When we mentioned to people that we were thinking about a trip to Mexico City for our next adventure, the common responses were, "Is it safe?" or "Don't get kidnapped!"
But what is adventure without a little risk around the edges?
Day One: March 25
Our flight from Seattle to Mexico City had a short late evening layover at the huge airport in Dallas, Texas. A last minute gate change made me a little tense, but we were relieved when the new gate was nearby! You know you are really on your way when the desk attendants call you up and ask for your passports before leaving the country!A couple of quick hours later we arrived in Mexico City, a city of 25 million. It was about 11pm and our pre-arranged driver was no where to be found and the airport was getting pretty empty... (we had some tense-ish minutes waiting, but, I never worry too much, because Tim speaks Spanish...) Just as we were beginning to rifle around in the bags for a contact phone number, the driver arrived with a girl from Cuba in tow! Hey we are on Mexican time now...All is well, and we made the 30 minute trip in to our hotel (around $30 for the ride) It was good to not have to look for a taxi so late at night!
We stayed in the heart and soul of Mexico City, the Centro Historico. The oldest district in the capital, it was built in the 16th century atop what was once the Mexica city of Tenochtitlan.Tim always does all of our booking and planning--I get to be the tourist. He really scored on our hotel! It was right on the Paseo de la Reforma in Zona Rosa! It wasn't an old hotel, but really grand one!
The sitting area with a TV and a great view from the window...
...around the corner, the bedroom with a desk, extra chairs, more windows and another TV....
A huge bathroom, all tiled and clean...
....and our room was up several floors with awesome 240 degree views of the central part of town. All of this for about $70 a night! Way in the distance about 5 miles out, we could even see the LDS Mexico City Temple at night ! It was great entertainment watching how people navigated that big round about! There must be rules of the road, but we could not determine them!
Day Two: March 26 Turibus and Zocolo
We thought that our first day we needed to get a handle on the lay out of this immense sprawling city. We decided to utilize the local turibus which takes you all over the city and it's different barrios or neighborhoods for one price. With the proper wristband, this double-decker bus allows you for one day, to get on and off the bus as many times as needed. The bus had headphones with multiple languages and, gratefully for me, English narration about what sites you were passing. Pretty savvy to the needs of tourists!
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| We opted for the top deck of the bus most of the day, except for when it rained! |
The city is massive! We learned that all of the parks in Mexico City have free wi-fi.
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| Palacio de Bellas Artes at the end of Alameda Central |
We were in Mexico City just before Easter so this skeleton was a bit confusing for us. We wondered if it was part of how Mexicans celebrate this big holiday. Come to find out, they were filming a James Bond movie: Skyfall. We got to watch them film the fight scene in the helicopter at the beginning of the movie. The opening scenes of the movie are during Dia de los Muertos...thus the skeletons!
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We saw great old colonial architecture...
...ancient cathedrals and churches on every block of one kind or other. It is a place of great tradition and history...
...at the same time, it is dynamic and modern metropolis. It is both folkloric and contemporary. Modern, interesting skyscrapers all along the main part of the city. The folks in the foreground (upper left) are on the tour bus with us, so you see the view was awesome. Nice day!
...the trees were in bloom with purple flowers...
...lots of monuments cataloging its long history...
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| This was a cool art museum |
...the architecture and art was very diverse and amazing!...
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| Stock exchange building |
...the Bull fighting stadium...
...Entrance to Bosque de Chapultepec - a vast urban forest, filled with jogging paths and wooded glens. It is also the site of many of the capital's most important cultural institutions.
...Neighborhoods and manicured parks of all types...
...even Olympic Stadium from the 1968 Mexico City Summer Olympics! There were tons more, but after a while you just get saturated and stop taking pictures! So much to see and so little time! This is going to be such delight! With what daylight we have left we went to explore the Zocalo. The blocks surrounding the Zocalo are dense with impressive architecture, museums, and landmarks.
