surface extension: August 2012

Around town in DF

Chiles at the Condesa street market

Fresh squash blossoms; nopales and fungus in the background

more chiles

papayas

On the 27th, we walked around the Condesa street market, trying out various snacks and admiring the produce; then we all went to: the Bellas Artes Museo, where I had been early in the trip with Venus and her daughter; the Post Office; a walk through Chapultepec Park including the Botanical Garden; at the outlet I found a very nice bookstore/cafe. The Botanical Garden was nice and uncrowded but not unusual; the plants growing around the University and Teotihuacan were more interesting and unique, and impressive, to my eyes. I went to the Museo Antropologia, finally, but I was really too tired. It was . . . a museum. There was a courtyard with a square pond full, full, full of flatbacked turtles; lots of Aztec treasures, Toltec heads, and so on but I was just not up for it. We met at Tekla, a restaurant near Plaza de Madrid, which was very nice, and had squash blossoms, pozole, and other tasty treats. Qing was looking for the perfect souvenir, but didn't find it. I hope she had better luck later in the trip, maybe in Oaxaca. very nice bookstore/cafe.

Jacob and Qing outside Bellas Artes; where a popup fair had appeared.

Mexico City is so huge, and has so many different characters, that it is impossible to know it in such a visit. Most of it I didn't even see from a train or bus. It is so full of all different kinds of people (but unlike other big cities, seemed to be almost all local people-- I did not spot an expat community or even many foreign tourists.) Many treelined streets and parks in the center where I mostly was, but also vast stretches of dusty, colorless and featureless squat apartments made of concrete, like any huge city. I found nothing but friendliness and helpfulness, but people were generally a bit more formal and reserved than other places I've been-- to the point of usually using the tu form. As ever, I wish I had ventured to some of the other, different places. It is always a balancing act in deciding whether to learn more about one place or cover more ground, more superficially. By the end, I was tired enough to just go back to my bnb and crash until leaving the next day. I was too tired even to manage speaking Spanish.

Lunchtime-- tacos and freshly-made juice

Templo Mayor

array of skulls carved in stone; colonial buildings in background

The Templo Mayor is an extensive ruin, seven or more layers deep, of temples right on the Zocalo. It was active at the time the Spaniards arrived: they destroyed it, built the Catedral Metropolitano over part of it, and two Spanish brothers' mansion over the part that is now excavated. They only discovered it recently, and accidentally, as these things happen, when workers installing sewer pipes ran into it. It was nearly empty on the 28th, when I went.

It is interesting that it shows the layers of the successive temples since it was sliced open. But it is hard to understand the organization and get the big picture of what was going on. There were slanting floors with stone benches; the supports under the seats had elaborate friezes but they were too degraded, or I was, to make sense of them. They had, according to the explanatory plaques, dancing warriors brandishing bloody awls used for autosacrifice (of blood, not the life). The whole administrative and religious operation lacks appeal, though I only understand the edges. The esthetic is brutal. But I don't really get a feel for everyday life. Was it only farming, eating tortillas, and paying tribute? What was the whole society like, and the economy? I was surprised that the Templo Mayor was first developed shortly before the conquistadors arrived. How was the religion tied into government and how did it incorporate previous ones that the peoples who built the Templo Mayor? But I have to say, what I know already does not make me want to know more.There is an attached museum, also deserted, that had many artifacts dug up during the (ongoing) excavation of the Templo. It seemed strange that when there were so many people crowding the Zocalo, less than a block away, this site and museum was nearly deserted.

Under the old gum tree

Afterwards, I went back to Condesa to join J and Q to look for lunch-- the barracoa place was closed so we found a relatively fancy taco place (seats!) and got too much food-- very nice green mole tacos, boring mushroom tacos, a sort of shredded, tomato, italiany actually torta that had the overall effect of a fish sloppy joe, and a parilla with steak, chicken with a rub, nopale, grilled onion, chorizo, and lots of that fried pork rind. Whew. Then I headed back to Paco's after a lukewarm leavetaking. I was pretty drained and basically snoozed the rest of the day. I couldn't even write. Or draw. I was feeling peculiar for a few days. Travel is hard.

Jacob, Qing, and La Condesa

On Christmas day, I finally found the Condesa flat, in an alley side-street: a nice place in a lovely tree-y neighborhood, but water only available sometimes. Qing and Jacob set up a poinsettia with presents under it; I was so touched. It was very thoughtful, and just right. Jacob gave me a book with anecdotes about China based on ten words, signed by the author; and Max sent an amazing necklace from a Chinese ethnic group that he had won for excellence in his Chinese class.

We did a lot of walking around, and relaxing at home as well; and the time went by quickly. The nearby park had dog lessons: rows of dogs sitting or lying patiently in line; or at other times, leaping joyfully in the fountain.
We walked all around Condesa, passing markets, looking into shop windows, and the like. In retrospect, it seemed quite leisurely, so I am not sure why I didn't do much writing or drawing.
We went south via the longest subway route and a further train, with views of the city, to Xochimilco, to ride the boats through the canals. In ancient times, the city was a lake; the residents formed islands by tying trees together and making rafts that collected saplings, then dirt, and became real islands that could be farmed. They used boats to travel among them. In a book about Frida and Diego, it mentions a picnic here, and it sounds less built up and crowded.

Dogs helping out

Of course it was far more touristy than I had envisioned, but there is something about being on the water. We walked through a quiet, junky town to get to the canals and to a boat. Many families and groups rented a boat and had picnics, sometimes even bands of around 6 mariachis. They were pretty bad. Once we got away from the most urban part, with walled apartment buildings, the banks were backyards of houses or cafes -- with trees overhanging the water. Small boats scuttled between the barges selling drinks, snacks, and souvenirs. It was a very pleasant and relaxing time.