Mexico 2018 - Mexico City (CDMX) arrival

It's new years day 2018 and here I am again in CDMX, staying with Alfonso at Anys as always. Feeling weary from the travel.  Few trips that involve air travel go smoothly these day and this was no exception.  Nothing bad actually happened other than delays causing stress, racing through airports loaded down, barely making connecting flights but considering the number of flights there are at any given time it's amazing that it works as well as it does. Alfonso was out when I got there but since it was still relatively early, I went to see if I could catch the music and fireworks at the Angel de Independencia but the reality was that I was too tired and it was too dark and quiet in the neighbourhood to feel comfortable so I went back to Anys.  I stopped at a 7/11 on the way just a couple of blocks from home and discovered that the street was totally blocked off due to earthquake damage.

As I was getting out of the shower, I heard Alfonso calling out for me to come up on the roof with him to see the fireworks.  Not super pyrotechnics but it was good to see Alfonso and chat for a while.  

Things were more or less back to normal after the New Years festivities so today I went shopping at the Mercado, happy to have some nice produce.  Later I wandered around the neighbourhood to photograph the damage from the earthquake.  It was strange how it happened.  Isolated buildings damaged and vacant right between undamaged buildings.  Right across the street from Anys is a newish looking apt building all askew and empty with the adjacent buildings unaffected.  

Other buildings completely wrecked, again, right next to completely intact ones.  

Another interesting wrinkle here is the fact that the, as happened last year when I was here, water has been shut off for Mexico City so that they can do maintenance on the system.  Can you imagine.  25 million people without water.  Those who can afford it have trucks deliver it.  Alfonso has three gigantic tanks for the hotel but they're running low.  Apparently it will get turned on Thursday so he may have to buy some tomorrow.  He said that they do this on big holidays like Christmas and Easter because so many people leave Mexico City.  Ah, Mexico.