Bienvenidos a Mexico City - My Memories of Mexico, Pt 5

When I had planned my vacation, the plan was to do Mexico City first and then relax on the beaches of the Yucatan peninsula, but I changed it up – for a good reason . When I tacked on Mexico City to my vacation, there were raised eyebrows and some were outright aghast. “By yourself? You mad?” Surprisingly, one of the reasons it took me so long to visit Mexico, a country that for such a long time had been top of mind for my solo black girl adventures, is because everyone swore up and down it was too dangerous and I should not go alone.

What changed this time? I asked myself the question – Is anywhere safe these days? Less than 3 months after my visit to Paris last year, there was an attack on the City of Light. Of course, I did my due diligence and and did my research research research and I was convinced that with all the proper solo girl precautions, I would be fine.

The only thing that truly worried me about the city was whether I would survive the altitude. Mexico City, as most of you would know, is about 7200 feet or 2250 metres above sea level. High altitude is not my friend for a couple reasons, so those were the real concerns for me, but I survived – again, with solo adventurer precautions in place.

I was overly cautious with my transportation to the hotel and booked the hotel shuttle instead of taking a public taxi outside the airport. The first thing that struck me was how big everything seemed in the city. Driving from the airport to La Condesa, I passed massive office buildings and skyscrapers that loomed over us as we drove through the streets. Driving through the streets though. Mexico City has a population of over 21 million people, and surely at least 20 million have a car because the traffic is MIND NUMBING. I thought my daily commute was bad, but this was horrendous. On any given day, I was trapped in a taxi with a driver who would utter what surely had to be cuss words in Spanish under his breath.

I will admit – the mammoth metropolis that is Mexico City can be a bit intimidating which is why I was so glad I had booked a hotel in the leafy suburban paradise of La Condesa. This was the reason I changed my entire schedule because I really wanted to stay in this hotel and it was not available for my original dates. I did not regret the change because it exceeded my expectations. The neighbourhood, the people, the great array of restaurants within walking distance, the safe and comfortable environment, so much so that I felt indifferent to walking along the promenade after 11pm. Amazing. I was in love.