Mexico City

Just finishing a couple of pleasant days in Mexico City before heading back home tomorrow. Arrived here after a 3 hour bus ride from San Miguel, then grabbed a taxi to our hotel in the Centro. The bus ride was uneventful - can't say the same about the taxi ride. Don't think our driver ever took his foot off the accelerator, and generally drove as if he was trying to escape a nuclear attack. Anyway, after a white-knuckle 25 minute dash across the city we arrived at the hotel none the worse for wear. Here are some photos... taken after our hands stopped shaking:



The Catedral Municipal looking across the Zocalo, or central square - just a short walk from our hotel. When we arrived Sunday afternoon it was filled with locals enjoying the final hours of the weekend. The Cathedral has been here for about 400 years - Pope John Paul II celebrated mass here during his Latin American tour in 1979. There's a statue of him and a couple of memorial plaques to honor the occasion. The Zocalo is supposed to be the largest public square in Latin America. I believe it - it's huge.


One of several altars inside the Cathedral.



To the right of the Cathedral is the Palacio Real, where Cortes met with Montezuma after the conquest in 1523. Needless to say there's a lot of history here. Just behind the Palace are the ruins of the Templo Mayor - an Aztec holy site that dates back more than 1,000 years.




The Palacio de Bellas Artes (Palace of Fine Arts) is another city landmark, and is one of a couple of venues where you can catch a performance of Ballet Folklorico de Mexico.


All of the museums in Mexico are closed on Mondays, so instead we opted to do a walking tour of the Historic Center of the city. Did an exploratory trip around the immediate neighborhood for a couple of hours , then hopped on the Mexico City Metro (3 pesos) to Chapultepec Park, which unfortunately was also closed. It was such a pleasant day though that we decided to walk back up Paseo de la Reforma and back to out hotel - a 4 mile hike but a very enjoyable one. The Paseo is a wide, tree-lined, beautiful boulevard that runs thru the local embassy row.



Every intersection along the Paseo had a monument or a fountain of some kind. This is the Angel de la Independencia.

Next day we returned to Chapultepec. Lots of history here too, plus it's an absolutely huge green space. It's officially called the Bosque de Chapultepec (Woods of Chapultepec) and they seeming to go forever - hard to believe there's this much parkland in the middle of one of the world's largest cities. Anyway, there are a number of excellent museums embedded within the park, including the National Museum which is housed within the original Castle of Chapultepec. These are the "Halls of Montezuma" from the Marine Corp hymn. It was here in 1847 that the American Army stormed the walls, overran the defences, and later broke thru the gates of the city to capture it and end the Mexican War. Although the conflict has largely faded from memory in the US, it's noteworthy for a couple of reasons: under the terms of the treaty of peace Mexico ceded all the territories of what are now the states of California, Arizona and New Mexico (and South Texas) to the United States. It was also the training ground for virtually all of the famous names we know from the American Civil war. Among the junior officers who fought here were Robert E. Lee, U.S. Grant, Stonewall Jackson, and a host of others...all of whom stormed this castle one September morning in 1847.




The main entrance into Bosque de Chapultepec.



The monument honoring the Mexican defenders in the fight against the Americans.




The front of the Castillo.




The Alcazar, or Citadel, atop the Castle. This was the official residence of the Emperor Maxmilian from 1864-67, and several Presidents of Mexico after the revolution.




One of the royal coaches.



And the rooftop gardens.


After exploring the Castillo we walked across the park to the Museum of Archeology. Thought it was going to be a quick in and out, but it turned out to be a terrific place...one of the greatest museums I've ever been in. Could (and should) have reserved an entire day to explore the place but we basically short-changed ourselves and so only had a few hours there.



One of the Mayan artifacts on display. This one is Juego de Pelota, or the ball game - except that in this particular game the penalty for losing was to be offered as human sacrifice to the gods. Tough sport.




Don't have to go to the Yucatan to see Mayan ruins - they've moved some of them here. Walking around this area was like being on the set of an Indiana Jones movie, except that it was the real deal.



And speaking of ruins...

Must say that Mexico City was a pleasant surprise. Didn't expect to like it as much as we did, and we're leaving with the thought that we may need to return here on a future trip to Mexico just see more of the terrific historical sites.

Heading home in the morning...