Mexico City - the final destination

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Mexico City a quick stopover on the way to Mickey

We arrived late in Mexico city after yet another very comfortable, and unfortunately, last bus trip in Mexico. They saved the best for last (if you ask Dillon) as he was very excited when 5 minutes before the bus left the Dominoes delivery man (no kidding) came into the bus to sell Pizzas. Being the good parents we are (and because we wanted him to be quiet) he was munching on a fresh pepperoni Pizza in no time.

It was dark by the time we left our new hotel and we headed for the central plaza which adorns the huge cathedral. There we saw one of the natural spectacles of Mexico. A demonstration. Thousands of demonstrators were marching through the plaza with hundreds of policemen watching over them. It was all peaceful but not what we expected for our first night.

Not that we stayed a long time because the next day it was off to Disney World…….

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Mexico City - The final Destination

How can this be the end? Didn't we just leave Sydney to go on the big adventure. Ok it has been nearly 7 months but still...

Mexico city is huge but has cheap taxi's and the inevitable red bus tour. Yes I know you would think we are sick of these things by now and you are right. Didn't stop us though to hop on and buy a two day ticket...

Apart from the usual architecture and nice neighbourhoods with bakeries (always important) we also discovered a great kids friendly science museum where we whittled way a couple of hours building rockets out of paper and goo out of corn flour.

While Kellie went to the Frida Khalo museum, Dillon and I opted to go to an amusement park which could be described as deserted and in need of maintenance. We had a ball though. Cant really compare to Disney World but hey an amusement park without queues is always worth a trip.

After that we all went on a shopping spree and bought heaps of clothes, shoes and 2 more bags. We acquired just too many new things from the America malls and Mexico to fit in our trusty backpacks that we had to do with for the last 7 months...

We took it pretty easy for the last couple of days and even I was so “templed out” that I said no to a trip to the famous Mayan ruins close to the city and opted instead for a quiet boat ride on a canal. We rented our boat complete with skipper and went off to explore the area.

Quiet is relative as there are Mariachi bands on boats that roam the canal in the search for customers to serenade with their music. That combined with the floating bottle shops that sells the 1 ½ l bottles of Corona for not much makes for a fun day out… That is if you are with a bunch of people who drink, unlike the two I am with. Still a good way to spend a couple of hours.

We also enjoyed the last of the Mexican hot chocolates at some fantastic traditional coffee houses. Nothing beats a hot chocolate poured from about a meter high out of a giant jug right into your cup. Combine that with fresh pastry and you have breakfast, lunch and dinner sorted (if you ask me). One of the last breakfasts we had was at such a restaurant that was on the 3^rd floor overlooking the cathedral and ancient Maya ruins that the city was build on top. Pretty amazing to think that a completely different city is buried under the modern one. Whenever they dig, they uncover another part of the culture and history.

On the last night we did what every respecting visitor of Mexico City does and visited an wrestling match at one of the most famous arenas in Mexico. Heaps of fun with loud music, extravagant costumes, bad acting and pretty amazing acrobatics/wrestling.

And then the day came that I dreaded for the last 7 months. The last day of the trip broke and we had to pack our bags for a last time. Dillon was looking froward to coming back home and to start his school career (poor thing doesn't know what is waiting for him) but I wasn't ready to go back. Ok granted I could go on for the rest of my life but I guess you have to go back one day to earn some money. So for a last time we ordered a taxi, drove to the airport and boarded a plane.

Before it all ended there was a bit of excitement in the form of our first missed mode of transport. By the time we arrived in the US and once we finished going through the stupid long immigration requirements (even though we were transiting straight out of the US in an hour) it was too late to pickup our bags and check them in again (have they heard of check through…). So in the end we missed our flight. Luckily it wasn't our fault and we were booked on a new flight which had a better route and saved us hours in the plane. Guess we ere lucky in the end.

Anyway while all that happened we started to plan our next Adventure. Stay tuned for new tales from Central Asia in the coming years...

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