Savouring Mexico City

Mexico City - a sprawling metropolis that could take a year to appreciate!
I have been on short trips to beach resorts in Mexico for work, but didn't really leave the manicured grounds. Michael hadn't been there at all. So really, this Senior Nomad visit to our southern neighbor was a first exposure to real Mexico for both of us.
 
Like Hawaii, Mexico offers us pale northwest denizens much needed sunshine, pristine beaches, volcanoes, palm trees, coconuts, pineapples, frothy tropical drinks, drums beating to indigenous music, whole roasted pigs and nearly naked people.


Now, with some perspective, I suggest creating a new paradise that blends the two - like shaking up a pina-garita or putting that roasted pig on some street side tiki-tacos. It would be a idyllic place where the beaches are beautiful, sidewalks aren't out to kill you, the food is incredible - and it's cheap!

Arrived in one piece - time to find the walking tour!
Back to reality. Our first destination in Mexico was the sprawling and somewhat alarming center of Mexico City. Once our taxi from the airport exited the gnarled traffic on the freeway he began a slow, hour-long crawl through streets that looked very forbidding to our neophyte eyes. There were scores of ramshackle food stalls, swarms of pedestrians wandering in and out of traffic (no doubt avoiding sprained ankles from the perils of uneven, pock-marked sidewalks), competing boom-boxes pounding music out of shabby shops, and a good number of scavenging dogs.

Just when we were reaching extreme anxiety about the location of our first Airbnb, we turned one more corner and broke into the clear. Leafy trees lined much wider streets and big park emerged straight ahead. The sidewalks began to look less like they’d been bludgeoned with sledge hammers and we passed several lovely churches. The neighborhood began to match the photos on the Airbnb listing. Whew. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5955186

Shopping at the small neighborhood grocery store - check out the faces of the ladies ahead of me!
There was still plenty of action on the street - but much less intimidating than what we'd just traversed and our Airbnb was a quiet oasis because it faced onto an interior courtyard in a new, secure building. We were also just far enough from the city center that our neighborhood, Roma DF near Condesa qualified as "trendy" and "in transition”. That meant even though there were hip cafes and bars, a few boutiques and a handful of galleries, there were still pockets of derelict storefronts, piles of trash and desperate looking people but after a few days we began to appreciate life in this complex city. And we knew we were safe because there seemed to be at least one police officer for every 10 people.

Galleries were on all sides of us.
Our hosts were a delightful young couple, Alfredo and Daphne, and their one year old son Bruno. We learned from them that when they met they each had an apartment. As the romance blossomed they rented out one or the other on Airbnb. When Bruno was on the way, they moved into a third apartment together and now have two rentals. Things are going well for them in a city where it is hard to make a living. They topped up our list of things we must see and do in Mexico City and gave us details on our immediate neighborhood and the apartment. We went to bed.

These lucky dogs spend the day in the park with their walker who also teaches them obedience drills in between strolls.
Part of the joy of being Senior Nomads is that we can "nap at will". That, and having enough time in a new city to explore at a leisurely pace. And that was a good thing as we adjusted to Mexico City’s elevation (7,200 ft) and heat. We took our usual two-hour free walking tour and spent almost a full day at the Museum of Anthropology. We also got the chance to watch the Seahawks eek out a win against the Minnesota Vikings in a great seafood restaurant with multiple big screens.

Beer. Beer with Shrimp. Beer with Shrimp and the Seahawks game on. Beuno!
We also shopped in the neighborhood markets, and I made a few Mexican inspired meals. Food is so affordable (perfect avocados at 20 cents a piece), it was easy to become inspired.

Michael being his usual helpful self with our fellow walking tour companions.
A good afternoon of shopping - ingredients for Spanish Rice and Margherita Chicken
We had dinner with the hosts that own the Airbnb where we would be staying next in San Miguel de Allende. They live in Mexico City. It turned out Mariana, our host, is a partner in a very respected bistro in Condesa so we were able to meet at the restaurant and get a sampling of local cuisine along with further tips on how to spend our time in Mexico City and of course in San Miguel. Getting to know our hosts is one of the best part of using Airbnb! And Mariana and her husband, Gustov were no exception.
A moving tribute to the 43 students missing and presumed dead after being kidnapped last year.
To be honest, we didn't bond with Mexico City during that first week - I think we were experiencing a bit of culture shock. We knew we'd be back for another week after San Miguel, so we'd just have to wait for the "magic" that made it the New York Times number one choice for the 52 places to visit in 2016. http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2016/01/07/travel/places-to-visit.html?_r=0

