So today I finally got around to doing the research for the book I plan on writing about Mexico City as you can read about here.
Where I walked over 3 hours today down a part of Mexico City called Insurgentes Sur Avenue.
To be fair, this was more of a test run to get an idea of how this will work.
Since I intend to actually divide the book up by specific neighborhoods and not avenues.
Regardless, taking this walk today was helpful for other reasons – mostly to get out of my own head and try to live a healthier life.
So it’s a start.
Anyway, let’s jump into my experience walking down Insurgentes Sur Avenue.
Which is filled with a shit ton of observations and ramblings about things I’ve noticed that reflect mostly minor aspects of life in Mexico City (and sometimes Latin America) from my perspective.
So let’s get to it!
On Insurgentes Sur Avenue
So it took about 20 minutes of walking for me to get to Insurgentes Sur Avenue from my apartment.
Once I stepped outside, it was nice to get some fresh air again.
As, for a while now, I’ve been kinda spending too much time in my apartment.
It was a pretty hot day anyway.
I walked outside with my jacket on because it was pretty windy the last time I walked down Insurgentes Sur Avenue.
But I had to take my jacket off after maybe 10 minutes of walking or so.
Thankfully, I had a liter worth of black tea ready because I was going to need it.
And here’s a photo of what I saw as I stepped onto Insurgentes Sur.
As I got to Insurgentes Sur Avenue though, I noticed this one skinny ass dude staring the living fuck out of me.
That was one thing that I have noticed ever since I first started living in Mexico…
Which is that, for whatever reason, there’s a certain demographic of people in this country who won’t stop staring at you intensely.
Who are they?
Usually young men in their early to mid 20s.
More often then not….
They tend to be pretty short as well.
Or at least that’s what I’ve noticed.
I don’t ever remember having this issue in other countries.
But in Mexico City, it’s kinda annoying whenever it does happen.
Granted, most men here don’t do that but some for sure.
And, if you stare back, they hate breaking eye contact.
Over time, I became convinced it’s a male insecurity thing.
Trying to out man another man by winning some staring contest.
Because, as I said, it’s almost always some male skinny ass, midget type motherfucker who is young.
Like a chihuahua who can’t stop barking when the bigger dogs don’t feel the need to bark…
Simply put, trying to be more man than random dudes on the street so you stare at them for no reason to win a staring contest.
Years ago in a Metro station known as Juanacatlan, I had one incident like that where this random dude left the train when I did.
And we both went into a long ass hallway going opposite directions with our heads turned towards each other not breaking eye contact until we were out of sight.
Some might say some of these dudes are trying to size you up also for a mugging or some shit.
Could be.
Anyway, that’s one thing you might notice about life down here.
But the journey goes on down Insurgentes Sur.
Walking Towards Parque de la Bombilla
So the first place I wanted to see was a place known as Parque de la Bombilla.
In English, I guess it’d be called Bombilla Park.
I noticed this place before when I first walked down Insurgentes Sur Avenue.
Though I didn’t have the time to check it out but it did seem like a nice park when I passed by it.
So here’s some photos anyway of the avenue as I walked towards Bombilla Park.
As you can see in the photo above, they have a Metro Bus station known as “La Bombilla.”
When I first walked down a bit of this avenue, I always wondered to myself why they didn’t have an actual metro station here.
As, from what you can see in the photos I’ve posted already, it does look like a nice little part of Mexico City.
There’s plenty of restaurants, bars, some shopping malls, etc.
Not too many homeless people relative to the rest of the city.
It does look very nice!
In fact, with the parks nearby, I could definitely see this part of the city as being a great spot for the single man.
If only it had a metro nearby!
Though, as you will find out, there is one metro station named after this avenue that we will cross eventually.
But I had to walk about an hour or hour and a half to get to it.
So a metro station in this specific part of the city does seem appropriate.
Anyway, I finally got to Bombilla Park.
As you can see the entrance to it here.
Here’s some photos of it also.
It seemed like a pretty calm place.
Almost reminded me a tiny bit of some sections of Bosque de Chapultepec – another very green space of Mexico City.
My initial impression was that it did seem like it was well kept.
Very green obviously.
Decently sized also – not as big obviously as Bosque de Chapultepec but a decent size nonetheless.
