Free Beer, Missing Manhole Covers, and The Biggest City in the Western Hemisphere!

We left Tequisquiapan having not heard back from our new climbing friends whom we met in Guadalajara – the reason being that we only have email when we have wifi and not text messaging (google voice doesn’t seem to play well with common international texting apps like whatsup). Very intimidated and wary of venturing into Mexico City on our own in the van, we decided that we’d head to the famous pyramids of Teotehuacan outside of Mexico City and maybe take a bus into the city from there.

The drive was filled with difficult navigation and without a doubt the craziest traffic and driving we had yet to encounter in our trip to date. Having finally made it to the pyramids, we were drove through a string of cabanas that preceded the actual site. Our plan was to go check things out and figure out how to spend our next day there before eating and finding a place to sleep for the evening. Nearly every one of the cabanas had a guy out in the street yelling stuff, holding menus, and waving flags in an attempt to get us to turn in and eat. We were passing the second to last cabana when, in perfect English, we hear: “free beer!” It was not only hilarious but effective and the next thing we knew we were pulling in. His neighbor, the last in the line, said something to the effect of “dammit, that’s the third one you’ve gotten today with that.” It turned out to be fortuitous for us though (or so we thought), as he had wifi and agreed to let us park overnight in front of his place. We still opted to go check out the pyramids and get a feel for things before camping though – we were not disappointed!

After an interesting night of playing nobody-in-here-but-us-silent-gringos-till-you-go-away while police strobed and flashed us with their lights, we heard from our friends in Mexico City in the morning via email! We then made our way to the pyramids early in the morning before the masses would begin to conglomerate with plans to head to Mexico City for the rendezvous after. Teotehuacan was an amazing experience – especially for a bargain $13 US to admit us both and park! I shot a lot of pics. It’s one of those places that is hard to capture because of its scale and depth, simply astounding.

After hiking to the top of both the Pyramid of the Sun and the Pyramid of the Moon, checking the museum out, walking the Street of the Dead, and walking to the Temple of the Serpent and back, we headed back to the van feeling like we had been out hiking mountains all day. We were both nervous to be driving the van into the biggest city either of us had ever visited – one which many had told to avoid at all costs. From the guide book: “Vibrant, cosmopolitan capital or smog-choked, crime-plagued urban stain that’s best avoided?”

There really are no rules when it comes to driving. People will just squeeze in between lanes creating new ones at will. If you want to get onto a busy street you literally just keep pulling forward until your bumper is an inch or less from the bumper-to-bumper line and then gun it the moment a car moves forcing your way in before the next in line can close the gap. There is no such thing as a stop sign. You run red lights regularly or risk incurring the honk of a thousand cars behind you. All of this, mind you, right in front of police doing the exact same thing. It’s very different than driving in the US, but once you understand how things work its not much different than driving in any big, poorly signed city with no GPS or google maps to help guide you through the maze. Driving in Mexico City is akin to an extreme sport, and driving the van in Mexico City is like participating in an extreme sport with a healthy handicap! Fortunately, I like giant cities, driving like a maniac, and extreme sports – so all was well. Lots of focus, lots of unlabeled eight-way intersection, lots of laughing. Many wrong turns and direction asking in my best-horrible Spanish later, we were parked in an alley consulting people and maps when Maria, having been on the lookout for a certain casita blanca, came running down the street yelling to us!!! Next thing you know we’re parallel parking in a spot seemingly to small for our van with lines of cars behind us honking incessantly. You just have to ignore it. Horns are just peoples’ way of saying hi in Mexico. It’s really just nonstop horn honking everywhere you go. The funniest thing is when you’re stuck in immovable traffic that is without a doubt not going anywhere – it’s like a horn concert and everyone is invited! But never mind the stolen man hole covers or the six lane interchanges with no signs and people forcibly making them fit ten or so lanes instead, we made it! And Mexico City was just as crazy as it was toted to be. The guide book hardly scratched the surface. It was awesome, huge, exciting, polluted, congested, historic, cultural, and every other word you could use to describe a mega-metropolis. The Greater Mexico City population comes in at 21.2 million people making it the largest metropolitan area in the western hemisphere, and you get everything that comes along with it. We were so thankful to have a place to stay and hosts that gave us the inside scoop and paved the way for us to have an amazing time!

First, we were passengers through a maze of busy highways and congested, zig-zagging interchanges as we drove south through the entire city during rush hour to escape the sprawl of the metropolis arriving at the beautiful Las Manzanas where we climbed at the trad area known at Quatro Media (I think). It was sooooo good. Amazing, smooth basalt splitters with features outside the cracks and frequently changing sizes. The climbing was awesome, the park beautiful (though much different and less maintained than what we would call a national park back home), and the food… oh the food – our friends took us to a little Mexican sea food place that did not disappoint. Amazing ceviche tostadas and empanadas, quesadillas de pulpo (octopus), tacos de pescado… so good!!!

A crazy drive back through the city and we were hanging out at Maria’s place again. Sleeping somewhere else besides the van, access to a shower… it was awesome! Maria’s roommate Victor and his girl friend Kirsten were fantastic company and we enjoyed lots of laughs over tasty snacks and excellent conversation.

The next day we ventured into the city via the trolly bus to see the downtown and meet our friend Cesar whom we met along with Maria while climbing in Guadalajara. The city was stunning. So glad we decided not to skip it as we were often told to. Bold graffiti, amazing architecture and sculptures, and even police-lined protests reminiscent of the Occupy rallies from recent times back home.

Even a certain cult from the US had a small foothold in the sprawling metropolis. There is nothing you can’t find in Mexico City, silly nonsense from confused Americans not withstanding…

I’ll only include a couple Catholic Church glamor shots in this post because, well, there were too many to count and I had enough of that as a child! Needless to say… no shortage of grandiose religious imagery in a land conquered long ago by the Spaniards.

The downtown was a real treat. Amazing colonial style architecture built upon what is apparently a filled in complex of lakes that shake like a bowl of jello during the region’s many earthquakes. After visiting the largest of the cathedrals we explored The Palacio Nacional (with amazing paintings and a Mayan Exhibition inside) and the Templo Mayor – an old pyramid ruin right in the middle of the city! Our friend Cesar met us downtown and we had a great bite to eat at the historic Casa de los Azulejos and chatted about many things.

Before leaving the downtown area we watched five policemen, in full gear no less, get into a small taxi that would seat three adults and a child comfortably… maybe. It was hilarious, watching policeman sit on each other’s laps made for a good chuckle – and we were in a line of about 50 people waiting for the bus, so the laughter was plentiful. I shot a pic with the cell, but unfortunately it didn’t turn out.

Finally, after an evening of cervesas and a morning of relaxing and coffee, we said our goodbyes, made our way out of the city, and headed for Puebla – a nice stopping point to break up the drive between Mexico City and Oaxaca. There is really too much to say about Mexico City within a single blog post. And further, our friends there are absolutely amazing. We so hope they swing by Colorado so we can return their hospitality – which is a good possibility considering Maria’s climbing habits, Victor’s desire to snowboard, and Kirsten’s biology inspired nature interests!

And with that, we’re off…