CDMX

I’ve been wanting to scout out the Izta-Popo national park ever since I got a sneak peek at the volcanoes while in Ikea a few months ago. Several blogs pointed at exploring this region by doing the La Joya traverse which essentially gets one to the base of the Iztaccihuatl volcano. I head out this morning to Amecameca - a small quaint town to the east of Mexico City. The bus that left TAPO [Terminal de Autobuses de Pasajeros de Oriente] around 0700 only got to Amecameca by 0900. Should have left earlier! From there at the Centro, I was able to hop into a cab that got me to Paso de Cortes around 0930. ...

Terrific night at Pinche Bar. M would have had a great time had she come.

Early this month we put in our bids for our next posting. We heard back on Monday that we’re scheduled to head to Yaounde next! This was our top bid and we’re super excited! M also heard back on her CA-AEFM position. With all the NCC and NEC moves, the LNA and ConGen training, prepping for Yaounde and a few other things, next year’s going to be super busy and interesting. ...

At 12,220 ft and after a 3-hour climb, it felt like home and more importantly I felt real strong. This was my first decent hike in quite some time now and I was pleasantly surprised my body wasn’t really complaining. Early this month, M and I spoke about getting back into the hiking circuit. It’s been about 9 months that we’ve moved to CDMX and we’ve covered a decent bunch of the touristy stuff. CDMX has so many good hikes to offer and quite a few are reasonably accessible from the city limits. With work-travel, visitors and other schedule conflicts; we felt it was reasonable for us to fit in one camping trip and one exploratory hike very month. ...

A terrific few hours in Africam Safari. Felt like we were transported to a sanctuary in Africa. Also saw a Tibetan Takin! So wild, so cool. The overcast weather made the experience even more enriching.

Was on a 3 hour gaming spree yesterday after not having played for more than a week. Time well spent!

Over the last couple weeks, a colleague and I have been trying to clean up the cable mismanagement behind our racks. To work on the equipment you’re literally standing on about 1 feet of coiled cable mess. This issue has probably been there over the last several years and nobody has paid much attention to it. Likely because it does not affect the actual functioning of the equipment? And also, this is painstakingly unrewarding work. ...

This was such a disappointment. S lost interest the moment she finished her popcorn and chips. M and I were done watching their theatrics in about twenty minutes. Definitely not recommending this to anybody we know!

S had a seemingly sudden meltdown on the way back from her roller skating class asking for a ‘Hello Kitty Donut’. She hopped off her bike and said she won’t ride it until we got her one that very instant. M told her we could talk about it once we’re home. The looming thunder clouds didn’t seem to budge her too. M seemed to have had a word with her and that somehow changed her mind - a bit. Finally she did succumb, however vehemently showing her immense dissatisfaction by bawling and walking her bike home. ...

With quite a few things constantly evolving over the last several months, I haven’t actively paid much attention to this space. I’ve posted a few micro posts now and then, but nowhere close to chronicling things as much as I’d like to. This is a quick run down of a few things occupying my mind space: It’s been about four months since we moved to Mexico City. We absolutely love it here. People are terrific, weather is just right, and this city’s got a dash of almost every city we’ve lived in so far! M&S have been able to explore the regular tourist spots thanks to the CLO trips. I’ve joined them for a few, but what I really enjoy is just experiencing the city for what it’s got to offer - And there’s no dearth to that. Absolutely blown away by the city planning and the presence of so many parks. The city is spectacularly clean for the number of people living here. Every Sunday one of the main avenues is closed out to vehicular traffic and opened out to runners, cyclists and essentially anybody who wants to enjoy the roads. Amazed at the resources that the local government is able to draw from to sustain this every single weekend! We haven’t been that lucky to find decent vegetarian food here. Most local restaurants offer some form of meat in almost all dishes and the vegetarian items are rarely tasty. Dining out definitely leaves a lot to be desired - unless of course you try out other cuisines. I’m sure there’s good food out there - yet to find it though. ...