We walked about a mile through an eclectic mix of restaurants and businesses to where it opened up in the Zocolo. A massive public plaza that has been the center of power in Mexico since the Spanish arrived in the New World. The Palacio Nacional on two sides adjoined with the Catedral Metropolitana and the pre-Columbian ruins of Templo Mayor between. On this day, because of the filming, the square itself of the Zocolo was still fenced off.
We walked about a mile through an eclectic mix of restaurants and businesses to where it opened up in the Zocolo. A massive public plaza that has been the center of power in Mexico since the Spanish arrived in the New World. The Palacio Nacional on two sides adjoined with the Catedral Metropolitana and the pre-Columbian ruins of Templo Mayor between. On this day, because of the filming, the square itself of the Zocolo was still fenced off.
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| Partial views of the massive Catedral Metropolitana |
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| It was strange to go inside and look while they were having mass. The entire interior was gold leaf over ornately carved wood. |
Day Three: March 27 Museo National de Antropologia and la Lucha Libre
We were really impressed with the subway system. Three pesos (about 35 cents) got you anywhere you wanted to go in the city! It was pretty easy to figure out. They even had special cars for women and children. Tim and I stayed together however. We had a plan if we should get separated in the body crunch of moving people in and out of the station stops. The only tricky part of the subway was picking the correct exit to come up street-side that you wanted to be! |
| There was an ice cream and other stores down in the subway. |
The museums we attended were all top notch and excellent. We spent the better part of a day in Museo National de Antropologia--the National Museum of Anthropology.
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Entrance to the Museum with those purple flowering trees-- the Jacaranda-- which bloom all over the city in the spring.
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| A mammoth fossil and examples of cave drawings |
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| Ornate porcelain work and a beautiful wood burned art |
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| Seed-beaded masks and elaborate embroidery |
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| apron of shells |
We spent most of our time in the pre-Columbian sections. Much of these beautiful stone artifacts came from the ruins of Teotihuacan but did include examples of Olmec, Toltec, and Mayan. Artifacts were removed to protect them from damage from the elements and from theft or vandalism. The museum was jam packed with things to see and read about.
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| The entire "roof" of the museum's center was cantilevered with this center support. Stunning. Water dripped over the edges continually and supplied a cooling breeze. The rooms of artifacts were around the outer square. |
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| This one made me think of how I felt when I was 9 months pregnant! |
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| This one was really cool. We saw one very much like it at Tulum. It was on the "temple of the descending god". Makes you think Book of Mormon, 3 Nephi, right? Sorry the picture is blurry! |
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| They believed in a resurrection and would bury their people with what they would need in the next life and with their ornaments to show their importance. |
The collection dates back to 1790, when the first natural history and anthropology museum opened in Mexico City; by 1907, it held more than 10,000 pieces. After a fabulous day of viewing we were really hungry. Tim was a little shy of street food, so we opted for this wonderful buffet just outside of the museum. Yummy foods! Muy Bueno!
After a nap and some dinner in the hotel, we were picked up by a tour company and taken to see the Luchadores! Totally a family attended event and much like seeing a melodrama, only with wrestlers! The stunts looked really dangerous and we were glad we didn't have tickets right in the front row!
People cheered and jeered; it was a hoot!
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| We even got masks too! |
Day 4: March 28 Mercado de la Merced via the Subway and Templo Mayor
We had an itch to see a big market where locals go to shop. Tim figured how to get there on the subway and we were off! Amazingly, the station stop was right in the middle of the market! We were absolutely blown away with the maze of shoes, pots and pans, fruit, underwear, flowers, lawn chairs, meat, fabric, toys. You name it --you could find it there I am sure. The isles were tight with every inch displaying something for sale or occupied by a sales person. There didn't seem to be a rhyme or reason to the layout either. I don't know how people found what they wanted. Every smell, and color represented. Kind of overwhelming I guess because I DID NOT take a single picture! I was so grateful that Tim developed a strategy of seeing the market without getting lost. We found our way out of the market and back to the subway without a problem. Wow!
