I HAVE to write about this just so I can tell you a wonderful story about something that happened at the north terminal to me................it was one of the highlights of my trip!
So, I get the bus in Oaxaca at 9AM heading to Mexico City - I had the hotel make a sandwich for me to take on the bus for this 12-14 hour trek which I thought was pretty smart and I settled in. I was really, really looking forward to the trip from Oaxaca to Mexico City because I had not been able to see the countryside on the trip down. It is the most desolate land I have seen in Mexico. No agriculture, very arid, extremely mountaineous, treeless scrub ground. WOW, a moonscape of sorts. So we drove for about four hours with that scenery and then came close to Puebla where it is agricultural with lots of fields of vegetables and flowers and GREEN. Nice to see green.
Upon arriving in Mexico City, I got my two bags (I went down with one) and attempted to get down a ramp that was on a grade so steep that I was afraid my suitcase would take off and decapitate someone................whew, I made it to the bottom by taking tiny steps, got the cab - this time a young "AJ Foyt" who got me to the North Terminal in 15 minutes! Remember, it took the first cab driver one hour - needless to say, my hands were shaking when we got to the terminal............A porter got my bags - which were huge with tapestries, rugs, ceramics, etc.etc.etc. in them and followed me into the terminal where pandemonium reigned.............think LaGuardia two days before Christmas - a mass of humanity in long lines. He guided me to a line where I waited for over 30 minutes for my ticket and it turned out that ETN's computers were down! I kept thinking the porter would just leave the bags and me and then I would have to attempt to schlep them through this mass of humanity - nope, he didn't! In fact, he guided me to another line and eventually after 45 minutes I had a ticket and off we went to Sala 1 me, the porter and two oversized bags. Well, they had removed almost all of the seats because of the amount of people and I had 2 1/2 hours til my bus left for San Miguel...............by golly this man found a seat for me, deposited me, my bags and I was so grateful that I tipped him very well - he told me to go out to the bus at 6:10PM and to sit where I was until then (in Spanish) - ha, he needn't have worried.........so there I sat watching the interplay of people. The shoeshine men, the families, the lovers and voila at 6PM who should appear but the old porter! I was amazed to see him - he said to come with him, he loaded my bags and off we went outside to where the bus was going to be - he talked to the manager of ETN and I guess told him where I was going - the man came over and told me that the bus was delayed but not to move and I would be going soon. The old porter disappeared, the bus came and I headed home. BUT my heart was SO touched that that man took the time to come check on me and help me again. THAT is Mexico!
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