Thursday, February 17, 2011 — In Mexico City after an all night drive

We left Vallarta just after 7:00 p.m. and felt almost immediately that we were in good hands. The bus was luxus with tv screens at each seat and two of the most commodious and well designed banos at the back of the bus. I kept looking for Lo de Marcos along the way for the first hour but never saw it. Elaine has just built a duplex with her son and partner. Her side is finished and sounds comfortable and artful. Her son's side is yet to be completed. Back to the ride.

Almost immediately we began climbing the hills and for as long as I could see anything, it looked very inviting. The driver was obviously very competent and it had been a long day for many so people began to lower their seats to an amazingly low level and fall asleep. I was so taken with the country and the construction of the highway that I didn't try to sleep until about 11:30 and only slept fitfully for a while. At some time I obviously did fall asleep because at 3:00 I awoke. There was a constantly changing clock with elevation, time and temperature of the interior of the bus. I opened my eyes and looked out my window without curtains and couldn't believe my eyes. There was snow on the ground and the bus driver or his computer had turned the heat up which I could really feel at foot level. He was also driving slower than he had been even though the road itself was quite well cleared. There was about a 6-8 inch covering at the side of the road and the whole landscape was white with mottled white raching down the road cuts. I was absolutely wide eyed. You would think I had never seen snow before. I just kept looking to see how long it would last and we'd go down a bit and there'd be a little less and then we'd go up and there'd be more. I could just hear Kathy saying, " Well, of course, Dad's up there providing snow for your entertainment and to let you know he's right there with you."

Eventually I did sleep several hours before we reached the outskirts of Mexico City. We took two taxis to our hotel and of course it was too early for the rooms to be ready. One of the taxis arrived 15 minutes before the other. I was in the second and it was pure chaos at the registration desk. We all decided to have breakfast at the hotel buffet since we hadn't really had any dinner but the dry ham and cheese sandwich and chips provided most of which went uneaten. The buffet at Hotel Cathedral was amazing. Besides all the Mexican dishes you might expect them to serve, there were tender chicken slivers, steamed vegetables and many other healthful choices. What a joy.

By about 10:00 we headed out on foot to find the cafe where our show was to open tonight. It was some distance and since I didn't have a room yet, I had to carry my sling bag with all the extras for the trip in it. That soon became tiresome and I stopped at a few park benches along the way to sit in the shade. Yael stayed with me while JP forged on ahead to find Sandra's eatery. As Yael and I sat talking, Sandra came bouncing across the street from a slightly different direction than we had surmised from the map. Big hugs and welcome. We walked over to her place and about ten minutes later JP and his followers showed up. They helped her open up the security fold up door and her delightful place was unveiled. Though we really had too many cooks in the kitchen so to speak, the show was hung in fairly short order and looks super.

We all went in different directions then and I walked back across the street to the park and sat on a bench and just peered at all that was going on. I read my Kindle for a bit, (now at 65%) and took a few pictures of a lovely old carousel and some distant jacaranda trees. Then loud noises began coming down the street and I did a short film of a peaceful but vociferous marching protest with a constant voicing at high volume of the many complaints. They were headed with a red truck and then all the following participants carried red flags. Later I saw them again only a short way down the block stating their case within the park.

There's more to today. Very long. Great opening! But I'm too tired to go on so I'll continue tomorrow and try to give you a few pics. I am already quite fond of Mexico City so there are many positive things to tell. Buenos noches mi amigos.