The Journey, the Digs and the Great First Day in Mexico City

Better start at the beginning, the bus station in Exeter perhaps. No that was just – a goodbye to my Dad and off to Heathrow. Heathrow; was was as busy asi thought it would, possibly more, and just reminded me how insular life in a small village in Devon is. Heathrow must have the broadest spectrum of the world nations in one small place. You can sit next Budhist monks, Sikh men dressed like warriors and crazy Japanese people dressed in a explosion of colour. I still felt silly in my big straw hat though. What also occured to me is just how easy travelling is – it really is just like Richard (the Beach) says – all you nedd is the ticket and the cash and your there. I was just washed along by departure times and queues and then i was in Toronto – it was, well an incredible feeling after twenty two or so hours sitting having a ciggarete in Toronto watching the sun go down.

The flight was amazing – i looked out the window just in time to see the white dust of the melted ice sheet at the very top edge of Canada – and then hundreds of miles of glaciers, barren rock and forests. I can only describe Canada as desolate – vey thing is so vast – where it is populated there are a few farms – the odd town, in about a hundred mile square. Desolate – the airport echoed this thougt – it was empty and minmal completely and utterly different to Terminal One Heathrow. I was travel weary and tried to go to sleep for six hours waiting for Will, Mark and Rupert´s flight but became only dazed and slightly lonely. Subsequenty i was ecstatic to meet them at around midnight. Toronto airport became great after that – we wnt and found some Canadian siol in touch and talked about – jazz i think. I can´t express the need i had to talk to someone after 16 hours travelling on my own. And then we walked around, enjoying the sight of the more hardened trveller, bedding down in sleeping bags or walking around in travel-worn cowboyboots, jeans and general lumberjacking outfit.Air Canada is the best airline – they gave us hot towels – constant supplies of free drinks and snacks. So we were shattered when ariving at Mexico City airport but –  pretty pampered really.

We were given a taxi service, picked up by one of the two young brothers who run the Hostel Coyote Flaco in Coyocan (place of the Coyote). This place is brilliant – we have a dorm of four everythings brad new and not quite fixed up yet – we had our curtains put up as me put our stuff up when we arrived. Its colourful clean and modern and really small. Yesterday we went to the world best Taco stall (apparently) where we showed how we were idiot-gringos and ordered 4 delicious yet chilli and lard soaked tacos each (intsead of four between us). Will has not recovered.

At breakfast today (which was really really rubbish) we met Lauren, from Bristol and Devon (but lives in Leeds) and then (embarrasingly) the-NYCamerican-woman-whose-name-nobody-can-rember who spoke good Spanish and we used the Metro to go to the Historical Center of Mexico city togeter. its great to meet such friendly people and today was so brilliant, a delicious lunch of chicken Fajittas, a trip to the incomprehensibly morbid and stomach churning Museum of the Inquistion and the mindblowing Muralist museum. The second was so wierd – we came out completely low and desgusted (althought the Iron Maiden was too cool) – the latter was so amazing – the artist Vlady was – well one of the best painters ive ever witnesses and we had a heated debate over Rivieras’ world famous Man Controlling the Universe).

Now, after i rattled trough this hurried and belated account of the trip so far, i m going out to the center of Coyacan (the quiet leafy, beautiful suburb we are staying) to the market and for food. Its almost 8 o’clock. Tommorow are travellers skills (which are severely limited will be tested as we make our own way to Guanojuato (north) and have to find accomodation. Until next time, godspeed.

- JR in Mexico City.