Down Mexico Way
Despite having a hacking cough and no voice, and being in meetings most of the time, what little time I had in Mexico City wasn't too bad. I guess I sort of have a soft spot for Mexico...I grew up 30-45 minutes from the border, what little Spanish I can speak was the result of spending a couple of weeks at a language school in Guanajuato, I've vacationed there several times, I managed to drive myself safely through the chaos of Merida to Chichen Itza, etc. Despite the high levels of poverty, the corruption, the constant worry about getting ill (i.e., Montezuma's revenge), concerns about safety, etc., for me it has a certain shabby charm.
So, at least I had one afternoon when I was able to get out and explore a little bit. A few things make Mexico City difficult. For one thing, it's huge, so it's seldom easy to walk from Point A to Point B. Making this more complicated is that since every travel resource seems to warn you in bold letters that no one should ever hail a taxi on the street if they want to keep their money and/or their life, you have to give a lot of thought in advance as to how you're going to get around. Then, of course, there's the altitude and air pollution, which isn't helped by the crushing traffic...after walking for 15 minutes my throat was searing, my lungs were gasping, and my eyes were burning. Most of the few pictures I took on the trip ended up being lame, but this was what it looked like from the hotel:
On top of all that, when asking some of the locals at the meeting about ideas I had for the afternoon, they sternly warned that a number of areas were much too dangerous for me to walk around. In the end I took a hotel taxi to the Alameda park (which was nice), walked through the crowds to the Zocalo (which was actually a bit of a disappointment) and the cathedral (which was large and cathedralish), then walked through more of a working-class shopping district to the Metro, which I took back in the direction of the hotel. I never once felt the least bit unsafe, and while I don't doubt that lots of bad things happen, to a certain extent I think 90% of staying safe is just not acting like a stereotypical tourist with shorts, socks/sandals, camera around the neck, map in hand, etc. And probably the most interesting part was the shopping area because one of the things that's most interesting is seeing how people actually live their lives in any given city. If I were to return, I think I'd probably be a bit bolder.
Overall, it's not someplace I would say people should go out of their way to visit, but by the same token I'd say it's worth a few days if you have the option and you're feeling up to the challenge.
So, at least I had one afternoon when I was able to get out and explore a little bit. A few things make Mexico City difficult. For one thing, it's huge, so it's seldom easy to walk from Point A to Point B. Making this more complicated is that since every travel resource seems to warn you in bold letters that no one should ever hail a taxi on the street if they want to keep their money and/or their life, you have to give a lot of thought in advance as to how you're going to get around. Then, of course, there's the altitude and air pollution, which isn't helped by the crushing traffic...after walking for 15 minutes my throat was searing, my lungs were gasping, and my eyes were burning. Most of the few pictures I took on the trip ended up being lame, but this was what it looked like from the hotel:
On top of all that, when asking some of the locals at the meeting about ideas I had for the afternoon, they sternly warned that a number of areas were much too dangerous for me to walk around. In the end I took a hotel taxi to the Alameda park (which was nice), walked through the crowds to the Zocalo (which was actually a bit of a disappointment) and the cathedral (which was large and cathedralish), then walked through more of a working-class shopping district to the Metro, which I took back in the direction of the hotel. I never once felt the least bit unsafe, and while I don't doubt that lots of bad things happen, to a certain extent I think 90% of staying safe is just not acting like a stereotypical tourist with shorts, socks/sandals, camera around the neck, map in hand, etc. And probably the most interesting part was the shopping area because one of the things that's most interesting is seeing how people actually live their lives in any given city. If I were to return, I think I'd probably be a bit bolder.
Overall, it's not someplace I would say people should go out of their way to visit, but by the same token I'd say it's worth a few days if you have the option and you're feeling up to the challenge.
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