Still in Awe

There is so much to see in Mexico City.  It is a huge city with an abundance of history and likewise, an abundance of space and people.

So far we have spent three afternoons in Parque Chapultepec (Cha-pull-teh-pec).  It’s an easy walk there from our apartment.  I was surprised that the walk is two miles but the sights, statues, monuments, and architecture along the way on the Paseo de La Reforma make the walk fly by.

We have spent a good bit of time there and still have more to see.  The park is more than twice the size of NYC’s Central Park and it is lovely, no it is magnificent.  It is also called BosqeChapultetec because it is indeed in a planted forest, and it sits on pre-Columbian Chapultepec grounds.  This big piece of land is very old.  Excavated remains indicate human occupation as early as 225 to 350 AD right here on the very spot this historic piece of land sits today.

Going far back in time, the Cuidad de Mexico and surrounding settlements originated in Lake Texcoco in the large basin of a volcano.  The site of the new city was inspired by Aztec people who spotted an eagle perched on a tree in the lake. Chapultepec another small island in the lake was fairly nearby. They claimed Chapultepec as their sacred and strategic site, taking advantage of the hill it sits upon and access to fresh water.

Oh, there is so much more history but I’ll save that until I learn enough to summarize.

Upon entering this grand bosque we encountered a long walkway lined with hundreds of vendors selling junk, food, hats, bubble-makers, noise-makers, jewelry, belts, juice, cotton candy, chips of all kinds and so much more.  Many of the sellers shout out words describing their offers hoping to invite buyers.  The path is quite noisy but oh-so colorful. It is hard not to stop at every booth.   But there is more.  The park is divided into four sections and has some of the most important tourist sites in Mexico.  In addition to the National Museum of Anthropology, there is a total of 5 other important museums, three artificial lakes, a zoo, the Botanical Gardens, sports spaces, and numerous fountains, and many statues and monuments in this park. The grandest monument of all is the imposing 4100 square foot, Monument de Nezahucoyotl, one of the most visited places in the city

Nezahualcoyōtl (Nes-wahl-coh-ti) (1402 –1472) was a scholar, philosopher warrior, architect, poet and ruler of the city-state of Texcoco in pre-Columbian era Mexico.   This grand monument fountain chronicles his life and celebrates his contribution to the development of hydraulic systems in Tenochtitlán.

Per Wikipedia, “He is best remembered for his poetry, but according to legend he had an experience of an “Unknown, Unknowable Lord of Everywhere” to whom he built an entirely empty temple in which no blood sacrifices of any kind were allowed — not even those of animals. However, he allowed human sacrifices to continue in his other temples.”

We walked through the bosque, on calles de el bosque with names like Calzada de Rey, Calzada de los Poetas, and Calzada de los Filosofos.  We finally meandered into the Botanical Gardens.  The garden was not overly large but meticulously designed, natural, and of course, beautiful, even this time of year.

On another day again in the park, we visited the Museum of Natural History which is free for old folks.  Nice!  There are truly, some advantages to being this old!!!  This hilltop alcazar is palatial and perfectly well done.  Now a museum, it was once a castle at the very top of Chapultepec hill.  From its lofty grounds, the city of Mexico City lies at its feet and can be seen in all directions.  This grand palace has been added onto, remodeled, and repurposed many times since its original construction as a vacation home for the Spanish Viceroy in 1785. Since then it has been a military school, the imperial residence with Maximilian and Carlota (1864-1867), the presidential residence, and, since 1939, the headquarters of the National Museum of History.

It is a fine piece of architecture and still contains original furnishings from the Maximilian era.

Moving on, we visited the on-site zoo.  Talk about well done!!!  This zoo is gorgeous and manages to crowd-control by directing everyone on the same path in the same direction.  The zoo has a broad variety of animals from butterflies to monos, all of which live in areas very much like their own natural habitat.  Among the animals, the most interesting to us was the panda, the black jaguar, the spotted leopard, and the bears.  What a wonderful outing this is for Mexican families, and its admission is free!

Ok, let’s talk about food.  It is fantastic here in Mexico City!  So far we have bought food at established restaurants.  Some have been just really good and some knocked our socks off.  We tried snack food from vendors in the park, like chicharrones prepados and Dorilocos – my advice is, don’t do that.  It’s like carnival food – looks good, and smells good, but really does not taste that good and certainly is not satisfying. 

At last, we came upon a cart selling street corn at a time when we were ready to eat.  While the corn was just-picked, young, and generously slathered with mayo and spices, phooey it just was not hot enough.  It did not make the mark.  Apparently, certain foods are available only in the early morning, and likewise, street corn is only available early evening and onward.

Today before we headed to the city’s historical center, we searched and found a restaurant selling tamales.  The restaurant has a 5-star review rating.  So far tamales have been hard to find as they are not sold on every street corner.  It seems they are another time-sensitive offering primarily made as a breakfast item and for special occasions.   We navigated ourselves to the restaurant, Tamales Madre, and had some very fancy ones.  We were served a tamal dressed with salsa but no accompaniments.  They were, without a doubt delicious, but not exactly what we had in mind/ 

Late this afternoon after a long day at Zoloco and Museum y Sona Arquelogica de Templo Mayor and on our way home, just a half block from our apartment a stand was still making tacos and quesadillas (not like ours—they look more like empanadas or fried pies).  As we approached the cart, the food looked fresh and smelled so very good.  We each ordered two tacos, a pastor, and an asada.  I just wish I could package and send to you the smell and the taste!  Cooked right before our eyes with a selection of condiments we could add like chopped onion and cilantro, several salsas, queso, pickled sweet peppers, and crema.  And guess the price . . . 18 pesos each. 

We now have a new lunch or dinner place.  This is in fact, the Mexican food I dream about and say I could eat every day and not grow tired of it! 

“Tamales,” the man making the tacos said, “are just down the street.”