Fun facts about Mexico!

Part of why I picked Chapala to check out is the weather. Most of Mexico is just too hot for me to consider for retirement.  But Chapala is one of the few areas listed for "nice weather year round" in Mexico.  Apparently, the hottest month here is in May and the rest is pretty pleasant.

I had actually hoped to start our adventure sooner, but the adoption delay meant we started here in May. And it was indeed hot for most of the month - low to mid 90s for the high pretty much every day. BUT it's dry heat, which helps. BUT it also has bright UV intense days, which isn't so great.  So far, June has indeed been cooler with highs in the lower 80s.

If I end up really liking it, I suppose I could spend the month of May elsewhere, but the goal is to land somewhere where I don't HAVE to escape for however long. But while we're waiting out the summer, here are some fun facts I learned about Mexico from a  little booklet in the "Lake Chapala Society" expat group HQ "downtown:"

1) Not only is Mexico home to the world's largest pyramid - the Great Pyramid of Cholula - but it also has more pyramids than Egypt. Cholula (AKA Tlachihualtepetl, or 'constructed mountain') is actually shorter than Giza, but much wider and larger in square feet.

2) As you may know, Mexico is the birthplace of chocolate!  The Olmecs and Mayan used it to make beverages.

3) Mexico City is sinking, with some buildings sinking up to 4-20(!) nches per year. Those clever conquistadores drained Lake Texcoco to expand the city originally built on the lake's islands.

4) Too bad it's sinking, coz Mexico City has the 2nd most museums in the world.

5) There are 69 recognized/"official" languages in Mexico! 

6) A Mexican engineer, Guillermo Gonzalez Camarena, invented color TV.

7) Mexico is home to the 2nd largest coal reef in the world. The Great Mayan Reef actually stretches from Mexico down through Belize, Guatemala, and down to Honduras - well over 500 miles.

8) Mexico is home to the oldest university in North America: The Royal and Pontifical University of Mexico predates Harvard by 80 years, although AI will still say Harvard is older.  Tell me again how AI isn't corrupted by the information/propaganda it's fed.

9) Per capita, Mexico drinks more Coca-Cola than any other country. And yes, Mexican Coke is still better.

10) Mexico is home to the Americas first printing press - established in Mexico City in 1539, about 100 years before the first one arrived in Boston.

11) Mexico is home to the world's most volcanoes - including the smallest (Cuexcomate is only 43 feet high).

12) Las Colorados in the Yucatan has pink lakes! It's not "natural" but rather due to a high concentration of red and pink algae, plankton, and brine shrimp.  If it wasn't so far, I'd love to go see them!

13) Technically, the country is called The United States of Mexico.