After a quick visit in Vancouver, I have a 15 hour layover at the Mexico City airport. I arrive there around 7am, and my connecting flight goes at 10pm. That should be enough time to explore the city a little, so I request a DiDi to get into the city. DiDi is like Uber – but I find DiDi is a bit more cost advantageous.
First I go to Parque Mexico. It’s a park in a nicer part of the city, close to the La Condesa district. The park is lovely, lots of paths and plazas, a fenced-in off-leash area for dogs, a fairly big plaza, water fountains, lots of green vegetation… People here either exercise in various ways or walk their dogs, or both. I haven’t seen this many dogs – every breed and mutt you could think of is represented. Old dogs and puppies. People training their dogs in obedience. Dog walkers with up to 8 dogs on leashes.
As I am sitting in the shade for a moment, a pitbull pushes her friendly head gently toward me wanting to be petted. I crawl her head and she puts it on my leg – such a sweetie – until the dog walker notices and pulls her away. A friendly place.
After a a walk around the park, I settle on a lovely café with seating outside, plants, view to the park and classical music in the background. An old lady, smartly dressed, sits outside with her terrier, chatting with one of the waiters in Spanish.
I sit a couple of tables over and order a coffee and a green juice. Enjoying the ambience. People watching. A big black & tan dog comes running from the park and hangs out at the café for a moment. Clearly, he is looking for his owner. The lady with the terrier tries to engage with him, but he runs off. She starts speaking with a table of young guys trying to find out if they know the dog… People care here. They are having a friendly exchange, chatting a little.
Finally, I move on. I get a hot chocolate from El Moro, a churrería (where you can get churros, a Mexican dessert). Bitter sweet… it’s good, but not excellent. I walk through the park a bit more before I decide to move on to another area. First I visit the park’s public washroom and am positively surprised. It’s quite decent and clean for only $5 pesos.
Another DiDi brings me to the Plaza de la Constitución in the historic center of Mexico City. There are tents all across the plaza – stages and book sellers… a book festival is happening. I love books, but it’s too early in my journey to engage meaningfully with books in Spanish. The Cathedral Metropolitana de la Ciudad de Mexico is free to visit, and so I do.
The cathedral is large with high golden altars behind bars everywhere around. People are lighting candles and praying quietly in front of them. There is a huge organ in the middle – I would love to hear it played, but alas, no luck there. I soon leave again.
Outside the church, a spectacle is happening. I see lots of shamans dressed up in their feathery traditional costumes, smudging and treating people out on the side plaza. Selling their native wares on blankets. Smoke everywhere – actually quite pleasant, smells like sage and something else that’s green.
On the other side of this plaza, I can see ruins behind a glass guardrail. A guy with a handbook full of pictures is telling me they are the ruins of an Aztec temple, the foundations of which can also be found underneath the cathedral and several other buildings he points at. There is a museum, and he wants to sell me a walking tour with more information. I politely decline but I do go have a look at the ruins that can be seen from here.
On the other side of the cathedral, there are agave plants and cacti in planters – the agave plants are humongous! Larger than a person. Impressive… and I can’t help but think that tequila is made out of their hearts.
I start feeling hungry, and also, my cell phone is about to die. I walk through the pedestrian zone and along smaller streets lined with larger and smaller stores. Another church is not far, of course. Somehow, I walk along the wrong streets and don’t see any restaurants where I could sit and charge my phone. Until I come across a Starbucks… I cringe but the cell phone is important to keep alive. I cave and go inside, order a tea and some sweet potato chips, and find a spot with a power socket. I guess it isn’t so bad. It takes some time to recharge, so I read a little, and then pull out my laptop and write a little. It’s good to just sit and relax for a while.
A google search reveals a restaurant nearby that I go to after to satisfy my hunger. Mariachis are playing and go around to collect money after playing a few songs. It was actually quite nice even though I didn’t love the atmosphere of the restaurant. Well, if you’re hungry, anything goes, and music makes everything better.
I walk around the city a little more, but I feel the sleepless night on the plane and my feet. Tired, I sit in a small plaza with a long stone bench around a water fountain. More and more people arrive to sit on the bench, most are garbage collectors with their big bins. Most are smoking… eventually, I have to move as they are closing in on me with their cigarettes.
There would have still been time to go elsewhere, visit a museum or do something else, but I just had to admit that I was too tired at this point. I requested a DiDi back to the airport where I sat for a few hours waiting, just hanging out, reading, waiting…
Finally, the flight back to Mazatlán arrives. We are taken out to the runway via bus to board via stairs. Not a fancy plane, no tv’s, no way to charge my phone. I am glad that I have done that earlier. And finally, I fall asleep for short bursts when we are in the air. It’s late by the time I arrive in Mazatlán, but by now it’s all familiar. A new home.
Nice aerial pick!
C