"Mexico City" Mexico Travelogue by paradisedreamer

Just when you thought you had finally caught up and were in budget and had a nice little stash of $100 put away it disappears. Ugh We didn´t know there was a $32 departure tax on leaving Nicaragua and this time Sam was not free so we now have $4 in the stash.
I was a little annoyed with that but then security decided to check our packs after we had locked up all the zippers. Luckily they did not make too much of a mess of our stuff or I would have been fuming. Finally we got to the check-in counter and wait about 10 minutes before even being served. After what seemed an age and Sam loudly complaining 'Mom its taking too long' we finally got our boarding passes. But no!! Of course they were wrong, we had pre-booked three seats together but instead we got two seats together in row 10 and Sam´s boarding pass had her in row 17. So it was back to have new ones issued. Marc did not say a word and just stomped outside to have a smoke with Sam and I dutifully traipsing behind not daring to utter a word. Marc is not the most patient person either.

Ok long story short we got on the plane without further mishap. The flight over El Salvador is spectacular, one volcanic crater after the next, fertile farmland and mountain ranges leading to the pacific ocean. In San Salvador we had to change planes, luckily there was no wait at all and we were on our way to Guatemala City where we had to stop to offload and onload more passengers. Flying in Central America is a pretty roundabout affair. Guatemala city looked like one big shanty town but surrounded by huge volcanoes. We were not on the ground for too long before it was back up and Mexico City bound.

Everyone knows that Mexico City is densely populated (25 million people) and sprawls for miles and has really bad pollution but you really have to see it!!! From the plane you could see the haze of pollution over the city before you saw any buildings, it really is quite disgusting the way the huge grey / brown cloud of smog hangs over the city. Once you are in it sometimes you can´t even make out the buildings directly below. The city is awesome in size, we must have been flying for over 10 minutes and it was just street after street of concrete as far as they eye could see or at least until the haze obscured the buildings. It makes London look like a tiny village in comparison.

We tried to call the hostel (Hostal Moneda on Calle Moneda in the historical district) to get them to pick us up but there was no answer so we changed some money and tried again later and got through. We were collected about half an hour later at McDonalds, Sam had for first MCDonald´s burger in ages. It was just a 25 minute drive to the hostel, we chose to stay in the northern area because it is close to the bus terminal as well as the fact that the hostal does tours to Teohuatican which we booked for tomorrow.

The hostal is very basic, two metal frame beds in a small room and the bathroom is clean enough but no hot water. What I would give for a hot shower.... we had no hot water in Nicaragua so it has been a month since we had a decent shower eeeuuuww!!!
We went up to the terrace on the top floor to have a drink and just try to breathe lol! The view is lovely up there, in a way it reminded us of Cairo. Instead of minarets you have the church spires and instead of the call to prayer you have the sing song shouts from the sellers in the market in the streets below.

Mexico City is not nearly as scary as I thought. We took a walk to the Zocala (main square) just a few meters away where a huge Mexcian flag flies, I think they even outdo the Americans with the size of that one!

We went into the Catedral Metropolitan which is on the square. There are two parts to it, the cathedral on the right is beautiful but when you go into the main cathedral your mouth drops open. The basillica is so ornately gilded and beyond that the church stretches down to an even more ornate alter. Unfortunatley it is covered in scaffolding as the cathedral is tilting as it sinks into the old lake bed that Mexico City is built on. There was a mass in progress while we were there. The people were all carrying highly decorated dolls in basinets or in silk blankets, it is something I have never seen before. As we were leaving the nun was spraying people with holy water after the service and a man came and asked us if we wanted Sam to go up, we all went up and as someone who is not religious at all it was quite an experience. Marc and I both came out the church and just said wow! We noticed that people who are just walking past the catheral cross themselves, touch their foreheads and kiss their hands.

We then took a walk through the Zocalo which is huge, and apparently second only to Red Square in Moscow. It was almost like stepping back into the seventies as Abba and the Beatles were belting out of huge sound systems, VW beetles zoomed around the square while hippies protested whatever they were protesting (I couldn´t understand the banners!). There were people reading tarot cards and then we saw a Mexican in full Indian headress burning something or other in an urn while other Mexicans in their jeans, cowboy boots and hats milled around. It was quite bizarre really. Mexico City is big and sprawling but it is so vibrant and there is so much energy and history here.

The area next to the Catedral is a large market and we wandered around just watching the people, pity there wasn´t a cafe or something, I could have sat for hours and just watched life go by. We bought some Mexican music, you can hear it everywhere, you can hardly hold a conversation for all the music everywhere.

Beyond the market is the Templo Mayor, an Aztec ruin. It was only discovered in 1978 by electrical workers who were laying cables. It was decided that all the colonial buidings above would be demolished and the ruins excavated. We did not go in, we may do it another day but you can see them from above.

We walked down Calle Moneda back to the hostel. The road is pedestrianised and flanked by market stalls and food stalls selling tacos, tortillas and fresh fruit and juices. We just had dinner on the hostal terrace as the sun went down over the Zocalo.

Thursday 3rd February

Our tour began at 9:15, as we drove through the city streets I was reminded of Greenwich village in New York then the tree lined avenues of Paris and then sometimes the more run down parts of Bangkok. There were a lot of homeless people but then you see exclusive boutiques, definitely a city of contrasts.