The famous Ideal bakery - just load up a huge silver tray from over 1,000 choices, take it to the counter and before you can say heart attack you have a large box full of goodies to go.
After ten days in San Miguel de Allende we came back to Mexico City, and we did find some magic that second week. Our Airbnb was in the very center of the city close to all the major sights and the pulsing night life of downtown. We were able to step outside our latest home and get right to the business of being tourists. And when we’d had enough we could step behind the door to the street into blissful silence because we were deep inside a converted palace! Ours was one of only 11 apartments in the complex. It was cool, comfortable and peaceful. We met our host, Juan Carlos, a great young engineer who had a hand in the refurbishment of the building and now manages the apartments. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/1022380

Our oasis in Mexico City. The perfect airbnb for sight seeing and for resting in between!
Michael was able to attend a football match in this soccer mad city and had a great experience. He’s busy writing his sports report blog on that. We become proficient in using the metro system and got further afield. A visit to the Basilica of Our Lady of Guadelupe was a moving experience.

Michael's birds-eye view of the football match. Watch for his blog about his adventure!
We sat high up in the balcony of the stunning Palace of the Arts to experience a performance of the Mexico City Folk Ballet. It was a blur of color from hundreds of amazing costumes and the music got into your soul. The Mariachi Band stole the show with a grand finale - especially with a jazz inspired dueling harps solo!
The Mexico City folk ballet was a definite highlight of our stay.
We had lunch with a former colleague of Michael’s who runs FIRST in Mexico City. We met Barbara and her son Alex at one of the city’s finest restaurants. As we ran through our adventures thus far, you could watch her turning pale as she heard about us using the metro, Michael attending a football match on his own, and, horror of horrors, eating street food. That was not her Mexico City - and she felt we were fortunate to be in one piece. She did, however, approve of the ballet.

This doesn't really even begin to show the disrepair on the sidewalks all over Mexico City.
More than once were given this sage piece of advice "when you are walking, look down - never mind the scenery or your cell phone, you don't want to break an ankle!" Never were truer words spoken. After three weeks we were fairly confident traversing the hap-hazard sidewalks and pothole riddled streets - but I am baffled that we didn’t see more walking wounded on crutches in both Mexico City and San Miguel.

The street food was tantalizing - you could eat three meals a day for under $10.
Fresh fruit with lime, chili and salt! Had to buy my own shaker to take on the road!
Perfect on pineapple, corn, and steak!
Poor walking conditions are just part of the ramshackle world that is Mexico I suppose. And worth the risk in order to get to the street food. We had heard all the warnings, but who could resist the staggering variety and the tantalizing aroma of sizzling meat (some more discernible than others), tortillas made on the spot to fill with intriguing toppings, sauces, and fresh guacamole, then there were melt in your mouth tamales and spears of perfectly ripe fruit sprinkled with lime and chili powder! All for pocket change. I knew I couldn't. And eventually, Michael couldn't either. Unfortunately on the day before we left we got hit with a dose of "tourista" after we enjoyed 5 tacos for 20 pesos (a dollar). We were unwell for a couple of days which made for awkward travel, but personally, I think it was worth every crunchy, drippy, spicy bite.

A lovely sculpture at our nearest metro station. The trains were clean, fast and crowded!
In the end, I would describe Mexico like an impressionist painting covered with bold stokes of vibrant color and dark smudges that when viewed as a whole, becomes a clear and very beautiful picture of a country full of warm, proud people who celebrate life as it comes. 

Thanks for following along,

Debbie and Michael
The Senior Nomads

Heading to Cuba!


 Michael and I head to Cuba for three weeks tomorrow morning! We are so excited about exploring that amazing island - and we're going to do it by bus! We've got 5 Airbnbs lined up in different cities and they all look very interesting. Our first stay will be with a Sylvio & Julia, Airbnb hosts from Havana we met at the Airbnb Open in Paris last November. Their home looks beautiful - and as with all the others, we will eat our meals there with other guests. https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5704246

We are both looking forward to a lull in internet connection and cellphone coverage. We have plenty of reading and writing to do - but we also plan on slipping into the past and enjoying some "island time". 

Sylvio & Julia spoke on the Keynote stage ahead of us, right after Airbnb announced their successful launch in Cuba. Currently there are over 3,000 listings there! Here's a great article from Fast Company that summarizes how it happened way better than I could!

 http://www.fastcompany.com/3044895/most-creative-people/no-internet-no-credit-cards-no-problem-how-airbnb-launched-in-cuba

I had so much to say about Mexico that I am still working on that blog! Should be out as soon as I have a good internet connection! We look forward to sharing that experience and our Cuban adventures after we get back on the 26th of February.

Debbie and Michael Campell
The Senior Nomads

Mexico to the Letter


We had a rough take-off from Seattle on our journey to Mexico. I know we've all had airline fiascoes, but to be honest, in over two and a half years we've rarely had a problem with an airline or an airport. But this incident could have been a game changer. Luckily, there was a happy landing.

