Mexico getaway lands Times editor in flu's ground zero

MEXICO CITY — The Alaska Airlines crew didn't mention it before the plane touched down shortly after 3:30 p.m. Friday. Mexican customs officers didn't, either.

The first clues could be found on the subway ride from Benito Juárez International Airport to the Insurgentes stop, on the southern fringe of this city's Zona Rosa. The anticipated ordeal of a hot, rush-hour, standing-room-only ride — and the worry of guarding a carry-on bag in such an environment — didn't materialize. And an unusual number of riders wore the filter masks that have become a staple of newspaper photographs and cable-TV footage.

Mexico City's notorious air pollution. Right?

Wrong. I had landed at what may be ground zero of a potential swine-flu pandemic — and I still wouldn't know it until two hours later, after accessing the hotel's Wi-Fi.

What was to be a five-day, four-night getaway heavy on museum visits and tourist attractions has become a surreal experience filled with distractions. Most of it I've spent walking, away from crowds as much as is possible in a city of 22 million. Late at night, I've been writing e-mails in an effort to reassure friends and family.

There's been plenty of self-interrogation, too. Is it nuts for someone who's far from fluent in Spanish to stay here? Will airlines stop flying? What would a hospital stay mean here?

Mexico depends heavily on tourism. The global financial crisis and fears of the drug cartels (never mind that the violence is concentrated in the northern border states and rarely affects tourists) have cut into the numbers. A perception that a visit puts your health at risk won't help.

Determined to do my part, stubbornness prevails. Wear a mask where people are plentiful, wash your hands, drink plenty of juices and fluids. Everything will be OK.

And just how significant is fewer than a couple thousand cases in such a large city? On a proportional basis, does Seattle fret when three dozen people have the flu?

The response here has been robust. Museums, schools, tourist venues and many cinemas are closed. Concerts and even Sunday Mass at the Cathedral have been canceled. Sporting events have been played without an audience. Mexico City's normally traffic-choked boulevards are flowing freely.

On a typical Sunday, Chapultepec Park would be jammed with families. With the world-class anthropology museum and other attractions ordered closed, the massive park was a ghost town this week. Starbucks stores were open, but only on a carry-out basis.

Law-enforcement, military and medical personnel are everywhere, passing out masks. A significant percentage of locals appear to be using them — half wearing them constantly, others only in certain settings.

In other ways, city life goes on unchanged. Vendors are everywhere. Restaurants, stores and shops are open, even as the workers vigilantly wear those masks. The things that stimulate the senses on any Mexico visit are very much alive.

A health emergency, with all the uncertainties that this one carries, isn't trivial. Yet, in a perverse way, I'm glad I'm here. Though I've visited Mexico City five times, this trip certainly won't be forgotten.

So far, so good. Not even a sniffle. My return flight is scheduled to leave at 5 p.m. today.

Now, if only U.S. Customs doesn't decide to quarantine the passengers.