Friday, September 25, 2026

Why I Decided NOT To Live In Colombia

At least not yet, writing from my apartment in Argentina....

2010, 29 years old, my first trip to Colombia and South America!

2010: My first trip to Colombia, the first time I ever set foot in South America, and the trip that made this blog titled "6 of the 7 continents". Colombia was number 6! I never thought I'd reach Antarctica for continent number 7, but life blessed me New Year's 2023, and I may even be going back this year, but that's another article. I landed in Cartagena and it was 8 days that changed my life in a way forever. I loved it, I loved South America, I loved the culture, the people, the food, the rhythm... Everything. I had a feeling I would be back, to Colombia, or another country in South America? Maybe both. That feeling was correct. I have been to Colombia now 4 times. I have visited every country in South America except Venezuela, it's on the list, and I am now living in Argentina. It all began with that fateful trip 16 years ago.

My second trip to Colombia was a bit more special. Medellin in 2015ish... This time I was a much more seasoned traveler, spoke better Spanish, and my eyes were not just opening to the world outside USA, they were consuming, processing, and calculating my future somewhere else one day. In those days, I highly considered Colombia to live. Especially that trip. Medellin was new, fresh, safe (ish), economic, and so different from where I lived. I spend the next 11 years working in the USA and of course traveling. I wanted to see and do everything and maybe one day, leave the USA to live abroad... Colombia was high on the list! So high I decided to make a trial run, it would be one of three trial runs of where my next long term stay would be, Italy was the other, and you guessed the third where I live now, Argentina. So why did Colombia not become home?

Medellin cable car

Immigration:

So this was trip three of four. I landed in Medellin in February of 2025. I was excited to visit not as a tourist, but as someone who was doing moving research. I would visit there and three other cities over the month. The rule was simple, keep tourism minimal, try to live the daily life there and figure out the logistics of living there. I should probably write another article on that! Anyway I landed in Medellin, and the problems started as soon as I got off the plane... Customs and passport control was EXTREMELY long. 2 hours. When I got to the end of the line they asked me a few basic questions, I don't know if they are understaffed, or over visited.. But where ever I would choose to be home base was going to be just that, home base, I don't plan on stopping travel anytime soon. The idea of 2 hours for immigration every time I come back home was not too appealing, factoring in the same year I got global entry and it hasn't taken me more than 2 minutes to re-enter the USA since I got it. The airport is not close to the city either, about 40 minutes. So I could take a short flight to Panama City, Peru, etc, and the customs and taxi to get home would be longer than the flights!

Medellin Changed, & I Changed

Medellin 2015

I got to my Airbnb late after that 2 hour wait, breathed in the jungle air, it was good to be back, and I didn't want to sleep just yet. There were lots of bars and restaurants on my block, I decided to go out for a walk, and maybe a drink or two. As I walked the street I wasn't greeted to the sounds of Colombia, I heard English being spoken EVERYWHERE, the same music I was listening to in Scottsdale before I left, seemingly even the same restaurants... The city changed. When I first came here it was a bit touristic, now it was Disney World. The little Colombian restaurants had all turned into giant Cheeseburger chain restaurants, not the big one, McDonalds, but it lost flavor both in a culinary and cultural way. I was in the touristic center, so I thought, I should get around and see more... It didn't work. The problem when I visited the other neighborhoods was it was nothing, things closed at 7pm, or the streets were barren from the get go. Plus the gyms in those neighborhoods kind of sucked. The gyms in the center were great, better than my first time here, grocery stores were also top notch, but with the good, comes the bad.

I changed. Saturday night it was time to party! I made some friends and even had a random run in with a friend from Phoenix for the first time in my travel life, so I wasn't going to go out alone. We headed downtown.... The drink prices were damn near equal to Scottsdale, the places were too crowded, the music was too loud, there were too many hookers! Ok I sound like my Dad now... Maybe not quite with the hooker part, but the point is the party scene is great when you are in your 20's or maybe even my 30s, but now at 45... It didn't feel quite like something I wanted every weekend. We had a blast that night, drank till 3am or 4am, met cool people, danced, etc. But it's not something I have any desire to do on a regular basis anymore at age 45.

