Mexico City - Take 2!

In my last blog I listed a hasty summary of my highlights. Today, another rushed version, but hopefully with a few more details. First, let me give you my overall impressions. Before landing in Mexico City I had no idea what to expect. I knew it was crowded and polluted and so I thought it might be a bit like a major Indian City. But to my surprise I found Mexico City to be quite elegant and clean and much wealthier than I expected. On the roads the cars looked new and on the streets people were well dressed and appeared pretty middle class. I stayed with friends in a suburb called Satelite, which looked quite wealthy. Beautiful houses and gardens and quiet, well maintained roads. I never felt unsafe in my five days in Mexico City. The metro system was quite impressive - clean, efficient, safe, and got you wherever you wanted to go. What I loved the most about the city was the art. This was the birthplace of the muralist movement and there were many museums displaying gorgeous murals by Diego Rivera, Orozco, and Siqueiros. Tamayo was another great artist and although I was fortunate enough to see some of his stuff at the Belle Artes, unfotunately I didn't make it to the Tamayo Museum. There are so many terrific museums in this city, but because I had only 5 days I had to narrow down my options a lot.

All over Mexico City I was surprised to see American chains - Sears, Walmart, Burger King, Dominoes. The big supermarkets look just like American supermarkets. I guess NAFTA has resulted in all of North America looking identical as far as businesses go. C'est dommage! My heart sinks way down when I see America in foreign places.

On my first day I spent most of the day in the Museo Nacional De Antropologia E Historia. It was enormous, with room after room after indigenous Mexican Indian archeological exhibits. I loved the Mayan room best of all. This museum is in the area called Chapultepec where there is a lovely, leafy park with a lake where you can rent boats.
After the museum we went in search of food in the area called the Zona Rosa. We found a place specializing in vegetarian food! The food was excellent, but sadly not Mexican! Afterwards we strolled through the Zona Rosa, a lively place full of restaurants and shops. We got to the Centro Historico and went into The Tile House for margaritas. This building is covered with gorgeous tiles on the outside and the inside is beautiful too. A singer sang sulty Spanish songs, strumming his guitar while Adriana, Angie, and I sipped our margaritas.

On my second day we went to Teotihuacan to see the famous pyramids - third largest in the world. A metro ride and a 45 minute minute bus ride through the outskirts of Mexico City got us to the pyramids. From the bus we could see the shacks which were the homes of many poor Mexicans. So yes, even though Mexico City can give the impression of being wealthy, you don't have to look hard to see that most of the people struggle to survive.

The pyramids were amazing. For me it felt sacred - walking through the ruins of a village built by an ancient civilization. I have to say, though, when I found out that the fossils uncovered revealed human sacrifice, I was extremely disappointed. I so wanted to believe that the preAztec people who lived there were great, extraordinary, and would have laughed off the conquistadors. Oh well!


Climbing up the pyramids in the heat was quite an ordeal. Hundred of people were doing it. We all made it to the top of the Sun Pyramid and we felt proud of our accomplishment. Congratulations Angie! Woohoo!!
On my way back from the pyramids I bought a blanket with designs of the pyramids and the village. Poor guys selling this stuff in the punishing heat to make a living! My heart goes out to tghem. When I showed the blanket to Daryl back home in Santa Barbara, he said I hope you didn't bargain with the vendor!

After the pyramids we had a long, leisurely lunch. I finally got to have real Mexican food - quesadillas, washed down with ice cold Indio beer.
Later in the day when we were back in the city, Adriana suggested going to Plaza Garibaldi to listen to the mariachis. I looked this up in my guide book and found out that while the square itslef was safe, the streets around the square were dicey. Well, we decided to check it out and had a very adventurous walk from the metro to the square. We saw the other side of Mexico City - the part that makes you tense and pray you'll be home safe in bed when it was night time. We made it to the square safely and saw groups of mariachis in their colorful sombreros belting out lively music that puts a smile on your face. We hung out a bit then as the light faded we knew we should get away to safer parts. A brisk half hour walk got us to a most romantic place. A quaint bar with low tables and low chairs (they looked homemade with tree logs), candlelight, and a handsome young man singing Latin songs. We ordered beer and absorbed the wonderful atmosphere. What a great way to end the day.

Well, this was the first two days. I'll do the rest tomorrow. Stay tuned!