So if the blog title didn't make sense I'll just clarify that I was in Mexico with our family friends, the Mondlaks. Our trip was certainly a great adventure, but I could not have imagined traveling without the company of Joel, Janet, or Jessa Mondlak! Their incredible knowledge on the culture and language of Mexico was far greater than any guide that I could have hired. Thanks again guys!
When we arrived in Mexico City we were picked up by Joel's sister's (Betty) driver, Juan Carlos. Between the airport and Betty's apartment I saw some of the craziest driving in my life, but thanks to Juan Carlos I'm still able to write this blog. When we got to her apartment we were exhausted, considering that we had to get up at 2:30 am to catch our 5:30 flight from Burlington, so we chilled out.
The next day we went to the bus station to pick up Ariel and her New Zealand friend, Tamlyn. At the moment they are studying this semester at the Universidad de Vercruzana in Xalapa. After a series of fiascos we went to to our next stop, Xochimilco. Xochimilco is a UNESCO World Heritage Site because it still has the canals that the Aztecs built to drain the large lake that once occupied the valley where Mexico City is located. Anyways, Xochimilco is like a smaller and more colorful version of the canals in Venice, where the banks are lined with farms and vendors coming to your boat asking if you want grilled corn, jewlery, or tortillas, which is certainly something that I have never seen before, especially on water.
The following day we went to to the main Zocalo (plaza at the center of a town) in Mexico City, which is surrounded by the Cathedral Metropolitana, Sagario Chapel, Templo Mayor, and the Presidential Palace. The churches in Mexico were unbelievable, even if they were located in the middle of nowhere. The Cathedral Metropolitana had several alters made out of gold, with huge pipe organs, and all of the other aspects of a European cathedral. Although it's impressive, the Cathedral and Chapel were built from the stones of the next door neighbor's house, the Aztec's Templo Mayor. Templo Mayor is one of the last remains of the Aztec city, Techoticilcan, which was actually discovered in the 1970s when the government was expanding the subway.
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| Templo Mayor |
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| Cathedral Metropolitana |
On the Zocalo there are unlicensed vendors everywhere! We were buying something from one of them but then all of a sudden she had to go and hide because the police (las baccas) showed up. I almost got ran over twice by vendors, who were running into this tiny alleyway, where everyone obviously couldn't fit. Unfortunately the hot dog vendor got caught, but apparently if you are caught you are only fined 15 pesos, which is about $1.25.
Saturday we went to the artisan market in San Angel. It was really cool seeing all of the different colors and mediums of Mexican art. I did my Christmas shopping there, which was awesome!
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| All of us at the San Angel Saturday Market |
Later we went to Casa Azul, which was where Frida Kahlol lived most of her life. My favorite part was the exhibit on all of the dresses and braces that she wore to cover up here disfigured body (she was in a serious street car accident while studying medicine.) She dressed in a Oaxcan style because of its big clothes and it showed matriarchal dominance.
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| Casa Azul |
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| Frida's Outfits |
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| Frida's Bed |
Sunday we drove from Mexico City to Papantla, which took us six hours because we got lost and the speed was a little slow in some places. While on the road I saw some of the craziest driving, like buses passing cars on narrow windy roads with steep banks on both sides (on a double solid line, but I don't think that mattered much to them.) When I wasn't paying attention to traffic I noticed that within hours the biodiversity changed from a dry city, to a humid temperate mountainous rainforest. We got to Papantla, which is a major vanilla producing area and is also near El Tajin, a famous Totonac ruin. That evening we walked around the Zocalo, and since it was Sunday it was very crowded. Apparently we were the evenings exotic specimens, especially when a bunch of tweens came up and asked if we spoke English (in Spanish) (#culturalexperience?)
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| Papantla's Zocalo |
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| The state at the Mirador |
Monday we went to El Tajin, and had a Totonac (the indigenous group that occupied El Tajin) guide, which was cool because we got an accurate perspective. We learned so much, but in I'll just retell a few random if you had any sort of handicap, you were offered to the gods because you were special. Also, the upper class was the only ones that could speak to the gods, and were also the only people allowed to play on the ball courts (any of the 17 there.) The winner of the game was also offered. Also, the descendants of the Totonac are allowed to live nearby the ruins, but if the head of a household dies, the rest of the family have to leave. After our tour we watched the voledores, which are a group of five guys, who go up a 30 meter pole. Four of them tie themselves to ropes, while one stands up on top of the pole to dance and play music. The boldeores go around the pole a total of 52 times, which represents a century.
Afterwards we went to Xalapa so that Tamlyn and Ariel catch their Monday class. I went to their History and Culture classes, which I could understand a quarter of all the Spanish spoken. I was pretty proud of myself!
Tuesday we went to to the Archaeology Museum, which is the second best in Mexico. There were 2,000 artifacts from almost every pre-Hispanic civilization that had existed in Mexico.
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| Aztec Map |
Wednesday we left Xalapa and went to Chapultepec, which is a Magic Town. I got a kilo of coffee beans, but it was just like going to the Mexican version of Woodstock, Vermont (nothing too interesting on the surface.)
Then we went to Puebla, which was one of the first colonial cities established by the Spanish in Mexico, so there were a lot of old edifices (I kept on thinking of the painted ladies in San Francisco) and beautiful churches. (Personally, I thought the churches in Puebla were far more impressive than the ones I saw in Mexico City.) One of the churches we saw had an interior made completely of gold and silver while another had statues of saints that were out of this world (the artwork, not the saints!)
Later, when we were walking to this mole (think mole negro) place, we saw people watching the Mexico vs. New Zealand World Cup qualifier game. All of a sudden we hear a big explosion of screaming! Mexico was winning 4-0! Afterwards we walked down Calle de Dulces (Sweet Street) which had only shops full of sugary goodies! We also went out to churros!
Our last day we went to Chalula to see la Iglesia de Santa Maria (the Church of Saint Mary.) This place was in the middle of nowhere, but inside were thousands of cherub faces lined with gold and just blasts of color in your face. It was a small place, but it was unbelievable to know that this was being built in the 17th century and was still so intact.
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| There was actually a guy in the tower swing the bell by hand! |
We went back to Mexico City and ended our trip with a bang when we had to be transferred to our original hotel, because the pipes were busted to the second best hotel in all of Mexico City. Watcha' ya know! Oh, and lets not forget the pictures of food. And also, thanks to Janet Mondlak, considering that almost half of these photos were taken by her!
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| Tostados |
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| Pan de muerte |
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| Mole Poblano |
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| Hot Chocolate and a Churro |
