Night and Day one in Mexico City,
It’s the 4th 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.
