MEXICO
CITY: VALLE DE BRAVO, XOCHIMILCO, ETC...
Ryan Rowe
Friday, November 1st, 2002, 6:53pm CDT
From an Internet cafe in (Puerto) Veracruz, Veracruz, México
En
esta fecha, escribí también un artículo en ESPAÑOL. Haz
clic aquí.
There are
221 photos of my 16 days in the Mexico City region. Click
here.
Mexico City.
Taxis. Agua de horchata. Pyramids. Topes. People. Traffic. Parks and trees.
Street vendors. More people. Bilingualism. Tourists. Buses. Metro stations.
Price variations. Museums. Universities. INAH. Mountains. Geckos. Hot Latin
Women. Licuados. Rain. Flash thunderstorms. Roundabouts. Crazier drivers
than Montreal. Poverty. Parties. Paseo de la Reforma. Clubs. Dirty cops.
If you listen to everything that EVERYONE says about Mexico City, then stay
away. However, if you've got an adventurous spirit, don't fear the unknown,
or just plain stupid, then you should visit Mexico City. That's when you'll
find out your grandmother would have been safe here. The most dangerous
thing about Mexico City is its pollution and its drivers. I took taxis
several times, used public transportation on a daily basis, and drank the
water. YEGADS!
Actually, I've been drinking bottled water since I got to Mexico, but I
haven't stopped brushing my teeth, accidentally swallowing while I shower,
or keeping my mouth closed while I swim. I also haven't refused tomatoes,
apples, and other washed fruits. I've eaten plenty of meat from vendors on
the street. Tortas, tacos, quesadillas, comida corrida, whatever my
insatiable appetite desired. Think I'm getting hungry again. Comida corrida
translates loosely to home-cooked food. Most of the time it'll be a garage
converted into a restaurant, and they serve a standard plate of meat stew,
rice, and refried beans with tortillas (corn or flour, your choice).
Basically they're cooking in their kitchen and serving it to you on their
table. It's really cheap, it's really good, and beats McDonald's anyday.
Rainy season. As soon as I hit the mainland, rain started to fall. I've been
lucky so far and haven't really gotten caught in it. Others haven't had
quite the same fortune. It's not just the rainy season, it's hurricane
season. Hurricane Isidore devastated the city of Merida, in the Yucatan and
Hurricane Kenna caused damage of US$50 million and injured 150 in Puerto
Vallarta and San Blas. Imagine, I was in that area only two or three weeks
ago. And I'm headed to the Yucatan next week. Was I born with a silver
horseshoe up my arse?
I'm white, and blond, with a backpack and earrings. This makes me an easy
target for price-gouging. Go for the places that have their prices posted.
My budget from now until Christmas is approximately US$15 per day, and that
includes accomodations. It's doable. Central America is apparently a lot
cheaper than Mexico so don't think I'll have much of a problem. I can always
grab my harmonica and this little flute-like instrument I bought at
Teotihuacan and entertain the locals for a few pesos. They'll pay me to stop
playing (I'm not very musically-inclined).
In Mexico City, I stayed for two weeks with my friend Mariana and her
family. I can't thank them enough. Without their hospitality, I would have
only been able to stay a few days, maybe 5 at the most. Big cities are
expensive. So to them I dedicate this email.
My first weekend with them they took me to their cottage. It's in the
mountains on the outskirts of a town called Valle de Bravo. Mariana and her
brother brought their friends Rafa and Marcela. We had an awesome time up
there! Their house is beautifully situated directly on the shores of the
lake. The weekend included speeding around the lake in a powerboat, relaxing
by the pool at the marina, and visiting the cobble-stoned streets of Valle.
It was also here that I finally found a pair of cheap sandals! I had been
looking for some since Los Angeles. I will never get over the amount of
mosquitoes that were up there. I should start a hummingbird farm and sell
living-breathing-mosquito-killing machines to the highest bidders. I would
make a fortune.
I visited the zoo. Zoologico de Chapultepec is huge. And FREE! Remember the
20$ I didn't want to spend to get into the San Diego Zoo? Ha! I saw lions
and tigers and bears, oh my! Actually no, the lions and tigers were hiding
when I visited. This particular zoo by the way has a very successful panda
breeding program (in captivity). The zoo is situated inside the Bosque de
Chapultepec which itself is gigantic. It is home to a lake, the presidential
palace (known as Los Pinos), and on its fringes sit the embassies of many
world nations.
