Palacio de Bellas Artes

We had such a nice day again. Nothing went according to plan, but that is part of the funn of an adventure…the good part is that I woke up minus a backache. All signs of my intense pain from yesterday and the last couple of weeks – gone. Poof. Gone J

We decided to head to one of the most famous Mexican museums, the museum of anthropology. Got the subway and on the way to change subway trains, we found a medical clinic.  Since we are worried about Les’s heart rate and blood pressure … we inquired.   All of 10 pesos and they wd check him out right then and there. How perfect !!  5 minutes later we know that Les is doing great and we are on our way.

We arrive and start walking towards the museum. We see a Korean pagoda.

We see a guard who informs us that all museums in mexico are closed on Mondays. Duhhhhhhh. I guess we have not gone to one on a Monday BUT we have been on Sundays and they are free on Sundays. And some even free to gringoes if you can prove you live in mexico. So bring an electric or phone bill or your FM and you can then prove residence !!  so we walked to Polanco, where there are very posh houses and nice cafes.

We had some coffee and met a very nice gentleman (Alfredo) who has a friend who is selling a hotel for 21 million dollars in Cozumel, close to Cancun. If you know anyone who might be interested, we have a card and  will be getting more details soon !!

From polanco we went to the zocalo and found the millions of st judas worshippers who were buying statues and roses and heading to his part of the main cathedral. Throngs of people. Throngs of sellers. Throngs of police. It felt safe and it felt busy. I began to not feel so hot – looks like I have myself a cold.

As we were walking we saw the palacio de bellas artes and there was to be a free talk in 30 minutes. We waited. It was worth it to see the theater itself. It took decades to build it…it weighs over 78,000 pounds. It has mostly Mexican marble but the statues are all Italian carera marble.  A hangarian woman did the ceiling skylight. The original architect never saw his dream come to fruition -  a revolution in 1910 held everything up for years. There was no show tonight or we might have gone. The opening night had diego rivera, frieda kahlo and the president at the time in attendance, as well as a famous Mexican actress named Dolores del rio (I guess she lived in hollywood at the time).

http://s848.photobucket.com/albums/ab45/BajaBlanca/Palacio%20de%20Bellas%20Artes/

I think if you hit the link above, you will be able to see all the  photos.

Maybe tomorrow we hit the museum of anthropology …. Such a nice day ….

Sunday Feb. 27, 2011 MEXICO CITY

we played hooky today. i woke up woth a bad back - could hardly move, could hardly breathe. ur restaurant at this hotel closes on sundays, so we walked and i barely crawled, across the street to the best wetsern. Les went for some pain meds which I took one with some juice.  Aftr an hour, i still wasnt better so I took anothr one and within about 15 minutes I was out of pain and happy !!

spent the day watching tv and siesta-ing. Les went out and about to window shop, andhe bought us some really nice t-shirts for us ....

time for dinner. adios amigos !!

Feb 26, saturday at tiotehuacan pyramids

what a day ... what a busy and fantastic day.  we had breakfast, got new directions to the pyramids, easier, and left.  first the subway all of 3 pesos each or 25 cents. we got off at INDIOS VERDES  - the last station - and inside they told us to take exit H but upon our return in the afternoon, the best exit is C. air coditioned buses that take half the time. 60 min in the morning and only 30 in the afternoon.  buses cost 35 pesos each.

how to describe teotihuacan ?????  it housed 125,000 people at its peak and the pyramids number hundreds and this is just 1/10th of the city.  the biggest pyramid is pyramid of the sun, scond is pyramid of the moon, and the most interesting to us - the pyramid of the plumed serpent.  I find it amazng that when cortez was leaving mexico city, he never even realized the aztec empire of teotihuacan was there !!  which is a great thing since the spaniards wanted to destroy everything indian that they could....

peddlers are the worst -  they hound you and hound you to buy. quite a shame because i think they might sell more if they relaxed a bit.  i find them extremely annoying.  but they sure have some interesting crafts.