Trying to blend in like a local

Then of course the night life, or really any life in other areas I checked out, was pretty non-existent. Laureles was ok... But the problem was off the main strip safety was a big issue. It was on to Cali next.

Cali: No... At Least For Now

This wasn't as easy to write off, and to be honest, I would still give it a little chance. It was like stepping back into the early 2000s Medellin as far as culture. It felt a lot more Colombian and a lot less corporate. The gyms weren't quite as good as Medellin, but they had what I needed. Grocery was the same, not top notch, but I'm mainly a man of chicken and vegetables when I cook at home... Although Argentina has added a lot more steak! The weather was the heat I enjoyed, the food, the vibe, the downtown area, it was all excellent. Some of the areas I really loved. On one night in a bar on a side street in Granada on a Friday night, I was enjoying a beer, and truly living in the moment, and I thought... This is it... This is my next home. The street was safe, there were lots of people out, great party vibe, but not too much, great restaurants, cafes, extremely safe, police everywhere, people seemed very chill, and polite... I felt great!

Overlooking the beautiful landscape from Cali

I headed back to the same area that next day, during the day I discovered even more that I loved about the Granada area. I was practically signing an apartment lease... I needed more! Then I headed back of course for dinner that night, it wasn't the weekend, Monday or maybe Tuesday now... Shit changed... Big time. I used to be a cop a long time ago in the NYPD. We had to go to the jails regularly to drop people off or pick people up, I would feel a hell of a lot safer in the jails in the Brooklyn South Precinct without my gun than I felt in the streets that night in Granada. The place was night and day difference from weekend, to weekday. The other areas I checked out were safer, but virtually not much to do. I really loved Cali, and maybe one day I will live there but for now and at that time Granada was out, Cali was out.

Bogota: Last Chance At The Capital

Ahhh Bogota, an old friend.... I also hit Barranquilla during the trip, but that was solely for Carnival! Bogota was more to visit friends than anything else, it's a beautiful city, but I also knew going in that the weather is not my scene, and it has too much of a big city vibe. I still wanted to give it a chance, but things just didn't fit, like Cali, my favorite neighborhood La Candelaria is great by day but questionable at night. The traffic, the volume of people, the city air, not quite my scene. Chapinero is a nice area, but again, it just didn't feel right.

It was great to see friends there, and those friends walked me through everything I would need to live there. The cities have all the modern city things that I would like that go beyond tourism, think things like door dash, amazon, uber, autopay for your gas/electric bill, the modern luxuries or the Colombian equivalents. But the negatives kind of outweighed the positives. Throughout the whole trip I also of course was reviewing my options to legally stay there. For my other choices, Italy, I have an Italian Passport and Argentina I had an American friend that bought a place down there and already walked me through the basics of legally living there. The Nomad Visas, Rentista Visas, or Pensionado Visa all seemed a lot more complicated than moving to Europe with citizenship or the Argentina citizenship process, now that I am living in Argentina I may have been wrong about that last part, the visa process here has been a ride through hell! But too late now for the Visa pros and cons!

So at that point, I was also journaling the whole process, categories, tracking daily spending, some boring stuff, some interesting stuff that shows up on this blog. And when I got back I read through the notes, already kind of knowing, I wasn't going to live there. I cannot stress how much I loved Cali, and how I am missing it now just writing about it, but it wasn't going to be my home. At least for now, who knows what the future holds. I know however that I love this country, and will always come back to it.

Lessons Learned

Lessons, don't plan 10 years in advance, maybe even 5 is too much. Cities change, countries change, and of course, you change. The 5 year plan is probably reasonable but have a back up plan.
Visit as a person living there, not as a tourist, I did this extremely well I think, rather than the Pablo Escobar tour, or visiting the Salt Mines, think about what you will do almost daily there. For me the important things were gyms, nightlife, cafes, music stores, live music scene, and supermarkets.
Healthcare: I don't have any health problems, but it would be naive not to factor this in. And I will say here Argentina where I live now is certainly not as good as my other option Italy, or of course my home country the USA.
Taxes.... Yep, do the homework here to on liabilities, etc. It sucks! But it's something you will need to factor in.
Budget: Don't go with chatgpt, or forums, crunch your own numbers, when I was analyzing everything in day to day spending, it was cheaper than Scottsdale, but not by much. Rent was easily a big savings compared to rent in the USA, but you gotta eat, you gotta have internet, gas, electric, etc.
If you can, by all means do the trial dip before you jump in. I am so grateful that I had the chance to visit all 3 countries for more than a month in "life mode" rather than "tourist mode". It greatly helped with my decision, and my life now.