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| Torre Latinoamericana once the tallest building in Latin America. |
When the government was excavating for the subway system in the 1970's they discovered and excavated Templo Mayor under the city directly beside the Catedral Metropolitana in the Zocalo. When the Spanish came and conquered they tore down the Aztec city and used the materials to build Catholic cathedrals and palaces and basically told the people who and how they should worship.
A twin temple-pyramid at the heart of the ancient city of Tenochtitlan, Templo Mayor was the center of religious and political life for the Mexica people. The first temple pyramid was built in 1325 and the city street plan radiated out from its base. The base was about four city blocks square.
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| Gold Plates were buried in a stone box....nice visual for me! |
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| Model of layers of Templo Mayor. Each new ruler would add to what the last had built. |
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| Archaeologists long suspected that there was a pre-Columbian ruin under the cathedral. |
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| Four-meter-long carved monolith dedicated to the goddess Tlaltecuhtli, uncovered in 2006. |
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| These rocks are still held together with the original "cement". |
The city water viaducts once just went right through the middle of it!
We loved wandering the streets with the locals. We never felt threatened or unsafe. Being a big city, however, we weren't stupid and did not wander alleys or empty streets! We did get into a sketchy area while we were looking for the Mariache Bands in Garibaldi Plaza. Just walk with a purpose!
This evening we did, however, walk over to the Plaza de Revolution lit up with beautiful lights. It was near our hotel and there were lots of people out in the evening. Generally, we did not wander too much off the beaten track.
Day 5: March 29 Church, Castillo, and the Ballet Folkloria
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| Sunday mornings the main street is closed to cars. People walk, run, or cycle up and down the avenue. There is even a great bicycle rental that used an automated metro card swipe. When you are done using the bicycle, just return the bike to any station and swipe that you returned it. |
The Paseo de Reforma runs right into the entrance to Bosque de Chapultepec. Wide, green and full of people, the park was just a short walk south from our hotel . This opulent castle was originally built as a country house for the Spanish royalty under Viceroy Bernardo de Galvez, replacing a small chapel that had previously stood at the peak of the hill.
We had to check our bags into a locker at the lower end of the long wide-walkway to the top. Amid rumors Viceroy Galvez was building the castle as a fortress from which to rebel against the the Spanish crown, de Galvez died suddenly, poison was suspected.
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| This unfortunately was not our entrance! Beautiful though! |
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Lots of beautiful views on the walk up. It was a beautiful day.
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It was remodeled in 1865-1866 by Maximilian I as his official residence. The castle was made to re-create a little corner of Europe with grand salons, flowered terraces and a rooftop garden. It became the the Mexican presidential residence under Benito Juarez.
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| This is a Diego Rivera mural. His murals told strong stories and were very detailed. He would show, sometimes not very subtly, the world's leaders and what he thought about them. No wonder the Mexican people like him so much. |
Under President Diaz the castle's interior reached new heights of sumptuousness. It was officially converted to a public museum in 1939 and opened in 1944 and now houses the Museo Nacional de Historia with paintings, documents, and artifacts of the changing eras and major events in Mexican history.
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| It did feel like what I imagine Europe to be like! |
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| Dining room |
The place was gorgeous and a real treat to find; especially as a freebie! We had some time before our next planned activity, so we wandered around a bit.
We just were awed at all of the churches and cool stonework, everywhere. We even stumbbled into Chinatown!
We had tickets for the ballet that night at the Palacio de Bellas Artes. This was a wonderful exhibition of regional dances and traditional costumes and music.
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| Monument in the Alameda Central--A beautiful park full of lovers (we swear everyone's faces were stuck together there!) |
This is where we got to go see the dancing! It was quite spectacular! Our seats were way up in the top just under that glass dome in the picture. It was so steep, every seat was excellent, however, it did feel like you could jump to your death very easily! It was an excellent day, after the production we walked the few blocks back to the hotel.
Day 6: March 30 Teotihuacan
Tim is amazing with his navigation skills on our adventures. I think he has a photographic memory when it comes to maps and such. We went all of the way to the end of the subway line and then walked a block or two to the bus station that would take us the hour drive out to see the immense ruins of Teotihuacan.
