We spent five beautiful days in Mexico City this spring. It was our first visit, and I wasn’t sure what to expect. Canadians flock to Mexico regularly, but it’s more often to beach resorts, which is not really our thing. We prefer urban centres, and so when a friend’s wedding brought us to Cancun, we decided to fly to the country’s capital afterwards for an extended vacation. Here are 6 things I noticed in Mexico City.
Disclaimer: Our experience in Mexico City was mainly confined to the neighbourhoods of la Condesa and le Roma. These are gentrified, somewhat hipsterish regions that are likely different from other areas of the city.
6 Things I Noticed In Mexico City
1. Mexico City is CDMX
From taxi cabs to billboards to the ubiquitous block letters tourists pose next to for photos in every major city, CDMX is everywhere.
Was it the airport code? Some kind of slang term? We had no clue. Turns out it is an acronym for Mexico City’s new name, Ciudad de Mexico (it was formerly Distrito Federal). The rebranding started a couple of years ago and came into full effect in 2018. It is part of legislative changes that granted Mexico City increased powers in the country’s political system, effectively giving it the clout of a state.
2. It’s Surprisingly Lush and Green
Our Airbnb apartment was within easy walking distance of Amsterdam Park and Chapultepec Park. These parks offer a peaceful escape from the traffic and noise of the streets. Chapultepec Park is vast — about twice the size of NYC’s Central Park.
Even city streets were well treed, and we were fortunate to be visiting while the jacaranda trees were in full bloom with their bright purple flowers. We didn’t expect the city to have the deep nature vibe we experienced.
3. Green Earthquake Circles
Mexico City experienced a deadly 7.1 magnitude earthquake on September 19th, eerily just two hours after the city’s annual earthquake drill and on the day of remembrance for the even deadlier 1985 quake. We saw several crumbling buildings in the process of being demolished. I can’t even imagine the terror people felt.
When walking the through city streets, we often saw large green circles painted on the ground. A guide on one of the tours we took explained that these were the designated safer spots for people to congregate when early earthquake warning sirens go off. They are places less likely to be hit with falling debris.
4. No one wears shorts
In our Canadian winter city, as soon as temps rise above freezing, you’ll see some eager dude exposing his pasty legs wearing shorts. No one wears shorts in Mexico City. Mind you, for the first few days of our stay the temperature was only in the low 20s Celsius. But, even when the mercury climbed to the high twenties, jeans were standard for men and women alike. Occasionally, we saw skirts and dresses.
I’m not sure what this is about. We certainly saw locals wearing shorts in Cancun (much hotter there). Is it about traditional modesty? I saw many women wearing jeans paired with revealing tops, so I don’t think that’s it. I remain curious about this fashion standard. Any Mexicans out there who can shed light on this practice?
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5. Two most common jobs are dog walker and police officer
We felt very safe walking our neighbourhood and surrounding areas day and night. We did not witness any concerning incidents or violence. We did see a dominant police presence, however. Virtually every few blocks there are beat cops patrolling the area. In heavy tourist areas such as the Historic District, we saw dozens of officers equipped with riot shields.
The effect is two-fold. On the one hand, as a visitor, you feel that those who would do you harm would be foolish to try anything with officers planted in every direction. On the other hand, it leaves you wondering what you are being protected from?
Dog walkers are also ubiquitous, but unlike the dubious feelings we had about the police presence, the sight of so many dogs always left us smiling. It also left me in awe of how one person could wrangle 6-8 dogs at a time. Dog culture is huge in Mexico City. Dachshunds seem particularly popular, for some reason.
6. Altitude Adjustment
As a prairie dweller, the effect of Mexico City’s higher altitude caught me off guard. On our first morning in the city, I went for a swim in our rental apartment’s rooftop pool. After a few laps, I resolved that I needed to go a little easier on the margaritas and heaps of guacamole I’d been enjoying. Much to my relief, I realized it was the altitude difference that was leaving me out of breath with exertion rather than my vacation lifestyle. Who knew?
Have you visited Mexico City? What did you notice?
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