Quick stop in Mexico City

Friday, April 12, 2019
Mexico City, Mexico City, Mexico
On the 10th April I had a long journey ahead of me. Santa Marta to Mexico City. The first step was a flight at midday from Santa Marta to Bogotá. It should have been a 1 hour flight but ended up being 4 hours on the plane as the flight got diverted to Cali as there was an electrical storm in Bogota which shut the airport at the exact time we were supposed to land and the plane didn't have enough fuel to wait around. 
Luckily, my flight to Mexico was not until the evening so I still had time when I arrived in Bogota to get my bag and check it in for the flight. I arrived at about 1.30am in Mexico and took a taxi from the airport to Lauren's apartment. Lauren, is a friend from uni who was in Chile whilst I was there and is now working in Mexico City. 
She had to work on the 11th so I went into the centre to explore. Strangely, again by coincidence, my friend Lea was also in Mexico City! So we did a free walking tour together. It was a really good tour and very interesting. Many of the buildings in Mexico are sinking because the city was originally founded on a salt lake which the Aztecs built on by diverting the water using a dam and creating small islands with mangrove like trees. Many of their ruins are below the city now creating uneven foundations with different strengths. The cathedral has sunk by almost 2m since its creation and it is very strange because you can see how wonky many of the buildings are. 
The centre has some beautiful and impressive buildings including the Bellas Artes building. The main square is the third biggest in the World! Mexico City also is the location of the first skyscraper in Latin America and it has survived multiple big earthquakes. 
We had lots of tacos of different flavours for lunch and dinner. They were so yummy!
Lauren finished work at 10pm! We went out for pizza and a chile/cucumber flavoured margarita (not sure I like it..) with some of her friends. It was nice to meet them and see some Mexican bars and culture.
The next day, after going for breakfast with Lauren, her friend Carlos picked us up and drove us around an hour away, outside of the city to La Marquesa where there is a big park area. It is very beautiful with hills covered in trees and lakes. It is obviously a key hang out place for Mexicans at the weekends with many restaurants and picnic areas. We walked around, tried pulque, a Mexican alcoholic drink. We had pineapple flavoured pulque which was very nice. Before driving back to the city we had some more tacos, a mushroom soup and a Mexican beer, La Victoria. Very impressed by Mexican food, the people are all very friendly too. Hopefully I'll return to the country soon!
Mexico City traffic is no joke. In 2017 it was named the most traffic-congested city in the world by TomTom and drivers in the city expect to add an average of 66% to their normal travel time. I was aware of this crazy traffic problem and the fact it was a Friday so was a bit worried about missing my flight. Luckily, Carlos had it sorted and we were at the airport with plenty of time and I took my flight to Guatemala. 
I arrived about 11pm in Guatemala City where I was met by a taxi, organised by the charity, and taken to my host family in Antigua. Antigua is a small city surrounded by volcanoes in southern Guatemala. I am living here with Ilse, her daughter and granddaughter. So far so good. 
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Comments

Carynm
2019-04-18

You sound very enthusiastic about Mexico. Must be strange to see that buildings are sinking into the ground. Food sounds tasty. Glad you got to the airport on time despite the dreadful traffic. How old is Ilse’s granddaughter? Do you see much of the family? Any pets? Xxx

laurammitchell
2019-04-18

Granddaughter is turning 15 next month. I see them a lot- they are in the house all the time! Sadly no pets :(

Carynm
2019-04-22

Not a “little sister” this time then. Shame for you that there aren’t any pets xxx

2025-02-15

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