Thu 1st Feb

I’m here!!!!

After sleeping for nearly 10 of the 12 hour flight, I’m feeling pretty good!

Walk off the plane expecting that holiday hot blast of air to hit but no, it’s cold….bloody freezing in fact!

Head to luggage belt and wait for luggage. And wait some more…and a bit more. Start getting that nervous feeling of my bag may have ended up somewhere else. Finally she rocks up and I now have to wear both rucksacks….shit….these are a little heavy!

Head out and think it’s massively too early to head to my friend Chris’ so a grab a cup of tea and end up chatting to 2 British women about our travels over a cuppa.

Half hour suitably wasted, I get me an Uber and off I set to Polanco.

Chris’ apartment is stunning….I’m really starting out in style. Gonna be a massive shock on Sunday when I hit my first dorm!

It’s great to see Chris again, we worked together many many moons ago before Chris left for ventures new 13 years ago.

We natter and drink tea before I remember that not everyone is in the same boat as me and daily tasks and work are the order of the day for some! See u later Chris 😉

Chris’ lovely girlfriend Kalinka is however free and has friends staying so I make plans to spend the day with them.

Having been here before, I’m good to go wherever with Kalinka, Babisa & Carolina. We head into Zocalo on the metro. What an experience that was. London rush hour doesn’t have a patch on here…when u think there isn’t room at all, another 4 or more cram and barge their way in!

Glad to get off,

we wander round Zocalo, and finally find this mornings destination….Museo de la Memoria y Tolerancia (Holocaust museum to me and u).

Pretty intense going for a first day as it takes you through all what happened in WWII followed by the genocide suffered in other countries – Guatemala, Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur etc

We must never forget what has happened and what man can do, but after reading and listening to everything in Spanish, it was time for a break.

Whilst the others spent a bit longer in there, Kalinka’s friend Romina took me to a stunning hidden gem of a cafe….on floor 8 of Sears, their cafe overlooks the beautiful Palacio de Bellas Artes

Great place for a coffee break! Una bebida con el vista!

The 5 of us re-group and head towards Centro Histórico. Above us, a bar is playing some great Mexican tunes that appears to be calling out to us. A tout mentions the offer of 2 for one on drinks and like rats up a drain pipe, we’re in the lift heading up!

Bucket of beer, tortillas, bucket of beer, more beer, nachos, more beer and a live salsa band….after many protestation of this is the last one, we finally head home via Cathedral Square after more giggles than ones abs can handle!

Home we relay the day to a rather bemused Chris, and whilst the others head to bed, I head off to another bar – well poor Chris had been in work all day and missed out on all the fun!

Finally head to bed, fuzzy headed, wondering wot on earth tomorrow may bring!

A perfect first day and a fab start with some amazing people to my epic adventure 😃

#buzzing