Flying Home

 It still seems a bit strange to say that I am "flying home" when I return to Mexico City.

Last Thursday, after a wonderful two week stay in Ohio, visiting friends, and seeing the spectacular eclipse, I flew back to my adopted country.  I got up early, checked out of the hotel, and returned my rental car.  The shuttle bus took me the short distance to Cleveland airport.  My flight to Houston was scheduled to leave around 11:00 AM, and I checked in at 8:00.  On previous trips, I usually left Cleveland earlier in the morning, and I would be at the airport before 6:00.  I was amazed that the airport is much less crowded a couple hours later... the check in line was minimal and even the security line was shorter.  On future trips to Ohio, I will have to make it a point to leave on a late morning flight instead of at the crack of dawn.

As I mentioned when I left on this trip, I had splurged and booked first class tickets.  I had plenty of time before departure, so I was able to have a leisurely, free breakfast in the United Club lounge.  My flight to Houston left on time, and I was served lunch on board.  I had a three-hour layover in Houston, so I availed myself again of the United Club, and ate more free food.  There was a lot of eating that day!

My flight to Mexico City also left on time and was pleasant and uneventful.  In drought-stricken Mexico City it has been sunny and hot for weeks. However, as we descended for our late-afternoon landing, the skies were overcast.  (Later that night it rained.  We are keeping our fingers crossed that perhaps the rainy season will begin early.)

Because of the gray, hazy conditions, the photos as we approached Mexico City International Airport are not the best...

In the metropolitan area outside the city limits is Presa Madín, one of the reservoirs that supply Mexico City with water.  Given the current water crisis, I was surprised that the level of the lake did not appear to be low.

As we fly over the city from the west, in the lower left you can see the Hipódromo de las Américas, Mexico City's track for horse races.  The vague green area to the upper right is Chapultepec Park.

A closer, but hazy view of Chapultepec Park. (My attempts to photoshop this picture did not do much good.) The two buildings on the left side of the park are the National Auditorium toward the bottom and above it the National Museum of Anthropology.  You see the line of skyscrapers stretching along the Paseo de la Reforma beyond the park.

The building in the center of the photo is the Mexico City World Trade Center. My apartment is down there just a block away.

I'm home!