Late March
Ichaqueo
We had read in La Voz (a local newspaper) about a
new park that had been developed around a waterfall so we went to check
it out. A 30 minute drive (most of it on dirt roads), winding
through three small villages, brought us to a small parking lot with a
sign reading "For a guide to the waterfall, park here". Well, no
one was there so we just started walking along a stream. Near the
parking lot was a large fenced area where at least four species of deer
were kept. Once again, it was lovely to get out of town and walk
in the quiet woods.
We never did find "the" waterfall (with a 100' drop), Instead we found a little one . . .
But we had a good
time anyway. As we were getting in our car at the end of our
hike, a guide there told us that the trail to the waterfall was on the
other side of the road we had driven in on and at least a 5 hour hike.
Maybe we'll try again another day. . . .
Sarah and Margaret "studying" and sharing the iPod. We're
so
glad that we brought two computers with us to Mexico: Don
and Helen use them at work and the kids use them for
homework in the afternoons.
More of
Margaret's market photos: a study in green (chilis, chayote, tomatillos)
Mexico City- 2
We excitedly returned to Mexico City during a long weekend in March
(the kids had no school on Benito Juarez's birthday, an early president
of Mexico).
Torre Latino America: this used to be the tallest building in
Mexico City; now it's the 5th tallest. There is a nice
observation deck on the 42th floor, allowing us great views in all
directions. We've been lucky that every day we have been in Mexico City
the air has been clear and the views of the surrounding volcanoes have
been wonderful.
Bellas Artes is a theatre and art museum with some famous murals on every floor.
Scenes from around town:
Peeking into a vecindad (neighborhood),
much like the tenements of the US. |
Tiled wall of Sanborns |
Little candies that look exactly
like
miniature fruit |
 |
 |
 |
bread delivery
Coyoacán
Just south of Mexico City (now really a suburb, it used
to be its own village) this is the hometown of Frida Kahlo and where
she and Diego Rivera lived for most of their lives together. We
enjoyed the relative peace and quiet of that community compared to the
center of town.
This is the "blue house" where Frida grew up. It is now a museum
of her art, her collections, her life. The film "Frida" was
filmed here so it looked very familiar to us as we entered the
courtyard.
The main plaza in Coyoacan is full of art on weekends
Viveros, a lovely park in town.
where people do T'ai Chi in the mornings and
practice bullfighting
The guidbook warned us to watch out
for the
"belligerent squirrels" in the park!
Xochimilco
Continuing south from Coyoacan is the beautiful estate of
Dolores Olmedo Patino, a friend and patron of Diego Riviero. She
has a large collection of his work, spanning from his early paintings
of Greek gods and statues to his portraits and landscapes. The
museum also houses her collection of masks, ivory, artisan crafts.
In addition to the amazing art collection, we enjoyed the green and quiet of the estate - it was quite peaceful.
Lots of peacocks roamed the property
And there were five Mexican hairless dogs (one of these is a statue!)
Another thing to do in Xochimilco is to boat along the canals.
The waterways are remnants fo the floating gardens that used to
supply the Aztecs but now they just seem like canals. They say
there are about 180 km (!) of canals, but the tourist part is a short 1
km stretch in town. There are literally thousands of brightly colored
boats that ply these waters and entertain families with their Sunday
picnics. We've done it now (and don't need to do it again).