6 of the 7 continents, 2010 that dream was complete, and of course as stated, it's now all 7. I thought when I hit 6, life would slow down, travel would slow down, but it's been quite the opposite. A lot of my life revolves now around travel, the trips to Colombia forever shaped who I am today. I love it, and I want to be a part of it, but living is just not right for me, at least for now. Like all places I have been to, I am grateful for everything it gave me. I am now living in a small town outside of Buenos Aires as my expat life in Argentina began in April of 2026. I'm loving life, loving South America, loving what the world gave me, exploring what I can give back, and always thinking about where the world will take me next. I never could have done any of this, without Colombia.

29 years old in Cartagena, it seems now like a lifetime ago

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Thursday, September 17, 2026

Antarctica: I'm Going Back On The Ice!

My first trip to Antarctica New Year's 2023

Well.. The title breaks it down well, I hit the ice the first time in 2022, to celebrate New Year's in Antarctica. Continent number 7, New Year's on all 7 continents, and I hit the Human Flag on all 7 continents. This blog was as you may have noticed never written with the intention to hit all 7. But life changed a lot, that's covered in the prior articles, so lets get to the return trip I just booked! I am living in Argentina. When I moved down here it was my goal and dream to visit all the places that are nearby that normally would have been a long international flight from the USA. I have already been making my way around Argentina, I have a short trip to Brazil planned in March, and I am hoping to visit Easter Island in Chile early next year. A lot of places I love, are now a lot closer, and of course, one of them is Antarctica.

Since I wrote my first article on How To Go To Antarctica in September 2011, not much has changed. There's a few more fly options, but they certainly aren't cheap. However, the item I wrote last on the list of that fateful article, "If you live in Argentina".... I live in Argentina. I mentioned Ushuaia, and how if you are present cruises can be 75% cheaper when they are unsold. I personally witnessed that the first time I went to Antarctica... A bed in a triple share for $3,000... I had paid around $12,000 for a window suite with some dude I never met sleeping in the bunk adjacent to mine. He was a retired Australian military guy, I was a firefighter, we enjoyed the cruise, and camped separate nights so at least one night it didn't have the hostel vibes. I loved the experience of traveling solo, I met great people, and I set foot on the continent, it was by no means a budget trip, but I never wanted to do it that way again.

So cut to Argentina, I moved here in April, I had been looking at Antarctica deals since April, but just casually, I figured when the season got closer I'd start throwing out some lines... Right about the end of August, I contacted every company that goes there, there's not many. Including the first company I cruised with, Oceanwide. I told them who I was, I lived in Argentina, it would not be my first time there, I am self employed and can be in Ushuaia on 1 days notice for the right cruise. Within a week, the insanity of the offers was blowing my mind, the sailing trips in particular were cheaper than some of my domestic vacations in the USA. But I wasn't going alone this time, my girlfriend down here is joining, and lets just say her sea legs are not as ready for a small boat as mine (I love you if you are reading this baby!), so we opted for something similar to Antarctica Part 1.

The fly and cruise deals were even good. These deals that when I searched in 2022 were $20,000+ were now $7,000 or so. The same cruise I had taken in 2022, was 20% cheaper, I had to go back to the states at the end of November and we are planning a New Year's trip to Asia, so even though now I had my pick of the litter, I had to narrow it down a bit. I didn't want to go straight from Antarctica to USA, or straight from the ice to Asia. So then one day I got an email from Freestyle Adventure travels. They gave the usual hello email and asked for what I was looking for specifically. I did the camping and mountaineering last time. So this time was going to be more humble, hiking, snow shoeing, maybe kayak. It was all based on if the deal was good or not. They sent me an email with 5 or 6 cruises, all were amazing deals, all were extremely cheap, or at least Antarctica cheap. One of the options was $6,000 for the two of us in a window cabin. So half price of what I paid 4 years ago! I was going to book it, but then they sent me an email for the same cruise, two weeks earlier, with a balcony suite, for $8,000 each. To put this in perspective, the same suite in 2022 would have been somewhere around $30,000... Each! Plus the dates were much better for my USA trip.

