Mexico City (Distrito Federal) and Flight to MVD

All of my DF pics can be found here DF Pics.

I fully intended to write about my experience in DF before I left.  However, the situation did not lend itself to that opportunity.  I will explain further down why and will try to keep this in chronological order.

One of the many waterless fountains throughout the city

Glorieta Angel.  The Angel fell to the ground in a fairly recent earthquake but kept the wreath in hand when the rest of the Angel shattered.

This church is falling over.  Apparently DF was surrounded by water like a moat and had frequent floods which makes the soil pretty terrible for structures like this.

Pretty cool concept that I think would work great in the states (Mainly California)

DF is much more artistic than I ever expected.  There are many benches throughout the city that are not standard such as this one.

This may be the coolest statue I have ever seen. 

Anthropology Museum.  This is a huge roof only supported by the column in the middle.  The rest of the museum was stupendus. 

Monumento Revolución at night

View from atop the Monumento Revolución.  The elevtor ride to the top was free for some reason.

Templo Mayor.  You can see the layers of the Templo.  The Indios did not bother taking down the wall.  They just built right over the top to stay in proportion with the magnitude of the Empire.

I walked in the back of this museum without paying the 50 peso entry fee.  If you act as if you should be there, the security guards don`t expect anything.

View from atop the Torre Latinamerica.  The photo is overexposed so the city is nowhere near this bright.  At any given moment there are at least 5 planes waiting to land.

This Korean guy was in my room at the hostel.  He rode his bike from Seattle to Alaska then down the Rockies to Cancun then back to Mexico City.  His blog is in Korean but probably infintely more interesting than mine. http://blog.naver.com/bbungsam

I basically spent four days doing all of the touristy things in town.  I failed to see the Teotihuacan Ruins, but I feel like I did most of the other major things.  I found nightlife in Zona Rosa, La Condeza, some random spots along Insurgentes, Zocalo, and unknown places that I was shown by locals.

I went to a random house party.  One of the hosts was a matador and he brought out this cape.  They are substantially heavier than expected.  They feel like the lead cape you wear when getting an X-Ray.  They are also stiff judging by its ability to stand on its own.

This is the first accurate rendition of Jesus I have seen in Mexico.

DF has three profession futbol teams: Pumas, Cruz Azul, and Americas.  It just so happened that Pumas and Azul were playing each other on Saturday.  I walked up Insurgentes Sur from the Univerisity to Estadio Azul and entered the grounds on the Pumas side of the stadium.

Pumas Fans

 I walked around to the other side of the stadium and bought the cheaper tickets for the home team, Azul.

Azul Fans.

Once inside, I really got into the spirit of things. There were drumbeats, incessant yelling, and a general roudiness that was addictive.  I was learning all sorts of cuss words and using them equally as the young guys next to me.  I was disappointed that the stadium was not sold out.  I don`t know how a city of this size with rabid fans can`t pony up the money to attend a game of in-city bitter rivals.

This was before the start of the game.  Notice the line of police in riot gear.

When Azul scored the first goal, fans started to climb the fence and shake it like tearing down a goal post.   I guess the barbed wire fence actually deterred the fans from going onto the field, or maybe it was the police pulling them down.  At half time Azul had a 2-0 lead, and I figured the game was in the bag.  Late in the second half, the score was 2-3 with Azul losing.  Every single Pumas fan was taking part in a unison jumping dance as their team took the lead.  At that point, I wished I bought tickets on the Pumas side.  However, with about two minutes left in regulation, Azul put in the equalizer which really sent the place in pandimonium and was glad again to be an Azul fan.  The game ended 3-3.

As I was heading to the Metro (which is only 3 Pesos or less than 25 cents and has rubber wheels so it is quiet - it also is hot as a pistol during the dead of winter so I can`t imagine it during the summer), I get questioned by some Pumas fans.  I immediately changed my loyalty to Pumas as to reduce a potential confrontation.  ``Of course Pumas looked better than Azul.  Yea, Azul was lucky to get that tie.``  In any event, I find myself surrounded with new `friends` in a bar called No Name.  This was Pumas territory and thought I one of the skinheads was going to start a fight with me when he pulled out my Azul noise maker out of my back pocket.  We left that place and headed to La Hija de los Apaches for Pulque.

The owner is on the dollar bill.  Pulque is really gross plain, but is okay with fruit flavors.  It`s sorta like drinking chalk dust in a thick liquid.  I imagine it is a macho thing to drink it.

The place is large and fully packed, and I am the only gringo.  The band is rocking out which diminshed my feeble Spanish skills.  Luckily a 1.2 liter bottle of beer is 35 pesos.  Someone who I met earlier in the week recognized me, and we chatted for a bit allowing the Pumas Skinheads to take a break from their line of questioning.  The pulque place closed at 10, and I was forced to continue on terrorizing a handful of other places with the Pumas fans until I Irish Goodbyed in a taxi to my hostel only to wake up just in time for my flight to Panama City and then to Montevideo. 

I want to say that not everything in DF was great.  I felt like more people were trying to rip me off in DF than any place I had ever been.  I would pay for something then they would come back with different bills than I had used trying to get more money out of me.  The taxis were rabid and had no shame to drive in circles.  Additionally I woke up every morning with major congestion due to massive amounts of pollution inhalation.   Many locals told me about the danger of DF, but I personally never saw it.  However, I believe it is there, and I was lucky.

After waiting in a brutally long Copa Airlines line, paying a $75 baggage fee, then watching a lady tear apart my huge nearly packed box, I am walked through the MEX airport wondering when I will have to tell my story about not getting the visa in Tijuana.  Not so.  The Copa ticket taker just took it as I boarded the plane and never even looked at it.  I could have skipped the hassle in Loreto and filled out a blank sheet of paper at the airport to save $126.  As the plane from Panama City to Montevideo was taxing down the runway, the Capitan tells us that we have to disembark as the left engine won`t start.  I am thinking I want a new plane, but I am quit happy that I have three seats all to myself.  Back in the Panama City terminal, I go to get some food at a busy restaurant.  All of the waitresses have a terrible disposition, and I theorize it is because Panamanians have an identity crisis as they don`t even have their own currency since they use the US$.

I arrive in Montevideo and the customs lady never asks me a question.  She just hastily stamps my passport like her pay is proportional to the speed at which she can get people through the line.  I make a mess putting my bike together in the airport, and fortunately everything seems to be in working order.  Either I did an excellent packing job (not likely) or the bike realy was worth the $1000 price tag.  I just rode to the centro and will take a hostel here (my new Brooks Saddle is amazing).  Apparently there is a Carnival Festival in town Feb 3 and 4 so I will stick around for that.  I will try to make trips to Puente del Este and Colonia in the meantime.