28th September – 2nd October 2016

Mexico City. Not a place I originally planned on coming but it was a stopover on the flight so there was no reason not to stop for a few days and explore.

In the airport, I witnessed some great kindness from a gentleman in the immigration queue who helped a lady who was struggling with her young son and umpteen bags. He spoke to the immigration people to get her to the front of the queue and then helped her with her bags whilst the majority of passengers just politely ignored the lady. He then went back to his place in the queue and continued to wait patiently. I made a point of first of all trying to help even though I didn’t speak the language and secondly telling the gentleman what a nice thing he did. It’s the least you should do witnessing generosity.

The first bonus was meeting Hector, from our BIGAM group in Ireland, who is actually from Mexico City. He, very kindly, hooked me up with a friend who put me up for the entire time I was there. Not only somewhere to sleep but she gave me an entire room and bathroom to make me feel comfortable. Immediately I was wishing I could stay for longer than a few days.

The first night we had some simple quesadillas which was great. The next morning, I was up and at it exploring the city. Before long I stumbled across this gem.

It was near the World Trade Centre, which seemed to be a posher part of town. Mexico City seems to appreciate art a lot more than other cities and thus a lot of the people I met here, including Hector, are real artists.

The original plan was to go to the castle, but I was having some language difficulties ordering some food from a food stall. That’s when these two lovable people appeared.

They shared a few stories about Mexico and explained what a typical work day looks like (including the two hour lunches!). Then they helped me try a few different drinks from the stalls, including Jamaica (pronounced “hamica”) which is from a plant and was very nice.

I met up with Valeria, my super hospitable host, her boyfriend, Danielle and an American friend Eva. We were given a brief tour around, including glimpses into where the city was dug up to show ancient ruins from the Maya era.

This is the view from the observation tower. Unfortunately, it was rainy season (though this was nice and refreshing after the heat in Los Angeles) which reduced our visibility and meant the rooftop was off limits for the time being. Never mind!

One of the wonders of Mexico is the food which is simply fantastic. The street vendors offer a meal for less than £1 which is just incredible when it tastes that good.

One of the other wonders is Lucha Libra (Mexican wrestling) which involves dwarfs, women and men (in that order).

Valeria very nicely organised it for us and it was a blast. Sort of like a strange version of WWE with characters such as a gay fairy and a masked fire starter. An experience for sure.

The next day, finally, I made it to the castle! It was pretty late in the afternoon and close to closing time but I made it! It was a nice view of town, very high up on a hill with some lovely rooms inside. Not a lot of English though which I should have pre-empted but didn’t. What I did find ingenious is that taps.

I know this seems silly. It’s like a manual version of the sensor taps. You simply hit the dangled button left or right to allow water to come out. No more waving your hand because the sensor doesn’t recognise you and it stops as soon as you want it to so less waste! One of the many things I think about to show I must have too much time on my hands…..!

After a fairly mature week of sight seeing it was time to party.

Valeria set me up with two people. Hector’s sister and cousin no less! They took me dancing to a fairly exclusive club with nice cocktails and salsa music.

It was a brilliant night. I decided to leave about 3am as my flight was in a few hours but as soon as I get in the Uber I meet this lady…

Straight away she’s enthusiastic about everything. She shows me her tattoo, much to the distraction of the envious driver, and adds me on Snapchat. A fun end to the evening!

And with that, my short but sweet stay in Mexico City is over.

Until next time!