Could be a decent spot to perhaps take chicks to for a date before back to my place.
If only it had a metro nearby!!!
And though I wasn’t here for long, it didn’t seem like it was overcrowded with homeless people or folks trying to sell you shit.
Which is nice.
Bosque de Chapultepec has some of that.
That’s always been one thing that I’ve felt Mexico City needed….
A nice, green space where homeless people and street sellers are denied.
Maybe it does have that somewhere but I haven’t yet seen it!
It’s in obvious need!
Where the entrance requirements are that you aren’t coming in with a backpack, not holding a bunch of random goods to sell and where you are dressed eloquently enough to be let into even the finest clubs of Polanco.
Ok, Ok, maybe not Polanco but maybe a nice bar in Roma Norte so our standards aren’t too high here.
Nobody wants to go to a park dressed in a suit.
But you get the idea…
A green space where people can chill the fuck out without being harassed, god damn it!
Even in this small ass park that wasn’t that popular near my old apartment in Roma Norte…
Even there, you couldn’t sit down for 20 minutes without someone coming at you.
Yes, I know, it sounds classist to demand such a thing….
I don’t give a fuck.
Let me enjoy my time alone in a park in peace.
Or with some chick I’m trying to fuck.
Thankfully, I got this balcony area here with my new apartment so I can enjoy peace and quiet with fresh air without being bothered.
Anyway, other impressions?
Well, the park seemed like quite the place for skateboarders.
There was a ton of them all over the place.
Also, it didn’t seem as big as I expected.
When I first saw this park passing by across the street, I thought it would be huge.
As I said, it was decently sized but not anywhere near as big as I expected.
Finally, it had this nice little monument here.
What is this?
It’s a monument to a former Mexican president known as Alvaro Obregon.
Some dude who got assassinated in this exact spot when there was a restaurant there instead in 1928.
You can read more about it here.
And here’s a video of Bombilla Park for you all.
I didn’t know that though at the time when I got here.
So I walked up to some dude selling chips on the street and asked him if it was possible to walk inside this monument since it had a door.
He said no.
I walked away and sat down on a bench.
There was an older guy sitting next to me and I asked him about this place.
That’s where he described its importance to the former Mexican president.
He said that people used to be able to go in there but can’t nowadays (perhaps because of Covid restrictions or something).
And how, according to him, the monument used to have the actual hand of Alvaro Obregon inside it.
Is that true?
I had no idea but here’s a video of what the inside of this monument looks like from what I could find on Youtube.
Anyway, I was sitting down this place for about 5 minutes before I felt it was time to get going.
Back on Insurgentes Sur
Anyway, I walked away from Bombilla Park and immediately found a smaller park right next to it.
Also looked like a nice place to take a nice gal to.
Plus, I imagine any street sellers or homeless people would more likely harass people in Bombilla Park than this quiet little place.
Here’s some pictures of it.
As I kept walking, I spotted this building here called “La Europea.”
I’ve seen this place before but always found their name of the store a bit funny.
They supposedly sell wine but I’ve never been inside.
More of a fan of vodka than wine.
But I always wondered why they call themselves “La Europea.”
Do their wines only come from Europe?
Maybe.
But I always suspected they call themselves “La Europea” because sometimes some folks in Latin America put on a pedestal all things from Europe, the US, Canada, etc.
Haven’t seen any places down here called “El Africano” or “El Asiático.”
Granted, as China continues to grow, it wouldn’t surprise me if we ever do see a place called “El Asiático” selling wine or whatever.
But how far would that go?
I’ve always wondered that as a side observation.
You know, as China continues to grow, how much will their influence show on day to day life down here in Latin America?
For example, I’ve often complained on this website about locals going full autism on my ass over practicing their English with me.
Especially the upper class types
It gets fucking annoying to be honest.
Will there be a day where the locals are hellbent on speaking Mandarin?
I don’t know!
I could see it but I’m doubtful.
The gap between Spanish and Mandarin is much wider than English to Spanish.
Plus, we haven’t entered a world yet where the US has lost all its power.
It’s starting to look more like a new Cold War between the US and China with two superpowers going at it.
Granted, I wasn’t alive during the real Cold War so maybe I’m tripping.
