The Wirld project kicked off in the beautiful country of Mexico on May 28th 2013, where the team visited Cancun, Monterrey and Mexico City. See how the lads got on below:
Cancun
“We touched down at 5pm local time in Cancun and were instantly smacked by the 35 degree heat and realised that the Boots factor 30 wouldn’t last too long. We hopped on the local bus into downtown Cancun (and away from the craic) and eventually arrived at our hostel. Luckily the hostel was having a free tequila tasting session which was excellent for our tight budget! After about 6 or so, we decided to call it a night as in the morning we were going to see one of the 7 Wonders of the World: Chitchen Itza. Jet lagged and slightly hung over, we made it to Chitchen Itza, or as most Americans thought it was called: Chicken Pizza. Once the tour finished and the word “tip” was mentioned we legged it.
Cancun
“We touched down at 5pm local time in Cancun and were instantly smacked by the 35 degree heat and realised that the Boots factor 30 wouldn’t last too long. We hopped on the local bus into downtown Cancun (and away from the craic) and eventually arrived at our hostel. Luckily the hostel was having a free tequila tasting session which was excellent for our tight budget! After about 6 or so, we decided to call it a night as in the morning we were going to see one of the 7 Wonders of the World: Chitchen Itza. Jet lagged and slightly hung over, we made it to Chitchen Itza, or as most Americans thought it was called: Chicken Pizza. Once the tour finished and the word “tip” was mentioned we legged it.
The following day we decided it was time to unleash our pasty and hairy Irish beach bodies to the world. We should have known that 3 hours at the beach and Westlife on the iPod would only lead to trouble. Worst sun burn of our lives! The Red Hot Chilli’s departed the beach for the airport and it only dawned on us how bad the burns were when people started calling us “Tomates” in the airport. The plane journey to Monterrey didn't help much as our feet swelled up and we could barely walk!
Monterrey
When we arrived at our host Pavel’s place that night, the look on his face as 3 red Irishmen walked in was quite memorable. Queue numerous days in bed in what we later labelled as the “Batcave”, Pavel’s underground bedroom. Needless to say that at our first pool party the following evening at a friend’s place, we went down a big hit as a source of entertainment and without a doubt created a lot of interest in the pastiness of Irish skin! Saturday didn't improve in terms of sunburn and the look of disgust was becoming normal! A BBQ turned into an impromptu Irish concert with us introducing Mexico to the wonders of Ronan Keating, Westlife and Galway Girl. That movie PS I Love You has done wonders for the Irish race!
Monterrey
When we arrived at our host Pavel’s place that night, the look on his face as 3 red Irishmen walked in was quite memorable. Queue numerous days in bed in what we later labelled as the “Batcave”, Pavel’s underground bedroom. Needless to say that at our first pool party the following evening at a friend’s place, we went down a big hit as a source of entertainment and without a doubt created a lot of interest in the pastiness of Irish skin! Saturday didn't improve in terms of sunburn and the look of disgust was becoming normal! A BBQ turned into an impromptu Irish concert with us introducing Mexico to the wonders of Ronan Keating, Westlife and Galway Girl. That movie PS I Love You has done wonders for the Irish race!
Our diet greatly improved on the Monday thanks to the introduction of Cornflakes. It beat the usual one meal a day which consisted of either tacos or Chinese food. We spent the next 3 days hibernating in the Batcave as we struggled to survive the worst of sunburns and the odd case of man flu. Upon shedding our final pieces of skin, we could finally step in to the outdoors again, and did some of basic sightseeing of museums and bars. Once back to full strength we felt it was time to up the ante in terms of spreading some Irishness through the beautiful medium of karaoke. Our Friday and Saturday night out again ended up in an after party and Westlife blaring until all hours. I wouldn't be surprised if Westlife notice a spike in sales in the Mexico region over the coming weeks. God knows poor Shane needs the money.
As the budget had taken quite a hit, we felt it would be beneficial to hibernate back into the Batcave for the last few days to save for Mexico City. Poor Pavel is now a plastic Paddy if ever there was one and I don’t know for his sake if that is a good thing. A Mexican saying “How’s it going?” or “Any birds?” just doesn’t sit right. By this stage our Irish beach bodies had taken quite a hit thanks to the lovely world of tacos. We departed Monterrey with the hope of taking it easy in Mexico City. An awful call on our behalf.
As the budget had taken quite a hit, we felt it would be beneficial to hibernate back into the Batcave for the last few days to save for Mexico City. Poor Pavel is now a plastic Paddy if ever there was one and I don’t know for his sake if that is a good thing. A Mexican saying “How’s it going?” or “Any birds?” just doesn’t sit right. By this stage our Irish beach bodies had taken quite a hit thanks to the lovely world of tacos. We departed Monterrey with the hope of taking it easy in Mexico City. An awful call on our behalf.
Mexico City
We arrived by plane, using the Ryanair owned Vivaaerobus, which is basically like Ryanair back in the nineties, and took the metro to the city centre. At one stage a young girl with her mother actually pointed at us and said “Gringos mami, Gringos!”!. We got off the metro in the middle of Zona Rosa, which is the Mexican gay Mecca. It was basically a street with lads necking each other on every bench.
We stayed at a friend of a friend’s place who loves Ireland even more than we do and told us about endless nights in Dicey’s and Coppers. We visited the Zocalo which is the historic centre of Mexico and partook in some Irish dancing on the main plaza to the amusement of the locals. That night we decided that we should visit the local “Irish” bar. By Jesus it was twice as expensive as back home and the budget was smashed before the word tipsy could even be mentioned!
We arrived by plane, using the Ryanair owned Vivaaerobus, which is basically like Ryanair back in the nineties, and took the metro to the city centre. At one stage a young girl with her mother actually pointed at us and said “Gringos mami, Gringos!”!. We got off the metro in the middle of Zona Rosa, which is the Mexican gay Mecca. It was basically a street with lads necking each other on every bench.
We stayed at a friend of a friend’s place who loves Ireland even more than we do and told us about endless nights in Dicey’s and Coppers. We visited the Zocalo which is the historic centre of Mexico and partook in some Irish dancing on the main plaza to the amusement of the locals. That night we decided that we should visit the local “Irish” bar. By Jesus it was twice as expensive as back home and the budget was smashed before the word tipsy could even be mentioned!
The next morning we went to play football with a local team at 7am and share some Irish skills. They were not too impressed with the tactic of all men behind the ball and lump it as far as you can to the big man up front. Added to the fact that we could still taste the tacos from only hours earlier and you can imagine that the quality of football was not the finest. After a quick nap we headed off to Xochimilco: which is like the Grand Canal but even dirtier and with lots of beer. You can rent boats and a driver by the hour for €30 and drink beer and play music with about 20 friends. It only took about an hour before Westlife was blaring! We also met another big fan of Ireland who gave us an interview for The Wirld. Our last few days in Mexico City were spent eating as many tacos as possible with us almost the two meals a day barrier. I can’t feel my legs Sal!
Mexico you have been amazing and more Irish than we expected. Next stop Venezuela!
The Lads
Mexico you have been amazing and more Irish than we expected. Next stop Venezuela!
The Lads
