8th Time a Charm

I had planned to take the metro/subway from downtown Mexico City to the airport but since the winter festivities continued into Sunday, the thought of being packed like sardines on the metro (with my luggage) persauded me to seek an alternative. Having taken a number of taxis throughout my stay it seemed to be the logical choice.

The hostel was kind enough to arrange a taxi. I am certain the "taxi" that arrived was simply a friend of a hotel clerk, not a regulated taxi. The car and the driver appeared to be in better condition than any previous taxi in Mexico (there were a few real 'winners' along the way). Once we got going, the driver informed me the airport would be only 15 minutes away thanks to the new raised highway. Apparently, the driver had no been on the new raised highway as I would later discovered.

As we approached the new highway, all of the entrance ramps were closed. In all, we encountered 7 closed ramps. After the fifth, my driver was visibly sweating and was getting very nervous. I tried to reassure him, in my broken Spanish, that I had lots of time and was in no immediate rush. The next two failed attempts to find an on-ramp only added to his frustration. He ended up pulling the car onto a side "road" (back alley meets bad gravel road) pulls out a map and proceeds to tell me where we are and where the airport is. Now, my Spanish is functional and I can read a map, it was clear to me that there was a significant gap between where we were and and where the airport was. That, however, didn't help the situation! Eventually, the driver returned to the road and with the assistance of a local food vendor we found an entrance ramp. With a kiss to the cross hanging from the rear view mirror, I was now airport bound.

All in all, I arrived at the airport well before my flight. The 15 minute journey ended up being about an hour long and I am sure the driver was happy to see me leave!

Leia Mais…

Festival Navideño de la Ciudad de México

One month before Christmas, the Mexican government goes all out to create seasonal festivities for the entire family in the Zocalo (central square) - a short two block walk from my hotel. While having breakfast, one of the other travellers wished me the best of luck in dealing with the festitivities. I later learned that they had planned their travels around the festitivities. I would soon realize why.

Saturday was the official start of the festivities. La Plaza de la Constitución (240 m by 240 m) is completely full of winter activities. When I approched the plaza this afternoon is was a very surreal feeling as I witnessed a giant tobagganing hill, a ice rink, and three igloos. The plaza represented everything that I thought I escaped in Manitoba! I was impressed the outdoor rink and the tobaggan hill survived the balmy 25 C heat. Once I had come to my senses, I was astounded by the number of people that had descended on the plaza. There were people from corner to corner, jam packed. You could read the excitement on children's faces and the frustration on the face's of parents. The hostel clerk conservatively guessed between 50,000 - 60,000 people descended on the plaza and will continue to do so every weekend until the middle of January.

The fairly quite neighourhood of my hotel has become the epicentre for foot traffic to the plaza due to the metro station around the corner. The streets have been completely taken over by pedistrians. Huge lines accompany every business and restaurant. Street performers, clowns, dancers, painters, and singers are scattered throughout the thousands of people. It is like the (winter) circus came to town overnight!

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Around Mexico City

Without any plans, I spent the majority of the day walking around Mexico City. Since I was not able to fly off to Flores to visit the Mayan ruins, I explored the areas of Centro Historico, Roma Norte, Juarez, and Polanco. A few photos below.

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No Flight to Guatemala

As instructed, I contacted the airline this morning to find out if a seat to Flores, Guatemala had become available. But much like the day before, I could only get a confirmed seat to Guatemala City. Rather than take my chances in Guatemala City, I opted for a refund. I will now spend the remainder of my travels in Mexico.

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Unexpectantly back in Mexico City

By now, I had hoped to be sitting on a roof terrace on the island of Flores in Guatemala. Unfortunately, the airline had a different plan!

After arriving at the Benito Juarez Airport in Mexico City I confirmed that my flight to Flores had indeed been cancelled. The airline offered to fly me to Guatemala City (notorious for violent crimes against foreigners) and put me on standby to Flores. Based on my poor Spanish and the airline clerk's equally poor English I discovered that the Guatemala City to Flores flight is completely booked, the first empty seat is Saturday. Although I am often up for an adventure, Guatemala City is one that I will tackle another day. My new plan (as of 10 minutes ago) is to stay in Mexico City. I have no absolutely no plans, however, have no doubt I will find all sorts of things to do.

