No Sleep For You!

I sojourned back to LAX and checked in with the dreaded United Airlines for my 3-hour midnight flight that – with the time change – put me in Mexico City at 5am local time. Fortunately, there were all of 14 people on my flight (seriously, I counted), which meant plenty of room to stretch out and sleep.

As expected, I arrived in Mexico City groggy beyond belief. I don’t even really remember getting off the plane, though I do remember the flight attendant asking for the blanket back (another Kyle recommended I carry additional coverage with me at all times). Customs was quick, luggage was on time and the taxi people were incredibly friendly, as was the hotel staff.

By the time I got to my roomI had a solid 97 minutes to sleep before a full day of activities. I took all of them in my non-air-conditioned Hotel Stanza retreat before showering, attempting to pack a bag (my brain wasn’t really functioning) and heading out the door…

Only to find that the first activity was a 2-hour chit-chat in the hotel restaurant. My stomach was doing the “I need more sleep so anything is going to taste weird” thing. Tatiana’s English combined with my [pathetic] Spanish and inability to form complete thoughts made for some interesting conversation. Mid-meal the four Mexican Ambassadors arrived and we became a legitimate entourage, complete with clicking cameras and (tomorrow) a big SUV driving us around.

Someone decided it would be a good idea to walk back to the US border, so we spent most of the afternoon on foot. The goal was to get all of my “setting the scene” shots finished as the next 6 days are PACKED with team visits (which I love). I think the return to traveling, saying goodbye to my family, leftover exhaustion from the Dengue and lack of sleep combined to make me really awful company, though I was doing my best to keep it upbeat. We did stumble upon an enormous political protest in Mexico City’s Central Square, which was definitely exciting! It appears that Red Bull was cosponsoring the revolution, as their tents were scattered all over the place.


Then we headed to “linner” (it’s a legitimate thing here. Mexicans eat 4 times a day – 8am breakfast, 11am snack, 4pm linner and 9pm supper) at the place where Zapata and his men planned the future of Mexico following the Mexican Revolution. I had tacos, which were divine. Sadly, my eyelids weren’t cooperating and apparently I fell asleep at the table (someone snapped this photo, which I found later).


All is all, not a bad day. I’m drifting off again while typing, so lets just say, “more soon!”