Jun 15
A crowd was gathering outside the Arena Mexico. We pushed our way through the mass of people swarming the street side vendors and assumed our position in the cue. It was our first night in Mexico City and we had decided to attend a Mexican wrestling match.
I leant my head against the window and sighed. I was trying to concentrate on the inflight movie, but the unruly children sitting in front of us refused to stop their screaming. Shawn was even more restless than I and sat beside me with his head phones on, trying to ignore them while drumming on the tray table and singing. The five hour flight from Vancouver to Mexico City inched by and seemed to be unreasonably long. Perhaps the anticipation of reuniting with good friends also contributed to the feeling of an especially lengthy journey.
The Captain announced our descent and within a few minutes I could see the twinkling lights of an endless urban sprawl. Mexico City lay before us.
“One’s destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things.” – Henry Miller
The Baja has a very distinct culture that is different from the rest of Mexico and over the last few years - and especially in the last few months - my perception of Mexico has expanded as I have learn more about the rest of the country. The year I lived with Rebeca, my close friend from Mexico City, had broadened my knowledge of Mexican culture and their customs. However, I admit that that knowledge had little context. To understand a place you have to experience it first hand, which is why I finally decided to travel to Mexico City.
When I used to think of Mexico. I always thought of the Baja. Of driving the thousands of miles of desert road and coastline; the remote bays nestled into the Gulf and the Pacific; and the arid desert landscape that seemed to stretch as far as the eye could see.
I love this Mexico - the familiar Mexico - the slow pace, the different approach to life, the friendly people and the remoteness of the small towns.
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I am an independent Film Producer and freelance Project Manager with a passion for travel, literature, culture and history. As an avid adventurer, I am always looking for my next travel destination!
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