But if the US doesn’t lose its power anytime soon, I can’t see Mandarin replacing English all together.
Especially in areas less touristy like Barranquilla in Colombia or Pachuca in Mexico.
Those who want to speak English all the time are, as you can guess, much more concentrated in capital cities and touristy areas.
It isn’t too hard, I think, to find a place in Latin America where the locals haven’t seen too many foreigners and don’t want to speak English.
Granted, some of those places are less desirable to visit or live in but I digress.
Though I can imagine it now….
Young male Chinese men starting their own sex-tourist forum similar to what the Roosh forum was talking about “which cities in Latin America have more Mandarin speakers?”
With some places seemingly less desirable if enough of the locals don’t speak their language.
Eh, that might already exist – there’s been plenty of stories online about Chinese men looking for women abroad already as you can see here.
Some of them might even try to do what we did and claim to be “the first Chinese guy to ever visit this specific part of the world!”
Either way, I kinda hope they don’t replace English with Mandarin obviously because I’d hate it if the locals were to try to vomit their broken Mandarin on me.
I can see the conversations already (with the help of Google Tranlsate):
Me: “Buenos dias! Cuanto cuesta una torta?”
The torta Guy: 它的成本40比索
Me: Huh?
Granted, I don’t look Asian so maybe they won’t ever assume I speak Mandarin.
Regardless, I could see perhaps some restaurants down here trying to name their places in Mandarin or have Mandarin like slogans underneath the name of their bars or whatever.
You see that sometimes in Latin America – some place that is run by the locals….
But yet the name of it is in English or has an English motto or something underneath it.
Here’s an example of what I mean that I saw on Insurgentes Sur Avenue.
Just take those steak joints or the Roof place and replace some of the words into Mandarin.
Though, to be fair, I don't know if that is a foreign business or run by a foreign in general.
There was some other place too that called themselves “Black something, Blue something.”
Well, it had the words “Black” and “Blue” in their restaurant or bar name.
Now that would be annoying!
Trying to find a specific restaurant and you have to deal with the Mandarin language in Mexico of all places.
Be like opening a steak joint maybe in Columbus, Ohio and naming it with some German words had Hitler won WW2.
Kinda weird but alright.
Either way, that’s enough rambling about that…
The main points being that sometimes it feels like the locals put on a pedestal all things European, American, etc.
With their emphasis on wanting to speak the popular language of the world.
To how would that change if the US lost all its power and China became the only superpower?
Well, that’s a bit of a ramble.
Let’s continue on the path down Insurgentes Sur.
More Sightseeing
So as I kept walking along….
I saw this place here.
The lettering says “Cambiaremos a Mexico Sin Odio y Sin Violencia.”
Inspiring.
Then I found this little park here as I kept walking.
As you can see in the photos here.
Not as nice as the other parks but it seemed alright.
For those who ever decide to live in this specific part of Mexico City by the way…
Here’s a photo of some mini plaza area I saw.
As you can see in the photo, that Mexican lady was staring the living fuck out of me as I was taking this.
So it’s not just the young, short incel men who stare at me either!
Though usually when the women stare at me, it’s because they’re wondering what my 12 inch dick feels like.
I’m not bragging, I’m just sayin…
More than likely she was probably wondering what I was taking a photo of.
During this walk of taking photos of everything, I kinda felt conscious of few folks here and there wondering what the fuck I’m taking a picture of.
Especially as most of this isn’t too touristy.
Just trying to show you what the scenery here looks like.
But people wondering what I’m taking a picture of is like the next moment here…
Where you can see this bus trying to get around the other bus.
I stopped here because I wanted to document each metro bus station that I passed so I can look up online how far I walked down this avenue when I got home.
But then one bus in particular happened to stop in front of the fucking bus sign telling me what bus station it was!
So I stopped waiting for the bus to keep on going.
It didn’t.
The bus driver and a sexy police woman walked out…
The kinda woman who could put me in handcuffs any day she likes….
And they investigated one of the wheels of the bus.
And I kept waiting.
Some security guard was looking at me funny as I kept looking at the bus waiting for it to move so I can take the picture.
Anyway, I never got the picture.
But I did get that picture of the bus fucking up and another bus trying to get around it.
