I arrived in Mexico City Tuesday around 3pm. I was promptly greeted (with flowers!) by my brother Tim and my "cousin" Elideth just outside of baggage claim. We proceeded to go to a family restaurant, owned by Elideth's cousin. They informed us that there was never a reason to go hungry, we were guests. What a great welcome to the city, and the food was fabulous. The best part is that the restaurant is behind the house of my hosts, Panchito & Conchita Sierra, sort of like adopted grandparents. They have known my mom since she was 7 yrs old. I arrived safe, sound, and with good company. My travels have begun.
Mexico is a huge metropolis and there is much diversity, history and culture, making it a great city to explore. It's over 6,500 ft in altitude, located in a plateau surrounded my mountains and volcanoes. It's population is somewhere around 20 million and although there is a fantastic subway system, the city still relies heavily on cars, which makes the city extremely polluted. The Metro (subway) only costs 3 pesos! (roughly $.25 USD) The metro is comprehensive and efficient and safe.
Interesting facts about the metro:
*There are "Women Only" cars during peak hours (most tourists guides warn about groping on full cars)
*It seems that the last car on the train is the "gay party car" (Mexico City recently legalized gay marriage.
*They use colors and symbols as well as words to identify the lines.
Yesterday I rode the Metro for the first time. I took it to the bus station on the north end of the city, so that my "cousin", Francisco, and I could take a bus to go pick up Panchito and Conchita at their country house in the town of Ixmiquilpan (say that 5 times fast). There, Conchita had amazing food waiting for us with fresh squeezed orange juice and the ever-present Nescafé (instant coffee). They took me on a quick tour of the town and the mountains to the south. There were herds of goats "borregos" and a beautiful, albeit polluted, river that swept through a canyon in the mountains. The town is known for it's hot springs, so there are plenty of water parks that are filled with naturally warm water. They call these "balneareos". At the balneareos there are huge pools, waterfalls, and water slides for days. I forgot to inquire, but am sure there are more primitive sites for the less theme-park oriented traveller. All in all it was an awesome day trip, and we succeeded in bringing Francisco's grandparents "Los Panchitos" back from their weekend home.
On the drive back, I had an in depth conversation with Conchita about nutrition and natural healing. It turns out she's a big naturalist and swears by fresh, raw produce, minimal processing and no chemicals. She said that that is why she's so strong at her age. I asked her age, and she told me she was 80 years old, and that Panchito was 85. These are the folks who were less out of breath hiking around the mountains than I was! I told myself it was altitude, but then later I didn't turn down her juice concoction of beet, carrot, cucumber, apple and orange. She assured me we would compare notes and that she would take me to the markets and the herb stores "bótanicas".
Today I went to UNAM, la Universidad Nacional Autónima de Mexico. It's a huge public university that is FREE to the public. You need an Entrance exam, but it's completely free. It is about 3 sq miles and has free transportation. They even let you borrow bikes if you're a student. It is also home to the stadium that hosted the 1968 olympics. It's a beautiful campus, like a proper city, and is built with the lava rock from the volcano it's on.
An interesting thing I have noticed about people here, and I even asked my tour guide today (Francisco, graduate of UNAM also Chilango), is that couples are not one bit shy about public displays of affection. Everywhere you look there is a couple in embrace, if not literally face to face. He says sometimes in the summer you see them really getting it on. I found this very curious, and it was hard not to be taken aback by all the "amor". Francisco says that Mexican culture is very affectionate. I can tell.
Yes the food here is amazing but what is up with Nescafe and why is it everywhere??
ReplyDeleteAlso: before we picked you up from the airport I went with "cousin" to a tianguis on calle Ezekial where we bought the flowers. While there I also ate a really good carnitas taco and a quesadilla de flor (pumpkin flowers.) SO good!!
ReplyDeleteOh, my children experiencing their cultural heritage :)from my mother land, Lovely!
ReplyDeletePortense bien ninos y tengan cuidado!