After my four-week tour in South America this November, staying in fourteen different places and flying twelve separate legs, I decided I will need a post-vacation vacation.
Luckily, I work for a company that closes our office for the week between Christmas and New Year’s Day. Last year I went to San Francisco for the week and had a great time. But this year I decided to look for a relaxing getaway where it will be warm and quiet.
I decided to look for somewhere in Mexico. My criteria were that it had to be relatively easy to get to and it had to be a place that wouldn’t be overrun with tourists (especially American tourists).
Tepoztlán
After doing a lot of research, I settled on Tepoztlán, a town of about 14,000 people. Located in the state of Moreles, Tepoztlán is about an hour drive south of Mexico City.
There were other places that might have been easier to get to, but I eventually found an air itinerary that is reasonably priced and practical. I am flying on two different round-trip tickets, Seattle to Las Vegas on Alaska Airlines and Las Vegas to Mexico City on Interjet. From there I can take a bus or Uber to Tepoztlán.
And I found this lovely Airbnb right in the heart of town.
It’s a bungalow adjacent to the owner’s house. With the shared garden I should have the perfect combination of privacy and engagement.
My main goal for this trip, as the title of this blog post suggests, is to have a relaxing vacation to help recover from my big trip. So I’m not really going to plan on any sightseeing. But there are hikes in the hills adjacent to town, including up to the ruins of an archaeological site, a temple honoring El Tepozteco, the Aztec god of the alcoholic beverage pulque.
In addition, I hope to make a day trip to Mexico City (maybe heading up there a day early and staying overnight before my flight home), as well as to Cuernevaca, which is just about 25 km away.
But mostly, I plan to relax in that garden or in cafes and do some reading and some writing. I intend to come back rested from my post-vacation vacation.
Featured photo from Wikimedia Commons is in the public domain.
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