Which just bring up a certain point…
Gringos always bitch and complain about how everything is inefficient down here.
It’s a common talking point.
It’s kinda true though.
I’ve always told myself for years now – “Can’t go one fucking day in Mexico without SOMETHING fucking up!”
And it’s the truth!
Mexico is not Mexico unless they fuck something up at least one time a day.
It is what it is!
Mexico is not Mexico unless they can somehow make your life inconvenient in a minor or major way at least once a day.
It is what it is!
Maybe I’m being a bit hard here.
After all, my inconvenience here is that I wasn’t able to take a photo.
Imagine what it’s like being on that fucking bus with a face mask on sweating your ass off waiting for the bus to continue?
So I can’t complain too much here.
Anyway, that’s just a lesson there – if you plan on living down here, accept the fact that you will encounter many scenarios of things fucking up down here.
If you can’t accept that and learn to laugh at how stupid some things are run down here..
You are going to get jaded with life down here.
Learn to laugh a little at how dumb things can be.
Because while things can be dumb sometimes, there are benefits to life down here…
Like what this image shows here.
A dentist place?
That’s right!
Actually, I’ve been needing to go to a dentist for a while now.
I know I got some minor cavities in the back of my teeth.
And also I got some wisdom teeth – not sure if I need to pull those out.
They do cause me major headaches once every 4 to 6 months in which taking some minor medicine fixes the issue.
But I have a friend named Mike – who likes grabbing BIG MEXICAN TITTIES – as you can read here…
Who doesn’t?
Who told me that he has wisdom teeth but the pain apparently goes away after a few years of it.
So who knows.
Anyway, why bring this up?
Well, an American guy I know named Alex....
Was telling me about how he went to see the dentist and the service only costed him…
If I remember right, like somewhere between 200 to 400 pesos?
So like 10 to 20 bucks.
Given I don’t have health or dental insurance, I can’t imagine what an American dentist will want to fix up my cavities.
Given healthcare in the US always seems to involve a major ass fucking from a 20 inch, two coca cola can thick dick.
But I did the research from this article here…
“Fillings, while more expensive than basic dental check-ups, both fix cavities and protect your mouth's future health. Most filling treatments hold stable prices in the following ranges: $50 to $150 for a single, silver amalgam filling. $90 to $250 for a single, tooth-colored composite filling.”
So maybe I should get the cavities done here, huh?
Would make for a good blog post – “How to Visit the Dentist in Mexico.”
I can see the story I’d have already…
“My dentist – a hot, young woman named Alejandra – flipped her hair back behind her head….
She said to me – “Ok, Guapo, ya quieres mis servicios?”
I said to her – “Si mami”
Then she stripped down to her red lingerie
Roared like a tiger from the Amazon Rainforest
And fucked my brains out
While I read a book out of 100 year old erotic stories”
To which she yelled – “ay dios, tu verga es mas grande q la verga de mi esposito!!”
Bienvenidos a la mejor Dentista de Mexico, vatos”
Inspiration for a bit of that joke came from Sam Kinison here as you can see in this special “Breaking the Rules.”
At any rate, that is one benefit to Mexico in all seriousness…
The low cost of healthcare and dental care compared to the US.
But let’s carry on with the walk.
Continuing the Walk
Anyway, so I keep going.
As I said, I keep taking photos of different metro bus stations that I pass by like this one here.
Past this part, I notice a few things that might interest some folks.
First, there happened to be one of those folks who rides around all day like you can see here.
Usually some dude looking to buy old shit from people in whatever neighborhood he’s riding around in.
Here’s a funny meme about it also.
Anyway, around this same area, I took this photo here.
And also saw this cool theatre called “Teatro de los Insurgentes.”
Never been inside it but here’s a video of what it looks inside here.
I probably should visit I suppose at some point before I leave Mexico City even though I don’t care that much about theatre.
But it does look important so…
Anyway, around this same area, I noticed too this Harley-Davidson place as you can see here.
A bit similar to when I saw a Hooters on the same avenue as you can see here.
Why bring this up?
Well, I was talking with a guy I know recently about his recent visit to Mexico City.
He’s more interested in the Dominican Republic and Colombia.
But decided to visit Mexico City since it has gotten more hype on the internet about being a great place to have fun.
