Capital: Mexico City … 129,200,000 People … 1.973 million km² 
The Country
Mexican culture has had a massive influence on the world; from tequila to avocados, tacos to burritos, Mexico has added flavour to the world in numerous ways. As a blend of Spanish and Native culture, the country has established itself not just as a country with beautiful beaches and modern cities, but also as global economy and major world exporter.
Fun Facts:
Mexico has the worlds smallest volcano: Cuexcomate volcano is only 13 metres tall.
By a large margin, Mexico is the worlds biggest exporter of beer.
Mexican artists are able to pay their taxes by giving the government their artwork.
My Experience
After graduating high school in 2015, my friends and I decided to visit our friends home in Puerto Vallarta. Since this was the first time most of us were traveling without parents, we knew we’d try to have a very safe and responsible time (is what we told our parents). When we arrived into Mexico and finished going through customs, we went to Nuevo Vallarta Beach to watch the sunset. We were walking back to our car when we passed El Tigre Club de Golf, and saw a Bengal tiger sleeping in a secured area. Seeing a random tiger after only being in Mexico for a couple hours? What a way to start a trip.
The next day we woke up early to take a boat to Islas Marietas, a few kilometres off the coast of Puerto Vallarta. Islas Marietas formed in the 1900’s when bombs were tested on the islands, forming caves and craters. Due to the bombings, a hidden beach emerged in the centre of the crater, accessible by swimming through an underwater cave. When our boat arrived, we jumped in the water and began swimming to the hidden beach. I knew I was going to want to take photos, so I put a waterproof case on my camera, and put my camera inside another waterproof case. Somehow, both cases failed, and I got water in my lens. I just laughed it off, expected to get blurry photos, and we enjoyed the beach. We were required to wear lifejackets, even though that made swimming through the cave much more difficult. My straps actually got caught in the cave briefly; it wasn’t a long cave, but the waves thrashed you around quite a bit. I unhooked myself, and my friends and I enjoyed some tequila on our way back to the mainland. That evening we went to Puerto Vallarta Centro, and our friend who lived there got us a private table in one of the nightclubs. It was a great way to end the night.
The next morning my friend offered to show us some more wildlife, and he drove us to the state of Jalisco to see some crocodiles. Massive and unmoving, we thought it was best not to disturb them, and we began to explore Puerto Vallarta. After doing some shopping for our girlfriends back home, we went to the Malecón Boardwalk to get some drinks and tacos. In an instant, heavy rain started to fall. We ran for shelter, got in our friends car, and we eventually ended up at a casino. Pro Tip: If you pretend that pesos are dollars, you’ll feel like a High Roller in no time.
The next day we drove to a small fishing village in the back of an open bed pickup truck. After a quick bite to eat, we continued driving south to Playa Palmares, a gorgeous beach just outside Puerto Vallarta. We did a very masculine photoshoot, and went to a beach club to unwind. It was at this point I learned that I sunburn VERY easily, and I would resemble a tomato for the rest of the trip. Needing to get out of the sun, we went to a street food vendor where I had the best burrito of my life (so far). That night my friend was challenged by a bartender to keep taking shots, and within 10 minutes he had taken 12 shots of tequila. Witnessing an impending disaster, we started to leave as our friend began to throw up. We stopped at a gas station to get him some food, and just as we were about to feed him a hotdog, it was snatched by a very mischievous racoon. The racoon took the hotdog to his family, and while we were all standing there confused, a crowd of onlookers formed watching the racoons eat. We eventually got our friend home, put him to bed, and we planned our revenge against the racoons.
When we woke up the next morning, we knew we needed to have more of a relaxing day. We drove to Punta de Mita where we ate an entire fried fish, made some extra tacos, relaxed in the sun (or in my case, the shade). We eventually went swimming in an infinity pool and at the beach in Corral del Risco. That night we had more street food, which again was absolutely incredible, and against better judgement we went back to Puerto Vallarta Centro to visit some nightclubs.
Our next day was our last full day in Mexico. We drove to San Fransisco (in Nayarit, not California) and swam in Bahía de Banderas, a bay in Nayarit and Jalisco. We then visited the town of Sayulita, a surfing village backed by the Sierra Madre Occidental mountains. The sand on Sayulita’s beaches looked like it had gold flakes, and it shimmered in the sunlight. We walked through Mercado del Pueblo, the farmers market of Sayulita before each one of us became exhausted from the heat. A few days in constant sunlight and no sleep took a toll on us, but of course we went back to Puerto Vallarta Centro for one last night that we would remember forever.
Photos of Mexico