Day 9

After a night of sleeping like the dead, we had the opportunity to do a little exploring in this colonial city before our drive back to Mexico City. After a hearty breakfast at the hotel, we headed out as a group and did a little exploring, eventually ending up at a large open-air market, similar to ones we’d seen in Mexico City and Amecameca, although this one was definitely focused a bit more towards the tourist. Most of the booths and shops had all kinds of Mexico souvenirs, some authentic and some downright cheesy (seriously, who wants a desktop clock embedded in a porcelain taco?). We spent a couple hours wandering around, and I eventually found an attractive trio of coffee mugs that I bought for my wife.

Finally, it was back to the hotel and then bundling into our trusty Suburban for one more drive, back to the Hotel Fleming in Mexico City. A few hair-raising hours of traffic later, we pulled up to the hotel and were greeted by none other than our long-lost expedition team member, Owen (remember, he left the group at Izta). Turns out he made it back to Mexico City without incident and had spent the week actually working (via a local satellite office). We did our best to let him know he had been missed, and that he’d missed out!

After checking in, showering, and changing into fresh clothes (aaaahhhhhhh!), we headed out for a celebratory meal, complete with champagne toast, courtesy of Eric. By the time dinner was done I had just about had enough fun, plus I had an early flight to catch. So I had them drop me off at the hotel while everyone else (who had scheduled flights at more sane times of the day) headed out for a little more sightseeing (which I am sure included a tour of local bars!).

Day 10

Being an early riser, I had scheduled a 6:30 flight out of Mexico City, and remembering the nightmarish drive from the airport to begin with, I figured I needed to give myself 3 hours to get there, get checked in, get through security, etc., etc. Enrique had graciously agreed to drop by and give me a lift to the airport, even at such an obscene time of day. I was grateful for that, since it meant I didn’t have to worry about a cab or any details like that.

Of course, 3:30 in the morning generally has much less congestion than 2 in the afternoon, a fact highlighted by the barely 15-minute drive to the airport from the hotel on empty roads (contrasted with the 90 minutes it took in traffic). Needless to say, I found myself at the airport embarrassingly early. After bidding goodbye and thank-you to Enrique, I ended up catnapping in the nearly deserted terminal until the ticket counters came online around 5:30 – and then it was a light snooze at the gate prior to boarding and takeoff.

The flight from Mexico City to Houston was uneventful, as was the connection from Houston to Denver. I spent the time pouring over pictures and replaying the trip highlights in my mind. Overall, a great success, even with the acclimatization problems on Izta. This is a trip I’ll remember for a long, long time.