19.02.09
15 km, Coyoacan/Mexico-City
Hey there!
I spent a week with Luca and Ara. It was nice to have a safe place to stay for a while. We went to Teotihuacan (a 3 hour drive from one side of the city to the other with a lot of traffic). It was the first time that I saw pyramids. It was impressive to see but I wasn‘ t thrilled or anything. Maybe my expectations were too high because of all the positive things I heard before – or am I actually callous because of all the things and places I‘ ve seen before??? I hope not! But I was glad that we went there, it was definately worth it. We walked up the pyramid of the sun and enjoyed a fresh breeze in the (luckily not so hot) afternoon sun. On another day we drove to a „pool-club“ near Cuernevaca where we relaxed in the sun und swam (Ara and me) in the refreshing pool. I had a lot of time to rest from those hard days I had before and enjoyed some very good food, mexican as well as italien.
It took me a while to decide if I really wanted to go into the center of the city or not. I didn‘ t really feel like it but some friends kicked my butt via e-mail and said that I would regret it later if I didn‘ t go. Well, I figured I could as well go for it.
So I was back on my bike around noon, trying to go with the traffic on the roads Luca marked on my map before. The downhill-ride started with something like a traffic-jam, but I was in no hurry since the hostel I wanted to go to was only about 15 km away. Traffic wasn‘ t much different from what I had experienced in Tepic, Guadalajara, León, Guanajuato and all those other cities I‘ ve cycled before. The most dangerous part was talking to people in cars next to me while concentrating on not hitting one of the many potholes in the road!
About 1 1/2 hours later I was at the street the hostel was supposed to be at, but I couldn‘ t find it. Cycling up and down the road didn‘ t help – but it was my own fault since I didn‘ t write down the house-number. After asking a bus-driver, a taxi driver and at a store a guy who cleaned the street could finally help me. The hostel was only a half block away. It‘ s in Coyoacan, a part in the south of Mexico city. I‘ m sharing a 6-bed-room with 5 other people – it‘ s pretty crowded! The hostel itself is very clean, there is free internet, wi-fi and a garden.
When I walked around the neighborhood to find something to eat I saw a pick-up full of fruits which they were advertising with a loudspeaker. Fruits, good idea I thought. The guy cut an orange in half right away for me to taste it. It was very good and I wanted to buy some. But he didn‘ t want to sell me 5, he wanted me to buy a bag of 20!!! Finally I convinced him to sell me 5 (he gave me 7) and a Canteloupe (I think that‘ s what that melon is called) for 10 Pesos (that‘ s about 0,54 )!
After taking it easy today I‘ m ready to explore the city tomorrow. Don‘ t know how far it is from here, but I‘ ll find out.
Maybe in the end I‘ ll become a city-fan!!!