Mexico City; End of Week One

Our flight out of Richmond first took us to Atlanta, GA (1 hour), a short layover (45 minutes) and then into Mexico City (3 hours)...It was a very nice, short and easy day of travel. I didn't hear a peep out of the boys, got quite a bit of sleep myself since Jamison fell asleep during both flights right at take-off, and we all were treated to a rare sight as we flew around Tropical Storm Edouard. We actually flew above and to the right of the storm as the pilot pointed out some interesting facts about navigating around storms like these. Weston ate it up of course.

Flying into the city, the outskirts are beautiful:
















We arrived in Mexico City at 3pm, breezed right through customs (yea we cheated though since we did the Diplomat route), enjoyed the friendliness of the airport staff which was just icing on the cake of what could have been a very stressful day. The acting ICE Attaché met us with 2 SUVs to load us plus our 15 large suitcases (hey, when you are going to be living out of suitcases for a while it pays to bring as many as you are authorized!)

Our drive to the hotel was very quick. I was surprised that it was already 4:30pm and traffic really wasn't that bad. I guess I was expecting chaos but while it was a little bit stop and go, it was pretty orderly.

WARNING: HORTICULTURE GEEK MOMENT

Along the way I noticed that many of the hell strips (the area of soil between the sidewalk and the street) in front of these little decrepit apartment buildings and shoddy tiendas, were surrounded with makeshift fences and turned into well tended gardens. There were some that were just 2 feet wide and several feet long and others that had plenty of walking space. I've seen hell strip gardens before, of course, but to see an area of such poverty and decline with such cared for gardens I was a little taken aback. I've since found out that people really value gardens here in the city and will put them anywhere they can. The city puts a lot of money into maintaining green spaces and the locals do the same with whatever little spot of soil they have. Proof that you can have a little bit of Eden anywhere. I'm sorry I didn't get more pictures of the really nice ones but by the time I remembered I had my camera we had already passed a lot of them but here is an example:
















We spent the first week trying to get everything done to in-process into the embassy, get our housing set up and just try and get a feel for the city. We went through a full day of briefings at the embassy dealing with health issues, security and the day-to-day information about life in Mexico City. Kris has spent a lot of time trying to get our housing set up. Right now we are living at the Sheraton Centro Historico which is a great location to see the historic center of the city.

So much is within walking distance and the kids and I have already explored Alameda Park which is just across from the hotel. It is full of large water fountains, statuary, and decorative benches all connected by cobbled walkways set out in a geometric pattern under a canopy of trees. The park is full of handicraft vendors and little snack and candy carts. On Saturdays and Sundays the park is completely packed with musicians and street performers. We could see the monument to Benito Juarez from our first hotel room window that is located as you enter the park. There weren't any adjoining hotel rooms when we first checked in so we started out in two separate rooms; Kris in one with the two older boys and Jamison and I in another across the hall...after 2 days they finally had two larger adjoining rooms that are on the top floor (27th) but unfortunately we can't see Alameda Park anymore although the skyline is still breathtaking especially during a lightening storm! We've already experienced a tremor (Mexico City is on a major fault line) so between hurricanes and earthquakes this should be pretty exciting...emergency preparedness anyone? I'll be an expert after this!

This next week I hope to take the kids to the Children's Museum and the Mexican History museum that is located in a huge park called Chapultepec Park (for comparison Central Park is 843 acres, Chapultepec Park is 1800 acres). There is also a historic castle, the botanic gardens, paddle boats on one of several lakes, and a zoo. I think this park alone will keep the kids and I busy for a while.

The kids have spent a lot of time in the hotel pool (it's kind of chilly outside right now so it's nice the pool is heated)

















The Boys love the elevators and we have been know to ride them up and down several times in a row. Cheap entertainment really pays off.
















We have spent the first week relatively healthy. I had a hard time adjusting to the altitude at first (we are 7,349 feet high!) but the boys did well. Jamison and I have had minor upset stomachs but nothing major. We've already been told by the health unit nurse to plan on getting Moctezuma's Revenge...it's not a matter of IF but WHEN. The air pollution isn't too bad right now because it is the rainy season but it is still irritating (think chlorine eyes after swimming and that's how your eyes feel after spending all day outside). Since we will most likely be living in Santa Fe we can look forward to a lot less pollution which will be nice not to have to worry about being constantly in the middle of the worst of it.