from US $85 per person. It might sound pricy for Mexico but the groups are small, the tours are customised to your interests, and the guides are knowledgeable, bilingual, and professional.

Thanks to Eat Mexico who gave us a discount on our tour and to Leslie and Luis for being such helpful guides.