Not only was I sold, but I was a bit panicked! I researched everyone involved to make sure it wasn't a scam, how could it be almost what I paid 4 years ago now for two people in a balcony suite!? I hit all the forums, tripadvisor, google, etc. I even called the banks involved. Which ended up not being necessary because I paid in the end with credit card, those points are going to cover the New Year's Hotel in Tokyo! This trip also includes a night in a luxury resort in Ushuaia, and all the snow gear needed, which we need a bit because Buenos Aires winters aren't that bad. Last time I paid for all that upfront.

By the way, I absolutely loved the first trip, and Oceanwide, but it was New Year's, the peak week/peak day of the peak season, and I booked it over a year in advance. This was the art of the last minute deal. So we are booked. I paid for the cruise 50 days before departure. I had a funny call with the girl asking if things could get even cheaper...

Me: "I don't know, things always happen, someone can get in a car accident, and break a leg, and they can't go."

Her: "It's so expensive they usually break their leg a few months before."

Anyway, $16,000 is certainly not cheap. But for all things Antarctica, its a great deal. Enough about the booking... I'm super excited to go back. It was a dream that I thought would never happen, and now I'm going for the 2nd time. I feel blessed beyond belief, and I am looking forward to sharing it with someone this time. We are ready to sail the drake lake, or the drake shake. We are ready to see the glaciers, say hi to the penguins, maybe the mighty whales, we are ready to kayak, hike, or snow shoe... I can't wait to breathe the crisp cold air, and to see the iceberg blue shades that I swear I have seen nowhere else in this world... Antarctica captured my heart the first time, it showed me the bottom of the world in a way I'll never forget. And now, I get to go back to the ice. I can't wait.

See you soon....

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Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Being Nomadic, AKA The Freedom Of Getting Rid of Shit

My life in 2 suitcases & 2 guitars

The time had finally come it was April of 2026 and I was about to hand my home of over 15 years off to a property management company and begin my life as an expat abroad, starting in Argentina... I knew I couldn't bring too much as it would be a matter of whatever I could carry to the airport, that decision became 2 checked bags, one back pack, and two guitars. After 45 years on the Earth, it was time to get rid of all the other shit. I knew I would ultimately be happy with the decision but expected some depression from getting rid of stuff early on... That turned out to be very wrong!

Lets start with what I brought beyond the common sense things that everyone brings overseas (some clothes, important documents, etc):

The 2 Guitars, I have 5, but I had a hard case for my electric which I would put in the fate of baggage handlers and carry the other. It wouldn't save me a ton of money, but I really liked these guitars. That being said if the airline destroyed em I'd buy new ones. Update: the electric guitar made it in great shape!
Certain guitar pedals, hard to find overseas, made life easier bringing them.
Vocal microphones, small and way cheaper to buy in the USA.
Harmonicas, same thing.
Two coffee mugs, I literally brought these because there was so much extra space in my second luggage and they were both a homage to my life in the USA so I felt I'd bring a part of me there. If there was no space they would have sailed off into the trash.
2 hard disk drives, these were SUPER IMPORTANT, I said planning on moving abroad, the most important things I owned were photos, music, videos, and guitars. 3 out of the 4 all fit on a hard disk. I also sent one to my brother as a third back up. Normal photos sailed off to trash which we will discuss next, but it was important for the memories to bring the hard disks with me.
I am born in the '80s, so I still had a few photo books from my childhood, and even my early twenties. I didn't want to get rid of these, but it was also unrealistic to carry around photos for the rest of my life. I found a great company called Legacy box, not sponsored, sent them the photos and they sent me back a hard drive. Easy peasy and the memories can now travel with me forever.
Flair Bottles, I have a super weird hobby from my bartending days of flipping bottles, I didn't check before I left but I venture to say it may be difficult to find these in Argentina. Turns out when I arrived I could have got them there as well. You live you learn.

Now lets get to the getting rid of shit, aka the fun part!