In Mexico City, site of the 1968 Olympics, there is the Plaza de las Tres
Culturas. This broad courtyard surrounded by high-rise buildings and the
peaceful Tlatelolco housing complex holds the gory history of the massacre
of as many as 300 student demonstrators. It occurred only ten days before
the start of the Olympic Games. The student protesters had gathered to call
for greater democracy in the Mexican government. The government of Gustavo
Diaz Ordaz initiated military procedures to end the movement in the face of
international attention. The official count of dead stands at 30. A monument
to the event now stands on the site, surrounded by garbage, dog excrement,
and broken pavement.
A subjective account: Tlatelolco's
Sad Night
The
Arizona Republic
In the same complex of buildings, I discovered an exhibit honoring Austrian
exiles during World War II. Poets, novelists, and artists who had been sent
from Austria by the Nazis because of their writings and expressions. These
individuals were taken to many Latin American countries, among them Bolivia,
Brasil, Chile, Colombia, and Mexico. Many of them never returned home, and
made their lives in these countries, contributing to the social, artistic
and cultural development of the cities in which they lived.
Mexico City is soo big that I am sending this email in two parts. I'm not
finished writing about the museums, Queretaro, Teotihuacan, and the Basilica
de Guadalupe. Also, like I've mentioned in other updates on the website, I
have over 300 pictures. Only a small portion of those are up. Please be
patient.
Oh yeah, check it out. My last night here, I was invited by a girl I didn't
really know to a party in a part of town I wasn't familiar with. What's life
if you don't take chances, right? I grabbed a cab and sailed on down to this
massive house party. I showed up and obviously didn't know a soul there. The
girl I knew had left and I was stuck at this party where beer was only 10
pesos, the music was hopping, and there were tons of hot Mexican girls.
Let's put it this way. Try being blond in Mexico. It's really cool. :) I
made friends with a whole bunch of people. In fact, half the people I met
had visited, studied or had friends who live in Canada. And they really like
us too! I met one group of girls, Barbara, Patty, and Ana, they were a whole
bunch of fun. They convinced me to stay an extra couple of days, and they
brought me to a Halloween party the following night. I got to see a real
Mexican piñata! I also got to experience for the first time Mexico's
corrupt police force. After the party, a couple of cops decided to give us a
hard time for being in the car without the motor running. They asked us for
the equivalent of 300 pesos ($30 American). Either that or 30 days in jail.
I wasn't quite ready to pony up that easily, so I pleaded my case long
enough for one of Barbara's friends to show up. Rodrigo's father happens to
work for the federales... so he gave them a good talking to and we took off!
The bad experience didn't seem to shake them. The next day they dragged me
along to Xochimilco. If you come to Mexico and you've got a crew to chill
with, COME HERE. South of the city, you show up and the scene is hundreds of
young adults milling around drinking beer and shootin' the breeze. You buy
your poison and this is where the fun starts. Xochimilco is a maze of canals
and waterways among several small islands (at least that's what they looked
like). You rent a trajinera, and pile onto it with 20 other people and just
party your butt off. Bring your own supply of music and alcohol, and it's
the recipe for a good time. The trajineras will take you out for as long as
you want. Cost varies to size of boat and number of people in your party.
Mexico really is MI CASA ES SU CASA.
Sr. Ramírez, Sra. Ramírez, Mariana, Jose Pablo, thanks for Valle, thanks
for Queretaro, thanks for Mega Gym, thanks for Coyoácan, thanks for new
friends, thanks for everything!!! I'll never forget it...
Congrats to Christine, Juan, and Alain. You will all receive postcards...
There are others who wrote to me and will also get postcards as soon as I
can get them out... Linda, Monica, Johanne and others...
I forgot to thank MARSHALL in my last email. A big thank-you for directing
me to Sandi's bookstore in Guadalajara to get the Lonely Planet.
Barbará, Patty, and Aná - awesome meeting you girls... definitely have to
keep in touch so you can party with me again in Mexico City, or perhaps in
Montreal!
