Travels within travels within travels...

Well, I've been meaning to post on our recent trip to Mexico City. But I haven't gotten around to it because we're so busy doing a million things. Like taking a trip. Or planning our next trip. Soooo, anyhow, we had a wonderful time down in el D.F. It truly is one of the world's great cities. We left Zac. early and managed to arrive at the bus station an hour early, which was great because it was below freezing in the station. On the taxi ride there, the driver kept wiping the condensation from the windshield, until he realized he was just wiping ice. Inside the cab. It was as cold as I've been in Mexico. And that includes schlepping up Picacho del Diablo in the rain...
The bus ride was actually nice. We rode the super-lujo ETN, which has wifi, lunch, and big chairs which recline. A. was freaking out about the prospect of riding the bus. Seriously. D. didn't quite enjoy it as much as we did. We stayed in a fancy hotel on Reforma, the D.F.'s Champs Elysées. The first night, we attended a reception for the Fulbright scholars. We weren't there for two minutes before A. had run off with a gaggle of kids to play escondas and Simon dice. I spent the night alternately chasing after her and after the buffet and open bar. That's why I know virtually nothing about the other Fulbrighters. Ava did make a fast friend, M., whose folks are Fulbrighting in Oaxaca. They were basically inseparable for the rest of our stay, touring, building forts, and comparing Polly Pockets.

The next day, we tagged along with M. and her dad on a tour to Teotihuacán. I think I can count the number of organized tours I've taken on one hand (finger?), but it was great and caused me to rethink my opinions of touristing. We went to the Plaza de Tres Culturas at Tlatelolco (which I've never seen. Site of some great massacres through history), La Villa (where the image of La Guadalupana, Reina de Mexico, Emperatriz del las Americas, etc. resides), and on to the incomparable Teotihuacán.

Some my earliest memories are of climbing the pyramids here, when I was five, or so. Remarkably, they seem unchanged. They are still huge, steep, and breath-taking. The scale of the constructions is difficult to get your head around. The Pyramid of the Moon was constructed over 300 years. They built a new layer each century (52 years, according to the progress of the Fourth World). M. helped A. figure out the basics of pyramid climbing. I was by far the most nervous one, trying to keep A.'s hand on the cable and to keep her from running.

The views from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun are just unbelievable. Words aren't going to help much. When you're up there, you realize that the city is right in the middle of a valley. The pyramids mimic the contours of the surrounding hills.

We saw some spectacular murals in a partially restored palace. They include a panel depicting a vision of Tlaloc in heaven. Apparently, butterflies played an important role in the cosmology of the locals, representing the maturation of a person. The warriors were associated with butterflies, as are high priests, etc. The murals really are exquisite. Even Fennec thought so...

That evening, D. attended a reception with the US ambassador, but apparently, he didn't want kids messin' with his crib, so A. was personae non grata. It's possible that I was not welcome, too. God knows, the US has to keep up appearances...

The next two days were spent exploring Bosque de Chapultepec. Us dads went to el Museo Papilote with the kids, which is a great kids museum, except that it was completely overrun with kids. Unbelievably crowded. But, I suppose that's a good thing. Big hits included riding on the Autobus Magico, an IMAX 3D of underwater life (This blew A.'s mind--she would periodically jump from her chair and try to grab various critters as they swan by.), and the recycling exhibit, where we made paper dolls out of recycled paper pulp. Very cool. We ended up spending the whole day there and we still need to go back.

On Saturday we spent a beautiful day in Chapultepec Park. Once we could find our way in. It is an immense and amazing place. Around every corner is something new. Monuments, castles, museums, lakes, etc. We spent an incredibly brief time at the Museo de Anthropologia. This place trumps any other antiquities museum I've seen (take that British Museum!). I only got to spend mere seconds in the Sala de Culturas del Norte, Sala Maya, and, of course, the Salas Mexica and Teotihuacano. Spending two hours here is like stopping off in the Land of the Lotus Eaters for a quick bite. Alas, we had to leave and see off our new friends on their return to Oaxaca (I want to visit!). 

We then headed off for a quick tour of the Mexico City Zoo. The zoo is free. It is basically sponsored by McDonald's. You can get a Big Mac with your giraffes, fries with your poisonous snakes, etc. I give Ronald my regards on his chocolate sundae, which must have some narcotic in it. We quickly purchased a map and did reconnaissance for foxes. In a moment that will go down alongside the discovery of the New World, D. found where the fennec foxes were located. Real fennec foxes. Big ears and everything. Even though the little guy was comatose (hey, they're nocturnal...), he sure was cute. We walked back to Reforma, stopping to shop for super-cool Adidas-knock-off vinyl bags, hit the Zona Rosa for dinner, then went back to our palatial suite.

Sunday was time to catch the super-luxe landplane back to Zac-Zac. I love D.F., I really do. Every time I go, I feel like I need another two weeks or so. It is un gran ciudad, Biggest Big-City in the World. Maybe I haven't gotten out enough, but LA, New York, Paris, London, Rome, Athens got nothin' on the cradle of Meso-American civilization. Next time, I'll see all those things I missed...

It's off to the Yucatan in just a little bit. I can tell you, that trip just sounds brutal. We're looking forward to seeing NM friends, Baba and Uncies, playallday, Merida, the beach, and our old friends the Classic and Post-Classic Maya. Time to catch a breath and, well, travel locally. A Dios rogando y con el mazo dando....