it was hot hot hot and we are not even in summer yet !!  the walking is long too and climbing the pyramids is allowed but i just couldnt do it. les did climb the pyramid of the serpeant !!

thoughts on mexico city: 

extremely polluted.
no homeless to speak of in any of the MANY neighborhoods we have been in
people people people cars cars cars  buses buses buses
requests for employees in quite a few places
nice statues and plenty of them
in every subway or bus, creative sellers get on and sell 10 peso pens, keychains, books/toys for kids
extremely polluted

xochimilco

so we went to xochimilco today. we took the subway and then another line of subway called the tren ligero. it was a piece of cake (only cause Les has an innate sense of direction that is downright uncanny). then we walked abut 6 blocks to get tothe boat rides.  after intense negotiations since the captains were asking for 800 pesos, we got them to lower it to 400 pesos, both of us, two hours.   the full on deal !!

well amigos and amigas, i thought the boat trip would be educational, i thought it would be fun, i thought it would be many things but the reality was far more fabulous !!!!

there are over a hundred boats and they filll up with couples or big groups. then, as you are slowly and gently rolling down the canals, vendors come by with roses (helloooooooooooooo)

they come by with beer

they come by and offer lunch which they set up on the boat

oh i hope all of you come here one day and experience these 2 hours of absolute delight for yourselves.

and now for some history - the aztecs called it THE PLACE OF THE FLOWER FIELDS, and it is still used for flower and vegetable growing nowadays. In spite of being revered by the aztecs, cortez and his men never saw it. the aztecs built up islands with tree branches and soil. they are the only portion of their paradise that remains intact snce the spaniards destroyed all they could when they were conquering mexico.

mexico city tour

well, we spent 6 hours taking a tour of the whole city...would i do it again ?? no way.  one half of the trip is enough....what i did see is that there are way too many cars,way too many buses and tons of parks everywhere. some of the bohemian neighborhoods are just great and remind me of cafes or restaurants all over in europe.  i imagine they are lovely places to live

except of course for the horrendous pollution. 

we still  love our hotel, the location could not be better and the price is outrageously great - i think we are paying 350 a night or 30 dollars. the restaurant has a delicious chicken breast dinner for 65 pesos, i mean, come one !!!!  those are great prices all around.

tomorrow i hit the brazilian consulate.

and tonight sometime i should hear for regina about what is happening in rio with my birth certificate. so many things in the works...and tomorrow we shall go to XOCHIMILCO ... the Aztec capital underneath and before <Mexico city came into being.....

MARVELOUS MAINLAND MEXICO

so today i want to put down some of the first impressions of mexico city

as we were driving, the mountain was so high that on the way down, there were FOUR emergency gravel areas for cars or trucks without brakes.

as we came into town - the famous corrupted police confirmed their pressence. and we were headed for the first hotel that we could park the car and leave it till we left the city.

right outside the entrance to mexico city, there were many, many prostitutes. each within a few feet of the others and all with high heels and all in the bright light of day - we arrived at noon.

the city is clean.

nightmare to drive in town since all the sidestreet are one way.  arrive and park.

lots of police presence everywhere.

mexico city

here we come, we are in mexico city and our first experience was terrible

we had asked our friends for an indication of where to stay outside of the city and they said los reyes. as soon as we took th turnoff the cops pulled us over. after a lot of BS about how we had broken the law in more ways than one could imagine ... I panicked when they said they wd impound the car. the cops were insistant that we were in trouble. Les started to argue - loudly - and i said, pay up and i wi reimburse you.

well, the riginal price was 1500 pesos, then down to 1200 pesos and les offers 200. i think the guy will be offended and tell les. jusr pay it, lets go and have this nightmar over.  and we paid far far too much. 500 pesos.

let me clarify that - I PAID THE DAMN 500 PESOS OUT OF MY POCKET. BIG MOUTH ...

if I could kick myself I wd.  500 is waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaay too much. but i believed the guy when he said they wd take the car blablabla

what planet was I on ??????????  the plaet called TIRED.  and wanting a hotel already ..

