city at night

city at night

Thursday, March 5, 2015

My Dad's Trip to Mexico (Part One)

My very first trip to Mexico was way back in 1973 when I spent the winter quarter of my junior year of college at the University of the Americas.  From that time on I was "hooked" on Mexico, and I was eager to make a return trip.

In the summer of 1975, after I had completed my first year of teaching, I invited my father to go with me to Mexico.

We flew to Mexico City and spent several days there.  We saw all the typical tourist sights... Chapultepec Castle, the Anthropology Museum, the top of the Latin American Tower, and the historic center of the city.


Dad at the top of the Latin American Tower
 
 
 
Dad and a much younger (and much geekier) me in the Alameda Park
 
 
At the Anthropology Museum
Although Dad wasn't a "museum type of person", he was really impressed with the place.
 
We also had some experiences that the average tourist does not have.  On the plane to Mexico City we sat next to a Mexican lawyer who was returning home after a visit to the United States.  He and I were engaged in conversation for most of the flight.  The lawyer was afraid of flying and was very grateful that our conversation made the flight less stressful for him.  He gave us his phone number, and insisted on spending a day with us.  We made arrangements, and one morning he met us at our hotel.  He drove us to the ruins of Teotihuacan to the north of the city. 
 
 
 
The lawyer and my Dad at the ruins of Teotihuacan
 
 
After exploring the ruins, he treated us to lunch at a nearby restaurant located in a cave.
 
 
Another day we got together with Ariel, a friend of mine from the University of the Americas.  His family was from Chile, but they had moved to Mexico City some years before.  Ariel drove us to Izta-Popo National Park to see the snow covered volcanoes Iztaccíhuatl and Popocatépetl.
 
 
 
 
Dad and Ariel with snowy Popocatepetl in the background. 
The volcano has become active in recent years, and you are no longer allowed this close to the peak.  Ariel actually climbed up the snow line. 
 
Ariel and I kept in touch for a number of years after that, but unfortunately we have lost contact with each other.
 
After our stay in Mexico City, Dad rented a car, and we explored other parts of the country.  I had told him that we would not rent a car until we were ready to leave the city.  Once Dad saw the traffic in Mexico City, he understood what I was talking about.  We went back to the airport to pick up the car since it would be easier to head out of the city from there.  We managed to get out of Mexico City without too much trouble, and we were off on more adventures.




4 comments:

  1. What great memories! And photographs. Lucky you!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Thanks, Barbara. It was a great experience for my dad, and I think he then understood why I liked Mexico so much. The photos were taken with my first camera, a Kodak Instamatic. It was some years before I graduated to a 35 mm camera.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lucky you! I'd love to show my dad Mexico City. Fortunately, he reads my blog and his formerly narrow view of Mexico has been widened.

    Saludos,

    Kim G
    Boston, MA
    Where we are literally dying to get back to Mexico.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. My dad really enjoyed the trip, and years later I took him on purely touristic trips to Cancun (before it became as overdeveloped as it is now) and Ixtapa.

      I will be going back to Mexico one month from today!

      Delete