Riding the subway system, was comparable to NYC, only with more frequent trains, and maybe a slightly easier to understand system map, and slightly more confusing transfers. If your polished up on your Spanish, and have no problems following signs, and can deal with some rudeness during the boarding process then, I highly recommend this economical way of getting through the city. Another interesting part of the system was that the first 2 cars of each train were reserved for women and children only during rush hours. Can you imagine trying to pass such a concept in the US?
The two highlights of the trip though, must have been Lucha Libre and the Bosque de Cheputepec park.
I knew I only had a few days in this mega-city, so I would have to choose a few things and do them all out. Well, my first night in town was a Friday, and it didn't take me long to find some friends at the hostel willing to witness some outrageous wrestling madness that is called Lucha Libre. We rode the train to within a few blocks of the "stadium", which, as it turns out, is more like an old hollowed out warehouse retrofitted with some stands and a ring. Our first obstacle was the security at the door, which was surprisingly thorough- I guess the Lucha fans can get a bit roudy.?.?.. I was first in line, and right away I had problems- he found my camera. Of course, I wasn't aware it was not allowed...what was I going to steal the soul of the match, or reveal their hidden trade secrets by taking pictures??? I
didn't get it, but I sure as hell wasn't handing my camera over to some dude in exchange for a ticket, which I was supposed to use later to retrieve the camera. We stepped back, hid the cameras in socks, and belts ect., and most of us got through...except me. I still had a huge knife stuck in my belt! Ooops! I had totally forgot, the guy looked at me like I was going to murder someone, and I just sort of shrugged- like "oh yeah, the knife..." He took it away, and I gladly accepted the retrieval ticket for this oversight. What can I say, it was my first night in town, its just a precaution.Upon entry we find the match already happening. It is usually a 2 on 2 match, and their is a small official cheering section for the "good guys", but inevitably, some of the bad seeds in the crowd will continuously cheer on the "bad guys"...bad seeds... :) Funny though, the good guys did not always win. Anyway, the matches were incredibly scripted, but the crowd (including us) loved it. A few 24 oz beers later, and the action became really fun. Soon, a female on female match came out of nowhere, and later a midget wearing a gorilla costume was part of a trio of fighters! The later it became the better, bigger, and more extravagant the matches got.
As we left the stadium and recovered our things from the holding booth, we were amazed to find them in tact. I got my knife back, and a friend who got caught taking pictures inside also got his camera back. But it was about 11 pm now, and it didn't take us long to figure out the dynamic outside had changed. We weren't feeling 100% safe, and debated if the train, which was closing soon, or a taxi would be the better return option. We opted for the train, and had a relatively uneventful ride home, except for some random guy telling us that he hated us because we were Americans. Oh well...we got home safe.
I continued to follow this rule, and never stayed out past 10 or 11 pm, it always started to feel unsafe.
The Bosque de Chalputepec park I went to really does deserve some mention. Honestly, I think it was the coolest city park
I have ever been to. Cooler, dare I say, than Central Park in NYC. It was easily accessed via subway, and once arrived, you were greeted by statues and old growth trees shading a walkable, plant less, and sometimes paved undergrowth. It housed some of Mexico Cities nicest Museums, including the Anthropology Museum- which has a ton of ancient artifacts from the Myans, Aztecs, and other tribes from region of Mexico. A highlight was the life size replicas of an ancient Myan town grown in with vegetation you really felt like you were walking through the old city.The park also featured the Museums of Modern Art, Contemporary Art, History, Botanical Gardens, free bike rentals, plenty of space to play and relax, plenty of interesting DF (districo federal) residents to watch, and plenty of vendors to satisfy your occasional appetite. It was truly my favorite place in Mexico City. Then again, I left before I could discover Palanco. A neighborhood next to the park, which I would like to go back and see.
Unfortunately, the plan to return has been scratched. Over the weekend, new has been released that a deadly Swine Flu is spreading through the world, and has its origins traced back to Mexico City. The place I need to fly out of tomorrow! So far, I think 127 people have died, and there are already 20 confirmed cases in the US. Indeed today, even people here in San Miguel began wearing face masks to prevent infection. The CDC is recommending wearing that, along with using hand sanitizer. I'm on my way now to buy both, and I hope I can managed to get home well.
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