GLIMPSING MEXICO CITY

When I first began my continuous travels around the world, nearly two years ago (see one of my first posts, which is on WordPress between the post on London and the post on Puebla, Mexico), I went to Mexico City and stayed in the Quaker house for 10 days. It was January, 2015, and the sightseeing was easy.

DIANA IN MEXICO CITY

This was very different from arriving in Mexico City and sightseeing during the December holiday season. I met my friend Jeannie at the airport, when she arrived from Kansas and where thousands and thousands of Mexicans returned home for their Christmas holiday. We still didn’t know how difficult it could be.

In January 2015 I had used the red, tourist, hop-on hop-off bus to acclimate myself to this massive city of 21 million people. I advised Jeannie, badly I must admit, that we should take this route again because we have so little time for her to get a feel for life in Mexico City. We stayed in Colonia, (which means neighborhood) Condesa, which is one of the very nicest neighborhoods. It is very diverse and Bohemian and has great restaurants, culture, and green spaces.

Still hopeful during the beginning of the bus tour

However the traffic was horrendous, and the bus crept along in the jam. We were in the bus for hours and hours, with no bathroom breaks and no food. No one wanted to hop on and off because it was impossible for the buses to get through the traffic. We never made it to the Frida Kahlo Museum, which she was the only sight that Jeannie really wanted to see. I was lucky to have seen it in January 2015. Here are some sights.

We stayed in an Airbnb with a very nice woman and her two children. However, the first day we were there the city turned off the water in the whole neighborhood and in several other neighborhoods because of repairs needed to the water system. We didn’t get to flush the toilet, pouring in buckets of water after use, or to take showers, until the next day.

We stayed for two nights, and the second night our host’s closest neighbor had a very loud party, with terrible undanceable music, until 3 o’clock in the morning. Thanks to my dear friend Lynn from Austin, Texas for advising me to get those earplugs that I have been carrying around for 2 years and have used in a a few countries.

The photos below are in Parque Mexico, in Colonia Condesa.

The Mexican people are friendly, for the most part. We had some interesting experiences and a few good, but pricey meals, but we’re very happy to leave after two days for Tulum, Mexico and its magnificent beaches. More on that in my next post…