Though he wasn’t a fan of the women here…
He did remark how comfortable Mexico City seemed relative to the rest of Latin America he has been to.
And just how it seems that it is so Americanized versus other cities.
And he’s got a point.
I remember actually the first time I saw a Hooters in Mexico City like a year ago around Roma Norte area and was surprised to see it.
Never saw one before so I’m not sure if they just moved in or what.
But even though most Latin countries do have their Dominos, Burger King, McDonalds, etc…
Some parts of Latin America are going to have a lot more variety in American businesses than other parts.
Mexico City is no exception and really does bring in a lot more American businesses here.
Like I’ve never seen a Hooters, a 7-11 or a Harley-Davidson in any other part of Latin America.
Maybe Buenos Aires has one of those.
Either way, I quite like it!
I know some folks that, when they live abroad, want to live far away from anything American.
They have this mindset of “why live in x place if it is too Americanized? Might as well be back home.”
And then you have others who hate being in places with too many foreigners simply because they hate being around other foreigners.
Perhaps because the sight of American women reminds them of how they didn’t have dating success back home?
To just having at times a certain level of snobby attitude towards other foreigners in general.
Regardless, I never held that sentiment too much.
Though I do dislike being in touristy areas to a degree mostly because those areas attract a shit ton more of homeless people begging for money and people trying to gringo price you.
And those upper class latinos with a stick up their ass about wanting to speak their broken ass English all day.
So that all does get annoying.
But I do like the sight of an American business – reminds me of home – a place I miss at times even though I prefer living down here for different reasons.
And meeting another American – as rare as it is for me – is kinda cool as you can at least share experiences and observations with someone who “gets it” when it comes to living in another country as an outsider.
Which is why I appreciate any comments I get on my blog because it’s interesting to get other opinions – regardless of if I agree or disagree with them.
Anyway, the walk goes on…
I see this little protest sign right here.
Seems to be talking shit about the Mexican president AMLO.
More Walking
I’m not really sure what these subtitles should be since it is mostly me just making observations and rambling about different things I see while on this walk.
So uhhh…
“More Walking.”
As I keep walking, I see this dude selling street food as you can see here.
I took the photo across the street because I didn’t want to be awkward taking the photo right in front of him.
If I had to guess, they’re selling tacos?
Could be – the guy in the red shit is holding a plate that seems like it could have one.
Maybe tacos de pastor.
But that’s a side point also – there’s a shit ton of street food in Mexico City that is quite nice.
Out of all of the places I’ve been to in Latin America, Mexico City by far has the best street food I’ve seen anywhere.
My experience with street food elsewhere has been kinda shit.
More thoughts on that here.
Then there’s this little supermarket area for those who are thinking of moving to this area.
Has a good restaurant called Casa de Toño.
Back in my first year living in Mexico City, I’d sometimes accidently call it “Casa de Coño” when I’d go there with a Mexican friend of mine named Angie.
Not exactly the best language mistake to make!
But it was always an accident….
I swear!
Anyway, they actually have some of the best Mexican food in Mexico City in my opinion.
Great prices and great food with some of the better customer service I’ve seen in this city.
Though the customer service isn’t always very nice…
Like one time when I was eating there over a year ago and some Asian guy walks in…
Who didn’t speak English, Spanish or Portuguese.
He had a team of waiters around his table throwing out different languages trying to see if they can communicate with him.
He gives up.
Walks out.
One of the waiters yells at him in Spanish as he walks out yelling “sushi? Quieres sushi?!”
So they’re not always very professional…
Anyway, it is one of my favorite restaurants in this city.
But one thing that I noticed when I was in that supermarket actually…
Was when I walked by the pharmacy looking for something.
Something called TRT as you can read about my experience buying it here.
They didn’t have it.
But I noticed how nice the pharmacy looked.
Which sounds like a weird observation.
But over my four years now of knowing Mexico City, I have noticed a gradual change in the city.
Where it has gotten nicer all around.
Like when I lived in Roma Norte in my first apartment ever, they had this area full of homeless people by Metro Insurgentes.
Where they’d scare the living shit out of any Tinder chick I met in that area where we’d have to pass by them to get back to my place.
Now those folks are gone!
Plus, the metro stations themselves even look nicer.
