Flat Bottom Boat

We got a late start to our day yesterday, but eventually took a long train ride out to Xochimilco to take a boat ride in the Aztec canal system. We took the green line train twelve stops to the end and then boarded a commuter train which we also rode out twelve stops to the end. There were a British family and a German man going the same way with a Japanese tour guide who we guessed was also headed to Xochimilco, later on we saw them on a boat next to us in the canal.

One thing I deduced from the train ride is that no matter where you go, whatever's next to the train line never looks pretty. However, I did see an add for Luna Nueva (attention Twilight fans) that entertained me and lots of beautiful bougainvillea hanging from the walls of houses along the way. One thing that sort of amazed me when we first arrived and continues to do so, is that architechture essentially looks the same everywhere except the United States. We barrel along the highway or train line here and I feel like I could be in Greece or out in the burbs in France. Way more compact, utilitarian and inward facing - courtyards behind large locked garage doors instead of a yard that faces out to the world.

When we arrived in Xochimilco we went on a mission to find me some sunglasses and a bathroom at the local market. This market was much larger than Coyoacan and somewhat overwhelming. However, they had many more goods and I highly enjoyed looking at the fruits and vegetables piled high. The pineapples, huge fruit baskets and tiaras for sale were some of my favorites. Later in the day we bought a pineapple for $1.50 that was divine. We took it home and I ended up eating a third of it in one sitting.

Market shot.


Gigantic buckets of dried chiles.


Pineapple pile with watermelon.


Fruit baskets for sale.

After obtaining a pair of cheap sunglasses we walked through town to an embarcadero, or boat dock to hire a trajinera that would take us on the canals. They are huge, colorful flat-bottomed barges with colorful paper signs that stick up into the air and say the name of the boat. They each have two names, always named for women. Ours was called the Alejandra. Our paddle man navigated the boat out of the sea of other boats crunched tight at the dock rowing with a long, long stick standing up at the back of the boat. Each of the boats have a long table with chairs where you can enjoy food or sit with friends. Most of the people packed large groups onto their boats and were partying it up with family. We just had the two of us on our twelve-seater, with a bucket of Victoria beer and an extra long quesadilla filled with huitlacoche (corn mold) and chiles.

At the dock.


Eating our huitlacoche.


Out on the canals.


Boat detail.


Boat detail parte dos.


Canalside animals: lazy doggies.


Canalside animals: ducks.


Canalside animals: graceful white bird.


Canalside animals: gigantic xolo = dog.


On the canals there are many small boats with vendors selling things that you can buy along your journey. Ry bought me a little basket of flowers with an orchid, roses and a ribbon to sit on our table. We didn't buy anything else but there is nearly anything you could want including little bags of potato chips, candy apples, cooked corn, tacos, beer, crafts and boats of musicians who will tie up to your boat and play a song for you. There were many flower nurseries and private homes along the canals. We didn't stop at the nurseries knowing we wouldn't be able to bring anything home but there were awesomely huge bonsais for sale. Toward the end of the ride we got out of our seats and sat at the front end of the boat to catch some rays.

Boat bouquet.


Things for sale: potato chips and candy apples. Notice the vendor's shirt. Clearly this man is a team player. Ry says that many reject items from American thrift stores end up down in Mexico. I imagine this is some kind ridiculous coroprate castoff t-shirt.


Things for sale:elote boat = corn boat.


Things for sale: music. Mariachi boat tied up to another with tunes.


Things for sale: flower vendor paddles by in canoe.









Soaking up every last bit together.


When we got back into town we visited the big church in the central square. It was quite a bit older than many others we've been to and had a great cloister with an awesome statue of Juan Diego wearing his cloak with the image of the Virgen De Guadalupe on it. There were also groups of carpenters refinishing and repairing the ornate wooden pews out in the courtyard.










Various shots of the Xochimilco cathedral.











Various shots of a small church and town sqaure we stumbled upon when lost. It's all decked out for Easter.


We took the train home and by the time we got back into the Centro I was totally fried from sun, lack of food, puffed up limbs with swollen bug bites and a general sense being overwhelmed by the number of people out on the street in rush hour. We made it back to our apartment where I had a mini meltdown and took some time to rest.

