Mexico City – Summary

Even though we've left Mexico City I wanted to summarize it for you. I've probably presented it several different ways and wanted to make sure that people who've never been there (and may never go) understand what this city is like.

First of all there are the stereotypes of crime, pollution and filth. This is all true within a certain context. This is also true of Rome, parts of Paris, LA and NYC. One has to remember that Mexico City is in a third world country and that there is a lack of formal infrastructure that allows other cities to clean up. I can tell you that I'd rather be in Mexico City than Compton California because it's a much much safer place. I can also tell you that Mexico City doesn't smell worse than the train station area of Rome or Les Halles area of Paris.

I'd also like to say that Mexico City is a city on the move. The first time I was here you couldn't see the mountains after 10 am due to pollution. This time I could see the mountains all day even if they were a bit hazy. The city officials have restricted the amount of days you can drive your car and as time goes on the old smoke belching cars of yesteryear are being replaced by newer ones making only a fraction of the pollution. You will find it hard to breath though because of the remaining pollution and the elevation. The entire time I'm in Mexico City I have a sore throat which goes away when I leave. Pollution is a very real problem but seems to be lessening as time goes on.

In the Historic District you don't have to worry about crime because there's tourist police on every corner. Taxi cab corruption has been circumvented in a lot of ways by having taxi pay booths at all major airports and bus stations so the driver never touches the money. I usually judge the crime in an area by how the people treat me. If they look concerned with my presence than I should be concerned with theirs. In some cities like Guayaquil Ecuador there's so much tension in the air that you can cut it with a knife. Having a money belt there doesn't help because they'll just strangle you until you pass out and take your money. Only twice in Mexico City did have I had someone walking in front of me step aside to let me by. I had that happen in Munich more times every 15 minutes. Things are getting better in Mexico City in this regard although it's still an issue.

The streets have gotten noticeably cleaner as well. Before there were street markets everywhere in the city. At 9 am they'd put their blankets out on the street or set up their booths and start selling their wares By noon the streets were littered with trash and they stayed that way until cleanup crews came in at 7pm. It was always amazing to me that the city put up with that since they were paying more to clean up the mess and weren't collecting taxes from the sellers. Apparently they did the numbers at some point as well because the markets are almost completely gone.

Another trend seems to be starting – scrubbing the sidewalks. There were some streets (September 16^tth) where if you were to walk down them early in the morning the business employees were out hand mopping the sidewalk in front of their stores. This is a nice thing to see and removes the smell of urine that is so common in cities like this. Paris employs a sidewalk sized street cleaner for the job and I think Mexico City should do the same. Making sidewalk scrubbing a daily routine would go a long way to cleaning up the city. The way old cities like Mexico City are built is with stone sidewalks and cobblestone streets. People will go out in the morning and sweep the streets but there's only so much you can do when the surface is not even. Can you imagine sweeping up a cobblestone street? They need to invent a vacuum not unlike the parking lot vacuum trucks we have here.

So the reality is even though the amount of trash in the city has gone to nearly nil the streets and sidewalks still feel gritty because of the dust and grime accumulated. The buildings need to be cleaned regularly as well.

I do have to say one thing though. This city is going to continue having some major problems. There are more really poor people in Mexico City than there are RESIDENTS in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Utah, Nevada, Colorado and Montana combined! Mexico City is made of miles upon miles of concrete block homes with little in the way of shelter or warmth. The average wage of a working adult in Mexico is about $10 a day and many in Mexico City would be happy to have that. Mexico City is also sitting on a giant aquifer that is slowly being drained by the 25 million people so the city is sinking at an alarming rate. It has a serious traffic problem which probably doesn't have a solution. The metro trains are already 9 cars long (very long platforms) and come every 60 seconds. Do you run them every 30 seconds if you want to carry more passengers? The metro is one of the top 5 busiest in the world and averages 5 million riders per day with 9 lines where the other top 5 do a similar volume with double the number of lines. This tells you how full the cars are.