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| There are four bus stations in the city: north, south, east, or west. You go to the station in the direction you want to go to get the bus you need. The stations are huge. |
Little is know about the people who built the ancient city of Teotihuacan. The name means "place of the gods". Built between100 BC and AD 250, anthropologists estimate that, at its height, Teotihuacan was home to as many as 150,000 people and covered over 20 square kilometers, forming the largest and most sophisticated city in the Western hemisphere.
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| Avenue of the Dead runs two kilometers north to south from La Ciudadela (the Citadel) and the Pyramid of the Moon in the distance. The avenue is flanked on either side by pyramid-shaped residences further in. |
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| La Ciudadela on the south end with its large fortresslike enclosure was once in the geographic center of the city. |
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| Tim climbing the steps up one of the residences. |
Pyramid of the Sun is on e of the largest pyramids in the world. It is just under 70 meters in height. A temple once stood atop the pyramid, but it has long since been destroyed. We may never get to Egypt, but I imagine they are a bit like this pyramid, and we got to the top!
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| We got there early so we didn't have to wait too long for our turn to climb the Pyramid of the Sun! |
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| In the backgroung, about a kilometer from the ruins is a Walmart! Even a week long hunger strike couldn't stop it from being built in 2005. |
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| Panoramic view from the top of Pyramid of the Sun |
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| The steps were steep and amazingly tall! It was a short person issue! |
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| Each section was a different elevation with steps between. The connections between each elevation had channels and gates to control water. |
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| This guy was underground one of the small "house" pyramids |
At the north end of the avenue is Pyramid of the Moon, 46 meters high and not as steep a climb as the Pyramid of the Sun, but the views over Teotihuacan are great! Yup, we climbed that one too! You could climb anything you wanted here, pretty much!
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| Pyramid of the Moon looks like it is built into the hill behind, but it is not. The top was roped off so we couldn't go all of the way up, but we climbed what we were allowed to do! |
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| It was difficult to capture just how big this was. I think the line of people climbing the stairs helps provide that a bit. |
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| Still could see the original paint on the walls in places, this is a jaguar. |
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| Panoramic view looking north to Pyramid of the Moon |
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| Left or west of the Pyramid of Moon are two large palaces that may have been living quarters or offices for the city rulers. |
The Templo de Quetzalpapaloti and the Patio of the Jaguars is more ornate than other dwellings and was likely the home of rulers or priests. Stone columns carved with butterflies and birds in profile.
Just behind the Palace is Patio of the Jaguars. It had some original red tinted frescos of jaguars with conch shells in their mouths.
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| some restoration work happening |
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| The roof was partially reconstructed and surprisingly high. It was so much cooler inside! |
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| Patio de los Pilares. The paint job is not original but a best guess and an attempt at restoration. |
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| This photo gives you an idea of the steepness. |
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| Looking south from Pyramid of the Moon |
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| House pyramid |
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| Fresco work |
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| The big nose on this portrait makes me think it was an editorial of a busy body. |
We loved our time at Teotihuacan!
Day 7: March 31 Presidential Palace and Diego Rivera
After another great buffet breakfast with fresh squeezed orange juice and all things yummy, we headed back over to the Zocalo to cue up for the Presidential Palace. When we got there, the line was short....but we learned that we had to have our actual passports and not a copy, so we quickly hot footed it back to the hotel and back again, this time to stand in line.
As I mentioned earlier, I do not speak Spanish and I rely on Tim for our communication. When we got to the front of the line, this really intimidating female military officer, took me aside into a separate room away from Tim. Freaked me out! We communicated just fine, thankfully she studied English in school, and I got my pass after surrendering my passport -- also scary!
The Palacio Nacional stretches across the eastern edge of the Zocalo. It was originally constructed as a palace for Hernan Cortes and was built on top of Moctezuma's former residence. The third story was constructed in 1926.
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| I think every place in Mexico has an inner court yard. |
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| More Diego Rivera murals. He tended to give the Spanish ugly faces or big noses, and always told a story. This is called Epic of the Mexican People in Their Struggle for Freedom and Independence. |
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| This mural was an entire two-story wall and up some stairs. |
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| More Rivera. Sorry, a bit blurry. |
After Mexico's independence from Spain, the palace became the seat of government.
