A somewhat frustrating day. I woke up at 7:30 (hungover), packed a bag, and left for the airport, where I waited in line for fifteen minutes before realizing you don’t need to go through baggage check if you don’t intend to check baggage. Upon boarding the plane, I found myself in the unfortunate position of occupying the middle seat between two rather large men. I slept through the flight, but it wasn’t a refreshing sleep, it was the kind where you wake up every five minutes because your head is falling.
Mexico City is busy in every sense of the word. Everything is brightly colored (this is true in Chiapas as well [one of my favorite things about Mexican culture is that it’s pretty normal for people to paint the whole exterior of their house purple] but it has a different effect in such a large city) and filled with a sea of people. The only other place where I’ve felt this crowded was in New York. There are shops everywhere. People have tents on the side of the street. They have stands on the boulevards. Every other sidewalk square has a blanket with a bunch of trinkets laid out for you to buy. There is constant activity in every direction, with no regard for where the road stops or starts. As a result, Mexico City has the worst traffic I’ve ever experienced. My five-mile taxi ride from the airport to the historic center of the town took forty-five minutes. If I didn’t have my bag with me, it might have been faster to run.
My first stop, the National Palace ended up being closed to the public, but while in the area, I was able to visit the National Cathedral, which was pretty interesting. Outside the Cathedral, people in Aztec costumes are dance and burn incense. Inside the Cathedral (like literally right next to the pews, on either side) are those souvenir penny press machines you see at the zoo. I took a quick wait through the National Museum of Culture, but it was a collection of items from foreign cultures, not Mexican culture, so I didn’t stick around too long. I can look at Chinese stuff when I go to China. After a walkthrough of a special exhibition at small art museum, I walked a mile-and-a-half to my hotel, with my phone down to 2% battery, only to find out that my reservation had been cancelled and the room given to someone else because I had not checked in by 5:00pm (it was about 6:30 at this point). Apparently this information was on Expedia, but I hadn’t scrolled down to read it, and also it was in Spanish. Luckily, there was a Starbucks nearby where I could sit down, charge my phone, and look for a new hotel, and I was eventually able to find a place to stay, so I set off to walk another two miles in the opposite direction. Upon arrival, having had my plans changed, having walked around carrying my bag all day, and having not yet eaten dinner, I wasn’t in a great mood, but after settling in, I bought some quesadillas at a tent across the street, and chatting with the people at the stand made me feel much better.
I still have some hotel stuff I need to figure out tomorrow (the hotel I’m at right now is more expensive than I would like, so I’ll only be staying here for one night) but after that I’ll be going to Frida Kahlo’s house, then to the big Dia de Muertos celebration in the Zócalo (the main square), and later to a famous churro restaurant.
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