The day I flew out I realized that the above was too much shit! I planned on getting rid of more shit when I got to Buenos Aires, yes I literally was bringing things to another continent just to ultimately get rid of them. I was so frustrated that I didn't even wait to get to Buenos Aires. At the airport in Phoenix, my carry on with essentials had things that weren't so essential. For example a nice watch in a box... I don't need the box! Some documents over 15 years old... Don't need em!!! I also only had my first apartment for a month so after the big move, I would move all my personal stuff again, this was a good opportunity to reevaluate. Here's some things I did wrong and either changed or would have changed:

CDs, Back to the '80s, or perhaps the '90s. I had a collection of CDs forever. I haven't played them since the early 2000s at best. But I kept them on my wall, kind of a decoration or homage to the bands I like. I always joke that I knew I would never play them again, it was more like an art display. I really did not want to get rid of them, I even considered just putting them up in the attic, the heat would ruin them, but they would still be the art. During this period. I had spent not joking, around $19,000 on my house on upgrades and things to rent it out. And I saw I could sell the CDs for about $200, I decided why not! I probably spent about $2,000 on the CDs, but it wasn't really about money, I just wanted to know they had a good at home. Hopefully the people that bought them on eBay from me or enjoying them now.
Socks and underwear... For my normal trips this is the most important thing to load up on, I say you can wear a shirt two or three times in good weather without washing it but you certainly can't do that with socks and underwear. These are also the most easily replaceable items, think about your favorite shirt, gym shirt, pants, you can probably think of them quickly. But if I said your favorite socks or underwear it would be a tough decision.
Reevaluate daily wear! I go to the gym 5-6 times a week, yet I arrived in Argentina with at least 10 gym shirts, I do laundry every week, so this was a waste of space.
How many black shirts do I really need? I arrived with 5-7. One short sleeve, one long sleeve, and two tees, would have been better.
Coats, pick 1, unless you are moving somewhere very cold. And that coat will go on your body for the flight, along with one heavy sweater. I however brought 2 coats, and 3 sweaters, which I probably didn't even need for a New York winter where I grew up, but they made good padding for my electronics.
Living out of my suitcase also helped more with getting rid of shit. When I say living out of the suitcase I am speaking literally. I was in an Airbnb first, and didn't know if that was what was going to stay for me. So I really only unpacked as needed. After the first week the suitcase was still at least 75% packed. The first week had multiple gym days, a formal event, a few nice dates, and yet still I only needed 25% of the clothes!
Shoes: this was a hard one, especially for me personally because my foot is a little bigger and not always easy to find my size, but shoes take up a lot of space in the bags, even if you stuff them with socks. I had to get rid of a good amount of my shoes. I showed up with 6 pairs counting the ones I wore. Threw out about the same amount.
Bring $5,000 extra. It's probably too much, or it may be just right if you need to buy furniture. One of my checked bags was worth no more than $1,000 in items. For now I am young and can haul four bags on my own, but if I continue the nomadic life I think it would just be easier to have a padded savings and spend a day buying things on arrival.

New apartment essentials

The Return Trip: Shit I brought back to Argentina that I Didn't Think I Needed

I went back to visit the USA and get some work done after about 4 months, I plan on going back every 4-6 months or so. It's my financial center of interest, and Airbnb management companies charge an arm and a leg for a few projects I'll continue to do myself on my rental. So I headed back in June. And even though I just talked about getting rid of shit, I brought more shit back to Argentina! Sort of...

Italian language novels, I speak fluent Italian but I'm not a native speaker, so I don't want to lose it. It's a bit harder than I thought finding print books in Argentina, and the ones I ordered from Italy in April may never arrive to my apartment in Argentina at this point (September). So I brought 20 or so books mostly paperback back to Argentina. I really gotta bite the bullet and get a kindle!!!

Argentina homework, don't forget Italian!
Cast iron pans! In the carne capital of the world we went to so many department stores and couldn't find these. I could have ordered them online, but this is the type of thing I need to touch before I buy it. So I picked up a couple from the US for the meats I cook here. Then of course as karma would have it, I saw them in the same store that didn't have them before I left.
Electronics is a no brainer, I bought my girlfriend an amazon fire tablet which is dirt cheap in the US compared to here.
Socks... I know what I said earlier but work with me here... Yes Argentina sells socks, but I hate organizing my socks! So I don't want different ones. It was hard to find champion socks in Argentina so I bought some in the US to restock! I know I said these are easy to replace, but those damn champion brands are so comfortable!