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

now, we are in fact in a wonderful hotel that is NOT expensive, has a rasonable restaurant attached. adn is right inthe middle of downtown capital city mexico.

we expored the zolcalo today - that is the main square every town in mexico has...

we found murals tht took a total of 20yrs to paint a la diego rivera
we saw aztc dancers
we visited a crafts shop and didnt buy a thing :)
we walked about 10 long blocks
we took the famous mexico city subway which les figured out in about 10 minutes
we had dinner at our hotel

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

well folks, life is vry good and it is time to log offfffffffffffffffff

TLAXCALA

in a bit we are on our way to tlaxcala . the smallest state in mexico.  it is where they still make PULQUE - a drink that is the original and real mexican national drink since it was made by the indians who ferment the juices of the maguey cactus. what our guide told us is that the distillation process, which is used for tequila, came over with the europeans, so pulque is considered the real national product. some people like the taste and some don't. i will be able to describe it later today !

well , it is now night and i can tell u about pulque - the smell actually turned my stomach, so i couldnt even taste it but les dis

here is before:

and this is during:  so far, so good .......

BUT LOOK AT WHAT MADE ME NOT EVEN ATTEMPT A SIP !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

then, they brought another one which had fruits mixed in and you know what ??  we each drank 2 or 3 glasses. it tasted like punch - which of course is the danger ... you get slowly more and more drunk til you get numb all over !! 

but i wil never choose pulque over a good wne or beer or cider !!!!!

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

we also went to some pyramids today that were unbelievable since they have the original color paintings right at the pyramid.  these are aztec pyramids (near mexico city it is all aztec)  with a touvh of mayan influence ..

just gorgeous !!

Mon Feb 21 in Cholula, Puebla

well, we are taking the day off after all. I am just so tired, not sure why. Les also complained of shortness of breath for a minute yesterday...that sounds like a body saying stop the ride, I wanna get off.  We are at a very high elevation and we walked easily 6 hours, so .....time for a break !!

This morning we got up a little before 8 and went down to breakfast at mario and marias post doc university. it is small and intimate and they have a great deal going there..... wonderful breakfast which inclluded DOBRADITAS. so cute - they are tiny tortillas with cheese and tomato on top. very cute and very delicious.

then we went to a supermarket that was outrageously expensive but what a selection !!  it is called chedraui and it is astronomically huge. bought the fixings for a huge lasagna and salad and applesauce for dinner. I sure hope they like it !!  there have been no italian restaurants in almost any of the towns we have been in.  and if there is pizza, it is domino's :(((((((

les is off getting a hair cut ... yup ... a good day for taking it easy.  he is back and now looks like he is in the miltary !!  Julio hace falta - we miss julio in la bocana hahaha

above the lovely couple who will celebrate 37 years of marriage on Thursday .............. and they are so happy and so loving with each other ...what a treat for us :))))))))))))

Sunday in Puebla, Cholula

well, this morning was fantastic. we walked all over Puebla and it was an amazing walk...we saw artists painting and Talavera artisans making pottery and churches with amazing doors and  paintings and architecture. All the streets surrounding the main zocalo have history oozing out of every corner, every alley, every doorway.

the smells are fantastic too.  chicken seems to be one of the main choices....

the pic below is a detail from the pic above and it is said that the owner of the house had all the politicians ridiculed in tiled art ... since he was given a hard time for building his house BIGGER than the gvt bldgs right on the corner down the street from his house.

the cafes around the zocalo all have coffees that are rich in taste and offer all the types you could want - capuchinos and cafe americanos and cafe con chocolate and the smells wafting thru the air.