Ry and I walked to a cantina called Salon Corona for dinner. We enjoyed beer, al pastor tacos, and caldo de camaron. The shrimp soup came in a tall, clear glass. When I started fishing around in it I discovered a gigantic prawn with eyes and legs still attached. I pushed it back into the broth so I couldn't see it and passed it over to Ryan. I know shrimp have eyes and legs, and that having them on the creature is an indication it's fresh, but I just couldn't look at the little guy in that moment. Probably for the same reason being next to the meat stalls in the market makes my stomach churn. I asked Ry to do the dirty work of pulling the prawn's head off. Once I finally got a little taste, he was pretty yummy.

We walked home and went to bed soon after we arrived. I've been amazed how tired I am each day, even when it feels like we are not doing that much. The combination of the sun, altitude and walking miles on cobblestones and crooked pavement is catching up with me. I slept like a baby.

Today we are headed off to have breakfast at a rooftop restaurant overlooking the Zocalo. Ry hopes that we can catch a glimpse of the volcanic mountains outside the city that are usually smogged in during the day. Then we're planning to see some Diego Rivera murals, visit the artisan market and head back to Coyoacan to see the Frida Museum since we missed it the other day.

Children, Puppies and Pinwheels

We spent most of yesterday in Coyoacan, loosely translated as Land of the Coyotes with one of Ry's former students Viviana. It used to be a small country town outside of the DF, now it's like a suburb, but it still maintains some of its small-town country charm. Before heading out to Coyoacan, we each got a huge fresh-squeezed juice (Me- strawberry, pineapple, orange Ry - grapefruit) and stopped at a popular bakery called Ideal where you grab a tray and tongs to select whatever baked goods look delicious. We grabbed a bunch, of course! They wrap each up in a neat little package and tie your larger bundle or box with a web of strings that make them easy to carry with a few fingers. We went home where we enjoyed coffee, a baked treat and our juices.


A "Happy Day" cake in Ideal. This one is for my mom, since her name is Dia. Happy Day Mom!

We rode the Metro out to Coyoacan. Ry had prepared me for the worst knowing the DF is the largest (debated with Tokyo) city in the world and my extreme claustrophobia in crowds. It was full, but very pleasant. There was a gorgeous little baby sitting across the aisle from us and people kept cycling through our car selling goods - the most interesting were the bootleg CD sellers who wear backpacks blasting samples of their mix CDs. We walked a ways to get to the center of Coyoacan, where we met Viviana in front of the statue of the two coyotes that sits in a fountain in the middle of a small park next to the main square.

Following a balloon seller into Coyoacan.


Bougainvilla on a house in the neighborhood.

Colorful mailbox.


Church in the main square.


Organ grinder off the main square.


Green space and flowers in the main square.


Coyote fountain in small park where we met Viviana.


Fountain moon mosaic detail.


Fountain sun mosaic detail.


There were a million people out celebrating Easter with their families, having picnics, playing catch, walking dogs, and people watching. There were also a ton of balloon salesman and pinwheel saleswomen for the kids. I really wanted a pin wheel and Ry bought a small handmade, rainbow pinwheel for me that I carried around for the rest of the day. It made me endlessly happy! There were so many children and families - it was wonderful to see that getting out with your relatives, young and old was an important way to pass the holiest of holy holidays in Mexico. I had baby and puppy fever with each new group we passed. The children were so precious and free, nobody had them roped to a kid-leash and their parents were letting them go wild enjoying themselves. Several groups of teenagers had puppies for sale and Viviana went up to pet them. I snuck in a few little soft snuggles too. There were also many homeless indigenous families families begging and Federales police wearing belts of bullets on the streets, but somehow it all fit together to build a cheerful holiday celebration centered around family values.

The three of us had beers at a cantina and talked for a long while about our life in the US and what it's like to be a college student here in Mexico. We traveled together to the Coyoacan daily market where we feasted on huaraches, huge homemade tortillas smeared with black bean paste, white cheese, strips of cecina (think cuts of cured steak), roasted onions and nopales. To get to Pepe Coyote's, the food stand where we ate, we walked through skinny aisles of goods piled high including baskets, trinkets, pottery, clothes, used electronics and bird cages with little tweeters for sale.

With Viviana at the cantina.


Ryan blowing my homemade pinwheel.

We said goodbye to Viviana and walked a long way through the neighborhood to get to our metro stop. Along the way we stopped in a small little square with an old country church painted yellow where an Easter mass was taking place. We watched through the heavy open doors as the streetlights were starting to come on. People who didn't fit in the church were out beyond the doors kneeling and praying. I could see the Easter lilies up on the alter with a beautiful icon on the Virgin De Guadelupe.

