AeroMexico's Salon Premier ... Or, How to Avoid Screaming Children at the Airport

If there's one thing I dislike in airports – or any public space for that matter – it's screaming children.

I don't want them running wild around me when I'm at a restaurant, in a mall, or while I'm waiting for a flight.

Fortunately, on a recent flight out of Mexico City International Airport, I found an escape from children and the rest of the chaos one often encounters at the airport.

Thank you, Aeroméxico's Salon Premier VIP lounge.

As a business class customer with Copa Airlines, I was given a complimentary pass to relax in the Aeroméxico lounge prior to my flight (thanks to a partnership between Copa and Aeromexico).

Fun in Acapulco? Yes! ... 40 Years Ago

A trip to Acapulco in 2012 is like a trip back in time ... to perhaps 1972.

Going down the city's main avenue, the Costera, is like going back in time. The hotels date to the 1960s and 70s. The only things that give a hint of 2012 are the Starbucks and the Wal-Mart.

This was once theeeee beach destination in Mexico. John Wayne, Elizabeth Taylor, and other Hollywood stars flocked to Acapulco in the 1950s and 1960s, and tourists from elsewhere followed.

But these days, you sure won't find Elvis here filming a sequel to his 1963 hit film, Fun in Acapulco (notwithstanding his alleged death, of course).

Sunday Morning in Bogota

Breakfast at Bakers.

There really is no point to waking up early in Bogota on a Sunday.

There's no place you can go.

Waking up at 6:15, I forced myself to lie in bed another 15 minutes. But being completely awake, that was it.

After doing some things on my computer until 7:30, I went out for a walk in the Zona Rosa, looking for someplace to have a coffee.

But no such place exists at that hour on a Sunday in Bogota.

This is not North America, where we always have a Denny's or Starbucks or McDonalds open at almost any hour of the day.

VivaAerobus: Greyhound with Wings?

(Mexico City) -- What do you do when the cheapest option (for a product or service) is the one that you dread the most, the one you fear is the worst from a quality/service perspective? Do you still go for it? Or do you pay more for what you perceive to be the better quality service?

That's the dilemma I faced when preparing for an short excursion to the popular surfing town of Puerto Escondido, located on the Oaxaca coast in southern Mexico.

I had four options:

1. Aeromar, a small regional airline that flies an unusual brand of turboprops. Cost: $460

2. Low-cost airline Interjet, flying on an Airbus A320 to nearby Huatulco. Cost: $185

3. Autobuses ADO, resulting in a trip of some 14 hours each way. Cost: $110

4. Ultra-low-cost airline VivaAerobus, flying a Boeing 737 to Huatulco. Cost: $100

(Note: Figures in USD, for round-trip travel from Mexico City.)

So the winner was VivaAerobus. They do fly direct to the Puerto Escondido airport, but in my case, the Huatulco airport offered better schedules and fares. This meant a 1.5 hour bus ride from the airport to Puerto Escondido, adding a whopping $3.50 to my bill.  Whatever.

A Taste of Brazil in Mexico City

If you are a vegetarian, I suggest you quit reading this now. Go watch TV, or read a book or something.

If, however, you are a proud carnivore like me, then I've got a place for you.

It's called Brasileiríssimo.

Brasileiríssimo's Condesa location.

This Brazilian churrasqueira (churrasquería) has four locations in Mexico City. And I've concluded that no human being could leave this place and still be hungry.

Their specialty is the “rodizio” service, which for $185 pesos, gets you all the cuts of grilled beef, pork, chicken, turkey and sausages you could want. And then some.

Mikasa - Mexico City's Japanese Market/Grill

Molotov en Vivo

Grabado Octubre pasado, en La Trastienda Club, Buenos Aires.