then we got our bags and GPS's the location of ario's family - Morena's inlaws. After 2 hours of driving in circles between cholula and puebal, we finally made it tothe right neighborhood and called manolo who arrived about 5 in later !! we came here to the hosue, chatted a bit and decided to visit cholula and the pyramid and the area around. unbeleivable. seems that cholulas pyramid is actually the largest one ever found, it is thought that it was used for ceremonies. and the Spaniards built a huge and gorgeous church  right on top of it. so they cannot excavate completely.

there is a head there - peerhaps olmec ???

there are tunnels but I guess one fell and now you cant go in anymore....

we ate and walked a little more and now we are in a home, for the first time in thre weeks, we are not in a hotel. thanks Mario and Maria and Manolo !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

THIS IS THE MOUNTAIN WE SAW YESTERDAY AS WE CAME INTO PUEBLA :

I probably posted it yesterday and I may do so again tomorrow because it just popped out of nowhere as we were driving .... I just love it ....

Puebla, Puebla

THIS IS MEXICO'S HIGHEST MOUNTAIN ... whcih we saw on our way from veracrz city to puebla city.
and now, here we are in Puebla and we have lucked out ! 

we found  a good hotel which is 1 block from the zolcalo or main square. we ate a LA FONDA restaurant and it was deliciouos - I had a sopa poblano - so good - made with a flower and cabbage and a chile. it was not spicy at all but quite creamy. so good !!!  les had a dinner whch was chicken and ham with fruits. also really good.  this evening we went down and saw the main square at night - the lights make it very beautiful - the church is incredible - and hundreds of pedestrains walk around, some eating, some drinking, some strolling. it is a very safe town as you see all sorts of elderly people just out for a short stroll.  actually, all the towns have tons of police all about and you feel quite safe.

the drive over here was crazy. some people drive like maniacs, which makes les mad, which makes him butt right in fornt of the drivers trying to push their way in, all in all, not fun.  If I never see another mountain by car again...it will be to soon !!!!!!

veracruz, veracruz

this town is getting ready for carnaval bigtime !!!

 there are miles and miles of bleachers.  we took a tour for 60 pesos each, we aate a a restaurant where the tradition is to clank your spon on the coffee cup in order to get more coffee, saw the beaches of veracruz and marongo. at night, there is music everywhere, tons of bars and restaurants filled with people milling around and talking.

  a wonderful town but it has seen better days. there was building after building abandoned. gorgeous and colonial and literally falling down.

Friday, CATEMACO, last morning

we are leaving this paradise in a little while. it has been so rejuvenating and energizing for us. les is like another man - smiling all the time - totally relaxed and ready to go on.  here is pic from 30 min ago ...

we had breakfast at la finca again - a little deja vu since we ate there 3 days in a row....but it is great food for a resonable price and the view is just spectacular.  I got to read the local paper and found out that one neighborhood has been without elec and water for 12 days since someone stole the cables and piping.  i also found out that the last 3 hurricanes have affected the fishing industry. egypt's mubarek stepped down and a CNN reporter was raped during the festivities....horrible. mexico was going to send people over to france for the mexico france year but that has been put on the back burner. maybe since a french woman accused of participating in kidnappings here has been sentenced to 60 yrs in prison.  frnace wants her extradited and mexico said "no way".  the gvt here has made kidnapping one of the most harshly punished crimes. and i agree. 

so, the birds are yapping away outside.  les is re-fixing a tire that was put on yesterday and is too small for our vehicle. i am trying to keep these last few days alive in my brain.

check out this pic from ysterday's dinner:

is it any surprise that I really could spend a lot more time ??????  imagine having breakast, lunch and dinner with that view every day ......... life doesn't really get much better than this ......