I was on the metro recently….
Line 12 to be specific.
And it was so nice!
There wasn’t any garbage in the train.
It didn’t smell like piss.
They even had nice jazz music!
This song specifically as you can listen to here.
Same thing when I was on Line 1 very recently and they had air conditioning!
Or how you see a lot more cops in the metro looking for robbers I suppose….
Which, to be fair, the sight of police isn’t always very nice in Mexico given how many of them are corrupt…
Like when one robbed me as you can read about here.
But still….
Over the last 4 years, the point is I have noticed Mexico City gradually becoming even nicer than how nice it was before.
Like the metro stations for example getting nicer.
Well, they’re not always very nice, now are they?
But all around seemingly richer in a way.
Granted, the COVID recession has fucked that up a bit in the last year – a shit ton more businesses that have closed.
So we’ll see how things progress.
Anyway, visiting that pharmacy kinda reminded me of that gradual change.
So as the walk goes on….
Here’s some more pictures of the scenery along the Insurgentes Sur Avenue.
Then imagine my shock….
I finally see a metro station!
And what a shock it was….
Metro Station Insurgentes Sur on Insurgentes Sur Avenue!
As I was walking, I actually did wonder “where exactly is this metro station at?”
I’ve been there before – it is a nice metro station compared to other ones I’ve seen.
And the neighborhood around it – like everything else along this avenue – is nicer looking.
But, as I said, it took me maybe around an hour to and hour and a half to get here from where I started.
I really do see more potential in that other part of the avenue that we’ve covered already…
Give it a metro station!
It really does need one.
There are so many nice bars, parks, restaurants, etc that I passed by so far on this walk…
It really does do that specific part of the avenue an injustice to not have a metro station nearby.
Ending the Walk
Anyway, I’m noticing by this point that it looks like it could rain any second.
And contemplating if I should start my return.
But then I figured “no, I’ve walked so far now. Maybe 2 hours now or almost? I want to walk down this entire avenue!”
So I keep walking.
See a bar here that I pass.
A rock bar at that – I’ve never seen too many rock bars in Mexico City even though we do have plenty, I’m sure.
Just never seen too many of them.
I quite like a rock bar – as long as it has real rock music to it.
Then I finally pass by this specific park here with photos included.
Never been to it before
But I look around.
Plenty of people jogging.
It does seem like a nice place to jog and get some exercise.
Though the park itself didn’t seem that impressive.
I kinda liked Bombilla Park more and definitely Bosque de Chapultepec.
In Mexico City, my opinion is that Bosque de Chapultepec is one of the best green areas you can find here.
Or my favorite one anyway.
Then I notice some gathering way in the front of the park.
At first, maybe my eyesight was bad because I thought I saw a bunch of cops lined up for some reason…
With a gathering of people standing in front of them taking photos.
So I figured I’d walk up closer to see what this is about…
Then I see it’s not a bunch of cops but actually a bunch of young kids in graduation uniforms.
So my eyesight must be pretty bad from a distance…
Here’s a photo of that anyway from a distance.
Anyway, I decide to leave this park but ask some random dude on the bench what is the name of this place.
At first, I thought he said “Parque Indio”
Which I thought was strange – “Never heard of that park before?”
But then he repeated himself and said “Parque Undio”
Undio?
Like the Uni-bomber?
Uni-o?
Named after him?
That’s weird….
But I knew I heard him wrong and didn’t want to bother him.
So I kept walking along Insurgentes Sur Avenue and then saw this here…
“Parque Hundido!”
Now I know where I’m at.
I’ve heard of this park before but never actually been to it.
So I keep walking and see this restaurant here…
If you are ever in Mexico City, I recommend this spot. It’s pretty good. There was one near me when I lived near Metro Juanacatlan.
And here is another nice image from the end of Parque Hundido.
With a video below here of what Parque Hundido looks like.
To which then it’s about 7 PM…
I started this journey at about 5 PM.
And it was close to getting dark and it looked like it was about to rain…
And I already didn’t feel comfortable taking my phone out to do this journey.
I never take my phone outside almost never.
Mostly because it’s a nice phone and I don’t want to risk it getting stolen!
Plus I don’t want anyone stealing it and finding my secret stash of Paraguayan Lesbian Foot Play Porn.
