Fuck it is cold DF 101

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I left Colima late at night, at 10pm and sat there contemplating what I will do for the next 10 hours of this
non-stop bus drive. I had chosen the cheapest ride (ca 700 pesos) that does not provide you with food, your
own TV screen or the extra wide seats. It was still very comfortable, the seats reclining almost to a horizontal
level, jamming my right leg firmly into place. I should not have worried about entertainment. The TV programm was so aweful that I instantly passed out and only sporadically woke up and stared into the darkness, here and there some lights. By sunrise we were in Mexcio City already, houses passing by. About an hour later at 7 am (fast trip after all) I arrived in Mexcio City. And it was FREEEEZING. I was very grateful that Lee made me take my jumper along. I had gotten a very lengthy description of how to buy tickets, which lines to take, what to tell the taxi driver etc. Travelling through DF is not a problem at all. It is almost easier than in smaller places because everything is so anonymous. The stations are very well marked and show all the connections inside the metros.

However, the lines are mostly packed and it takes you forever to get anywhere. You want to go out in the afternoon to grab a beer with your friend downtown...expect to travel 2 hours...one way. Then on the other hand it must be the cheapest metro system in the world. Three pesos will get you everywhere. I met up with my new friend Mario a friend of Lee from Colima. He is currently training as a doctor and had to pull a nightshift so I could sleep on his bed. Thankfully, he was free til the afternoon so I had a short 2 hour power
nap and we took the metro bus downtown to the historical city centre. You probably could walk around there an entire week and would find something new every day. We went to the house of tiles, a historic building where the revolutionaries used to drink the same cafe, sitting on the same furniture as today.

When you enter the building you will feel a bit dizzy in your head. The entire old part of the city is built on a swamp and slowly sliding into it. The cafe for example leans very much to the side and you feel like a drunken sailor walking around. Close by the cafe is a cake shop. Not any cake shop, this takes baking to a totally new level of redicouslness. Appearantly 20.000 pieces of bakery a sold here everyday. People swarm around picking up their favorite rolls, bread, muffins etc. And if you happen to have to feed 1000 people go upstairs and you will find huge cakes. Coming at 12000 pesos is pretty cheap, 1 US$ a pop is not bad! Walking around Mexico City is very pleasant, heaps of people of course, so many amazing houses, museums, cafes, we had to go back, Mario to his night shift me to sleep some more.

Clearly, the best thing about mexcio are its people. I mean I was staying three nights in mexico city in a room the size of a double bed. In Colima I stayed for free for two weeks and my host was sad that I left. People here share everything they have and truly live by mi casa es su casa.

I was very surprised. Originally I didnt want to go to DF, too big, too many people, too scary. But having improved on my spanish, being able to communicate with people a wee bit, asking for directions, and getting really excited about the pyramides I took the plunge and it was worth it.

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