CATEMACO, VERACRUZ

well, if you could choose a perfect day, this would rank right  up at the top...woke up later than normal and when we looked out, it was a gorgeous sunny day. went out and a guy we had tentatively contracted with for a boat ride around the lake was waiting for us. after some last minute preparations, we went on the boat ride and convinced him to take us to the posh hotel first - that is where we wanted breakfast.

breakfast was wonderful (see pic of the view above) and soon we were on our way again.

tranquility is the name of this boat ride - birds and more birds,

crocs somewhere but we didnt see them, an island walk - not really worth it but i thoroughly enjoyed it. turns out they made many replicas of the olmec sculptures since the originals ended up in NY, washington dc and even in belgium before Mexico realized how  precious they were.  there are sculptures for the good elf and the bad elf and to many gods. the best part was some of the arts and crafts they sell. quite inexpensive and i got christmas presents for the kids here :)

then we came and relaxed a bit, downloaded our pics and looked at them together. decided to go for a walk.

after we came back, les went to take care of the flat tire we found on our car while i went walking around and bought presents for linda, ana fisher, mary, oralia and her mom. I also got a very special gift for mom for christmas too :))

when we met up here at the hotel, we showered and went out to dinner.  there is a full moon and we are living the life,  this is as close to nirvana as one could wish for. I am soooooooooooooo happy and thankful to God for giving me this wonderful husband of mine who is making this trip possible for us.

CATEMACO, VERACRUZ

ok everyone, we have found a secret hidden and totally unexpected place.

it is a crater lake (extinct volcano) called catemaco in the middle of nowhere. It is hard to describe perfection but here goes:

catemaco has a huge church with stained glass windows and beautiful colors inside and out.  there is a little chapel inside to the virgencita and it is the tradition to give her flowers in exchange for a wish.  done deal for sure.

catemaco has charm. it has peace. it has kids with the best big smiles you have ever seen. it has  a lake with a park on the other end of it, with monkeys and birds and insects (we heard - and will check out tomorrow). it has all sorts of restaurants.it has all sorts of hotels ranging from posh to regular to cheapo cheapo (in other words, perfection came out of nowhere and we are in a decent enough hotel with internet and so close to the lake and i swear, the birds are so loud it is hard to believe it is not a fake recording hahaha. i want to stay here for a week and les gave me a quirky look when i said that - guess what - it probably ain't gonna happen but i am in  love with the town and i wd indeed easily spend a week here.

my wish is that all of you reading this have a chance to visit the precious place. and see how paradise can exist in many diffferent locations.

coatzacoalcos, veracruz

we were not favorably impressed with the town. it is mostly huge industrial something or  others for miles ad miles as you arrive into town - we think it all belonged to pemex.  tons of pollution. smoke fro burning trash everywhere. litter and more litter.  the beach was run down.  however, it seems that someone is trying to better the look - we do know that there was a horrible storm that flooded this part of mexico last novermber but still and all....this beach needs major TLC - as you can see from the pic below- there is an attempt to make it great..

we were lucky to find  good restaurant called cocoos (last night) which served these astronomically huge - wide - hamburgers.  the patty itself was not thick, but the bun and the width of the hamburger ,ust have been a good 7 inch or more diameter. i think this wd make a brilliant idea for the US where people  like and eat BIG.

one good thing, food is very inexpensive unless you choose to go to a posher place.

our hotel was OK and gave us a morning cup of coffee and cereal so we were on the road early.

the road was horrible.  it  had huge potholes and tons of traffic and we were a bit tense with each other as i constantly yelled out

WATCH THAT TRUCK...
MOVE LEFT, OH MY GOOOOOOOOOOOOOD !!!
DO YOU SEE THAT GUY ON THE BICYCLE ????????!!!!!
WHAT ARE YOU DOING ???????????

yup, not fun and very stressful and at one point Les even asked if I thought I wd prefer a bus :))))))))

he loves me, it was just stressful - VERY VERY STRESSFUL. in the pic above, the road is so bad that people sell fruit and juices while the cars buses trucks are crossing .....  I rest my case.  I have no other photos, folks, I was too busy panicking !!!!!!

so I asked for us to take a little sidetrip when i saw a sign for a waterfall ..... it was gorgeous and it was hidden off the road and it was incredibly magical. only took us 10 min or less to reach it.