Mexico through the eyes of an Aussie: Part one Mexico City
- Claire Ottaviano
- Apr 21, 2017
- 7 min read
Mexico is a place only seen to an Australian through the eyes of the television. Our eyes see a Wall, our eyes see ancient ruins amongst dense jungle, dangerous roads, hijackings and mixed violence. As a journalist, I am always critical of what I see and seek truth behind what I am told.
I am writing this now as a first impression of the country and will write an addition after travelling through the southern states of Chiapas and the Yucatan.
All prices in pesos. Current exchange rates.
$1AUD = $14MXN.
$1US = $19MXN.
€1EUR = $20MXN
THE METRO
For this particular trip we left our large backpacks in Toronto and head south with only small day bags.
When we arrived at the Mexico City International Airport we head for the metro and used the best of our Spanish to figure out the ticket system. The metro itself is extremely easy for a tourist, you buy one single pass for $5MXN, around 30c AUD, hop on and that’s it. We would buy all the tickets we needed that day (usually two each as a return) so we didn’t need to go to the ticket booth more than once a day.
The first train we got on we stood beside two police officers. The appearance of the metro is nothing to gawk at, it looks old and dirty. It has plain plastic orange or green seats. In general, it is busy mostly with standing room only. It is very efficient and we never once experienced delays.
Having travelled to London, Beijing, Shanghai, Tokyo and New York, Mexico City’s metro system is not very different to these other large Cities.
SAFETY
If you’re a solo female traveller there are female only carriages.
There are always police around but from our experience below they seem slow and uninterested to intervene if there's a problem.
When it’s packed, pick pockets strike. We know this because we were robbed, and by some miracle – Unrobbed. I want to tell you how they did it so that you can be on the lookout too.
The Robbery
During a particularly busy day we were heading to Templo Major when we had to exit a train one stop early to let a crowd of people off and we didn’t make it back on before the doors closed.
This is where we became targets. They (2-3 or more persons) must have scoped us out on the platform as we waited for the next train and made a plan to separate Mark and I. When the train arrived excessive force was used to push us onto the train and down separate sides of the carriage. We were pressed tight with other people and I was very conscious of my camera bag over my shoulder so I took it firmly in my hand and held it to my front.
I was aware of strange things going on around me (exchanges between a few men and movement to position themselves behind me and around me) and I gave Mark a frown across the carriages. He mouthed “¿estas bien?”, are you okay? I gave a reluctant nod, feeling uneasy. When we arrived at Zocalo Station, the centre of town and an essential stop for tourists, a bigger guy in a white shirt forcefully pushed me from behind while those in front stayed put. That was when I felt my bag ripped from my hands and disappear into the crowd. It was gone and I never expected to see it again.
I cried out, “hey! My camera!”.
Mark scooted under an arm that held him away from me and saw my pale face.
“He took my bag,” I said. “Give it the F#ck back,” he yelled at no one.
“El…correndo!”… “Him…. running…” we hear.
Mark pursues (later we knew he was a decoy). I turn back to the crowd still in the train and start pleading. I think that maybe, just maybe the strap broke and it’s on the ground. I feel something on my shoulder. It’s the bag’s strap. If it broke on one side or cut from me then the bag and strap would have remained attached. Someone had to undo TWO sturdy clips from strap to bag for the strap to remain on my shoulder.
The doors have been open for about 10 to 15 seconds and should close at any moment. I’m standing between the doors thinking of getting back on to confront my bag thief which would mean leaving Mark behind on the platform. As I’m about to step back on the train to search people’s hands my bag appears as if on a cloud from over someone’s shoulder. I grab at it desperately and turn white faced and shaking. Mark returns and we walked off to the side followed by the eyes of everyone around us. Someone says we can go to the police. I shake my head and hold my bag.
We can only gather that by pure luck the doors stayed open just that tad longer for us to cause enough fuss that it wasn’t worth keeping our item in case of discovery. Stupidly, we were holding the GoPro, my phone and my Australian credit card in the same bag. Stupid stupid stupid. We are smart tourists and they still got us.
This story is not to put you off Mexico City. This type of pickpocketing is prevalent all around the world and I want others to be the wiser because of our experience, no matter where you are.
