JTOG Day 21: Arriving in Mexico City, Host of the 1968 Olympics!

As difficult a day yesterday was, today was the opposite, everything came easily and there was a lot coming at me. From the depths of despair seeing Torch's back right wheel slanted and injured and barely finding my way to the Posada Santa Elena in Mineral del Monte I went to the heights of the Olympic Spirit with a tour of the stadium that hosted the 1968 Summer Olympics in Mexico City. Plus Torch and I made it safely to a nice hotel not far from the National University of Mexico City, the Club de Golf Mexico (Golf Club of Mexico), Camp de Campestre de Ciudad de Mexico ( CC of Mexico City) and most importantly where Torch would be repaired. I was lucky to find the Posada Santa Ellen and get in by the 10 pm deadline to register. After a restful night and sleeping in a bit I woke up to find an amazingly beautiful hotel and little village. Mother Sophia and daughter Martha greeted me with a delicious breakfast which looking back began my love affair with the mango and its juices. Brother Martin who checked me in last night was already off to school. When I walked out the front door there was an enchanting village square where I had to take some time to walk around and peek inside the ornate church of Our Lady of the Ascension. I remembered that this was the place near Pachuca that a couple named Ronnie and Dan had told me about at the place where Torch and I were registered near the border in Nuevo Laredo. They were right, this part of Mexico, high above Mexico City, is beautiful! Everything was going my way this day as Torch and the Garmin were working fine. I found a nice hotel and booked it on line before leaving Paradise in the morning. It was a triumphant drive into Mexico City down a long, curvy descent. Amazingly I made a wrong turn (me, not the Garmin) and inadvertently came to the 1968 Olympic Stadium on the grounds of the National University of Mexico City. Not that I made a wrong turn part but that I came across the heart of the 1968 Olympics without really searching. CLICK here for Highlight Video of the 1968 Olympic Stadium. I was locked out of the Stadium and learned that the tours were in the morning and all done for the day. Always the opportunist I ventured over to campus to see what I could find which is Andy code for finding another way to get into the stadium. It happened to be October 31st, Happy Halloween back home and Dia de Muertos (Day of the Dead) in Mexico. There was a rather large festival on campus with a live band and extensive cultural and celebratory displays to mark the occasion.  I am not sure how to fully describe them. The Halloween party took me back to my college days. Again, it was a good day, why not celebrate my making it to a third Olympic City (Atlanta & St. Louis the other two) enroute to Rio? But first I was intent on seeing the inside of the 1968 Olympic Stadium. CLICK here for a Video Interview with Adriana Gonzalez Duran, Manager of the Visitor Center. I came across a Visitor Center on the campus of the National University of Mexico City. Being the largest university in Latin America and a  World Heritage site it needed a Visitors Center for sure. The institution was originally founded in 1551 by a royal decree of Charles V, the Holy Roman Emperor and was recreated in its modern form in 1910 with this campus coming into existence in 1950. There I met the manager Adriana Gonzalez Duran who, despite my desperate pleas. refused to give me a tour of the Stadium. She did give me an awesome informative interview (see above) and pointed me in the direction of the University Communications Department. CLICK here for a Video Interview with Cristobal Lopez Yanez, Campus Reporter & Historian (with Omar translating). Once again it seems I found myself in the right place at the right time! Not only was the Communications Department still open late on a festive Friday afternoon but they were extremely accommodating. Not only did I get a grand tour of the Olympic Stadium but I was able to interview a long time campus reporter and avid historian Cristobal Lopez Yanez (see above interview). I was fortunate that English speaking Omar Paramo was there to act as a translator. I learned about the Friendship Route along he Periferico and the prominent mural on the front of the stadium representing the key elements of Olympic sportsmanship: fair play, friendship and a respect for others. These themes would emerge even more in the days ahead of my visit to Mexico City to help in my quest to combine the spirit of the Olympics and the history and traditions of the game of golf to define the "Olympic Spirit of Golf." Even though I only traveled about 80 miles this morning it was a full day and I was tired. My drive to the Inn Sur was literally straightforward and only seven miles long. I found it easily and even went by a automobile repair shop that looked promising. Hopefully it will be a simple matter of Torch's camber being out of adjustment. With two historic golf courses close by I was hoping to get a chance to play some golf and experience history too! After checking in I took a walk done Avenue Insurgentes and found a nice little sidewalk (literally on the sidewalk) place for dinner. I liked the atmosphere of Mexico City and enjoyed a wonderful first day here! There are some more stories in the pictures below this request to make a donation to The First Tee... I am looking for 100 new friends in the next 100 days to make a $100 donation (or any amount that you are able to make) to The First Tee. Each day I will be reliving the original “Journey to Olympic Golf” and hope to find a new friend in golf. Is that you? Please join me in giving back to the game we all love. CLICK here to make a donation to The First Tee. Please select ‘Andy Reistetter’s Journey to Olympic Golf’ on the drop-down menu for the question ‘What inspired you to make a gift today? This is for tracking purposes only, Andy does not receive any part of your donation or anything financially from The First Tee organization. There are interesting incentives for making your donation to the First Tee… PLEASE click here to make a donation to The First Tee.

Thank You!