When we arrived home we met up with Sarah and Arturo only to find that water to the entire building was still cut off due to the problem with the electricity the day before. Arturo was out in the courtyard with a hose snaked up to our apartment furiously trying to pump water from the street system. While he was working we went up to their apartment where Sarah made us fresh margaritas and regaled us with stories of their journey to the DF together five years ago from London. They are both artists and their apartment is filled to the brim with books and creative treasures. I felt blessed to be welcomed into their home and to experience some of what their daily life is like here. We went up to bed and Arturo had magically fixed the building's water pump! I rejoiced in a long, hot shower after a day of dirty, crazy hair with only a glimpse into what life is like in a place where utility services are not consistent.

On another note I am suffering from some of the most horrible mosquito bites that I have ever experienced. I have ridiculously sensitive skin and these rival bites I got in Venice six years ago. They are huge, red, swollen raised things that both itch and ache. To reduce the skeeters in our apartment while we slept we closed all of the windows and plugged in an electrical repelent do-dad Arturo gave us. Ryan's not being bugged by them at all, but for some reason I have a plethora of bites. Before we go out today I'm going to slather myself in aloe and wear long pants (maybe long sleeves).

We are off to Xochimilco, a system of ancient canals and raised gardens that the Aztecs used for farming. We're going to hop on a famous flat-bed boat cruise and experience this ancient treasure. If we have enough time we may head back to Coyoacan to visit the Frida Khalo house where we'll see some of her art and visit with the Xoloesquinle, hairless ancient dogs which she helped bring back from extinction.

Birds and Church Bells

We made it into Mexico City after a long airplane journey. The first leg we flew to Cancun and I was sitting next to a hyper active eight year old who was switching between games on her Iphone, her portable Nintendo, furiously coloring in some sort of special Sponge Bob notebook and fishing in her Tink bag to get Fruit by the Foot and mini Ritz crackers. My bag did not make it into the DF (Districo Federale), the Mexico City name equivalent of DC. So we waited at the airport for two and a half hours until it came on another plane from Cancun.

Taking off from Cancun on the way to Mexico City


We took a taxi to our apartment off the of the Plaza Santo Domingo, where we met the owners Arturo and Sarah. We settled in last exploring all of the rooms and doors that open out to multiple courtyards with birds, plants, the back of the Catedral Santo Domingo and lots of sunshine. It got dark quickly and we went out to have dinner. We went to a traditional place near our apartment called the Hosteria Del Santo Domingo. I enjoyed a Caldo de Rez - a delicious beef soup with squash, awesomely flavorful carrots, hominy, and avocado. We split a nopal cactus salad and each had a Mexican beer. Off in the corner of the place there was a key board player and a female singer that serenaded diners with vaguely familiar tunes that we couldn't quite place.

Living room of our apartment.


Master bedroom in our apartment. There are two more plus a fold out bed in the living room. We could have a vertiable Mexican adventure if someone else wants to go with us in the future!


View out a bedroom window down to courtyard behind Santo Domingo.


Man watering the ecological garden exhibit in the courtyard. Bamboo plants and grass were planted in old truck tires turned inside out.


We walked over to the Zocalo, a huge central square bordered by the La Catedral Metropolitana and the Palacio National. There was a huge evangelical festival happening with contemporary Christian music in Spanish and people throwing glowing bouncy balls into the air. We walked through several circles of Aztec dancers wearing traditional dress and noise makers on their shoes that jingled every time they jumped up to do a new move. There were also Mexican hipsters in the mix wearing the noise makers over their Chuck Taylor All-Start high tops. The smell of incense was thick, delicious but an almost too-much mix of cedar, cypress, eucalyptus and other unidentifiable scents. We also checked out various vendors selling their wares on the street, awesome colorful trinkets and clothes as we walked around. We stopped in the large cathedral during mass to hear some of the most beautiful mass music I've ever experienced. It almost always makes me cry and this drew tears immediately.

We came home to find that the apartment owners had to enter our apartment and run an extension cord through another courtyard window to get electricity since theirs had cut out. We also played around with the shower in our continental style bathrooms, with almost no luck getting consistent hot water. It was sort of funny, the water would vascilate between ice cold and so hot it filled the little room up with steam completely.

