What a day!

I dashed off the last post but will go back and add some detail and a picture or two. I wanted everyone to know that we are safe and sound and not running into problems with gas shortages or protests. Having said that, today was a harrowing day. We were never in danger but it was scary nevertheless.
Tom has been doing all the driving and I navigate using a variety of materials-triptik, google maps, regular maps. None of these sources match the actual real world and today was the worst example of bad navigating.
It started out very well. We had stayed at a really nice hotel right on our route so leaving this morning was a breeze. Everything worked out perfectly until we hit Mexico City area. We were doing fine. Although it was busy, traffic was moving. We were travelling along with the traffic but all of a sudden a policeman pulled us over. We assumed we were speeding along with everyone else and just were the unlucky ones with Ontario plates. We complied not knowing what to expect. The officer was pleasant enough and I really thought he would just let us go on our way. He played his cards very well and had Tom talk to someone on his cell that spoke English. What a ruse! But even though we knew it we had no idea what would happen. Here's the charge. (Remember this is Mexico City, one of the most polluted cities in the world. ) Our car is polluting the air and they know this because of our license plate. We were of course protesting but not aggressively. They said they would impound the car and we would have to pay a fee. After protesting and going back and forth he let us know all would be forgiven if we gave him 1000 pesos. We gave him 500 and were free to go.
Then we got lost and all turned around and our maps were not helping. After driving about an hour trying to get back to the right turn off that would take us out of Mexico City and on our way to Cuernavaca we spotted the right way only to be blocked by another policeman who would not let us proceed. He literally was blocking our car. We knew we had not done anything wrong but were pulled over anyway. It was a similar shakedown but this time we fought back and didn't comply and drove away. That's what we should have done the first time. Or better yet not have stopped at all. All the delay and confusion led us to finally reach a hotel at about 5:45. This hotel is called Puerta Paraiso. It's nice and has a lovely pool but not our favorite.
We have settled in and are trying to relax and forget the two police encounters. Obviously the Mexico police aren't interested in welcoming tourists. Everyone else that we have met has been friendly helpful and so welcoming to us. We are hoping this only happens in Mexico City and that we aren't hassled by the police after today. We will try to avoid Mexico City on our return trip!