The adventure begins, 5 days for Charles & Riley in Mexico City.
JFK to
MEX DL 481 April 23-28 2019
Day 1 April 23 Tuesday
Riley and
I woke early and caught the train to JFK. We went to the Delta Sky Club for
breakfast and I stocked up on scotch and water for the day. We left the gate
early, had free Wi-Fi, and arrived 30 minutes early, but still had to wait in a
rather long immigration line. All the while I was fussing with AT&T because
they had said our phones would work fine in Mexico. Riley’s did, mine didn’t. I
used Riley’s phone to text Miranda who was in Central Park and asked her to
call AT&T and try to get my phone un-blocked. That was somewhat successful
but there were several more calls to AT&T later that day.
We caught
a taxi to the Hotel Casa Blanca and had a choice of several beds as we were
minus 2 members of our family. We asked the taxi driver to wait for us and take
us immediately to the Zócalo and he agreed. We dumped our things in the
room and went right back out. Unfortunately, the traffic was terrible so we got
out at the Bellas Artes and walked. We headed straight for the Palacio Nacional
to see the Diego Rivera murals.
I had to
leave my passport with the young attendant outside (seemed risky but I’d read
that it would happen) and we went straight to the staircase that has hundreds
of characters.
We headed
past the Templo Mayor to the Secretaría de
Educación Pública, about 2 blocks north to see more Rivera murals. Along the
way, we marveled at how all the buildings were leaning and off center. Mexico
is sinking and not evenly, so some towers and steeples look like they will soon
fall. We noticed a restaurant outside on the top floor (third) of a building
overlooking the Templo ruins and kept it in mind.
There was no sign at the small entrance in the huge 3 story
stone Education building, so at the small doorway I asked the guard if there
were Rivera murals inside, and he very welcomingly said yes, please come in.
Made my day! Again I left my passport and we entered the first of two
courtyards both surrounded by 2 floors of balconies and on the walls were
Diego’s murals.
This was a much more interesting building and perhaps because
there were no people there, it gave us more time to spend with the art. The
murals showed a progression of style which Riley noticed. The building itself was
loaded with architectural and design features that were very interesting.
We walked every balcony and explored both courtyards. We had a fantastic
time there.
Then it was back to the 3rd-floor restaurant with a view of
the ruins. Riley got the best table and we had a drink and a snack. Next, we
explored the cathedral. All of the scaffolding that used to be in the interior
is now gone so its majesty was revealed. It’s huge. We exited and walked to the
south end of the Zócalo to
look back at the leaning towers and the giant flag. From there we walked
through the back streets to Cafe Tacuba for a dinner of tacos de pollo and
filete con enchiladas served by Henriqueta. Que rico.
Day 2 April 24 Wed
I woke up
early and went down for a coffee at about 6:45. Had to struggle to get an
espresso doble but finally managed. I checked out the buffet and it looked very
good. I went out for some water and spent about 15 minutes in an OXXO store
(like 7-11) looking at all the Mexican food items. Finally, I purchased a
10-litre bottle of water (it’s huge) and put it in my backpack to carry home.
Riley was surprised to see such a huge bottle but we’ve already gone through a
good portion.
We went
down to breakfast then caught a car to the Anthropology Museum. I made a deal
with the driver to pick us up at 5am on Sunday for our flight--all sorted. We
met my old friend Javier at the museum. He was eager to tell us about the
Aztecs and all of the various gods and symbols. He was very animated and fun to
be around. The museum is astounding for its collection of the very best pieces
from the various pre-Columbian societies which inhabited Mexico. We slowly
walked through the many rooms enjoying the fascinating objects. The musical
instruments were a particular hit.
Javier
had to go to work so left us after we had a coffee. Riley and I went to most of
the other large rooms before leaving. We headed in the wrong direction as I was
thinking of going to the gift shop of the Modern Art Museum where I had
purchased many fabulous gifts in years past. But it had moved and was too far
away, so we turned around and headed to Polanco and the Soumaya Museum. After a
very long walk, we came upon the interesting architecture of the Museum and
headed in.
The
collection has a few wonderful pieces and many secondary yet interesting
pieces. The building is structured like the Guggenheim, you start on the top
floor and walk down a spiral ramp. We hopped a taxi back to the hotel and
rested before meeting Tihui, Claudio, and Ricardo at the San Angel Inn for
dinner. And what a fun dinner it was.
