by Allan Taylor

Created on: February 02, 2010

The largest city in the world, so they say ... more than 20 million people and possibly the worst air pollution!   Would the pilot see the airport for smog, I wondered?

For this reason, I had ambivalent feelings about flying to Mexico City.  Better go by bus.

I was loath to leave the sun and surf of Acapulco, the premier Mexican Pacific beach resort. To visit "el DF" as the locals call it (el Distrito Federal), was a daunting thought.

I took a luxury bus ride to the capital. The highway climbs through rocky, barren mountains studded with cacti. Isolated corn fields and children riding donkeys broke the monotony.

Mexico City sprawls across the altiplano at 2240 meters altitude and is ringed by mountains. Automobile exhausts and industrial pollution can create a great smog, especially when the phenomenon of thermal inversion occurs. This happens when the warm Pacific air flows over the Valley of Mexico and traps the cooler polluted air at ground level which rapidly becomes even more polluted.

Air pollution levels are continually monitored. At a specific high level there is a mandatory reduction in certain industrial activity and use of automobiles is discouraged. People are advised to stay indoors and if venturing on the streets, to wear a "mascarilla", or face mask. One occasion during my December visit visibility was down to 4 kms briefly, otherwise things were OK. This means there are no twinkling stars at night time.

I arrived at Terminal Sur full of apprehension. But slowly this evaporated! I found the taxis well organized. I went to a kiosk and explained where I want to go, paid a standard fee, got my ticket and fronted up to the taxi rank.

"Lléveme al zócalo, por favor." I wanted to go to the central plaza. My Lonely Planet Guide mentioned several economical backpackers close to the zocalo.

The Zócalo is one of the world’s biggest plazas measuring 240 meters square. A monster size Mexican flag flies in the center. The entire northern side is taken up with the Metropolitan Cathedral, perceptibly leaning this way and that, and on the east side is the National Palace and entrance underground to the metro station.

The metro is fantastic! For only a few pesos you can go anywhere all day with transfers on nine lines. The trains are rubber-wheeled, long, crowded, fast and zoom by every 30 seconds or so. The 135 metro stations are modern, often with shopping malls. Amazingly, the metro actually goes to the airport and

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