Mexico City

  

Metropolitan Cathedral, Mexico City

Took a ‘luxury bus’ from SM to Mexico City’s Terminal Norte and then a taxi (official, of course ☺) to Hampton Inn. Sat. afternoon of a holiday weekend featured throngs of those 24million everywhere!! Trip took almost 30 minutes for a flat fare of 85 pesos. That bus is a great way to travel! Even gave us a sandwich snack ☺

Hampton Inn Hotel location was good, and the staff was most friendly and helpful. Our room was dark (only lights were on wall on each side of the bed and the window looked out onto a shaft) and had only a desk chair to sit on as an alternative to the bed, but it was serviceable. Breakfast was great – eggs and meat every day – and started at 6AM so we had no problems getting fueled up before “power-touring”!!

 

Our guide Leo Tellez and driver Javier (from Kensington Tours) were ready for us bright and early Sunday and we were off before sunrise for Taxco. Both Leo and Javier were wonderful, and we were very happy that we had both of them for all 3 days. Leo’s knowledge of Mexico’s history and love of showing off his country certainly helped give us a good sense and perspective of all we saw. They got us into and out of everything smoothly and in a timely fashion.

 

Loved Taxco – though wouldn’t want to live up on those hills and get into town every day!! – especially the Santa Prisca church. The Dolores Olmedo house/museum is definitely worth a visit - amazing art, beautiful grounds, good café where we ate a late lunch w/Leo in the midst of a torrential thunderstorm. Being at Xochimilco on a holiday weekend Sunday early evening (it was almost dark when our boat ride ended) was surreal! Sooooo many boats! It was like a big Bumper Boat amusement park ride! Band boats (“battle of the bands”), food vendor boats, drink vendor (should have bought a beer!) boats, and scads of families consuming huge picnics on boats. We felt a bit guilty having a boat all to ourselves, but just savored the whole experience! Back at Hampton Inn in time to catch Madonna’s half-time show and watch the Patriots lose (in Spanish!) – the only bad part of the day ☹

 

Monday, we went first to the Guadalupe shrine (like nothing we’ve ever seen!) and then to Teotihuacan and pyramids. Leo first took us to the ‘craft’ stop where we learned about all the uses of the agave plant and all the different minerals/stones that are fashioned into art and ‘souvenirs'. Pyramid museum was well done, and the pyramids quite awe inspiring. Again, throngs of families on holiday ‘outing’, but not so crowded you didn’t have your own ‘space’. Wilson declined to climb Sun pyramid, so Leo accompanied me ½ way up – which was plenty for me. Very nice of him.  Wilson & I both climbed the smaller (more even stones) Moon pyramid. Didn’t go to the La Gruta cave for lunch but instead to El Jaguar (adjacent to the pyramids) – a tourist restaurant/event place complete with Mariachi band and Indian dancers! Also very nicely tended garden/plants. Another rainstorm, but without thunder - and after we’d climbed the pyramids, so no complaints!

 

Tuesday, we started at the Cathedral, looked at Templo Mayor ruins, toured the National Palace with all those Rivera murals, before heading to Chapultapec for the Castle. The castle is well-worth a visit: the ‘Mexico’s history’ museum is excellent even without English labels (we were getting pretty good at reading Spanish by now!). Then the Maximilian and Carlotta followed by the Diaz ‘period rooms’ are fabulous. As are the murals – especially Siqueiros’s. Views over the park, the Nine Heros monument, and city in all directions were super (even in the haze). Bonus was having the cadets/military buzzing around setting up a stage for a ceremony later in the week. It was midafternoon by the time we got to the Anthropological Museum, but worth the wait! Super museum with sooo much to see it really can’t be done in a day (even all day!). Leo guided us through the main floor highlights, and we literally ran through the upstairs “how they lived” rooms of the various regions/cultures. No time for lunch but Leo bought us a snack in the park and a drink as we left the Anthro. Museum (in the rain again, of course!). We also stopped at the Independence monument on our drive down the lovely Paseo de la Reforma, and the over-the-top beaux arts main post office “palace”. Saw lots. Surely is lots more to see. (It was hard to pass up going to the Mus. of Modern Art when we were right in front of it, but we wanted more time in the Anthro. Museum).

 

Three very full and very satisfying days!!

 

Between our guidebook and the recommendations of the hotel staff, we found restaurants within easy (and we hoped ‘safe’) walking distance. Each very different, but all had good food and ‘ambiance’.  I’d go again to each one.

 

Susan Pile February 2012