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| The grounds were beautiful; that's my pass around my neck. |
After we roamed around in all of the official areas, we returned our passes and got our passports back--it is the Presidential Palace after all. We passed once again by the cathedral and this guy just needed to have his picture taken! Yeah!
It was getting late and I was kind of wanting a plain old hamburger. There was a Carl's Jr. across from our hotel so we went in for some "American" food. Yeah big mistake...it would have been better to just eat some street food. The bathroom and I had a standing date for the next 24 hours.
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| I am smiling now...little did I know... |
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| Our hotel in the background. Small street vendors like this everywhere. The good ones are the ones that have lots of people around them! |
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| Late into our evening we watched the filming of another James Bond scene outside of our hotel. |
Day 8: April 1 Cuernavaca and Tasco
Today's adventure was provided by a tour guide! About an hour south of Mexico City, is Cuernavaca. It has a temperate climate and many of Mexico powerful politician and businees people guilt luxury villas here for their weekend getaways. About one million people live here. Loads of colonial buildings survive.
The Catedral de la Asuncion has survived since the very early colonies, as was part of the first Franciscan convent around 1526. It has Gothic, Roman and Moorish influences. Inside the interiors are soaring and mostly unadorned, but have some early-colonial murals.
Something we came to understand was that, especially the early cathedrals, all had walls around them because they also served as protection from hostile inhabitants.
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| That's a baptismal font, on the ground, big enough for a person to be dunked... |
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| Murals were painted by the indigenous peoples and much of their religious icons made their way into the art as a protest. |
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| Doors were thick |
The indigenous people would not come inside to worship, so the priests built and outside place for them to worship and blended the two religions to make the indigenous come to the church to worship.
Further down the road we headed for the silver city of Taxco. This was the site of one of the most important mines during the colonial era. The mines have long since run dry, but Taxco is still closely associated with silver. I bought a nice pair of silver and turquoise earrings just outside of town in a nice little tourist trap the tour stopped at.
One of the really interesting churches is well-preserved and done in baroque churrigueresque style and pink. Financed by mining magnate Jose de la Borda so his son would have a local church to be a priest in.
Inside, there are 12 altars of handcarved wood covered with 22 carat gold leaf. A room at the back holds massive paintings by Cabrera.
All of the main sites and shops, etc are all close to the center of town. And the taxis are VW bugs. All streets seem to go up or down. You can't get lost, just go down and you end up in the central plaza! We sat in the plaza and watched people, talked with some girls collecting for a charity and listened to the birds in the trees.
Day 8: April 2 Our last day and Easter is coming to town!
We woke up Thursday morning and thought to ourselves, "What do you want to do today?" We had probably walked about 10 miles a day for a week. We had kept to our schedule so well that we had a free day to do what we wanted! Walking down to the Zocalo we discovered that the fences were down and the city was becoming really crowded fast as people came for the Easter celebrations. I will take a moment to note that we NEVER saw people begging during our stay. Everyone hustled to sell something, but no one begged. As Easter approached we did see some requests for money from some truly crippled and ancient people. We were glad to give them our left-over pesos.
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I think it was Mark Twain that said that the best cure for bigotry is travel. Our hearts were opened to the hard-working people of Mexico during our visit. Their culture is old and colorful and the people interesting and friendly. It was good to seem them carrying on with their daily unedited lives.
I look forward to our return someday!
I look forward to our return someday!
Day 10: April 3 Mexico City to Dallas to Seattle
It was still dark when we headed to the airport to return home. We had a nice long layover in Dallas DFW. After going through customs we met up with Sarah and new grandson, Bentley for some lunch.
As we cued to load the plane home on our last airborne leg of our journey, it was announced by Alaska airline personnel that anyone wearing their Seahawk gear could board the plane first! Tim had on his Seahawk t-shirt! There are benefits to winning the Super Bowl even in Dallas Cowboys home turf! Sweet!
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