MEXICO
I got here 2 days ago, and will stay only 1 week. Already, I am reminded of many things. Namely, I really need to learn Spanish. Also, washing my money belt wouldn't have been a bad idea.
I spent the past three days in Mexico City. I stayed in the same hostel that I visited for the first time last January. I think I am formally beyond the point where I love spending time in a dorm room with 6 or 10 other people and their smelly clothes that they tote around from country to country. But the prices can't be beat ($6, in that hostel's case). Plus, it's a great way to meet people. The first night, I met 3 nice guys from Germany, France, Romania via NY City. I love how easy it is to become friends with people traveling, and I enjoyed having 3 buddies to explore the city with.
So, we went and checked out the Blue House, which is the name of where painters Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera lived. It was amazing to see a snapshot of their lives, although there wasn't as much of their art as we had anticipated. (Think fruit still lifes as opposed to room after room of the more famous stuff). After the Blue House, we went to Trotsky's. You know, just making your rounds in a typical neighborhood. I knew little to nothing about Trotsky. He was friends for a while with Kahlo and Rivera, so we saw some pics of them out on jaunts and such. Trotsky was assassinated in the house, so that lent an air of historical spookiness to the place. Or, maybe that was the rain. Who knew it rained in Mexico in April? Not me. Anyway, for those of you that didnīt know this, Trotsky lived in exile in Mexico with his wife. And, he apparently had an affinity for rabbits and chickens that he dutifully cared for. (Note to all of my pub quiz teammates: This will come in handy).
Lots of the past few days have been spent walking around, and occasionally stumbling on cobblestones and cracks in the sidewalk. We roamed around parks, squares where there are mariachi bands for hire, and markets where you can buy everything you never wanted. I managed to get my hands on some Mexican-brand Biore strips that I have yet to use, and a vintage Britney Spears compact mirror. Really, just the essentials. The nice thing about walking around is that there are plenty of opportunities to stop and see something interesting. We saw about 40 people doing some indigenous (Aztec?) dances together in the town square (zocalo) part of Mexico City. This morning there were probably 200 different people doing some flag dancing. Also on walks, there are plenty of places to stop and get fruit or nuts or churros or quesadillas or ice cream. I think we should bring this kind of thing to Seattle. If someone stopped me on the street with some candied pecans for sale for $1, or a large cup full of papaya and watermelon, I would weep tears of joy.
It is Semana Santa, or Holy Week, so lots of things are closed Thursday through Monday. The bus station today was absolute mayhem, and I almost bagged my plan to leave Mexico City and head to Oaxaca. But, I persevered in getting a ticket, despite naysayers proclaiming it impossible; the majority of Mexicans get the hell out of dodge and head to the beaches. Only, they probably donīt say hell, it being holy week and all. So, the bus station was crazy, and I decided to put my luggage in storage for 3 hours, and go to the Museum of Anthropology.
I highly enjoyed the Museum of Anthropology. It is thorough, fascinating, and gorgeous from an aesthetic standpoint. I hope to go back, and couldnīt help but wish that many of you could be there, too. It is really, really neat. Outside of the museum, there were many vendors, and even some sort of acrobats hanging on strings way up in the air in a very Cirque du Soleil kind of way. I can definitely live with that. Oh, and I saw this highly groomed Mexican guy set up his camera to take a delayed picture of himself. He just set the camera up on top of an ARTIFACT; it was on a stand, with a label, and everything else that an artifact has!!! I had seen him about ten minutes prior getting a solo pic, as well. It was one of those moments that I thanked the heavens that I have a blog, so that I don't have to revel in this kind of thing alone.
Now I am happily in Oaxaca---I mustered up the gumption to leave the 3 guys from the other hostel, and set out on my own. I imagine that I will have some fun things to write about after I tour around here tomorrow. This was one of my favorite places that I came last year with my friend Jolahna. Since then, the city has been through a lot. But, more on that later.
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