Out first stop was the Shrine of Guadelupe. We first went into the the modern Basilica de Nuestra Senora de Guadelupe. It was built around the 1970's (and you can definitely see that by the architecture). The old domed Basilica is slowly sinking into the soft lake bed that was drained and then became the site where Mexico City is now built. The building is huge in order to accommodate the thousands of pilgrims that come here. The people approach the Basilica on their knees and travel this way into the church. Inside there are moving walkways beneath the image of the Virgin so that you can get a close-up view.

The Story of Neustra Senora de Guadelupe came about in 1531 when Juan Diego stood on Cerro de Tepeyec, the site of an Aztec shrine, and saw what he believed to be the Virgin Mary. The priest he told this story to did not believe him. Juan returned and saw this vision again and an image was emblazoned on his cloak and he was given roses (not found in Mexico before). The church then accepted his story. In 1737 she extinguished a typhoid epidemic in Mexico City and has been credited with many miracles. She was officially declared the Patron Saint Of Mexico. If you read my Playa del Carmen pages I wrote about the torch runners who run from here (or sometimes just a bit further from their homes) to their home towns with torches as a pilgrimage to her in the days leading up to 12th December.

The site is the second most important Catholic place of worship after St Peters in the Vatican and some believe it will become more important in the future.
As you come out of the new Baslilica there is an enormous statue of Pope John Paul. We then went into the old Basilica. In the entrance there is a statue of San Juan Diego (he has now been proclaimed a saint). Around the statue people have pinned gold pendants which are in the shape of whichever limb or body part that ails them and they believe that there will be a miracle that will cure them. There are also some pictures of people's babies. Inside, the church has beautiful domed ceilings and paintings as well as elaborately decorated gold statues. Inside it is very easy to to see the extent of the subsidence. Once you go out the side door and look back you can see that the annex has all but broken free of the main church. We walked along the main square to the Capilla de los Indios which is where it is believed that Juan Diego lived. From there you can walk through beautifully manicured gardens to a statue of Nuestra Senora de Guadelupe and people bringing gifts to her. She is wearing a black belt around her waist which signifies that she is pregnant with Jesus. A waterfall comes down in the background with lush green lawns around it.

Once we were out the city and onto the highway we passed mile after mile of grey brick square houses, it truly is a dismal place to live. We stopped at a craft centre where we were told we had to sacrifice a bottle of tquila before climbing the pyramids, apparently it is a requirement. We got to taste different types of tequila as well as pulque and some other drink made from cactus plants. They had some beautiful obsidian (sp?) sculptures and we could not resist. We did not even have a credit card with us but they said we could pay our guide later. It is aTeohutican mask made from gold obsidien which changes colour from black to grey to gold depending on the light. It is heavy but at last it won't break!

We then got to Teohutican. It was the largest ancient city of mesoamerica and dates back to AD100, most structures were constructed between AD250-600 and was inhabited for 700-900 years. We first visited Palacio de los Jaguares, here you can see a good example of the stucco that covered all the temples, the stucco was then painted red, you can just imagine what it must have looked like! We then went into the Palacio de Quetzalpapalotl which were the residences of the priests. From there a steep staircase leads down to the Plaze de la Luna. We climbed the Piramide de la Luna (of the moon) which affords fantastic views over the entire site and down the Avenue of the dead (Calzada de los Muertes). It was so named by the early Aztecs as they believed that the temples lining the avenue were tombs. It was the first pyramid that we allowed Sam to climb as there was a decent hand rail instead of just a rope. The steps are very steep but she managed just fine. Going down was not much fun for me as I am terrified of heights but you have to come down don't you! We then walked along the avenue of the dead to the Piramide del Sol (of the sun). Sam was very keen to climb the third largest pyramid in the world (after Cheops and Cholula) so who are we to stop her? It is 70m high and was built in AD100. I coudn't believe she managed to climb all the way up there without a problem. I stayed behind, coming down one was enough for me and I ended up chatting to a man selling jewellery, he was so friendly and interesting and of course I ended up buying some of his silver jewellery! It was so cheap and I bargained him down really well so I had to!

The Aztec belief that the Pyramide del Sol is dedicated to the sun was validated in 1971 when archaelogists uncovered a 100m tunnel leading to the centre of the pyramid where religious artifacts were found.

It was a bit oif a walk from there to gate 1 where we were to meet our guide it is downhill but you have to climb up and over various paths as you go. Sam was exhausted by this time and we were all panting with our tongues hanging out by the time we got to the cafeteria and could buy more water. We took a litre with us but it was not enough, you need a lot so buy plenty before you go into the site you can't get any inside!

Sam fell fast asleep in the van on the way back to Mexcico City as did a lot of other pople . When we got back to the Zocalo there was a demonstration taking place and there were vanloads of army personnel in trucks around the square just in case.

Later in the evening Marc went outside and saw something very strange. The road outside our hotel is pedestrianised and is lined with people selling all sorts of things on plastic sheets on the ground, it is very noisy and busy. Well suddenly everyone covered up their stuff and there was silence as people pretendedto just be whiling away the day on the street. It was only a bit later that he saw the police coming down the road. Apparently it is illegal for them to be selling stuff and as long as it is covered up the police turn a blind eye, otherwise they can seize everything. A few minutes after they passed everything was uncovered and and the hawkers starting shouting out hte virtues of their wares! Completely silly if you ask me!!