The one hour Uber ride from Teotihuacan to the doorstep of our hotel in downtown Mexico City was only $15. The driver spoken good English and was very knowledgeable.
He gave us an interesting run-down on the economics of the city and was somewhat critical of the Mexican government in regards to its economic policies.
He was telling us that a policeman or fireman make less than $5.00 US, whereas a bus driver makes $8.00 per day. The minimum wage in the country is $4.00 per day.
One interesting thing he brought up was that public university was virtually free but since most Mexican families are so poor, most kids have to quit school between ages of 12 and 16 to help pay for family expenses and therefore do not even think about getting a higher education. He blamed the government and corruption for perpetuating this situation. It allows the gap between rich and poor to grow ever wider.
The population of Mexico City is only 9,000,000 but when you add up adjacent metro areas it is 20,000,000. The population within a one 60 km radius of the city center jumps to 35,000,000 (as much as we have in our whole country)!! He said traffic art rush hour is usually at a jogging pace and that millions of residents take 2 hours to get to work.
The hotel Adrienne found is called the Fontan Reforma and is in a great location--only a couple of hundred yards from where the action begins in the central old part of the city.
2 massive public squares make up the center of the town. Apparently one of these squares (ZOCALO https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zócalo ) is the second biggest in the world, only surpassed by Red Square in Russia.
The 2 squares are surrounded by enormous ancient Cathedrals, international , and government structures made from sculptured rock and cement. Every direction you look makes you gasp in admiration at the architecture and effort that was made to complete these buildings.
Many of the streets leading to the squares are pedestrian-only. This makes the whole area very people friendly, with many shops located in small street spaces within the old buildings. The concentration of retail shops is so great that many take residence on second floors and people actually take the effort to navigate the narrow old staircases. Many restaurants are especially popular several floors up overlooking Zacalo square.
In my opinion even the cities of London, Paris and Rome did not show the vibrance for life and activity as does the centre of Mexico City. It will be a fun place to explore over the next few days--however, a challenging place to live one's life. Many Mexicans,on the other hand, think the opposite as the town continues to be a magnet for people throughout the country.
Here are a few of our first day pictures. For better ones click here https://www.google.com.mx/search?q=picture+of+zocalo+mexico&prmd=imnv&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwjsjfPXoePRAhVY82MKHbrCA9wQ_AUIBygB&biw=768&bih=928
Sent from my iPad
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