Metro Mayhem
Hola from Mexico! We both arrived safely after a very long flight (11 hours) into Mexico City at 7pm local time (1am our time!). Got picked up at the airport by someone working for Hostel Amigo (where we were staying). Gratefully arrived at the hostel alive after some dubious driving! Crashed out as soon as we arrived in our 10 bed dorm, which we managed to get the last 2 beds. After just one night we decided to exclude other travellers from our company, and with some arranging of travel towels and blankets, turned our adjoining bunks into a secret den. Spent the next few days trawling the local markets and sampling the fayre of some street food stalls. Much to Lisa's disgust a simple order of tortillas and beans arrived covered in chicken! Other than this, all the food we had was great, and more importantly, cheap!
One of our outings led us through the slum suburbs of Mexico City. What was meant to be a 2 minute walk to the nearest metro station turned into a 2 mile trek, with us ending up at a metro station six stops south of where we were meant to be! All the stations are a long way apart! Eventually managed to buy a ticket (10p!) and found the right platform. Charlie boarded the busy train successfully, and turned round to face Lisa, only to see her peering through the door with her bag full of snacks sandwiched between the closed doors. After much frantic tugging from both sides, both parties gave up and waved each other off, with the bag of snacks travelling to the next station half inside and half outside the carriage. After Lisa had recovered from being squashed in the doors, and realising that they don't open automatically if something is caught in them, she was able to join Charlie at the next stop and disaster was averted. Both parties were crippled with sniggering fits thoughout the rest of the day at recollection of this event.
Many oddities exist in Mexico City, many eliciting the response of "WHAT'S THAT!?". Such shockers include the use of large green pan pipes as window bars in the local police station, which gained us the unwanted attention of 20 armed guards. Oops. Lisa also gained a breast injury when Charlie shouted "WHAT'S THAT!?" at a bizarre three wheeled rickety cart, causing Lisa to fail to pay attention to the road and walk straight into someone.
Final Thought: Mexico City is an overpopulated and polluted metropolis, overrun with so called ruins that more closely resemble old pits. Lack of red wine caused our premature departure (only 3 bottles to choose from in an entire off-licence!) so we had no choice but to leave. Hostel Amigo = Hostel Enemy. The only redeeming feature was the cheap Mexican food and it's ability to provide many moments of sniggering fun for us.
Marks out of 10 = 3.
Adios!
Next time... Palenque.
