not just tequila, cactus, sombreros oooh and speedy Gonzales !

A quick run down of the last couple of days.

22 million people in area roughly the same size as Greater London / Melbourne.

600 starbucks, 18% unemployment, 627 museums, 127 walmarts built in the last 4 years, Corona with lime, chilli and salt, vibrant colours everywhere, complex history, ruins 5,000 years old next to modern skyscrapers , and where 2000 pesos (£100) a month gets you a reasonable flat on the outskirts  … oh how I love complex Mexico City…. In fact maybe I’ll do a TEFL and move on here ….

Frida and Xochimilco - (the floating gardens)

A visit today to Fridas house, the blue house.  Frida Kahlo was the daughter of a german descended father and Indian mother, unusually but because of her fathers background and his role in Government Frida was sent to College in Mexico to study Medicine. 

She had suffered from polio at an early age.  One day on the way to college (at 18) an accident happened on the bus she was on and a pole speared her stomach, leg, back and pelvis (she ended up having 39 operations on her back). She took up painting as a kind of therapy while she spent two years recovering.  By now Diego Rivera was an established artist and 20 years her senior.  He was commissioned by the government to provide art to important buildings, it was through this that he met Fridas father, who asked would he provide Friday with lessons.  It is here they fell in love. 

Mexico – a visual feast ! (and surprisingly VERY modern).

Mexico is amazing, my flight arrived late at the airport (which I am going to rank as new favourite airport) putting Koh Samui now in 2 and Southampton in 3. I rank based on ease and speed of getting from the front door to being seated and vice versa (I don’t count plane delays or Southampton with fly maybe would not be up there) …  Mexico City airport is modern, efficient it took 10 mins to get off, go through customs, grab luggage, another customs check, drugs check (due to Sth America trip) and out the door, brilliant. 

I then went to a taxi transfer stand, booked  a trip downtown $205 pesos (circa £10).  The man grabbed my luggage we went out and waited for a cab, but there was none from his firm, waited 5 mins while he went off somewhere, turns out he went to another cab firm, so off I went in cab company number two, when I hopped in the man handed me an envelope, which I opened in the back of the cab it was $10 pesos with a note that said the second company was cheaper than his, and here was the difference back.  I could not believe it.  Honest folk those Mexicans.