Early in December Michael booked our flight to Mexico and we found three perfect Airbnbs for our destinations there. We were all set, so we turned our attention to enjoying the holidays in the Pacific Northwest.

We enjoyed time in Seattle, Portland and Sun Valley while we were home in December.
We didn't think much further about our upcoming trip until Michael logged on to confirm our flights. He noticed that he had left the letter "p" out of my last name when he made the reservations, so he reached out to Expedia, where he had purchased the tickets, to make the correction. Here is their response "certainly, we can help you with that, however there is a change fee of $192." For a keystroke? It wasn't like we were changing our itinerary! They took a firm position that it was the airline that was charging the fee, and they were merely passing it on.

Possibly the representative from Expedia.
We decided if that was the case, we'd be our most charming selves when we got to the airport and see if Alaska Airlines would make this simple change on the spot. And at that point, we weren't even sure it was a problem - it was just a "p". At the airport we found out it was more than a problem - it was a "you can't fly internationally if the name on the reservation doesn't match your passport" sort of problem. A start-over situation looked imminent.
It's never fun to be behind the passengers with a problem!
We were a two hours early so we were confident it would all work out.  Fate delivered us to the check-in counter served by Kristi, whom we now call "Kristi the Super Agent". At first, she thought she would able to make the change, but her system would not allow it. Then whatever supervisor she was on hold with for ten minutes said absolutely not - Expedia issued the tickets and they would have to take care of it. By now, Kristi had heard the Senior Nomad story and she was not going to let the side down. She called Expedia herself. As many of us know, trying to speak to a human being at Expedia or Amazon, or any other online merchant is like trying to find a distant galaxy without a telescope. But she persevered. The warm body she finally found needed to speak to her own supervisor and that took another hour on hold, only to find out since we'd already technically checked in they could no longer help. Kristi continued to furiously tap away at her computer looking for solutions. She was still getting stonewalled from her side and Delta - our carrier from LAX to Mexico city wouldn't help either. I was standing to one side like excess baggage, but one thing being a Nomad has taught us is patience. Patience and flexibility. 

This isn't Kristi, but a good stand-in.
Kristi spend over two hours with us, and in the end, for miraculous reasons only God can explain she was finally given the go ahead to make the change. A keystroke or two later all was right with the world. Meanwhile we had missed our first flight to Los Angeles so she booked us on the next flight that would still allow us a short window to make our Delta connection at LAX. At security my boarding pass wouldn't scan. So we had to run back to Kristi and get a new one - she gave me TSA pre-check status on that one! You can be sure we sent a glowing recommendation to her boss.

At least Sea-Tac is a nice place to spend time.
Onward Senior Nomads! Until we got to the gate and found our flight was delayed for two hours because our pilots were flying into Seattle on another delayed flight. Meanwhile our bags were potentially on their merry way to Mexico - lucky bags.

In the end we took the delayed flight, spend a very short night at a hotel near the LAX airport (courtesy of Alaska because the delay was their fault) and then flew on to Mexico City the next morning. By a second miracle, our bags tagged along on the same flight.

Checking in at the Sheraton LAX at 1:00 am with our carry-on bags the clothes on our backs.
The irony of this story is that the only real travel challenges we've had in two and half years have been in customs in Seattle. Coming home I've been stopped three times - once going through immigration. And twice in the customs hall. The challenge in immigration was, according to a dour-faced agent, that I no longer looked like my 8 year old passport photo. True - my hair is longer and a foxy silver blond, and I have lost 25 pounds by walking at least 10,000 steps a day along with clean living, but that had never happened in the other 45 other countries we visited. That added almost an hour spent in a small room waiting for additional dour-faced officials to decide that yes, I was Debbie Campbell with a "p" in the right place. The second time I forgot I had oranges in my carry-on. My mistake, but it sidelined us to the agriculture line for people-who-should-know-better. Another lost hour. And this last time, we were automatically sent to that same line, because maybe I hadn't learned my lesson. I had no oranges, meat, cheese or tropical birds in my bags so we were set free in our own city! Welcome home.

This is my new passport photo.
We arrived in Mexico City a little on the frazzled side - but that was a perfect match to the city itself. As our taxi from the airport crawled along in freeway traffic and then onto tight, crowded streets filled with ramshackle food stands, double parked cars, and swarming pedestrians, we were growing nervous about our first Airbnb choice. Our good fortune returned however, and after a few more turns we were in the clear. Our new home for that first week was in the trendy Roma/Condesa neighborhood. Here's the link: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5955186. It was a quiet, comfortable oasis from the busy streets outside our door, and our hosts were a delightful young couple (and baby Bruno) who gave us great tips and helped us many times as we found our feet.