But mostly it’s just a really nice phone!
Anyway…..
I ask a street vendor how much longer this avenue goes on for….
He didn’t know because he’s not from here.
I ask a second street vendor.
He tells me that the avenue goes on for quite a while and it’ll be another 2 hours of walking before I finish it.
And given the fact there was plenty of avenue left uncovered going the opposite direction at the point where I started this journey…
I figured I might as well accept what I’ve covered and go home.
Plenty of observations were made already.
And I’ll surely cover any other spaces worth mentioning along this route once I actually start covering each neighborhood of Mexico City.
Plus, it’s about to rain and getting dark.
And I really don’t want to be outside at night with my phone.
Once I do start covering each neighborhood, I’ll definitely buy a cheap burner phone at one of those markets near El Centro where they sell stolen phones.
Yeah, it supports criminals but buying a phone from Walmart is also criminal given all the small businesses they run into the ground in small town America.
And it saves me like 50 bucks.
At least the criminal I buy a phone from in one of those markets probably has children to support.
So technically I’m supporting small families in Mexico…
Who could be against that?
On a last note, how many gringos have I seen along this walk through Insurgentes Sur Avenue?
Is that avenue gringo heavy?
Well, after I finished the walk, I’d say I saw maybe 5 gringos or so in total along the total way.
But some parts with more gringos than others.
I’d say I saw more closer to Parque Hundido than other parts in general.
Or basically the closer I got to Metro Insurgentes Sur.
Possibly because maybe some gringos, like myself, don’t like living too far away from the metro stations.
The Walk Back Home
While walking back, I notice another park on a street to the left.
So I figured I might as well check it out.
Apparently it is called “San Lorenzo.”
The reason why it caught my attention was this map I saw on the street showed that it had some place called “Alico Iberoamerica.”
“Iberoamerica”
Kinda like Iberian America…
The name of my website!
So that’s a good way to end this journey.
I never did find where Alico Iberoamerica but I looked them up on Google later.
Apparently it is a tourism agency.
Anyway, here’s some photos of the park.
And here’s a video of San Lorenzo Park.
Then I go to Metro Insurgentes Sur as it is close by…
But, to my surprise, it’s closed!
As you can see here.
Like I said before similar to that metro bus fucking up….
“Can’t go a full day in Mexico without something fucking up!”
Anyway, here’s a photo of the street that I’m on.
It’s beginning to rain finally – but only a tiny bit.
It is after all getting to that part of the year around summer time when Mexico City rains a shit ton during these months.
And when it begins to rain, it usually rains pretty strongly for a few hours or so.
But the rain stops quickly enough and was pretty light.
And here’s a photo of the metro station I’m getting on – Felix Cuevas.
So I get on…
Sit down.
With a dude sitting next to me who is literally snoring and sleeping.
Reminds me of what a guy I know named Blayde told me about who also lives in Mexico City…
He could never understand how folks can sleep on the metro station.
Like are they really that confident that they’ll wait up in time to not miss their destination?
Or that nobody will try to rob them?
Like this chick here trying to rob someone sleeping on the metro station in Mexico City.
They have quite a bit of confidence!
And it’s not as rare as you think – people sleeping on the metro.
Well, I actually get off on the wrong metro bus station myself ironically enough.
Mostly because I didn’t remember which metro bus station was closest to the corner that you turn on to walk on the street that leads to my apartment.
So I’m walking a bit.
As I’m walking, I stop as a bunch of cars are crossing the next street.
But then see an opportunity and run across as another car is coming my way.
Some homeless guy yells at me “Seguro??” as I’m jogging across.
Granted, that’s another brief topic – sometimes it’s difficult to get a chance to cross the street in Mexico City.
And even if you do have the right to cross the street, you still have times where cars are coming your way from somewhere.
Sometimes it feels like some drivers down here purposefully want to run over pedestrians.
Then some lady drives her motorcycle onto the sidewalk and coming up behind me.
To cut traffic I suppose.
Before ultimately I come across this car dealership as you can see here.
Reminds me of my dad – who works at one.
It’s always been a funny thought of mine – gringos working local jobs down here that don’t involve self-employment, teaching English or working for a large multinational corporation or the US government.