They all
adored Riley and we loved looking around the 19th-century hacienda that had
been kept in all its glory. The air in the courtyards was cool and refreshing,
the food was delicious, and the company marvelous. Ricardo decided to come to
New York to see Whipped Cream and we began making plans. Tihui had been working
overtime to ready La Compania for 2 programs, Giselle and a Nacho Duato
program. Claudio and Tihui gave us a ride home and we went straight to sleep.
Day 3
Thursday, April 25 -- Teotihuacan.
We woke
about 7:30, had some breakfast, went to the car rental place just a few blocks
away and were off up Insurgentes toward Teotihuacan. Traffic wasn’t too bad yet
and we were there in about an hour.
The top
of the temple of the Moon was roped off so we only climbed up halfway. The
vista down Avenida de Los Muertos is remarkable, however. Then we went to some
rooms I had never seen with many frescos and giant snakehead sculptures. It was
very interesting. Riley kept trying to figure out what exactly might have gone
on in those rooms.
We kept
on going down the alleyway and explored the museum and gift store. Finally,
after encircling the Pyramid of the Sun we went to the car buying a few things
on the way and drove back to Hotel Casa Blanca to rest a bit before going to Giselle
at the Bellas Artes.
We met
Ricardo in the lobby at 7:30 after admiring the art deco interior and had a
quick coffee before the show. Inside the theater, the Tiffany glass fire
curtain was still down and we had a good look at it.
Tihui and Claudio met us inside and we sat in the very best seats. After the performance, we went backstage to greet the performers, then straight to Cafe Tacuba for another dinner. We were pretty tired from all the climbing earlier in the day so had a tamale and
then took an Uber back to the hotel saying a fond farewell to our friends. Riley made a big impression upon everyone.
Day 4 Friday, April 26
Popocatepetl & Iztaccihuatl hike
We woke
and made our way to coffee, breakfast, and the hire car. We decided to let
Google lead us out of town through a part of the city that I had never been. It
worked out fine and after a few wrong turns, we were on the highway to
Amecameca. We drove through some of the back streets of Amecameca which turned
into dirt roads but eventually led to the Paso de Cortes and up into the
mountains.
We reached
the “ranger station” at the top of the Paso, checked in, paid our entry fee,
and headed onto the terrible road to the Izta trailhead. I’m thinking of
writing a tour book on the world’s worst roads which lead to fantastic places.
We could only maintain about 8 mph for the 5-mile trip. This one comes close to
the road to Lambafellsgja in Iceland.
But we
eventually made it, parked, and began our hike up to
We
reached the second and third Refugios and decided (after a rest) to continue.
At the trailhead, before we began, we had decided to hike up 4 hours and down
for 3 thinking the descent would be easier and quicker. It was approaching the
4-hour mark as we drew near the 4th Refugio. Riley continued on up, but that
was it for me. I remained at a lovely viewpoint admiring the rough weathered
basalt and other formations.
After
Riley came down we decided to head back to the car and about halfway down we
stopped for a water break and Riley couldn’t find his Zojirushi water bottle that
he has had for 7 years. He realized that he must have left it at the very
highest point of his climb. We didn’t have time (nor energy) to retrace our
steps to the top and Riley’s mood slumped because of the loss for this daily
companion. We decided it was an offering to Izta for her sleeping calm.
There
weren’t many other hikers that day, we saw perhaps 12 others. We met a group of
4 hikers who were headed up to their camp. Riley mentioned losing his bottle
and his nostalgia for it and they said they would keep an eye out for it. I
gave them a business card thinking it was probably a lost cause. But, lo and
behold, the next day I got an email from one of them and they had found the
water bottle!
By the
time we were back at the car, we were both exhausted not only from climbing but
from the altitude. We had hiked only about 4.5 miles with an altitude rise of
about 2,600 feet. By our standards, this is not all that much considering the
Grand Canyon hikes we did several summers ago. But the fact that we started at
13,300 feet and hiked to 16,000 feet was significant. Riley looked up the
oxygen statistics at various altitudes and found that we had about ½ the oxygen
than sea-level. No wonder I was breathing hard!
Riley
slept on the bumpy road back to the station then successfully guided us back to
the hotel. After a long hot shower, we enjoyed two Casa Blanca hamburguesas
delivered by room service. We both were asleep very shortly after.
Day 5 Saturday, April
27 Trip to Coyoacan.
This
morning I woke early, was completely surprised that I felt pretty much ok,
got a Starbucks (my new name is Carlos), and returned the rental car.
