THE RV GYPSIES VISIT "THE WORLD'S BIGGEST CITY"
Well, some people say it is the world's biggest city. If you count everyone in the Federal District, including the suburbs adjacent to Mexico City, there may be about 20 million. But the number is only an estimate; all agree that the census-takers didn't find everybody.
Anne and Dave, plus our friends Jean and Larry (Escapees from Minnesota) and Tory and Al (friends from Canada) drove up to Tepotzotlan, a small town on the outskirts of Mexico City on 12/18/02. We checked into a very nice CG, Pepe's RV Park. Pepe arranged a 4 day tour for us to see the sights of our choice. Mundo, the fluent English-speaking guide picked us up in a van each day at our CG. We returned to the CG in time for supper; tired, but filled with the excitement of the sights and adventures we had enjoyed.
(All pictures in this story were taken by Jeanne Nordgaard)Above, Mundo explains1st Day: THE TULA RUINS
About 50 miles NE of Mexico City, Tule was the great city of the Toltecs, an important civilization which began about 700AD (preceding the Aztecs) and flourished until the city was destroyed by fire around 1200AD. At its peak it had a population of about 60,000, making it the largest city in the Western hemisphere at that time. These were the first ruins we explored on this trip, and we were very impressed.
The Pyramid of the Morning Star (Venus) consists of a base platform 125 feet to a side, with 5 landings, rising to 33 feet. On top are statues of 4 warriors: massive black stone columns, 15 feet tall, wearing butterfly-shaped breastplates and feathered headdresses and holding an atlatl (spear-thrower)in one hand and an incense burner in the other. Around the pyramid are bas-relief carvings of eagles eating human hearts, as well as coyotes, jaguars, feathered serpents, and imaginary creatures.
Other structures at the site featured carvings of skeletons and richly dressed noblemen. We could see a little of the paint that originally covered the carvings. There were 2 Ball Courts one might have been the first in Mesoamerica. Three roughly square main halls each contained between 28 & 32 round columns around sunken patios. These columns were used to support flat roofs made of wooden beams, poles, and plaster.
2nd DAY: The RUINS AT TEOTIHUACAN,
Being on the NE edge of Mexico City, these very large and impressive ruins are probably the ones most often seen by visitors to Mexico. The name means "Place where men became gods". It was built between 100BC & 700AD and accommodated about 200,000 people. Thus, it preceded both the Aztecs and the Toltecs.
First we saw THE PYRAMID OF THE MOON at the north end of the Avenue of the Dead. It was built of 12 platforms reaching 150 feet. We climbed to the top and had a great view of the Palace of the Quetzal Butterfly and other residential buildings.
Then Mundo drove us to the area of THE PYRAMID OF THE SUN, the 3rd largest pyramid in the world. It was originally built from about 100AD TO 300AD from 3 million tons of stone, bricks, and rubble without metal tools, pack animals or the wheel. At it's base, it measures 725 feet on each side and is 229 feet high. We puffed up its 248 narrow steps to the top for a fantastic view of the site and the surrounding towns.
It is an immense site but Mundo gave us plenty of time to see other points of interest before he brought the van to a closer point so we wouldn't have to walk far.
3rd DAY: OUR MEXICO CITY TOUR, 1
It was wonderful to have Mundo to show us this gigantic city. We
would never have dared driving in its heavy traffic and intrepid
drivers. Its smog is justly notorious but we were there on a weekend
so it was not too bad.
So much to see! We enjoyed the National Palace, with it's red volcanic stone façade. Inside we studied "visions of Mexico history" painted by Diego Rivera, our favorite muralist. The Palace of Bella Arts, a concert hall and art center was a white marble treasure in the Art Deco style. We learned the story of the Virgin of Guadalupe. She was seen in a vision by Juan Diego, an Indian peasant, whose humble status made the story especially dear to the humblest of Mexico's poor and Indians. We saw the Church of our Lady of Guadalupe, built in 1533 to honor that vision. Lots of gold! In 1976 a huge modern church was built nearby. It was so crowded we had to take a moving walkway to see the shrine of the Virgin of Guadalupe.
We drove through Chapultepec (grasshopper) Park, the oldest and largest in the city. It could be compared to Central Park in New York. We had just a few hours for the best of all, the National Museum of Anthropology, one of the finest museums of its kind in the world. It would take a week to see it all, but fortunately Anne and Dave had spent 3 days there in 1991. The ground floor exhibit halls are devoted to the way Mexicans lived before the Spanish conquest; rooms above present characteristics of today's Mexico.
4th Day: MEXICO CITY TOUR, 2: BALLET FOLKORIC & FLOATING GARDENS
We were enraptured by a 2 hour Ballet Folkloric. It was a festive blur
of beautiful costumes, colored lights, and Mexican music. Every
dancer was excellent and the program lively and varied. We hoped
it would never end.
Then we drove to the centuries-old neighborhood of Xochimilco for
the floating gardens. As the low-lying lake water could not be easily
directed to higher ground, the Aztecs brought soil to the lake using
clever construction employing reeds and tree limbs and soil to build
floating islands on which they planted crops. The soil was very fertile,
yielding 2 or 3 harvests a year. It was the "bread basket" for the city
at the time of the Spanish conquest. Not much is grown there now,
but the canals around the islands are used for boating. Hundreds of
colorful boats float slowly in the water. Mundo hired his favorite
boatman and a floating chef prepared a tasty chicken dinner for us
in a boat alongside ours. There were mariachis and lots of partying.
The boatmen use long poles to guide the boats and good-naturedly
unsnarl traffic jams. Boats crowd and block each other, but it all in
fun. For Anne the floating gardens visit was the fulfillment of a
long-time wish.
Our last stop was at the bright blue house where Frida Kahlo was born and lived. She painted for years under the shadow of her husband, Diego Rivera, the famous muralist. She had suffered a crippling injury when she was young and had to have many operations. Her many self-portraits suggest a life of pain. Today Frida's work is being more widely recognized, perhaps it shows that she somehow overcame her difficult circumstances. She has become an emblem for contemporary female artists. The house retains an odd assortment of art she and Diego collected, as well as a few of her paintings, clothing, and personal things. The house is supposed to be the same as she left it when she died in 1954.
5th and 6th DAYS: We had a "day off" from touring to rest at our campground, and the six of us enjoyed a pot-luck dinner. Then just as we paid our host and planned our drive on towards Puebla, to the east, we learned that Pepe had arranged for us to be led around the edge of Mexico City by the Green Angels. (They normally patrol Mexico's highways endeavoring to give emergency assistance to tourists in trouble, but also occasionally escort groups in need of guidance.) For a modest tip, they not only spared us searching for street signs but also competently dealt with some cops who wanted to shake us down for an imagined infraction but eventually let us off free.
All in all, our Mexico City experience was exciting and fun, and far easier than we had feared. Our host and guide rendered outstanding service, the people were generally friendly and the sights were magnificent.
