Mexico City

    I want to live.  I want to do things that other people cannot or will not do.  And I want to do them now, before I get so old and tired that I don’t want to do them any more.  That is why I chose to fly to Mexico City for a long weekend of tourism.  Travel puts a little kerosene in the carburetor, which means that if I want to be an interesting person then I have to be interested in the world around me.  It is easy to give up and stay home.  After all, there isn’t a lot of real estate between the day that you retire and dying on your recliner.  So I travel because it makes me feel young and energized; it also gives me something to look forward to and some place to direct my energy.

   My first day in Mexico City started off with a visit to The Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe.  I was expecting just a church but it was much more than that, containing wide sweeping grounds and newly constructed gardens.  The Shrine is one of the most popular sites in the world for Catholics and the statues alone were worth the excursion. Among the buildings on the compound are the Old Basilica, the Indian Chapel, the Camilla del Pocito, and the New Basilica of Guadalupe.  Of course, I have heard the story of how the Virgin Mary appeared before a man in Mexico but I had no idea that a compound of enormous size and expense was dedicated to this miracle.

   Our second stop on Friday was Teotihuacan (Ta-Uh-Tee-Waa-Kan), which is located about an hour north of Mexico City and, because of the traffic, was almost a two hour drive on the way back.  This UNESCO site include the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon.  When you think of Mexico and the Aztec culture, these pyramids are what will come to mind because they are so famous.  You are not allowed on the pyramids but the Avenue of the Dead leads you from the pyramids to the Temple of the Feathered Serpent, which you are allowed to climb upon.  I felt like a kid again as I sprinted up the steep stairs and had my picture taken in front of three of the 260 serpent heads that the temple contained.

   Since I paid for a private tour on Saturday, my guide had a lot of time to fill because we moved from attraction to attraction so quickly.  Leonardo took me to the 1968 Olympic Stadium, the Estadio Azteca which can seat over 80,000 fans, and to the University of Mexico City to see the huge mural painted on the side of a building.  The mural was created by artist Diego Rivera and represents the struggle of the Mexican people for independence.  These three places were just an aside.  The first of two main attractions was the Plaza de la Constitution where President Obrador was giving an important speech later in the afternoon.  Because it was such a popular event, the avenues were filled with hawkers and sellers of street food, and every corner of the plaza contained a squad of police officers in case there was any trouble.

   After the plaza were took a break from the city and drove to Xochimilco (Sow-Chi-Meel-Kow), which is a series of canals where you can ride on gondola-like boats.  These boats are all painted in bright colors, can seat up to twenty people, and if you want to make your ride even more festive you can rent a Mariachi Band to play for you.  It is a tradition in Mexico City to take your kids to Xochimilco at least once during their childhood.  Some families made an afternoon out of it by renting the boats for a longer excursion and brought a large picnic basket with them.  On weekends college students rent the boats and make a booze cruise out of the ride.

   Our last stop was to Coyocan (Coy-A-Ocan) to see the Centennial Gardens and the Frida House.  Frida Kalo was severely injured in a train wreck when she was young and, during her convalescence, her father installed a mirror over her bed and gave her an art kit so that she could practice self portraits.  Frida became famous for her art which contained bold colors and whose themes included pain and passion.  Her house was turned into a museum after she died.  Just around the corner from her house is the Centennial Gardens, which includes the Fountain of Coyotes.  The Gardens were filled with people because we arrived on a Saturday afternoon and that is when the park holds its festivals.

   On my last day in Mexico City I visited the Museum of Anthropology and Chapultepec (Cha-Pool-Tuh-Pek).  The highlights of the museum were seeing the Aztec calendar stone, the reproduction of Pakal’s Tomb, and a model of Tenochtitlan (Tuh-Nowch-Teet-Lana), or the capital of the Aztec Empire.  Chapultepec Castle was the home of emperors and presidents until it was turned into a museum.  And because it is a castle, I was expecting a rather dour fort with cannons and barracks, but instead it was a palace filled with plazas, statues, and gardens.  Situated above Mexico City, and surrounded by a park that is twice the size of Central Park, Chapultepec is the jewel in the crown of Mexico’s cultural life.
   

      My buddies in Louisville asked me why on earth would I want to go to Mexico.  My answer now is that my flight left at 6:00 amto Dallas and I was in downtown Mexico City before 11:00 am because of the time change.  In essence, it only took a morning’s worth of travel to get to Mexico City and I spent the rest of the day taking a Hop On Hop Off bus tour.  A first rate hotel only cost me $160 per night and all of the food was reasonably priced.  The people could not have been nicer and the things that I saw will stick with me for the rest of my life.  So I say to anyone who will listen, “You should go to Mexico City