Lucha Libre, flash storms and churros with chocolate.

Ay yi yi.... hay mucho a escribir!
Our last night in Mexico City was an absolute blast.. Earlier in the day, we wandered the packed streets of the Centro Historico, marveling at the massive cathedral and its sky-high belltowers that grant some much-needed relief from the midday Mexican sun. We climbed one of the aforementioned belltowers at noon, and with the help of a friendly translator, learned about the oldest, the loudest, and the most important of the Metropolitan Cathedral´s thirty five bells. One of the smaller ones, facing the Palacio, is famous for causing the abrupt death of a bellringer fifty-odd years ago, when the hombre was caught offguard by the backswing. The bell itself was punished for its crime, and sentenced to a fifty-year period of silence. In 2000, the bell was absolved of its sin, and allowed to ring once more.
Just a little factoid for yous guys. :)

We toured around for the remainder of the afternoon and took the Metro (¡que loco!) to the Palacio de Bellas Artes and the Alameda that runs the length of it on one side. Pushing our way through street vendors and young couples, we walked through the Alameda for upwards of an hour, before deciding that our experience on the Metro necessitated una cerveza y una siesta before we could focus on gigantic Diego Rivera murals. We found a little bar just down the street and had no idea when we entered that our ten-minute rest stop would quickly become a rollicking good time in the company of six middle-aged and somewhat tipsy Bellas Artes employees. Apparently there´s a pretty popular song in Mexico that includes the line, "Susanna, mi corazón.." and our hosts insisted on playing it three, four, five times before finally giving up the jukebox to some other patron. :) The Palacio de Bellas Artes was beautiful, and our entrance was free after our new friends pulled a few strings.
Across from the Bellas Artes is a huge tower whose name currently escapes me, but it´s probably similar to the Empire State building. We paid our five dollars to be taken 44 floors above the city and were granted an incredible 360 degree view. Pictures will come soon.
We headed back to our hostel around 7 to catch a quick dinner before we were whisked off to Lucha Libre in the company of Oscar, the driver from our hostel, and a carload of party-seeking New Zealanders. Lucha Libre was insane, and despite our nosebleed seats, it was nothing short of wildly entertaining.
Saturday morning, we had breakfast atop the hostel and packed our bags for Puebla. We arrived here around 2 in the afternoon and took a taxi to the Zócalo, which is a huge expanse of green grass and towering trees in the middle of the city. We found a hotel about two blocks off of the zócalo for around 14 bucks a night with what appeared to be fairly decent rooms. The interior courtyard is gorgeous, but our room, a ten-foot wide and thirty foot long cell, has no window and a sorry excuse for a light. Oh, well. Esta bien. Again, it´s fourteen bucks and two blocks away. Whatever.
Our time here has been somewhat lazy so far, mostly because our attempts to see the sights have been thwarted by rain. We were caught in a storm today as we were trying to see the fuertes, or forts, that lie 2km north of town. A torrential downpour left us running for cover (none to be had) and in need of a shower and a stiff drink once we finally made it back down to town. C´est la vie. We tried.
Tomorrow we´re heading to Oaxaca and our lust for the beach, our books, and a quiet cabana grows stronger with each day. More later. Love to you all!


-susannah


So it looks like Suz has written yall a short story! I will attempt to add a bit, but highly doubt my ability to describe the artsy stuff as eloquently as she. The trip has been a blast so far! It has been interesting to figure out our travel style and how we fit together as viajeros. It seems to be going pretty well, especially for two people who believe that they are always right. (lots of "wait...who was right...oh yeah, me!") So as this is my first time traveling with a young lady it has been an experience watching the not so subtle Latino men stare Suz down. Granted it is a much more forward culture, but there have been times where I have thought to myself ¨"seriously guys, Im standing right here"! All has been solved by a well timed arm over the shoulders. (Susannah has also gotten really good at saying "I´m with him".
As far as communication has gone I have been pleasantly surprised by the amount of spanish I have retained. While I know I am far from fluent, we have been able to get around just fine and engage people in plenty of conversation. The bar near the museum of fine arts was quite silly. We walked into this old brown cafe, sat down and were essentially accosted by a group of men on their lunch break from doing restoration work at the museum. (evidently lunch in mexico includes copious amounts of tequila) My favorite part about this trip so far has been the people. Everyone has been so kind and genuine. From a couple answering our questions on the street to people inviting us to join them at their table and buying us lunch, the locals have shown a quiet pride in their country and an appreciation of our wide eyed enthusiasm.
As Susannah has mentioned, our cell at the hotel across the street is...interesting. Kinda looks like a weekend warrior strapped on a toolbelt to turn a gigantic dining room into three individual rooms. Nice right? Well, maybe the owners stopped paying him, or maybe they didnt want to ruin the intricate ceiling, but the wall stops about a foot from the top. This has the effect of allowing all the neighbor´s noise to come right on over onto our side. We got a dose of this last night as the occupant one over came crashing in at five in the morning, turned the tv to a telenovela at volume level 500 and promptly passed out. Thanks!
Tomorrow we make the 4 hr trek to oaxaca. We are hoping to spend a few days in what the guidebooks call the center of indigenous mexico before we wander to the beach. To the family, I love ya (hello little Maxwell and Lila!) To Susannah´s family, I am taking good care of your daughter/sister and we are staying safe!

VIVA MEXICO!

Jake