I have a formula for my clothes, whatever amount of shirts, pants, etc I own, is the number I will forever own. If I buy a new shirt tomorrow, I need to figure out a shirt to get rid of. I don't get rid of it that day, I take the shirt that is a bit old, or next in the chopping block, and put it in my travel bag. So the next trip the shirt will come with me, but won't come home with me! It's so much easier to get rid of "your favorite shirt from 2015" when it will make more room for a nice bottle of wine, or a new shirt you are buying while back packing Chile.

Why am I shopping here??? Hmm...

Little knickknack things are great. I bought a few for my home in Argentina, but the U2 photo, the Bariloche magnet, the Optimus Prime glass, will not be part of my life forever, it's something that's easier to accept now that I've moved across the USA once, and out of the USA once! I even bought a Samurai Sword, it looks great in the apartment, but when I leave, it will be sold or donated... Where does one donate a Samurai Sword??? Hmmm... Anyway...

Transform!

Minimalist doesn't mean nothing. But I love the freedom I now have living here, and the freedom of being a minimalist to get here. Once you arrive, you think a little bit about everything back home... From the little knickknacks to the big things. But then one day... You wake up, and all of your "things" are now in your new home. You live a life of freedom. Freedom of movement, flexibility, adventure, new frontiers, new memories.... The memories... You don't need any luggage for those, and they are the best things that we can carry forever... All from the freedom of getting rid of shit!

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Thursday, August 27, 2026

Mexico

I've been to Mexico several times, I lived in Arizona for almost 20 years and loved driving down there when it was closer, now I'm a bit further away (currently Argentina)! But here's my Mexico articles!

My Early Trips To Mexico

CDMX Mexico City

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CDMX

It's 1998ish... Maybe 1997ish? I live in Brooklyn. I am in high school and engulfing myself in a U2 album released a few years ago called "Achtung Baby". Its brought me to read a book by Bill Flanagan about their tour for that album. He writes a page or so about the tour arrival to Mexico City. He speaks of how massive it is, the view from the sky, the feeling, the air, the city... I am enthralled. I have not traveled further than east coast at this point in my life. I don't speak Spanish. Forget about a passport, I don't even have my birth certificate as a teenager. But I decide then, wow... One day I want to go to this Mexico City.

It's 2003ish... I am a police officer for the NYPD. I'm learning a little Spanish. I've seen U2 on tour now many times, I even went to Cancun on Spring Break. I have my passport for my dream trip, and first overseas trip that would happen in 6 years (Japan). I'm also about to move out of New York City to spend what would be the next 19 years in Arizona. I'm organized and planning things constantly, this includes a list of fun things, aka travel, that I plan on doing once I'm more settled in Arizona better. I put the list in an important binder of important things that I keep and am still using today for my immigration process in Argentina. I know Mexico City is a direct flight from Arizona, so I assume it will happen soon.

The list doesn't quite happen on time, it's only 4 things. I'll eventually see the Mr. Olympia in Las Vegas in 2014, Japan 2009 as mentioned, Los Angeles becomes somewhat of a recurring destination from friends, concerts, my Italian citizenship process, etc. I go to Mexico several times, Puerto Penasco driving, I speak Spanish fluently now, but for some reason, as I traveled to over 70 countries, and all 7 continents, I never hit that Mexico City bucket list item from the early 2000s. I always say, I want to go, I'll do it soon, I can't do it now because this or that. You know how it goes.

Chapultepec Castle

2025. Over 27 years since a 16 or 17 year old kid in Brooklyn read that Bill Flanagan book. I am still living in Arizona but the clock is ticking. I am retiring in 2026 from the fire department and have some ideas to move abroad, meaning Mexico City isn't going to be such a close destination soon. It's finally time. I had the usual reasons not to go, work, friends, an event, whatever... The hell with it, I book it.

Its about a 3 hour flight from Phoenix to Mexico City, or as I would now as someone who learned Spanish say CDMX. It's June and its almost boiling in Phoenix. But the time finally came, I booked the flight. This place is an amazing city for everyone, but particularly for Phoenix in the summer with 100+ heat I can't imagine a better quick international trip to immerse in a different world, and cool off at the same time. It's not super cold in June, but it's definitely sweater weather at night time, and relaxed in the day.

