Will and I had heard many horror stories about driving in Mexico City and not only because they have days where you can’t drive your vehicle depending on the last letter of your number plate; the roading system itself is also chaotic. So when a friend of Wills cousin named Luis, who is from Mexico City but now lives in NZ offered to arrange for one of his friends to meet us we greatly accepted. After waiting on the edge of the sprawling city of 22 million for the 11am curfew on foreign plated vehicles to pass we met Mel and her english speaking friend in an Office Max carpark. Mel said she would drive slow so we could follow her across town to Luis’s parents house where we would leave the Dodge. What followed was an hour of Will hauling the dodge around fast corners, overpasses and into tight lane changes. I think Will was relieved to head back into town in Mel’s hatch to get our finger printing done for our USA Visa’s. It was a hilarious whirlwind afternoon of getting lost, making jokes, trying new foods, seeing the sights and arriving to get our finger printing done just in the nick of time. We would never have managed it on our own! Then afterwards we said good bye to these two awesome ladies who had given up their day for us and met Luis’s parents who we would be spending the next week or so with. All thanks again to Luis’s amazing arrangements from the other side of the world. Fortino and Clara showed us into their hill-side home that evening and super tired after our big day which began at 5am Will a I headed to bed.
The next morning we were up bright and early again to mission our way back into the city through the traffic with Fortino and Clara to have our Visa interviews at the US embassy. Like our surrogate parents they waited out in the cold for us while we lined up with one thousand Mexicans and waited our turn. Our individual interviews went well and they never looked at any of the paperwork we had printed out to prove we had reason to eventually go back to NZ. With our Visas approved and our passports in processing for the next few days it was time to enjoy the city; first stop lunch. Fortino and Clara took us to a typical restaurant where they couldn’t believe we had never tired “Mole” before so they had the waiter bring out a small portion of each of the five flavours for us to try. The chili based sauce’s ranged in flavour from sweet to spicy and some even had chocolate in them. We liked the traditional flavour, “Mole Negro” the best so Fortino ordered us a portion to share smothered over some shredded chicken accompanied by two Corona’s. That afternoon Clara left us for her French classes while Fortino assumed the role of tour guide with us in the city. We visited the Bellas Artes Palace theatre and marvelled at the views from the soaring heights of the Torre Latino lookout and wandering around town.
The following day Will and I asked if we could just relax at their place and catch up on some washing and emails which we did in-between eating all the wonderful Mexican foods we were presented. This days breakfast set the precedence for the soon to be daily breakfast banquets we loved. We also met Fortino and Clara’s daughter Alejandra who acted as translator and enabled the conversation to flow with a little more comprehension from both sides. It was decided that the following day we would visit the Teotihuacan ruins and on Sunday we would see some museums. So Fortino and Clara drove us out to the ruins where we wandered around the huge site in the hot sun with the thousands of other tourists. Its an amazing part of Mexico’s history and has been well restored to show its former glory. Afterwards Fortino and Clara treated us yet again to lunch, this time at the amazing Grutas restaurant where as well as fantastic food we also watched a traditional dance show. The stage of the show was right buy the tables and went on as we ate our feast inside a huge natural cavern filled with candles and colourful decor.
The following day Will and I asked if we could just relax at their place and catch up on some washing and emails which we did in-between eating all the wonderful Mexican foods we were presented. This days breakfast set the precedence for the soon to be daily breakfast banquets we loved. We also met Fortino and Clara’s daughter Alejandra who acted as translator and enabled the conversation to flow with a little more comprehension from both sides. It was decided that the following day we would visit the Teotihuacan ruins and on Sunday we would see some museums. So Fortino and Clara drove us out to the ruins where we wandered around the huge site in the hot sun with the thousands of other tourists. Its an amazing part of Mexico’s history and has been well restored to show its former glory. Afterwards Fortino and Clara treated us yet again to lunch, this time at the amazing Grutas restaurant where as well as fantastic food we also watched a traditional dance show. The stage of the show was right buy the tables and went on as we ate our feast inside a huge natural cavern filled with candles and colourful decor.
Then it was Sunday so Will, Alejandro, Fortino and I headed to the Casa Azul which is the former home of Frida Kahlo. We started to wait in the huge line of people going in when Fortino worked his magic and announced that we would be catching a bus to the Diego Rivera Anahuacalli Museum of ancient artefacts for a while before returning to the Casa Azul when it was a bit quieter. Both museums were awesome but without a doubt seeing Frida Kahlo’s old back harnesses and self portraits was the highlight and something I’d wanted to do since high school. After the museums we walked around the vibrant city which was teeming with markets and people out and about enjoying their Sunday afternoon. That evening Fortino and Clara’s other son Eduardo arrived home with all his things as he was coming back to Mexico City to live. We were still occupying the spare room so poor Eduardo had to sleep on the couch and did so for the next few nights while we waited for my passport to arrive from the US embassy with my new Visa. Wills had already been completed by Sunday but mine ended up taking another five days to arrive. It was a frustrating wait as we were eager to get going but the Rangel’s continued to make us feel welcome, poor Fortino even chaperoned me to several malls for bikini shopping. We also watched two football games while staying with the Rangel family; one with Alejandro and her friends and again with Eduardo and his cousins family who ensured we didn’t go thirsty by topping up our tequilas and beers.
We did so many different things with the family that I can’t mention them all and I defiantly can’t even begin to tell you about how many different foods we tried. The surprisingly good cheese flavoured ice cream, the nopal cactus palms, the dried insects and the blue corn tortillas filled with refried beans we had were just the tip of the iceburg, what can i say they fed us extremely well! We definitely got to experience local Mexican life and were absolutely spoilt by Fortino and Calara who wouldn’t let us spend a cent while we were with them they showed us how friendly Mexican people can be and proved that its defiantly the good people that you meet along the trip that you will remember the most.
And thanks to everyone who reads my rambling blogs Will and I can’t wait to start paying all this kindness forward once we get back to NZ.
Rochelle & Will
And thanks to everyone who reads my rambling blogs Will and I can’t wait to start paying all this kindness forward once we get back to NZ.
Rochelle & Will