Riley slept until 10am. He was obviously very tired. We had a very lazy morning
and it wasn’t until about 2pm we went to Casa Azul, the Frida Kahlo Museum, in
Coyoacan. When we arrived the line was around the block! Reluctantly, we
decided to spend our time exploring the rest of Coyoacan and, perhaps, do some
shopping. Saturday afternoon, it was bustling. There were so many merchants
selling everything from birds to beads, and they were everywhere, inside
ramshackle buildings, on the street, and on the church steps.
The
fountain in the center of the zocalo has a sculpture of two coyotes playing and
being forever showered with water. We had some success shopping and went to
find some tacos al pastor. They are a favorite of mine, tacos with spicy pork,
cilantro, onions, and pineapple. We found a restaurant, El Tizoncito, whose
motto is “Los Creadores del taco al pastor”. Jackpot! We each had 4 and felt
stuffed because we’d had such a late breakfast. We tried again at the Casa Azul
but the line was still way too long so we taxied back to the hotel to do some
homework and pack up.
Day 6 Sunday, April 28
back to New York
We had
made arrangements with Carlos to pick us up at 5am and when we arrived in the
lobby at 4:55a he was waiting. We had breakfast and coffee at the AeroMexico
lounge and took off on time. On this plane, there are no window shades but the
window panes grow dark with the touch of a button. Very cool, Boeing. Riley has
a trio rehearsal in the evening and a Carnegie Hall performance on Wednesday so
- here we come.
An
amazing trip but we missed Miranda and Max. We got video clips of Max’s
performance and were amazed. But we’re glad to be home again, working on our
futures. Hasta pronto.
Elements of antiquity and
modernism. The pattering of the public on cobblestones and the sulfuric smell
of certain streets. Spanish style and indigenous genius. These are the
alleyways and the sunken terraces of Mexico City. The world is a vibrant
picante stew of kind souls and motorcycles, stoic stone cathedrals and the
silly sounds of Harmonipans, original land turned dry and dusty with the
arrival of a foreign people and the passage of time. As the red, blue, green,
pink, and orange colored canopies pass by in a neon Taxi, the colorful rainbow
of life plays tricks in the polluted air. Walking into gilded post offices is
as easy as scanning barcodes on electric scooters. These are the simple
realities and complex intricacies of Mexico City. This tierra is transfigured
day by day into a sandbox of people who, wearing splotchy jeans and bearing
worn leathery hands and caring not about their appearance as much as their
cultural pride, go forth en masse and live and thrive and constantly experience
the destined syncretism of existence in an oasis. Gringos speak in pidgin
Spanglish as abuelas chatter confidently about the past the present (even the
not too distant future) and all of it clicks satisfyingly together under a
green tropical canopy. These are the fading facades and cracked concrete
structures of Mexico City. These are the tired aching faces and hairless
barking dogs of Mexico City. These are the fibers of a vibrant turquoise and
indigo culture that, like a beehive, teem under a hot Quetzalcoatl - the
Central American sun. Riley
Addendum
One other
incident of significance happened while Riley and I were in Mexico. On our
return trip from Teotihuacan, stuck in traffic about to turn onto Insurgentes,
I rashly decided to switch lanes and moved to the right not seeing anyone.
Unfortunately,
a car had zoomed up into the space and I bumped the passenger side door with my
front right fender. Traffic was completely stopped so there was no pulling off
anywhere, The man got out of his car and looked with incredulity at the dent in
his door. After a moment of thought seeing the traffic as bad as it was, I took
a business card out of my wallet and went up to his window, apologized, and
gave him my card. When the traffic cleared, he went right and I went left.
The next
afternoon (Friday) I received an email from Senor Oviedo saying that he was the
driver of the car and asking what we should do. I wrote back taking full
responsibility and asked him if he could get an estimate for the repair. The
following day we climbed the volcano, Izta. When we got back to the hotel I
received a text saying he would get an estimate in the morning.
At about
11am on Saturday, he texted me two estimates and suggested the lower of the two
and, of course, I agreed. I said I could give him some cash today but I had no
means of transport. He said he would come to the hotel in an hour.
His
English was as minimal as my Spanish. I apologized again and gave him some
pesos that I had. He gave me his banking details so I could wire the balance to
him. As we parted, I thanked him for his grace in this situation and he gave me
a huge hug and wished me well.
Two days
before, I had badly dented his car and today he was hugging me farewell. No
anger, no hostility, no rage, no bitterness. He was a thoughtful understanding
and gentle soul. I could only think he is representative of the true Mexican
spirit.
