Back from Mexico City (Part 1)

Photo: Diego at Chapultepec Castle (gardens)

So, after having a very quiet first 5 months since the birth of our little son, Santi, we had to go on a trip to Mexico City required by the US Embassy. We were lucky enough to start our trip the 23rd of April... just before the outbreak of Flu was announced!
Our trip began a tad bit stressful being it was the first long trip for Santi and our first bus trip in quite a while. We decided to take the bus since it is really tricky do drive in Mexico City, it is even trickier to actually enter! For some years now, Mexico City has a program called “hoy no circula” in which cars with certain license plate endings cannot be on the streets certain days of the week. This program is supposed to help curve the terrible pollution problems the city has. Since the dates were not really our choice either, we had to go when the Embassy told us to, we had no way of going around the “no circula” restrictions.
Buses are a very good way to travel in Mexico as long as you take the right one. The first class service is prompt, comfortable and inexpensive. Then there is the Executive service which offers more space than First Class and drinks, maybe snacks, on your trip. Finally there is the Deluxe which pretty much has seats that turn into beds. Unfortunately for us, the time that was best for our trip only had first class leaving... It was not bad at all, just filled to the gills. It arrived at a great time in Mexico City, but we had to carry the extra weight of drinks and snacks for the boys.
We had a pretty uneventful ride to Mx City and Santi was a trooper: no long bouts of crying! The TAPO terminal (bus station) was very quiet when we arrived. I had never been in this terminal (there are three in MxCity) and I was very surprised at the size and the cleanliness! As in all of Mexico, there were the normal twenty well armed police officers here and there, but nothing out of the ordinary.
Taxis are a great way to go when going around a city like Mexico. Driving is never a good choice if you are not a Chilango (Mexico City inhabitant) driver! Like a tourism brochure says: Drivers are crazy, but they know how to subsist with each other... Besides, there are no such things as good signaling and maps... Well, we are talking about the biggest city on Earth! Unfortunately, it is also one of the most dangerous cities on Earth, so you should never take just any Taxi, there are “safe” taxis which are easy to find, safe and very inexpensive. These taxis are available through a SITIO or Taxi central throughout the city.
Our hotel was a couple of blocks from the Embassy in the neighborhood of Polanco. Beats me why it is called like so, but that is were most of the Embassies are and it is very close to the main monuments and Parks of MxCity without being Downtown.
The first afternoon was rather tense since we had not much of an idea what we could do with the kids without exhausting them totally. No matter how out of shape I might be, Mexico City just beckoned a good long hike! We did not go very far on Reforma (the Champs Elysee of MxCIty) before the boys started complaining about being starving- Santi was sacked out on his carrier. They had been very entertained by the “Bench Sculptures” of the Urban display of usable art down Reforma (sitting on bronze couches, checking out the metal grass bench and the three story chair), but their stomach was starting to make them really uncivilized!
We ended up entering a small “fonda” (small restaurant) that was packed with locals and got the daily menu... Eat up like a king -soup, rice or pasta, meat and salad- for a mere 4dlls. And the service is super fast, too! From there we continued the hike down Reforma to Chapultepec.
Chapultepec is a 4 square km forest within the city. It is an enormous park that houses zoo, aquarium, lakes, a castle, etc. We decided we would, at least, take the boys to the Castle -residence once upon a time to Maximilian of Austria, when Mexico was under French rule-, check out the gardens and take some panoramic photos of the City. The hike up to the Castle was hard. I tend to forget Mexico City is at a really high altitude which makes it harder to breathe (then add the smog). Besides, we had not taken our umbrellas with us on our long walk and it rained on us twice! The first rain was soft and we took refuge under the canopy of the Century trees of Chapultepec, the second hit us hard at the Castle.
You tend to hear about how unfriendly people in Mexico City have become because of the violence and insecurity... Let me prove this wrong! As I was walking for cover (can’t run with Santi on his carrier) shielding him as well as I could with my arms, a local family walked by and promptly offered us a rain poncho! I accepted it and covered Santi. They smiled, waved and went on their way. This was just the first random act of kindness we received in MxCity!