🇲🇽 Metepec/Toluca - 11.17.24

“The capacity to be alone is one of the most profound abilities we can cultivate, and it holds the key to a deeper, truer kind of love.” - Ernest Hemingway

I can’t find the source of this quote… but whoever said it… sounds good to me.

Some solitary traveling to reach the city of Toluca/Metepec. It’s 1-1/2 hours out of Mexico City… and that’s if you’re on the western edge of CDMx… otherwise it’s a haul. I took an ETN bus out of Tasqueña/CDMX Sur. It was a double decker rig and super cushy ride. 2-1/2 hours… through the city and into the mountains and within a view of Volcán Nevado de Toluca.

I arrived at the Toluca bus station which had some serious elements of unsavory people. There was something going down in the bathroom… I was approached with whispers in my ear… I could only pick up portion of the Spanish. Something in the area of having drugs… or people for hire. That’s when the intuitive senses kicked in full… and one shouldn’t linger in an unsavory vibe.

I was up there to meet with GildaMonster, my PHD seeking amiga, to exchange some intellectual property. She messaged me and said she was on the way to pick me up… and not to move from the bus reception. I moved. I stood outside by the hornets nest of taxis and waited. When she arrived I was not in my spot. And then, “Dónde estabas?!? Te dije que no te movieras!!! No es seguro para un Güerito!!!” That’s the PG-13 versions and would later expand that with added curse words.

I hear the word “Güerito” often in my time in Mexico. The translation is “Blondie,” and supposedly has no negative connotation. Unless it has a colorful adj. like, “pinche güerito!”

It’s funny, I don’t linger much, so I believe I can swim through the shark tank of danger without being noticed. The other day I was sitting in a park in Churubusco and I spotted a ‘Güerita’ from a distance. She walked like an American. Not in a negative way. I guess… a dialect of body language. It’s noticeably different than the stroll of the local population. So… if I can spot a ‘Güerita’ a mile away… I myself, won’t necessarily be strolling through the shark tank going unnoticed. And so… I should stay where my friend told me to stay.

Gilda (hee-l-da) gave me some light tours of Toluca and Metepec. We ran into her cousin and friend who had been drinking beers all afternoon… so I was privy to some locals being local. Loudly. Drunky people repeat themselves in conversation… so… it gave me a chance to interpret. After some ‘Güerito’ this and that… and lot of giggling… I would laugh. “You understand what we say?!?”

“Some… I do speak a little Spanish.”

They briefly looked horrified… and then proceeded to talk shit about me.

Have the humility to laugh at yourself… and navigating the human experience in the 21st century is a piece of blondie cake.

It was a short visit, too short to see all, and all the people in Toluca/Metepec I would have liked. There was no day bus back to CDMX/Sur on Sunday so I had GildaMonster drop me off at the train station.

There’s a lovely new train that you can take from Toluca to Santa Fe(CDMX). It’s about an hour haul. The train line is still under construction and when finished its final stop will be Terminal Poniente (Observatorio) and links up with the metro and the big ass bus station. It will be all kinds of handy if you have business in Toluca.

The train is brand new. It costs 60pesos ($3US). It’s quiet and clean and the views are lovely. They have attendants (security) walking the ailes during travel. I had a bottle of water and was taking a sip just as an attendant walked by. He stopped and looked at me… a look of huge disappointment. Like a mom look when you got your first tattoo. I was told I can’t have drinks or food on the new clean lovely train. I capped my drink and set it aside. I looked up and there was a tele every several meters playing info videos about the train… including perpetual reminders about no food or drink. When the attendant walked back by I let him know that, “I now see the video… and I’ll be good, I’ll be good… I promise” and didn’t even feel like a 3 year old.

Santa Fe/CDMX is a modern district on the western edge of the city. It’s filled with skyscrapers and all of the hints of a modern corporate landscape. There’s busses at the train station to link passengers to the Metro and other key points in the city. I had spotted a teleférico (cablebus) on the way and wanted to check it out. So… I was resolved to spending the day making my way across the city on public transport.

