The Thomas Crown Affair - Part 2

We left off having departed Oaxaca without the art purchase we´d hoped to make. Gluttons for dissappointment, we contacted Maria, our friendly art dealer to see why she hadn´t made it to our meeting point and enquire as to whether she could courier the art to us in Mexico. We were in luck, her husband would bring us a set to Mexico with him the next day. The next day came and went, and then it turned out there wasn´t a complete set - perhaps it could be sent to New Zealand in a months time! Persevering, we changed our flight to Lima to allow an extra couple of days in Mexico for the art to arrive, and to take in a Frida Kahlo exhibition.

6 days, 13 hours and 53 minutes after first seeing the art, and after 15 unsuccessful trips to the gallery, 8 phonecalls and 12 e-mails, we are now the proud owners of an almost complete set of prints (37 out of 38 ain´t bad). Mexican FedEx better not loose them en route to New Zealand...

We had a fantastic time in Mexico City which was nothing like anything we had expected it would be. Our first major outing was a day in Chaultepec, where we took in the monuments along Reforma Avenue, as well as 50 or so fantastic pieces of sculpture along the walk.

The rest of the day was spent in Chapaultec Park which is something akin in size to Hagley or Hyde Park, but within it´s boundaries one finds a number of musuems, galleries, monuments, and even a zoo. The zoo was a hoot, with one moment of hilarity involving two male kangaroos getting a bit frisky, though only one was consenting. For once, we and the Mexicans were laughing at the same thing, and not eachother.

As is regular in the reports relayed, we made another visit to ancient ruins, this time the ancient city of Teotihucan. Largely reconstructed, these ruins strecth for over a mile along an ancient (though now tarsealed) ´Avenue of the Dead´. The highlight at this site are two massive pyramids dedicated to the sun and the moon respectively.

The Zocalo in the heart of Meico City is home to a very impressive flag, measuring at least 40m in width. Each day, 6 military trucks arrive at 5.30 pm carrying armed troops and a marching band to lower the flag and pack it away for the night. This is a pretty impressive spectacle, and mildly humerous when the flag being lowered wraps itself round the pole, delaying the process. The band kept their cool though and launchesd into another verse of the national anthem while a crowd of a thousand watch on as the flag is re-raised and the fingers are crossed that it will not knot on the second attempt.

As a child, Mat was cruelly deprived by his parents of the opportunity to watch wrestling or collect wrestling cards. The end result of this has been an unhealthy interest in it as an adult, forcing his wife to catch snippets whenever he is surfing TV at home. Mexico City is the home of ´Consejo Mundial Luca Libre´ - masked Mexican wrestling as seen in the Jack Black movie Nacho Libre. Mat managed to convince Caroline that a night at the Luch Libre would dampen all future interest in the sport, so we headed out for the local Tuesday night tag team event.

Housed in a warehouse with three levels of seating, beside and above the ring, the mainly Mexican crowd feast on Tortas and Coronas as the excitement grows. The lights come up, the music starts, and into the ring enter a pre-pubescant announcer and the first of the wrestlers. What follows are 5 tag team matches featuring outrageous costume, dearing acrobatics and a few cringe moments. Highlights would have to be the 3 on 3 all girl tag team match featuring some terrible kits and one mannish looking wrestler named ´Lady Nazi´, and the final match where ´Dorado´ bought a dwarf with him to sit in his corner. Unfortunately, the dwarf copped a great fly kick to the ribs from ´Universe 2000´, sailed 3 metres out of the ring and was carried away by ring side attendants. A fantastic and hilarious night out, Mat´s interest is now intensified, as is Caroline´s.

After the wrestling we met with one of the masked warriors, Octagon, who was once ranked 7th in Mexico. A great guy, Octagon hosts a weekly show in Mexico called 'Ask Octogan', where he responds to viewer mail, lifting the veil on the life of the masked Mexican wrestler. We´ve included a new part on the bottom right of the Blog which is linked to 'Ask Octogan' for your enjoyment.

Our spirits in Mexico were dampened in final days after Mat was robbed in a central city market. As we moved through a central street, the path narrowed due to the presence of a number of street side stores encroaching on the pavement. As we passed by, a group of 6 (buff and toned) Mexican men closed the path on Mat. Caroline turned around to see him struggling through the group, who had managed to lift both of his arms away from his pockets. 20 seconds later, Mat realised why the path had become so closed and found his wallet gone. Not a major blow with US$160 stolen and credit cards cancelled within 20 minutes. We did get a ride to the police station in a police Ford F150 pickup truck which was a bit of fun, but not US$160 of fun.

For those of you who have made passing comment on the mo, we regret to inform that at 5.17pm local time on the 14th of June, the mo was pronounced dead. The 'Dirty Sanchez' was well respected in Mexico and made up for missing the last three Mo-Vembers with overseas work commitments. It´s last moments were enjoyed at a local cantina over a tequilla, the favourite drink of a 'Dirty Sanchez'. Fortunately, a shot of tequilla in Mexico is a free pour of tequilla into a brandy glass, so its last moments were drawn out as Mat fought to finish the drink.

From here, we depart Central America for Lima and the start of our South American Adventures. Apologies for the lengthy diatribe though hopefully it is worth a read for all you toiling away behind desks ahead of your own travels.