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Guatemala?

When I went to sleep last night I anticipated taking a bus from Puebla to Mexico City and then a flight to Guatemala on Wednesday. When I awoke, I discovered through email that my flight to Guatemala has been "cancelled for the day". I am not sure exactly how this will influence my trip to Guatemala? I am going to have to give my broken Spanish a challenge when I call the airline to understand when the next flight is scheduled.

Who knows ... Guatemala might have fallen off this travel plan!

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Puebla, Mexico

My meetings have come to an end in the City of Puebla. My presentation was received positively. Somehow I ended up with considerable more work from this meeting than I anticipated! Below are a few photographs from Puebla. On Thursday, I will head from Puebla to Guatemala (pending unforseen circumstances).

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Pulled Over by Police

After spending the morning on foot in the historic downtown Mexico City, we (my boss, a Canadian colleague, and myself) decided to take a taxi to the TAPO bus terminal rather than take the subway/metro system. We were informed the metro would be quite busy and involve two transfers. We were lead to believe a taxi would be cheaper, quicker and less stressful. Being good tourists, we happily obliged. After arriving at TAPO bus terminal, our taxi ride was indeed cheaper.

The "ten minute" ride, as described by the taxi driver, turned into a forty minute snail's pace crawl through the city. We were fortunate to have plenty of time to catch our bus. At times, the taxi (actually a car owned by a friend of the hotel bellman, not an 'official' taxi) did not physically move with a green light due to congested streets. Traffic was literally bumper to bumper, horns honking, and random people trying to sell munchies and other propaganda to the people waiting in the cars. As we proceeded on our slow pace our taxi driver followed all the airport directions. The further we continued, the more we believed that he would drop us off at the airport, rather than at TAPO bus terminal. Just as we could read the welcome sign to the airport the taxi driver veered off on a side road. Our thoughts of arriving at the airport was dissolved upon turning on the side road as we could see the bus terminal, however, it was on the opposite side of the divided road/highway. Our innovative "taxi" driver pulled a U-turn at an intersection to put us within 100 metres of the bus terminal only to have the lights, sirens, and speaker phone of the local police come on.

I am sure everyone in the taxi wanted to simply get out, collect our luggage, pay the driver, walk the remaining distance and leave the driver to deal with the police. That however did not transpire! The police officer questioned our driver and requested to see all sorts of paper work. After 5 minutes of discussions (which didn't seem overly friendly from my seat in the car) the driver returned and we continued the final 100 metres to the bus terminal. After all said and done, we had only 10 minutes to spare to catch the bus from Mexico City to Puebla.

Unlike Greyhound services, the local bus to Puebla required all luggage and carry on items be scanned (similar to Canadian airports) and every passenger had to be patted down by a security officer before being allowed on the bus. The two hour bus ride provided an opportunity to rest. I have included a few photographs from along the bus ride.

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Broken Water Pipe = No hotel room

After a frustrating discussion with a taxi driver (in my broken Spanish), we (myself and 2 other Canadians) made it to Centro Historico and our hotels. Unfortunately, the three of us were split into two different hotels. We knew that going in, so no big surprise (just wait though). The taxi driver dropped off the other two people at their hotel and then proceeded to drop me off at my hotel. When we pulled in front of the hotel, the lights were off, front doors locked, and not a person to be seen. After ringing a door bell and rattling the front door a hotel clerk arrived. The look on his face as he arrived at the door indicated there was a problem. In his broken English he informed me they have my reservation but no room for me! The water pipe burst in the evening and the entire floor was wet and consequently no room for me (or the other 20 people scheduled to stay on that floor).

There I am at 1:30 AM on a dark street chatting to the hotel clerk without a hotel room. The reason we had two hotels was a result of the high demand for rooms on Saturday evening (later found out there was an important soccer game on Sunday nearby). The hotel clerk was very apologetic and offered to arrange a reservation at a nearby hotel. After 15 minutes of standing on the street, the clerk returned with the name of a hotel 3 blocks away. He assured me the hotel would be of the same high quality and similar price. It is now almost 2 AM and I couldn't really care what the hotel looked liked - I just wanted a bed to sleep in!

