Day 1: Mexico City
About to land in Mexico city, the on board map/information display goes 3000m, 2500m, 2200m and then bang, we land. Bit of a shock really when you are used to landing somewhere close to the 0m mark... Composure regained and fingers pried from the armrest I removed my rucksack from itīs resting place, slung it over my shoulder and wandered out to face Mexico.
I canīt deny I like Mexico City, sure itīs dirty, probably dangerous, vastly overpopulated (22 million and couting, actually Iīm not sure if anyone is counting as the city sprawls that much), but you canīt deny the streets are alive with cooking, dancing, shouting and absolute liveliness. Music blares from all corners, the general kind of happy happy Mexican music which must obviate the need for Prozac here. I can imagine The Smiths and The Cure are not popular here.
During a stroll through the leafy Chapultepec Park, the small differences to "normality" start to appear.
* Big fat hairy blokes loafing about wearing t-shirts with "Bimbo" written on them: Bimbo makes bread and sponsors a local football team, but I prefer the dumb broad reference.
* Wrestling masks on sale everwhere: If you have seen Nacho Libre youīll understand. I thought at first that Powerrangers were massive over here, but no, it is in fact one of Mexicoīs national passions - Wrestling.
* An army band practising in the shade: Unfortunately for the orchestra, every time someone hit a bum note the culprit was called forward and whacked on the back by the conductor with a massive cane. Just would not happen in the oh-so-PC world we know.
Other than that the Mexican way of life is great. Corona is 70 cents, called "Mexican Water" (incidentally I discovered that Cockroaches are imaginatively called "Mexican Water Beetles") and is consumed liberally throughout the day. Food wise, it is paradise - as a chili fan the fact that every meal comes served with a bowl of green and red chili sauces is great. Even breakfast. Oh yes, scrambled eggs with tortillas and chili - the breakfast of champions.
I canīt deny I like Mexico City, sure itīs dirty, probably dangerous, vastly overpopulated (22 million and couting, actually Iīm not sure if anyone is counting as the city sprawls that much), but you canīt deny the streets are alive with cooking, dancing, shouting and absolute liveliness. Music blares from all corners, the general kind of happy happy Mexican music which must obviate the need for Prozac here. I can imagine The Smiths and The Cure are not popular here.
During a stroll through the leafy Chapultepec Park, the small differences to "normality" start to appear.
* Big fat hairy blokes loafing about wearing t-shirts with "Bimbo" written on them: Bimbo makes bread and sponsors a local football team, but I prefer the dumb broad reference.
* Wrestling masks on sale everwhere: If you have seen Nacho Libre youīll understand. I thought at first that Powerrangers were massive over here, but no, it is in fact one of Mexicoīs national passions - Wrestling.
* An army band practising in the shade: Unfortunately for the orchestra, every time someone hit a bum note the culprit was called forward and whacked on the back by the conductor with a massive cane. Just would not happen in the oh-so-PC world we know.
Other than that the Mexican way of life is great. Corona is 70 cents, called "Mexican Water" (incidentally I discovered that Cockroaches are imaginatively called "Mexican Water Beetles") and is consumed liberally throughout the day. Food wise, it is paradise - as a chili fan the fact that every meal comes served with a bowl of green and red chili sauces is great. Even breakfast. Oh yes, scrambled eggs with tortillas and chili - the breakfast of champions.
posted by Andrew at
02:56
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