CDMX (Ciudad de México)
As I write this, I’m at the airport in Mexico City waiting to board my flight home to NYC. But the story of my recent travels begins six months earlier.
It was Saturday, June 30th and my sister and I had just dropped off our dad at JFK’s Terminal 5 for his flight to Havana, Cuba to visit his family. While in the parking lot picking up my dad’s car, my sister brings up the idea of taking a vacation in December after our birthday. This isn’t the first time that we’ve done this as two years ago, we took a cruise to the southern Caribbean the week after our birthday. This time, we planned for a beach vacation in Mexico. I couldn’t say yes to the idea fast enough.
But, the idea hit a snag. We couldn’t decide on which beach town to visit. On a particular Saturday morning after I arrived home from France, she mentioned that she wasn’t feeling the idea of a beach trip. Instead, she asked me if I wanted to travel to Mexico City instead. Still wanting to make the trip happen, I gave the idea the green light.
Time from that point went quickly. Thanksgiving and our birthday would pass. But we had everything in order, from the apartment we’d stay in, to the flights and a few must visit attractions booked in advance. The hard part would come in letting family know of our trip. On Monday evening, we made the announcement and not everyone took it well. There was the understandable fear for our safety. But we assured everyone that we would be okay.
And so it was on Thursday morning. With our carry on bags in tow, we proceeded to our flight with JetBlue at Terminal 5. After clearing security, we proceeded to find our gate. But we had a bit of a mishap going the wrong way but in the process, found the father of a friend of ours waiting for his flight to Port of Spain. All’s well that ended well as we boarded our flight bound for Mexico City. We arrived later that same day and by evening arrived at our apartment in the Roma Norte section of the city. That evening we went out to dinner in our neighborhood at the restaurant, Bowie. As we had dinner, a portrait of David Bowie stood next to us. The portrait was the cover of his album, Aladdin Sane, made completely out of beer bottle caps. It was a long day and we called it a night afterwards.
As the sun rose on Friday, it was time for the first stop of the trip. We arrived at the home of the painter, Frieda Kahlo. The blue walls and the line out the door were dead giveaways. She lived in the house with her husband and fellow painter Diego Rivera from 1929-1954. One walks through all the rooms of the house, surrounded by her paintings, gardens and all. After a brief stop at the market in Coyocan, we arrived in the center of the city. It was like night and day with a sea of people as we made a brief stop at the Palacio de Bellas Artes to admire the ornate rooftop. But we weren’t done yet as we kept walking into the Zocalo. This square is the heart of the city and the country with the Metropolitan Cathedral in the background and the Presidential Palace on the left side. The square is where the New Year is celebrated and El Grito de Dolores is uttered from the balcony of the palace on the eve of the country’s independence celebrations. But we had one more stop for this day, the Arena Mexico, home to the Consejo Mundial de Lucha Libre. It was a lively atmosphere outside to match the passion of the fans inside the arena. Just after 8:30 pm, the matches began with the night being broadcast on tv. Each match produced a conclusion, except for the main event as it ended in a disqualification. The crowd with their horns and passion were into it from the first match to the last.
After a late night on Friday, it was a late start to the day on Saturday. The first stop was to the Bosque de Chapultepec, the equivalent to Central Park in NYC. Winding our way through the park, we ended up at the castle. Nowadays, it’s used as a history museum, from prehistory, to the Aztecs, the Spanish conquest and the fight for Mexican independence. On the other end of the park was our next stop, the National Anthropology Museum. Through 25 halls, each indigenous people of Mexico was represented. We were told that it would take 3 to 4 hours to see the entire museum and it was true, we arrived at noon and didn’t leave until 3. There wasn’t time for anything else but we stopped at a taqueria within walking distance of our apartment for lunch. As I went to use the bathroom, I saw on the TVs that the Andy Ruiz/Anthony Joshua world heavyweight championship fight was being shown and I caught a glimpse. With all the walking done, I had no energy left to go out for dinner. I called it an early night with the main event of the trip to come.
The last full day of the trip started early on Sunday morning. For a splurge, my sister booked for us a day trip exploring the ancient ruins of Tenochitilan. El Angel de la Indepencia glistening in the morning sky of El Paseo de la Reforma. An hour later, we arrived outside the city. It was a surreal experience to see the skies filled with hot air balloons. Getting in it was another matter as I couldn’t keep my shoes from falling off as I entered. But I got in it and we took off as sunrise gave way to the morning sky. The skies with the sun and a thin layer of fog are a photographers dream, as I snapped photos galore. The balloon with eight of us and our captain Gerardo landed. The only way this could get better would be a champagne toast and as the balloon was being deflated, the cork was popped. But we weren’t done yet as we drove to an artisanal village to be shown, the many uses of the Maguey plant, of which agave is cultivated for use in tequila and pulque which we tasted at the end. The last part of the day would be the most physically taxing as we arrived at the site of the Pyramids of the Sun and the Moon. My sister and I proceeded to climb the pyramid of the sun, I don’t know how I survived it. Each level up took all of my energy to reach and it felt like I was dying being so out of breath. But if children could climb up, I and my surgically operated legs could and did. Profusely sweating, but I felt a sense of accomplishment in climbing the pyramid. We didn’t climb the pyramid of the moon, just walked up to it. I felt safe the entire time of being in the city, though before we went to dinner, the entire block went dark. It didn’t last very long as the lights returned and my anxiety subsided.
Alas, Monday was our last day in the city. But before our trip to the airport, we had one more thing to do. Our visit to the Condesa section of the city coincided with a visit to the house and gardens of the architect, Luis Barragan. The only Mexican winner of the Pritzker Prize for architecture, his house and garden was a marvel of natural lighting and artwork as the replication of Picasso’s “Guernica” at the end of the tour attests. After lunch, we left the apartment bound for the airport.
In the end, it was a wonderful weekend. Despite the safety concerns, we felt safe the entire time. It’s a beautiful city full of architecture, good food and drink and friendly people. The warm sunshine was an added bonus in the midst of a cold autumn heading into winter. Four days doesn’t begin to do justice to la Ciudad de Mexico. One could spend weeks, months and years exploring the sprawling metropolis. But the city welcomed us with open arms. To break through the misconceptions of a place and people is why I travel. Ahora es el tiempo para decir adios a la Ciudad de Mexico.
I have a few thank you’s to give. To all the Uber drivers driving us from place to place. To Geraldo and the staff of Sky Balloons Mexico for an unforgettable Sunday. And of course, to my sister Natalie as her research made the trip flow seamlessly, looked after me walking through every unlit crosswalk and for sharing this trip with me.
As the flight home to NYC is in the air, the extended birthday celebration is at an end. Now, the mad dash to Christmas and New Years has begun. The remainder of this year and next year are a blank slate, ready to be filled with new adventures.
As for my next trip, all that I can say is that I’ll possibly be trading my Hola for Bongiorno next fall.
I’m ready, I’m ready for what’s next!
