On top of Mexico City

Chapultepec Castle is a few kilometres west of the city centre and I decided to use the metro to get there because it would be faster than being in a car and massively cheaper. Hmmmm.

Getting a ticket was easy enough. The charge card was about $1.50 cents and one ride another 50 cents. I joined the mosh of people pushing on to a very crowded carriage and we set off. Three stations passed without issue and then the train stopped and everyone got off. A friendly guard told me to follow the crowd and get a bus. That wasn’t happening, so I got an Uber instead. So much for saving the world on public transport.

Driving through peak hour in CDMX is stressful. Horns blare, police on crossings frantically direct cars blind to the traffic light instructions. No one looks happy, just resigned. We speed along for moments only to slam to a halt in another clog of cars.

No matter, getting to the Castle involved a pleasant walk in the Sunshine up a hill through a park. And the Castle itself turned out to be stunningly beautiful both for it’s view of the city and for some of its architectural features. I had a lovely time wandering around and learnt a fair bit about recent Mexican history while I was at it because the Castle was the Imperial and the Presidential Palace for many years.

Some more walking through the park took me to the National Anthropology Museum. Another excellent museum packed with pre-Hispanic artefacts which were very clearly explained. Everywhere you looked there was something interesting – too much to take in really.

Back in an Uber to the City centre, not even trying the metro this time, in time for lunch. My friends Al and Trine have arrived from Australia and we went to the Grand Hotel, which has the most amazing stained glass roof, for lunch on the terrace overlooking the enormous plaza that is the heart of the city. Trine and I had margaritas which turned out to be of unusual size.

Working off lunch and those margaritas involved some more walking about the city. Then as the day wore on we visited the Latin America Tower. We had been planning to go up to the lookout, but when we realised it was extortionately expensive we went to the bar which is even higher up the tower instead. The margaritas this time were a deep red and made with mezcal. The view was amazing as the sun went down.

We still managed dinner at a very Mexican restaurant and then called it a night as we all have a ridiculously early start tomorrow.