Coming Into Mexico

I don't think I've ever had to fill out so much paperwork to get past customs. I filled in declarations, a tourist card and got my bags x-rayed a lot coming into Mexico City. Once I got past the airport customs I had to empty my carry-on and get frisked yet again to get on a bus from the airport to Queretaro. My friend, Dave, told me that particular bus gets held up fairly often so maybe that's why. What a change from my last visit in the late 1970s!

The ride to Queretaro was interesting. There are miles of block and brick dwellings, jumbles of tiny rooms stacked on each other haphazardly as if they get added on in one good year, then painted some bright crazy color in another good year. Hot pink and chartreuse are big hits. Many remain drab, though. I find them all very fascinating. There is usually a wall separating these blocks upon blocks of dwellings from the main road and those walls are decorated with graffitti, some quite good. Mile after mile you see water tanks atop these dwellings, as well as on the richer homes. I asked Dave about them and was told they pump the water up and then have water when the glitches happen in the community supply, which happens fairly often. Well, that's thinking, I say.

The landscape is rather dry, sort of like in Texas, and the look is that of past volcanic eruptions. There aren't many trees but there are areas where one sees cactus and agave of notable size. I hope to eat some of that for lunch tomorrow. The sky is so so blue and the sunset was a beautiful orange. Too bad I didn't get photos. I will try later.