Ciudad de Mexico is the largest city in the western hemisphere. 22 million souls across. When you look at the map and the new teleférico stop is only a short distance from the new Santa Fe train station and it appears to be a quick stroll. Nope… 25 minutes of walking… and a 35 minute bus ride.

I already had moment of wanting to throw in the towel and just call an Uber… also, I was dehydrated because I was denied liquid refreshment on the train… but I bucked-up… and remained determined to cross the city in the way I had planned.

I pinged the bus driver at the cablebus station and he stopped on a dime… which is considerate in context… but when they hit the brakes you’re likely thrown into an old lady with a bag of apples who is an expert at crunchy looks. “Pinche güerito.”

The CDMX/MetroCard works for the train and the cablebus. Swipe the card. 7pesos (35¢U.S.). And you’re then greeted by an attendant to welcome you and get you boarded. The attendant and I had time for some small talk. She asked where I was from… and I asked her in return. “I’m from here of course… Mexico City!” she said.

I replied, “Que padre! (cool)… me gusta chilangas!!!”

She roared with laughter… I guess she’s never heard a newbie ‘Güerito’ use the term ‘Chilanga’ (slang demonym for natives of Mexico City). We exchanged names and shook hands as the cablebus door closed. It’s brand, brand new… I had a car to myself and was probably endanger of getting ‘the look’ again for standing up taking pictures.

It’s a fantastic mode of transportation. Super quiet, nice views, b-line efficiency, and they can’t be overcrowded (10 max). I ran across a teleférico system in La Paz, Bolivia. Good stuff… I think it’s totally underused in cities. Put a few lines across San Francisco… and boom! You’re rocking the casbah! It’s the only mode of public transport that I’m disappointed when the trip ends.

And the cablebus trip ended, softly and peacefully landing at Los Pinos Constituyentes. There’s a Metro stop near. I’ve traveled the Metro system enough to know my way home from there. Take line 7 to line 9, and that to line 2. The connecting stations aren’t exactly on top of each other… so it’s a fair amount of walking between. Final stop… hop on an EcoBici to ride across Coyo… and pause at the taqueria near the apartment to get some much needed fuel. There’s something called ‘alambre’ and for 80pesos feeds 2-3 people… or one famished Güerito.

It was a total of about 4 hours of travel for the day. My drinking days are over… but I threw back a few chelas with the chicas the night before… so sleep was next on the menu.

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The EcoBici is the Mexico City bike share. I signed up for a year membership ($25US). The rides are free for the first 45 minutes and there’s a pretty good spread of locations through the central part of the city and Coyoacan. The bikes have no gears but Mexico City is flat. The maintence is pretty light but they’re functional. Some streets have dedicated bike lanes… and where there’s not, it appears that drivers are aware of bicyclists and make a little space. A little space means inches/centimeters. With the heavy traffic, and in colonial areas—cobble streets, nutty bus drivers… lack of stop signs, and cars and motos going the wrong way on a one-way… you’re taking your life into your own hands.

I use EcoBici often… it feels a bit on the dangerous side… but in my early days of CDMX, I was taking an Uber to San Ángel (biking distance) during rush hour and I spotted a young lady, likely in her mid-teens, roller-blading on the street, not the bike path, the street, inches from cars and buses. Had her little pink helmet, and protective gear… swinging her arms away… skating home with the flow of traffic (at dusk) on the rough and bumpy streets of Mexico City. Impressive.

And that was that… carry with you the energy of a young woman roller blading through the streets of Mexico City… and you’ll find all the courage you need for the day.

So… with that courage… I bike… and not think much about it… and go where the wind—from passing busses—takes me.

#walklikeanameri-can

#rollergirlenergy

#cablebus

The bus wind… my roller girl energy and an airplane will take me to San Fransisco tomorrow. I will need all that stored courage to retrieve my car in south Oakland late into the evening. Alone. After that… a deeper, truer kind of love.