Weblog: Mexico Trip: Getting There
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Took me a couple of weeks since I got back from Mexico, but finally I write something. My MexicoPhotos are now online and mostly captioned (though I haven't culled the bad or redundant pictures yet). I'll be gradually writing about each day. Pardon the length, this is as much for my benefit as for yours.
Getting There
I decided to just take the ferry from Nanaimo and take public transit to the airport. This also gave me some time to wander around downtown Vancouver to buy a few last-minute items that I had forgotten to pick up (and couldn't pick up the night before because I had left my van's lights on the day before): insect repellant, immodium, and a book.
The usual plane trip. American Airlines doesn't serve food on it's flights anymore, instead you pick up a bag with a sandwitch and some snacks on the way into the plane. I like it; airplane food is terrible anyway (except for Malaysia Airlines') and this way I get to choose when I want to eat.
Had a stop-over at the Dallas-Ft. Worth airport, and tried to get to a virtual cache in the airport area during the two hours I had. I got intimately familiar with the train system that connects all the terminals but gave up after about 45 minutes of trying to get reach the cache since I wanted to get something to eat before boarding the plane.
While I prefer taking off and landing while it's light out so I can get an overview of the city, I also like seeing all the lights when it's dark. It makes the city look so abstract. I imagine that the lights are phosphorescent plants floating on a black ocean, the highways that link towns as stalks, the lights of the cars as energy flowing, keeping the plants alive.
It was strange coming into Mexico City because the ground was so close even though I hadn't felt any change of altitude. Of course, Mexico City's altitude means that the ground is closer. What struck me about the city as we entered it was how fast the cars were moving, as though the city was in fast-forward. I actually witnessed a car accident from the plane window as we were landing.
I arrived at around 1 in the morning, and after taking some money out of an ATM and buying a phone card, I tried to find a place to sleep until the morning, when I would catch a bus from the airport to Puebla. Unfortunately, there was construction going on and the cleaners were cleaning the whole place, but eventually I found a relatively quiet spot to lay down my therm-a-rest that didn't have too many people walking around.
I guess my image of Mexico (and developing countries in general) had been shaped too much by India. I had imagined a fairly run-down, dirt airport, but Mexico City's airport is thoroughly modern. The first of my pre-conceptions shattered, many more to follow.
My cell-phone didn't work. Got a fine signal but I guess Fido doesn't have a roaming agreement with the local telcos. Not surprised at all. Blast Fido. Must switch to Rogers soon.
Posted on Fri, 4 Oct 2020
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