The view of Mexico City from the roof deck of our building.
Since then we've been to the captivating city of San Miguel de Allende for a ten day stay and have just arrived back in Mexico City for a week. I will catch you up on all our Mexican adventures next time. Adios!

Thanks for following along. You can find us on facebook at Senior Nomads and follow us on instagram @seniornomads.

Debbie and Michael
The Senior Nomads






Senior Nomads 2016


Happy to be home in Seattle for the holidays before starting Senior Nomads 2016
The Senior Nomads are on the road! After spending Thanksgiving with our French family in Paris and six weeks at home in Seattle for the Christmas holidays, we charted a course for another round of our adventures. Well, a partial course. We started in Mexico City on January 5th where we worshiped the Sun God and did some fabulous food grazing. Our young hosts, Alberto and Daphne (and one year old son Bruno) welcomed us to their city. Here's a link to that airbnb: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/5955186 Currently we are four hours north in San Miguel de Allende for the next ten days: https://www.airbnb.com/rooms/6569224 Then we head back to Mexico City for a week before a much anticipated visit to Cuba for three weeks! That gets us through February.

After that we are not sure where the March winds will blow us, but we are excited about the possibility of connecting with the Junior Nomads - that would be our son Alistair and his family, somewhere in South America as they continue their world tour.

The  Junior Nomads in Cambodia. They are currently in Thailand as they continue the #campbellamble.
Last summer we took the last step to becoming true Nomads and sold our home. It was odd to be in Seattle knowing that we could no longer open our own front door - but it also gave us even more freedom to continue our travels. During our stay our generous friends the Robinsons took us in, so we were well looked after and enjoyed a festive few weeks at home.

A perfect winter's day walking around Seattle's beloved Greenlake.
One of the reasons we embarked on this journey 2 1/2 years ago was some uncertainty around what our retirement would look like. We have a nest egg - not ostrich egg size, but not sparrow sized either. So the questions that we, like so many of our friends were facing, centered when to retire, and when we did so, how to make that nest egg last. And of course there were so many scenarios to consider. Did we want to continue living in Seattle? Or should we move to Portland or Paris to be closer to grandchildren? We both love to work, and thought we might be able to find a way to add to the retirement funds - we just weren't sure how to combine that with the freedom that retirement supposedly brings. One thing was certain - we had least one more adventure is us, and we weren't ready for rocking chairs.
Many of our followers know our story, but for those that don't, three years ago when we were contemplating our options, our daughter Mary, who lives in France with her French husband and three young children suggested we travel full time - especially in Europe. I am certain there was an ulterior motive there - but it got us thinking! She also asked if we had heard of Airbnb. We had not. Once we started to explore the possibilities of full-time travel staying in Airbnbs we discovered we could actually afford to give it a try! Four months later we booked tickets to Paris in left Seattle in July with a goal of traveling for six months.

We rented our house and filled a small storage unit with whatever we didn't sell or give-away. We sold our sailboat and we keep one car at my brother's house. The rest of our worldly goods fit inside two large suitcases, two day-packs and a generous purse. So wherever we end up after our travels, there won't be much to move!
 
Our storage unit. You never know when you might need a metal horse and your Pantone color guides!
We keep a daily journal and today is day #917 since we left Seattle. I guess we took Mary's suggestion to the extreme. Since we booked those first tickets in 2013 we've visited 46 countries, 129 cities and are currently in our 87th Airbnb home - and we are staying fairly close to what our budget would have been had we retired somewhere in the Northwest. Close enough to keep going.

We have filled 10 journals with our daily activities and spending since we left.
Now, instead of opening just one front door, we've opened 87. Instead of retiring in our own home, we live our daily lives in other peoples homes around the world. It's been the most gratifying experience you could ever imagine. Each new home we temporarily call our own home gives us first hand experiences of living like locals. We shop, we cook, we sleep-in, we do chores, we work and we learn everyday.

A recent front door in San Francisco opened one of our favorite Airbnbs.
At this point, we envision continuing our nomadic lifestyle until we run out of money, stop having fun, stop learning, have serious health issues or fall out of love.  Here is a story that ran last spring in The Seattle Times about the Senior Nomads: http://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/seattle-couples-retirement-29-countries-46-airbnb-apartments/ 

 Mexico has been a great start to a new season of travel. Part of what makes this work for us is to stretch ourselves to embrace the local culture. We are not on vacation, we are just living our lives in other peoples homes in other neighborhoods.  I know we were seeing things that most tourists would miss. I will tell you more about our Mexican experiences in my next post.

Still in love, but not this thin in Mexico City!
Thank you for following along. For more frequent updates follow us on Facebook at Senior Nomads. Happy New Year!

Debbie and Michael Campbell
The Senior Nomads