Forunately, the taxi driver waited on the street. He agreed to deliver me to yet another hotel. When we drove up to the hotel, it looked promising. A hotel staff member was quick to greet me and get me checked in. The place looked respectable and it appeared a number of large celebratins were taking place in the meeting rooms. My opinion of the place dramatically changed when I entered the room. The room was very large, but with very few amenities so it looked quite empty. To get water running in the sink it required leaving the taps wide open for a good 5 minutes before you see water. I am not sure when the last time the room was cleaned, but I could have easily written my name in the dust on any surface. The security in the rooms was somewhat lacking, however, the arm chair was easily pushed up against the door for a litle added sense of security. Being so tired from all the travel I simply crawled into bed.

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Bienvenidos Mexico

I landed in Mexico City without any incidents. The flight was uneventful and allowed me to catch up on some work and more importantly my sleep. The continuous flow of lights amazed me as we flew over the city. With over 20 million people I was expecting big, but the view of lights for as far as you could see was impressive. Two thirds of Canada's population was below me, in one (very large) city. I flew through Mexican Immigration and Customs in what I would consider record time. A balmy 14 C will greet me as I leave the airport.

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Good bye snow!

As I woke up this morning, I listened to weather forecasters announcing 15 - 20 cm of snow that fell last night in southern Ontario. The weather forecaster made is sounds as if the world had stopped spinning (or at least for that part of the world). Roads were closed, buses were delayed, people were being advised to only go outside if they have to. As I laid in bed, my only thought was of warm, sunny Mexico. The land of no snow. The land of no wind chill factors. It will be nice.

This trip will be a nice change. Over the past couple of years, my work trips have usually taken me to northern communities in the dead of winter. My first visit to Whitehorse was February 2006 and the weather was a balmy -47 C (with the wind) the first morning. Traveling south in the winter will be a nice change of pace. I suspect this may be the only southward travel for work, so I best enjoy it!

The walk from the airport parking lot to the terminal reminded me that I will not miss winter for the next couple of weeks. Since my winter parka, mitts, and toque are not making the trip to Mexico, my walk was a 'bit' chilly and brisk in my summer jacket. With my hands bare to the wind, the desire to return to snow sunk lower and lower. To be honest, if all the snow is gone by the time I return there will be no disappointment or complaints from me.

Pending any dissruptions in Toronto (always possible), I will be in Mexico City by midnight tonight.

Leia Mais…

packing, packing, and more packing

With only two days before departing, I am frantically still packing for my upcoming adventure. My challenge is compounded by a day work before departing to Mexico. Basically, I need to have all my packing completed tonight. It is amazing how one can find a million procrastination methods when needing to complete a simple task.

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Free Guatemala breakfast?

After two weeks of emails to find (decent) accommodations in Flores, Guatemala, I have received a flood of responses. Unfortunately, all responses are confirming my reservation! After weeding through the emails, I finally selected a 'hotel' in Flores that offered a private bedroom, private shower, and a "great view" (their words). I am not sure what the view is of, but I am sure it is great.

For $10 American per night, the 'hotel' will provide a free Guatemala breakfast. This free breakfast has made me wonder, what does a Guatemalan breakfast consist of? After much deliberations, I concluded that I will have to wait a few days to find out! I will keep you posted.

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Central America Bound

In just a couple of weeks, I will retrieve my passport for international travel once again. It has been a while since my last significant journey, however, I have been busy traveling throughout Canada and the United States. Since I returned from South America last summer, my travels have taken me to: Calgary (Alberta), Carcross-Tagish First Nation (Yukon), Chicago (Illinois), Denver(Colorado),Edmonton (Alberta), Gatineau (Québec),Halifax (Nova Scotia), Inuvik (Northwest Territories), Kingston (Ontario), Montréal (Québec), Nebraska City (Nebraska), Omaha (Nebraska), Ottawa (Ontario), Percival (Iowa), St. John's (Newfoundland), Toronto (Ontario), Tuktoyakuk (Northwest Territories), Vancouver (BC), Whitehorse (Yukon),Yellowknife (Northwest Territories).

My international travel will commence with an international rural policy conference in Mexico and then a holiday in Guatemala. I need to finalize travel plans for both countries, but will keep you up to date on my travels.

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