In Mexico City Again

Yesterday afternoon I had a flight on Interjet Airlines from Mérida to Mexico City.  It seemed that the departure was going to be late, because the plane did not arrive at the gate until 12:55, the time that we were supposed to begin boarding.  Nevertheless, they got everyone on board and we pulled away from the gate on time.

This was the third time that I have flown on Interjet from Mérida to Mexico City, and it has always been a pleasant, comfortable flight.  Interjet does not try to squeeze passengers into the planes like cattle;  all of the seats have ample leg room!  Also you may check luggage weighing up to 55 pounds free of charge.

After the one hour, forty minute flight, the plane arrived at Mexico City International Airport.  My time in the airport seemed longer and was definitely less pleasant than my time in the air.   I had to walk the entire length of the terminal to get to the baggage claim.  Then I had to wait and wait for my suitcase.  The luggage from the Mérida flight was already being unloaded onto the carousel, but there was no sign of my big, blue bag.  After about twenty minutes I was starting to get worried.  Almost everyone from the flight had retrieved their luggage; there were only a few of us still waiting.  Finally, another luggage cart pulled up, and my suitcase appeared.  

My friend Alejandro was supposed to meet me and drive me to the apartment that I had rented.  However there was no sign of him when I came out of the baggage claim.  Perhaps he had been delayed in Mexico City's infamous traffic.  On a previous trip Alejandro had given me an inexpensive cell phone that I could use if I needed to call him whenever I was in Mexico.  I tried calling him again and again  to find out where he was, but for some reason the call would not go through. There was no sense in taking a taxi to the apartment because Alejandro had picked up the keys from the owner for me.   There was nothing to do but wait.  Finally, the cellphone rang.  It was Alejandro.  He was in the terminal and had been waiting for me, but at a different exit of baggage claim.  So, in spite of some nervous moments, all was well.

Alejandro drove me to the vacation rental where I have stayed for the last couple years whenever I am in Mexico City.

It's a very comfortable place in an excellent part of the city.

Alejandro brought some fruit that he had bought at his neighborhood "tianguis" (outdoor market).  So this morning for breakfast I prepared a fruit plate.

    
In the upper left are slices of guava, then, moving clockwise, sliced banana, and, at the bottom of the plate, the flesh that I scooped out of a "mamey", a tropical fruit not available back home.  In the center are "tejocotes", another fruit that is unknown in Ohio.  They are a major ingredient in the traditional "ponche de frutas" (fruit punch) that is served at Christmas.  Alejandro's mom had some leftover after making the holiday punch, so she preserved them in a heavy syrup.

Today I am taking care of mundane chores... taking dirty clothes to the laundry and going to the grocery store.  Alejandro also brought me some avocados.  They are ripe and need to be used.  So I think I will finish this post and go make some guacamole.