The flight is smooth and customs is even smoother, I don't speak to any immigration officer, I enter with my passport at an automatic Kiosk. I am sure this is not every experience, but it was a great way to start the trip. If you are at the window seat enjoy the view of the massive sprawl until you land. After immigrations the trip to the city by Uber took about 30 minutes, easy check in and shout out to Kukun Apartments I found on Airbnb, the rooftop views by day and night were both breathtaking.

U2 shirt in honor of the original inspiration

This can be a short trip, or it can be a lifetime. As I wrote about before, we don't have a lifetime to travel. I only visited for 4 days. Luckily with flight times, it was a pretty solid 4 days, no real loss of time in the air, time zone, etc. But it was an incredible 4 days. I wish I could spend a month here, but it seems like 1998 when the trip was planned was last week, I'm going to blink and it's going to be 2053... If I make it! So 4 days was sufficient. If you are doing the pyramids which I did, that's a day in itself, so it left me 3ish days to really take advantage of the city, I decided early on like many trips, this wasn't going to be a relaxing beachy type trip, this was going to be early mornings exploring, late night partying, and all the fun in between for 80 or so hours there.

Day 1: I took the city by foot/uber. The art museum, the Constitution Plaza, Chapultepec Castle, Zocalo, and more...

The Angel of Independence. It was super important for me to see the angel, it's famous, yet not the most famous. But for me whenever I watch Spanish TV when I see the angel I realize we are in Mexico City much better than just the skyline shots. Plus overall, the symbol of an angel? What's not to love? I was so capitivated by it, that I made it a mission to also visit at night, and to enjoy a rooftop cocktail after over it.

Day 2: was time for the pyramids! Teotihuacan Pyramids! I've been to Egypt and can say these big boy compete with the pyramids of Giza! We did a full day tour starting with a hot air balloon over the pyramids.

Landing to champagne toasts, then on foot, followed by brunch in a cave, and tequila tastings!

This tour can be done on its own... Well, not the air balloon part, but aside from that it can be done on it's own but well worth it for the extra money to have the guides, and all the bonuses.

Breakfast in the cave!

Day 3: As mentioned I grew up in NYC, when we saw the big red tourist buses there, we would laugh, maybe even make fun of them, "these tourists! I'll never be caught dead on on those!!!"

Yeah... Don't throw stones at glass houses. So the big red hop on hop off tour bus in Mexico City was perfect! It goes only to the main tourist sites, there was an audio phone option for history etc, but I elected to speak with friends instead.

The bus is much cheaper than ubering place to place, and something that never occurred to me in my arrogant New York days, the upper level caught some great views. Museo Soumaya, Zocalo, the revolution monument, and more!

Hotel roof view

Day 4: The flight unfortunately was leaving early, so breakfast at the airport before heading back to Phoenix.

Some Travel Notes

The trip wasn't super cheap, but from Phoenix it definitely didn't break the bank, under $1,000 for 4 days and three nights staying in the Roma area.
Overall safety it was the safest place I've ever been in Mexico, not to say bad things don't happen, but overall it was a safe feeling.
Food! I love the Sonoran Mexican food more than anything else, CDMX didn't change that. But that being said everything from street food to the elegant dining was excellent.

Night life has everything you'd expect for a giant city, and it was easy to get around with Uber.
English is definitely NOT widely spoken, so review your Spanish prior to coming.

I wasn't kidding about how excited I was for the angel!

I am currently at the time of writing living in Argentina. Mexico City was a magical place for me. After visiting over 70 countries, and Mexico itself over a dozen times. I didn't think it would have that much of an affect on me, but travel can surprise you like that. From where I live in Argentina to CDMX is a hike now, and costly. But I definitely want to go back. Since there are no direct flights from Buenos Aires to Phoenix, perhaps I can make it my intentional layover trip? Who knows... I would be lying if I said I don't regret not going more often when it was a short flight from Phoenix. It's another world from there and yet so close, I wish I went more. I didn't know in 1997 it would take me almost 30 years to make it there. I hope it doesn't take my 30 years to make it back.