#28: Travelogue: Do's & Don'ts in Mexico City
By FNM
What To Do
When in Mexico City, do sign up for a bike tour around the city. You will meet interesting people from around the world visiting the country. For example, Anne, a gentle older lady that seemed a bit reserved at first. It only took a smile and greeting to get her to open up. She shared that she was from Santa Cruz, and that her husband had passed away two years ago. This explained the sad eyes she always seemed to have. She was grieving the loss of love.
I asked what she was doing to process this grief, and she was eager to share her detailed plan to go to Peru and meet a shaman. This shaman would preform a ritual that involved the usage of ayahuasca, a potent psychoactive substance derived from a plant, hopefully to eliminate her of grief. Her farewells to us seemed hard for her to do.
Anyhow, I hope she finds the peace she is looking for. That type of pain is hard to deal with.
What Not To Do
If you have a crippling fear of heights, I would advise (from personal experience), to find any other tourist activity rather than going on a hot air balloon.
We woke up at 4 AM and took an Uber to a town an hour away. I thought maybe that was enough time to overcome this fear, but I was wrong. I repeated to myself that fear was just a mental challenge. In turns out, fear is also a physical feeling. I tried to ignore the fact that I was about to willingly go on a vehicle propelled by wind and fire being held by nothing but a basket with no restraints. I was able to keep my composure while they blew air into the balloon. I was also able to manage myself when the flames were ignited, in fact, I thought it was beautiful.
My fear seemed at bay. I even went as far as to board the craft.  As they packed us in the balloon basket like sardines I felt the reality of what I was doing kick in. I felt very nervous and panicky, and my intrusive thoughts got the best of me. The captain began to lift the balloon into the air and with every inch of ascent I began to panic. I urgently decided that I would get off no matter what it took. While the ballon raised into the air about half a foot off the ground I abandoned mission and jumped out. The captain and passengers gasped. I’m sure the captain cussed me out in Spanish. A small price to pay for the immediate relief I felt grounded to the earth again.
I’m sure it was beautiful up there. But regardless, a man must choose his battles.
