We have done soo much in the last 3 days it isn`t funny! Where to start? Hmmm… Saturday (day 13 for those playing at home).
We finally ventured into the heart of old Mexico DF on day 13… to Zócalo. For those that aren`t in the know… Zócalo is THE place for your traditional Mexican protest rally! Think Sydney new years eve, but in one central square. It`s quite impressive. This is where recent protests over the Mexican presidency have been held by Obrador supporters. There were still some semi-permanent protest tents but it was pretty good compared to 3 months ago when the entire area was taken over by protestors.
First thing we went and saw was the murals of Diego Rivera in the Palacio Nacional. They tell the history of Mexico from it`s beginnings to about 1929. Amazing in their scope and details. Enrique – because he knows everything about Mexico – took us through the entire history… it was absolutely fantastic! I especially love the subversive nature of the murals that show how passionate Diego was about his country, it’s people and what he thought of the Spanish history.
Next we took a look around the semi-buried ruins of Templo Mayor (the Spanish when they conquered just built their new city on top of sacred Aztec temples, and at times used the stones from them as well!!!), and then headed off to the posh area of Mexico DF – where we spent a pleasant afternoon browsing the markets (the posh markets) and drinking coffee (posh coffee).
We spent the evening at Ailin’s sisters (Carolina’s) house, but we had to get home early because Sunday – day 14 – was to be a very busy day.
Sunday, in the tradition of the real essence of Mexico, was a day of extremes. First off, we went to see a folkloric ballet… like Riverdance.. but a Mexican version. It was really excellent, and the mariachi were the best I’ve heard before. It was held in Bellas Artes (Fine Arts) Palace… and you thought the opera house was amazing! It is, but so is this place… it’s built almost entirely from marble (direct from the quarries of Italy where one of those famous Italian sculptors got his stuff – Michelangelo i think it was). But because it is soo heavy, and Mexico DF is on soft soil – the area was once a lake – the palace is sinking into the ground ever so slowly.
So… that was a great start to the day… and then things got interesting – because in the afternoon we went to Plaza de Toros. Translation: The bull fighting stadium. The biggest in the world. Capacity 70,000… and the ring is approx 45m in diameter, with rings encircling it. It is quite impressive – and very intimidating. And then the bull fighting began.
Let’s just say I don’t think – no… I KNOW that I won’t be going to see anymore bull fighting. I didn’t really have any pre-conceptions about it before going – except that the thought of killing a bull for sport was outrageous… but I wanted to see for myself what the spectacle was all about. I liken the bullfights to a boxing match… or a cock fight… something that you shouldn’t enjoy, but at times can’t help beeing swept up in the spectacle. Having said that… after seeing one of the Matadores get attacked (and quite viciously) by a rather angry bull, and also after seeing how the bull gets killed (and not just one bull, but 6 over the course of the afternoon), I can say without pause that I didn’t eat beef for dinner that night. I prefer to get my meat from a butcher and stay ignorant. The Matador is fine… thanks for asking… his only injory was a horn up his arse which required 6 hours of surgery. Nice job, if you can get it (some call it Karma).
Anyway, that was the Toros experience. Today we hit the road, travelling out of Mexico DF to the first location on our road trip РQuer̩taro. Along the way, we visited Tula which has some really great Tolteca ruins Рthe Toltecas were the influence for most of the more modern Mexican cultures like the Mayas and the Aztecas.
Querétaro is a really nice place (at night), and is much more relaxed than Mexico DF… more like a small (but very large) country town in comparison. But, even then, it is enormous. Traffic is constant, and getting here we passed more Wal-Marts (like Kmart but with food as well) than could fit in the entire Australian continent. We also passed some new towns, being constructed to de-gentrify Mexico DF… entire towns of identical rows of Mexican-style terraces… all empty and ready and waiting for people to move 2 hours out of the city. No public transport except for washing machines, and no space for trees or backyards. Just living.
Tomorrow we continue with the last 4 days of Mexico 2006.
(PS, Virus, you’re photo is coming!!!)
(PPS, if you are reading this post sans images, it’s because we haven’t had time to upload them yet… but we will, so make sure you come back and read this post in a day or so. )
(PPPS, if you CAN see images, it’s because my future self has travelled into the past and uploaded the images on my behalf. So enjoy…)