This morning we were woken by the sound of the cathedral's church bells and the birds in cages from a neighbor on the other side of an inner courtyard. I went to bed with wet hair, but we were unable to take showers this morning due to our lack of hot water, then lack of running water at all. As Ryan says, this is Mexico. We're leaving a note for the owners but have used the big jug of bottled water to brush our teeth and wash our faces. I pinned up my crazy curly bedtime hair into something that looks sort of classy.

We walked down the the cathedral to find that we missed the first Easter mass. We walked around the Santo Domingo cathedral, smelled the glorious Easter lillies and checked out all of the little side chapels, some of them a lot more gold and gory than you'd ever see in the U.S. Now it's off to find breakfast and meet a former student of Ryan's in Coyoacan for lunch.

View of the 3rd floor level of the inner courtyard on Easter morning.


Our coffee in the morning.


My reflection in the armoire in Easter Sunday dress.

I'll try to do periodic updates to share what we're doing with the world, also to keep a record for myself. I'm taking lots of photos and hope to add them upon my return.

Mexico City Here We Come!

The Birkenstock Queen has packed her bags! We'll be back in a week.

Stick Fight at St. Francis Seminary

We've been on a little bit of an animal product binge prior to the start of our vegan year. We take the leap right after we return from Mexico. Since we realized we only had a few short weeks to eat certain things we love but won't be able to experience for a year, we've gone a little overboard, to say the least. Similar to the Mardi Gras concept, though it's lasted much longer. Honestly, it's approaching fat month, not just a fat day. Among the list of things we had to have: artisinal cheeses, lots of homemade pizza, a Kopp's bacon cheeseburger, Leon's custard, and wine reduction steak/frites from Coquette Cafe. My overwhelming realization in all of this gluttony is how underwhelmed I've been by all of the "last" food experiences I've attempted to create. Nothing has approached the orgasmic, nearly forbidden food joy I'd hoped for. That's probably a good reminder for me as I attempt to make a major life change related to sustenance where I will surely experience much frustration.

Ry and I went to Cafe Lulu for dinner. It's been one of my favorites for years now and I wanted a special salad with goat cheese that will soon be off limits. The salad was great, but the environment was totally annoying. I had to muster all of my strength to deal with the super loud music, excessive smoke, ridiculous hipsters (think tight t-shirts, eighties bicycling hats in primary colors, and nothing better to do at 4:30pm on a Thursday than get wasted and chain smoke American Spirits).

We escaped the restaurant as soon as we were done and drove to the St. Francis Seminary. We walked up a long drive leading to Seminary that is bordered by a row of tall, mature maples on each side. We sat on some of the steps on a hill leading up to the monastery, looking at the trees and watching people walk by with their dogs. I picked at little maples plants sprouting out of the sidewalk cracks from last fall's whirly-gigs (or whatever you call those little maple tree spinny things). We admired a big willow tree from a distance that we thought we might be able to climb. Once we got up close we realized it was a no-go. Too tall without much to hold on to. Ry gathered groups of willow branches that had fallen to the ground and started whipping them around to make whoosing noises. This eventually led to us picking up larger branches and have a stick fight, like little kids playing with "swords". I lost when my sword broke in half.

We walked over to a lovely little path on the grounds where the Stations of the Cross displayed. We followed the Stations and Ry narrated each one to me. Since neither of us are really familiar with the Stations of the Cross, each commentary came out something like, "and in this one, Jesus is holding his cross and being whipped". Which made me a giggle a little inside, because I could have come up with that by looking at the pictures. It made me want to learn more about the significance of the Stations of the Cross within Catholic tradition.

We drove up Oklahoma to check out "our house" as we do sometimes. It always looks the same, nothing new. I marvel to myself that we are going through quite a process for the same little stone house that still sits there each time we drive by. We always drive by at my request and I'm not really sure what I'm expecting to see.

We rounded out our night with a trip to the Target on 43rd street, since we were close. What a mistake after the serenity of the Seminary. I hadn't been there in months since I've been doing most of our basic household needs shopping by walking to the Walgreen's up the street from our apartment. I think I'll stick to that plan. Target is too hectic and soul-killing for me. However, we did get sun tan lotion and Immodium AD for Mexico. I'm hoping I won't need the Immodium, but I think that's a naive wish. One day until we head South of the border.