HawleyBlog

Yesterday I got a call at 6:30am. They needed me to go to Mexico City and back. I have been hearing horror stories about going down there ever since I got hired here. It's about 3 1/2 hours there and another 3 1/2 back. The moment you switch from American controllers to Mazatlan control you can't understand a thing they're saying. And if your in radar coverage, you're lucky. Mexico is one of those countries where you always think of it as brown from the movies but it is actually quite green. The mountains around Mexico City are unbelievably green. From the air it looks like a rain forest. Mexico City is at about 7500 ft. and there are 18,000 ft mountains ringing the valley. 8,000 ft is the highest elevation my plane can land at so we are at the edge of the performance envelope if we have to go around. The housing density is unbelievable. A solid sea of concrete and houses. It's the largest city in the world and while there are patches of green here and there, there is always more city beyond. I only stayed there an hour so I didn't get to see the town. The housing by the airport was mostly slums painted the most diverse collection of colors you could imagine. It had just rained so the visibility was good. They say that the visibility is usually around 4-5 miles due to pollution. I won't be vacationing there much. It was an interesting trip. What's that old saying..."What doesn't kill me, makes me stronger."