Welcome to Mexico City

Night and Day one in Mexico City,

It’s the 4^th of August 2015 and I arrived in the hustle of Mexico City last night. It was 8pm, I jumped in a cab trying unsuccessfully to direct the driver in broken Spanish to my hotel. It was only after I showed him the address on my itinerary I was on the way to discover this chaotic new world. I won’t lie, peering through the glass of that taxi this world to me looked dark, ominous and quite frankly I felt way out of my depth. I had come alone, I knew no one and nothing and I didn’t even know if I could walk down the streets without getting robbed. However snapping back to the moment I realised that the cab driver had found my hotel ‘The Templar Mayor’ and I had arrived.

I walked in to the Templar Mayor noticing sharply some very shady characters that were lingering out the front of the hotel. I found my room, dropped my bag, showered and wondered how dangerous it would be walking alone on these streets. My goal was to go for a wander and try to scope out a place to down some local beers, try some local cuisine and start absorbing some culture not forgetting the two guys out the front.

My first meeting with Mexico City in that cab is that the place felt inherently dangerous. It looked dark, gloomy and smelt like dusty grime. However it was day 1 and after almost 20 hours of air travel I was not going to arrive in any city and not go and wander around and try and get a beer. So with a deep breath of faith, out into the wildness I went. I left the hotel, plugged on, turned into a few narrow streets. I was armed only with a map given to me by the lady at the front desk of the hotel. Truly in my style I had asked her where I could get a beer so she grabbed a highlighter, highlighted a few roads on the map and that was it. I tried asking a few more questions in English with no luck. I restored to my pathetic Spanish and I hit a greater wall of incomprehension. I have been here a day and it is obvious that hardly anyone speaks English at all. The few basic Spanish commands that I have under my belt are worth their weight in gold as at least I can ask what I want even if it’s a struggle and they can sometimes understand what I want or need.

So from this point on I won’t go into as much detail but I will nail it out in bullet point form. I hit the streets at 8pm and it was surprisingly safe – there were a few shady characters but I avoided eye contact and walked like I had purpose. I bought my first dose of street food that night which was some kind of mini taco for 8 pesos and it was quite delicious – imbedded in numerous flavours. I found the Centro town centre and found the The Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven – which according to Wikipedia is the largest cathedral in the Americas. I was blown away by the abundance of impressive architecture and history oozing out of this place. Long story short I found a great upstairs bar blaring with Mexican music, downed three beers with a meal and it was fantastic. I ordered unknowingly a spicy tomato soup with some kind of a taco meal with an avocado paste. Sitting there in that moment, leaving Australia and the corporate world behind it really hit me that I was in the heart of Mexico. I looked around soaking it up and I felt a sense of wonder at this which felt so culturally different although powerfully alluring. The Spanish conversations were ringing in my ears from tables from the couples dining romantically, the young hanging out with their friends it was a beautiful moment as I let it soak in me. I eventually wondered back to my hotel. I got somewhat lost. I asked some imposing police officers for directions and they pointed me to home, I was quite close and missed my mark by a street or two and so the pointing was enough to get me to that little hotel.

It is now that I reflect and get some of these thoughts down as I sit here in this café in the presence over this massive cathedral which looms over me with dominance and asserts its own silent power. It stirs images of the Spanish conquistadors that once clashed with the Aztec empire, brutally conquering the land and people to claim it their own though steel, blood and disease. Apparently the stones used to construct the very pillars of the church were actually extracted from the Aztec pyramids that were destroyed to build the imposing church. I was somewhat grateful to experience that in my first night here as the city’s presence engulfed me fiercely and something stirred from deep within me. The culture, history and presence of this new land feels alive and resonates with energy. It is also rich with something that I cannot yet put my finger on, history, hurt, pride, looming poverty the hustle, I am not sure yet but it seeps into your core if your heart is open to feel it. Maybe later if I spend more time here I will understand it better but for now it is a wave of energy that sweeps over me that is hard to process.

I saw my first police with machine guns in a shopping centre – one actually had a worn pump up shotgun and the other a fully automatic Uzi like weapon hanging loosely from their carefree shoulders. The police here are everywhere and they have strong presence. They seemed be no more armed than the police back in Australia although one real difference that protruded from this is that they all are wearing heavy, think and black body armor. It makes me wonder what they need such high grade protection from. They also are driving these really cool American cars. I think they are Mustangs – I took a photo of one not realising that there was a police officer actually in the car and he got on the microphone and in unimpressed Spanish commanded me not to do that again. I definitely won’t be doing that again but I got a great photo.

My first day wandering around in Mexico and also see are car accident, actually I heard it first and then the smash of glass and metal on metal as a smaller Mercedes hatchback rearranges its front panel to something more creative. People came running from everywhere although what was most interesting that people all started whistling in a crazy fashion. That ramped up the chaos of the situation although at least the accident appeared minor and no one got hurt.

I am pleased to announce I bought my first authentic Mexican meal – the place very real with the menu all in Spanish. The young girl that served me struggled to understand my broken and stuttering Spanish. She had a nice smile as well that probably added to my awkwardness. I thought I ordered a salad and realised when the meal came out I had ordered quite the opposite. So I had steak for breakfast although not ideal it did taste pretty good. The positive was that at least I managed to order the coffee right. The place was one that I would like to revisit. It had ripped lino floor, a fan gently blowing, simple tables and chairs and white arches that looked somewhat archaic but majestic. The place felt like a snapshot in time and I could hear the man and wife who were obviously the owners discuss matters while the street people hurried by. There was also a small family eating gently near me, they were absorbed in themselves, eating peacefully with their children at this beautiful little restaurant. The place felt homely and it resonated with pure authentic Mexican energy.  

I walked into the cathedral and felt the still looming power of the Catholic Church imbedded in this culture. I walked into a mass with the priest delivering a sermon and giving Holy Communion to the locals. I got on my knees and soaked up that moment and it felt respectful.

Summing up this place is intense. I have been alone since I got here although I found one Mexican who could speak perfect English. Pepe was his name, he gave me a few invaluable tips on how to get a sim for my iPhone where to top it up from as well. He had an interesting story of working in the states for 15 years and they sent him back of a reason that I couldn’t understand.

Anyways signing off for now. The plan is to track down some backpackers that speak English. There are two local hostels which hopefully have bars. I will see if I can get in there and have a cheeky drink. Welcome to Mexico City. This place is vibrant and filled with untapped experience. I will try and write down some more of it if time permits to record it as I think it’s worth remembering. Peace and embrace.