Like how many gringos, if they wanted to, could get a job as a local fireman, police officer…
Or being a car salesman at a car dealership.
My dad is no longer a car salesman specifically but it’d be funny trying to imagine him trying to sell cars to local Latinos in Spanish.
“Hola, amigos! Quieren un coche?”
“Los gringos están robando nuestros trabajos?!”
Anyway, as I finish up the walk, I notice a couple in front of me.
The Mexican chick next to him had one of those type of pants or whatever where you can see through it and see a little bit of her underwear.
For some reason, I’ve seen a lot more of that in Mexico City than in any other part of Latin America.
She looked good though.
For a Mexican chick, her ass was quite nice and she had a nice haircut from behind.
I could see it already…
Bending her over while I say to her boyfriend “Ya ves Mexicano?? Tu muje es mi puta!!” while she moans “si Papi!!”
Well, maybe it’s a bit like the previous generalized statement I made before…
“Can’t go a full day in Mexico without something fucking up!”
To
“Can’t go a full day in Mexico without wanting to fuck the living shit out of some nice gal in the street!”
Anyway…
I eventually get to the point where I turn and get off Insurgentes Sur Avenue.
Here is the last thing I see on the avenue before walking away from it.
Where I then pass by some street seller with his bag of whatever about 10 minutes later.
Some skinny ass kid who again was staring the living fuck out of me like that other kid.
For a second, I thought he was aiming to do something to do me – try to mug me or some shit.
But he stopped and turned around.
So who knows.
Anyway, I finally get closer to home.
Grab a pizza at Little Caesars.
Only 4 bucks for a large Pepperoni pizza!
And, when I entered, they had this song playing while I waited for my pizza.
Pretty comforting song to have playing at the end of the day.
Better than some of the other junk music that throw on the radio down here from the US.
Before I got to relax at home.
Final Thoughts
Overall, I enjoyed this walk quite a bit.
It helped distract me a bit from some of the darker thoughts I’ve had the last few months.
And focus on the positives.
It was nice getting more sunlight obviously the smell of fresh air.
Plus, to a degree, it was thought provoking.
Mostly bringing back old observations I’ve had about life in Mexico City and Latin America more broadly.
And, like I said, I enjoy talking with other gringos about life down here.
Especially as sometimes life can be lonely and it’s nice to talk with others about being the gringo in Latin America.
So when given all the things to think about to myself as I was walking down this avenue….
Well, that was nice.
Leave a comment below like I said before as it is nice to pick the brains of other folks who know Latin America.
Also, how much did I walk?
Here’s a map of the distance I covered in Insurgentes Sur Avenue.
Which doesn’t cover the amount of time it took me to walk to that avenue.
Obviously a bit of distance covered…
But I’m pretty confident I made the right call to not try and walk the entre avenue in that one night…
Despite living here for so long, I guess I never appreciated how much distance I’d have to cover.
Granted, I woke up at 11 AM today.
Had I gotten straight out of bed to cover the rest of the distance, I’m sure I could have.
Maybe….
Anyway, I was going to write this last night but I was tired as hell from walking for 3 hours straight.
My feet hurt a bit too.
Not anymore.
But it did make me contemplate how much they’re going to hurt when I begin this journey walking literally all over Mexico City to even little corner documenting this place over the next 6 months.
Well, better buy that burner phone soon.
More thoughts on burner phones in Mexico City here.
But that’s the story!
Minus the sex content I put in this article…
All the jokes and all that came with that…
But I’ve wondered if this is how I should write the book?
You guys tell me.
Would it be better to write the book similar to how I write my articles in that there’s a lot of casual observations?
Or should it be strictly like a Lonely Planet type book where you just lay out matter of factly different places to see?
I’m thinking the former over the latter.
Nobody needs another “Lonely Planet” type book to cover that – there’s plenty already.
Though obviously I’ll be covering anyway every place I can in Mexico City in every neighborhood to visit.
But, in my head, throwing down casual thoughts (though they might piss some people off), seems like a better and more entertaining way to do it.
But thoughts?
Throw them at me.
On the book idea…
And also on this article itself – any observations you had about my observations?
Agreements or disagreements?
And finally here’s a video of Insurgentes Sur Avenue for those who want something more interactive than a blog post.