THE PEOPLE Making our way to our Airbnb on the first night no less than three women offered us help in the metro. One dawdled to point us in the right direction (having heard our poor communication at the ticket booth), another heard us asking for directions and offered to escort us, the third we approached to check if we were on the right platform and then she kept us informed every stop along the way until we reached our final destination.
Our Airbnb host was the most trustworthy, relaxed and helpful Mexican we met. Her apartment south of La Roma was beautifully decorated with warm hues of purple and lots of green plants. She had a bird feeder on the balcony that kept a constant sound of chirping throughout the modest sized home. At one point, she even left us with her credit card to help us book some bus tickets. That’s trust.
Others were always polite and patient with our slow Spanish. American’s are generally well received (although we didn’t find any Trump supporters from the American’s we met, that might be a different story) but a classmate did report odd behaviour from a server who took a disliking to her but it was more behind her back discrimination than outward.
Although we did notice signs in many places that said “No Discrimination” and we’re still not sure who they are directed at.
THE CITY (things to do, the general vibe)
FREE BIKES. Nuff said.
On Sundays the City’s main artery road through the centre of town closes to allow pedestrians free range. WHAT! It was BIZZARE to be riding a (free) bike in such a normally heavily populated and trafficked area. Free bike stalls pop up all along the Paseo de La Reforma, you just need to leave some ID, and a photograph, in exchange for a bike. There are mothers with prams, there are joggers, roller bladers, hula hoop-ers, you name it, every man and his dog takes to the roads. It was…thrilling actually.
Cheap entry fees to Museums. Mexico City is famous for its museums and cultural sites. Most museums and sites cost up to $80 MXN (for example Cathedral bell tower tour $20, Templo Mayor $70 and the Revolution monument $80).
We actually didn’t do many museums, we can appreciate a good museum but we’re more outdoorsy types and we chose to go to Teotihuacan and Xochimilco. A post on getting to Teotihuacan coming soon.
We didn’t go to the Frida museum because we would have to go after class during the busiest time of the day. A classmate went and said it was too crowded.
If you want to see some murals by Diago Riviera you can see some for free in the Palace.
XOCHIMILCO
The vendors WILL rip you off. The price per boat per hour is $350MXN. They will tell you it’s per person. THIS IS A LIE. There are signs to let tourist know the tariff but you’ll miss it if you don’t speak Spanish and then the vendors will tell you they are 2012 prices. Just keep walking past the main vendors to the far left of the little marina and you’ll find more honest venders.
We had a lovely trip down the canals watching families enjoying their festivities. It’s interesting to watch the various vendors float past selling drinks, food and music. It was very entertaining to see entire mariachi bands playing while standing on a small moving water crafts.
The area around the canals is not at all designed for tourists. Poo littered the street amongst other filth and we even saw a dog with a gaping open wound in its leg. It was not pleasant and we didn’t stick around after our journey down the canals.
THE FOOD
We ate from street vendors several times and at restaurants twice. We didn’t get sick, I recommend eating from recommended places or somewhere with a constant stream of people.
Street tacos, enchiladas, quesadillas, are AMAZING. The best I’ve had and all you’ll pay is about $15 a taco (at the nice places), if you’re after quantity over quality you can get five tacos and a drink down in the subway for $20. A churro in the subway will cost you $2 but I really enjoyed these peanut honey bars sold on the platforms for $5.
In regards to restaurants you’ll find plenty of upmarket places to eat in La Condesa and La Reforma. We found them to be over priced and western, however that’s overpriced to backpacking standards. If you’re here on a general holiday you’ll love it at around $15-20AUD a meal.
PRICES
If you're coming from the United States it's pretty much dirt cheap, if you’re coming from anywhere else it’s still really cheap.
Our spending
Airbnb: $410AUD for 15 nights (That’s $13 per person per night)
Food: mainly from the supermarket, can’t eat tacos every meal, well you can, but you’ll come home with what they call a ‘taco belly’. Bananas were $12MXN a kilo, watermelon $10MXN per kilo, vegetables around $10-20MXN which is around $1AUD.
Street tacos/quesadillas etc: $15 MXN
Most restaurants: between $80-$200 MXN
The metro: $5
Spanish lessons: $280AUD, one person for two weeks.
Stay tuned for Mexico through the eyes of an Aussie PART 2, including information on ADO bus travel, places to see and my general thoughts and feelings of our completed month in Mexico.
Comentários