Buy a cone of Chocolate Malted Krunch ice cream from one of the many Rite Aid Pharmacies. That stuff is delicious.

I got what I wanted in Mexico, it is all packed up and ready to fly. Here is a picture of one of my favorite things I found. Mexico is full of statues like these, all of which can be purchased quite cheaply. I’m not sure if this is actually an authentic piece or if it is a reproduction, either way I like it. I packed this into my hand luggage wrapped in bubble wrap.

When I used to go back country backpacking I would just bring a set of clothes to sleep in, and another set to hike and sweat in, and a few pairs of underwear that get washed in the lake or stream, but it has been a bit harder to apply that strategy in the business world. When I can, I just bring a single carry-on. I really like the Eagle Creek Pack-It Folder because it lets me throw a couple days worth of dress shirts and underwear, nicely folded and protected into a bag that gets squeezed into the overhead compartment.

I just got back from Teotihuacan where I climbed a couple of Aztec pyramids. It is literally a breathtaking experience. It was on these pyramids that the Aztecs sacrificed people. There are two main pyramids, the Sun and the Moon, and a few other smaller ones. One of them I believe is for Quetzalcoatl, who was a Toltec priest who became a god. Wikipedia has an article on Quetzalcoatl, although it differs from what I have heard from villagers living in what used to be the seat of the Toltec civilization.

Sanborns is a major Mexican institution, and is not something you should miss if you come here (I believe they exist all over the country). Sanborns is a strange sort of department store with a cafe. Definitely go for coffee to get a glimpse of the local culture. The food isn’t bad either. This is the most interesting Sanborns of all, located inside the Blue Tile House which was built in 1596 I believe.

I’ve booked some tickets to Mexico for Saturday. In a village close to Tula, not too far outside of Mexico City, it is possible to buy some very nice artesania. The prices are quite good and I plan on filling my suitcase and flying back to Europe where I can probably sell them for a bit more. The other benefit is that the village is close to some pyramids so I will see those too.

I was able to get a complete refund from Lufthansa since my flight to BIA (Beirut Rafik Hariri International Airport) has of course been canceled. Normally airlines just give you travel vouchers when this kind of thing happens. Last time I flew with Alitalia they canceled my flight because of a general transportation strike, but the airline laughed at me when I asked about a refund. Instead they offered me a flight the next day, but refused to pay for a hotel room since the strike was not their fault.

Last month we ordered a ton of resin from the United States. The shipping went smoothly and it arrived a little over a week ago. I hired a freight forwarding company to deal with the customs entry and deliver the goods. Since we’ve never used that particular forwarding company before they did not extend any credit to us and insisted on receiving the payment in their bank account before delivery. That is fair enough of course since they paid all of the customs fees on our behalf.