So if Mexico City still has problems why did I go there (three times!) and why am I dwelling on it. Because Mexico City is an amazing place and I think with vision and a little leadership (and a bunch of money) it will become one of the leading destinations in the world. Yes, a lot of work needs to be done but it has the potential. The city has over 2000 years of history, 500 years of Colonial European history, was the location for the largest city in the world 3 times by as many different civilizations, hosts the 3^rd largest pyramid in the world (the largest is in Cholula Mexico and second is in Egypt) and has as many fabulous museums as the great capitals of Europe.. The people are a wonderful product of the Spanish and Indians and excellent to get to know. I don't know of any other people on the earth that are so unpretentious, laid back and fun loving than the Mexicans. They have a great feel for family and value the small things. They're larger than life in other ways and always make me smile. When you go to Europe everything is business, when you go to Mexico everything is a big cartoon. They do the funniest things and I guarantee they will keep you smiling if you can get past being out of you comfort zone.

The flip side is the poor condition the people survive in. The Mexican people are incredibly entrepreneurial within the context in which they have to work. You can't just start up a multi-national corporation without working up to it and the Mexican economic environment doesn't allow that so they do the next best thing – they make stuff and they sell it. People who don't have this entrepreneurial spirit come to the US and work for $8 and hour or less (illegally) to send money home. If you've ever tried living on $8 an hour you'll have an idea how much money is going back to their family. Even if you don't go to Mexico (we're not talking Cancun here) I encourage you to stop and ask Mexican people where they're from and get to know them. I think if you have lunch once in a while at the taco trucks you'll see a little bit of Mexico with the families gathering together to have some traditional food. Don't be alarmed if they treat you with a bit of skepticism because they're not treated very well in the states by the majority. They warm up fast though..

So in closing I think Mexico City is a gem waiting to be discovered. However, there's always a disclaimer and here it is. I don't think everyone should go to Mexico City. I've compiled a list of who shouldn't.

1. People who stay in Holiday Inns wherever they go because it's consistent

2. People who take cruises and enjoy them

3. People who like resort hotels because they have everything they need

4. People who are afraid of “germs”

5. People who think sitting on a beach sipping a Margarita is a form of travel

6. Conservatives

I should probably explain the last one before I get jumped on by Rush Limbaugh. Without applying labels there are people who like change and there are people who like things being familiar. Those who like change enjoy the feeling of their mind expanding because they experienced something new that broadened their perspective. Those who don't like change either don't see a need for this or see things the way they are as being the way they should be. The latter group (conservatives) may not enjoy being dropped into a completely foreign environment like Mexico City. I could see this as the worst experienced they've every had. If this is the case then why go? If travel means going somewhere to experience what you have at home then Mexico City has nothing for you. This is not a put down, it's good advice. If you fit into this group and are responding in your head with “But I went to London and loved it” then you're really not understanding the difference here. London outside of the funky accent and driving on the other side of the road is very similar to the US. Mexico on the other hand has nothing in common with the US outside of Jesus. If you don't believe the level of difference between these two things then by all means buy yourself a plane ticket to Mexico City and we'll talk when you get back!

I've taken a bunch of photos that I think may give you new insight into Mexico City which you can see in my other blog posts. You can also reference the photos from my previous trip to Mexico City in my Mexicy City Gallery. In time I'll have all of the photos from this trip too in a new gallery. Keep in mind that there are really bad parts too which I don't spend a lot of time photographing. I went to Lima Peru once and photographed all the amazing Colonial buildings and people told me they wanted to go because of how beautiful it was. I had to tell them that between all of those gorgeous buildings were burning heaps of garbage (really!). Maybe I'm doing a disservice by only photographing the good.... Maybe I only like the good so that's what I like looking at and I'm willing to work with the bad... But them maybe life itself is irrelevant so is this entire message. As always, you decide for yourself.