Me-hee-ko
Trip Start
Oct 15, 2007
1
28
97
Trip End
Aug 24, 2008
Mexico City,
Mexico
Tuesday, December 4, 2007
We finally found a cash machine, from which we took out 1000 pesos, having established that this would be about £50. We managed to change one of the notes for some smaller notes at a bureau de change and then found a phone and contacted Alvaro, our host, for directions. It turned out that the journey to his place would involve three metro lines and a small bus. He would then meet us at the bus stop. OK then, where's the metro?
Eventually, after asking numerous people and ultimately finding it more or less through luck, we found ourselves at the ticket office for the metro. Despite having changed a note for smaller notes, we still found ourselves having to pay for two tickets at 2 pesos each with a 50 peso note. Unpopular with the ticket lady, but with metro tickets and change in our pockets, we proceeded to navigate the metro system.
The first metro ride was relatively easy and we got off at the station to change lines and found our way to the second line without any major problems. However, just as we started to feel that we may have got the hang of this, we got off at the next change, followed signs to the correct line... which suddenly disappeared, leaving us underground in a major city with no clue as to where to go. Again, through a process involving more luck than judgement, we found the correct line and got on it.
The next stage was to get a small bus. OK, there were a whole bunch of small buses across the road from the station, but none seemed to be going to the right places. Eventually, we found a second collection of buses in a grotty yard, reached via a muddy track behind a couple of market stalls, and got on the correct one. We watched out for the right street and jumped off, waited around in mild panic for a short while until Alvaro appeared.
Alvaro took us back to his house and proceeded to introduce us to his cherished country in the best way possible. He is a very knowledgable man and is very enthusiastic about both his country and people who travel. We had showers and chatted for a while, then he took us out to find something to eat. We had quesadillas from a small stall just off the street. We watched the lady form the tortillas using a big cast iron tortilla press to squish the dough into a disk, then filled them with one of a choice of fillings, folded them and fried them in the little vat of oil at the end of her table. They were fantastic. Alvaro told us a little about the Mexican cuisine, including how the little dishes of chili sauce which graced our table were pretty much ubiquitous whenever food was served. It seemed that our stomachs would be enjoying this part of our journey....
After eating, we went to a small store and bought a few bottles of three different beers to share with Alvaro. We went back to his flat and sat up drinking the beers and talking about all manner of things until quite late at night. Eventually, we went off to bed, exhausted and excited in equal measure.
The following morning, Alvaro made us a fantastic breakfast of eggs and mole. No, not furry little underground creatures. It is pronounced "mow-lay" and is a sauce. This particular one was a black mole, and had a rich chocolatey flavour with a hint of chilli. Delicious. We had decided that we would travel on to Oaxaca from Mexico City and were pleased to discover that we liked mole, as Oaxaca is nicknamed 'Land of the Seven Moles' as they have so many varieties that it seems there is a different mole for every day of the week. Oh yes, happy stomachs.
After breakfast, Alvaro took us on a tour of Mexico City. He took us all over and showed us some lovely buildings with some amazing architectecture. The most impressive was a hospital building which from the outside looked like an ugly concrete block, but inside contained courtyards with sweeping arches, beautiful tiles and lots of plants. A little oasis of beauty and calm. Despite its grey, early seventies Soviet barracks appearance, it was in fact the first Mexican hospital, founded by conquistador Hernán Cortez.
We also saw some of the main central area of Mexico City, including the somewhat incongrous and very large ice rink in the Plaza de la Constitución (main square). This is still a very, very popular attraction for Mexicans, so we didn't skate as a) we would have had to queue for about 5 hours and b) Mexicans tend not to be a tall race, so it was very unlikely that they would have rental skates in Jacob's size. We had a look at the Templo Mayor site; the site of the main temple of the Aztec capital of Tenochitlan (modern Mexico City), which was only discovered accidentally in 1978 when construction workers were digging about just off the main square and found an Aztec carving. It makes you wonder what else there is under there.
We went for some food and then took some photos in the Plaza with a backdrop of the fairy lights and ice rink. We then walked to the Angel de la Independencia statue and Alvaro and Kirsty sat on one of the various odd sculptures whilst Jacob took photos. Alvaro told us that during the 1957 earthquake, the statue had fallen off its column, breaking into several pieces as it hit the ground.
We also saw a lot of painted skull sculptures, which were still on display following the 'Day of the Dead' (El Día de los Muertos) celebrations on the 1st and 2nd of November. This is a festival honouring children (1st day) and adults (2nd day) who have died. The skull is a common symbol of the festival.
The following day, we ventured out into the city on our own (brave little things that we are). We took the metro up to Chapultepec Park, where we enjoyed the sunshine for a while before going to the National Museum of Anthropology. The museum was really interesting, even though we only managed to cover fewer than half of the exhibits. We were both particularly interested in the section on the evolution of man, but were suitably impressed with all of the exhibits of archeological significance to various periods of Mexican history.
After the museum, we sat for a while in a small park area with drinks we bought from a small stand. Kirsty went for something red and fruity, Jacob opted for Tamarind. A flavour that isn't found in drinks in the UK, because, frankly, it's not a good flavour for drinks. Sort of like watered down brown sauce. Whilst sipping at our refreshments, we watched a display involving four men, a drum, a whistle and a large maypole thing. The men (called voladores, apparently) climbed up footpegs which wound in a spiral to the top of the pole, then some time later it became apparent that in so doing they had been winding ropes to which they had tied themselves around some contrivance at the top of the pole. They dangled upside down, each suspended by an ankle from one of the ropes, which unwound, gradually lowering them spirally back to ground level, accompanied by the music of the drum and whistle played by one of the inverted men. And you thought maypole dancers were odd...
We decided to wander to an area Alvaro had described to us as a pleasant Bohemian district. It soon started to rain really heavily, so we admired the district from the inside of a restaurant. We had some burritos (yes, in Mexico and no, we didn't end up with small donkeys, despite Lonely Planet's phrasebook assertations that this would be the result of ordering such an unashamedly TexMex dish in Mexico) and sopesitas (little tortillas topped with delicious things), with bottles of Corona which it seems are not served with lime here - we asked for slices of lime anyway and were given a dish of limes cut into enormous wedges which took a reasonable amount of persuasion to fit into the bottles.
We eventually decided to brave the weather and headed out towards the metro station, stopping en route to buy a bottle of tequila as a thank you present for Alvaro. When we got back, we gave him this gift, which prompted him to bring out his tequila collection(!) and thus ensued a tequila and mezcal (similar to tequila but from a different agave plant) tasting session. The rest of the evening is a little fuzzy and indistinct.
The following morning, we were up early and got a metro to the bus station, where we bought a bus ticket to Oaxaca. We had to wait for a bit for the 9am bus as the 8am had been full, but this at least gave us a chance to work out the system of checking luggage in. The bus arrived, we boarded and then we were off....
