Sam And Saundra's Year Long Adventure - Part 72

Sam And Saundra’s Year Long Adventure – Part 72

Mexico 

3/14/09 – San Juan Teotihuacan - Tour of Mexico City

The caravan was supposed to go to Tepotzotlan today, but for some reason, we are staying in the field. Probably because I can’t spell it without looking at the travel log. We are picked up by bus, meet our new tour guide – Tommy.  He was born in Mexico of German parents and was educated in the US.  And you think I get confused. His parents now live in Arizona.  We all understand him very well and he is an excellent guide.  Did you know that tour guides in Mexico are licensed? Did you know that even though we are not near the beaches (sob), the sunrises and sunset are still gorgeous? We have quite a ride into the city.  The area is somewhat flat, with nice sized hills popping up out of the ground.  Tommy says that in Mexico City, the people are allowed to build houses only up to a certain height.  He says that there are no streets or water on the hillsides.  All water has to be carried up.  Tommy says that the upper housing areas are some of the places even the police will not enter, although Mexico City is safe in general.  The colors have not gone away – they are just hidden in the air pollution haze.  Tommy informs us of the vehicle pollution control requirements, which are similar to Portland, but they also have a sticker system, which limits when certain vehicles can travel into the city.  For example, you are assigned a blue sticker based on the last number on your vehicle license plate.  This means you can only travel into the city on certain days and only one weekend per month.  Mexico City has a subway system, but it only goes one direction.  The bus system has a dedicated lane throughout the heavily traveled areas, and they can be entered only through bus stops similar to subway stations.  Tommy says that although the pollution issue has gotten better, with 24 million people, it is still bad. Inversions make it much worse. Mexico City appears to be a modern city on the surface, but still has a long way to go in the infrastructure.  Electricity, water and sewage still need to be problem-solved and upgraded. 

One Of The Residential Hillside Areas

Stickers That Control This Vehicles Movement In City

Bus Stop/Dedicated Lanes

Tommy says a lot of things.  We go to the Villa De Guadalupe first.  The site has the old cathedrals, new cathedral, the convent, the site where underground springs used to come to the surface, the actual shroud of Guadalupe, and much, much more.  It took us several hours to view just a portion of what was here to see.  The wonders are spiritual for some, visual for all. The statuary, gardens, architecture and artwork are fabulous.  The story of Guadalupe is brought to life here.  The slow sinking of the original cathedral and convent, and how it is trying to be saved is amazing.  The use of huge hydraulic jacks, to the building of a brace to hold the cathedral dome, which then supports the rest of the cathedral, is just plain awe-inspiring.  I have a huge, huge respect for these people. This is a place to come see and experience even if you have no religious preference.  Maybe you will have by the time you leave. There is a large ‘rotating figure clock-like’ feature in one of the new structures, that has life size figurines reenacting the story of Guadalupe.  There are several statues of Popes.  One is made out of donated brass keys and depicts the visage of Guadalupe on his robe. The new cathedral has a system where while the mass is being held, the tourists can enter the church, walk around the back of the cathedral and go to a lower level system of walkways that allows you to be under the front of the church and look up and see the original shroud of Guadalupe.  We did not cause any interruption of the service overhead that was being attended by hundreds of people. 

Overview Of Cathedral Grounds

Entrance To Original Cathedral

Statuary Depicting the Shroud Of Guadelupe

The Shroud

We next bus it to the main Mexico Museum – “Cultural Heritage of Humanity”.  What an experience!  I like plain ole nature the most. But this history, this diversity, this color, this ‘staring at you in the face’ stuff – is fantastic.  We started our visit by having lunch.  I am glad we did, because it took a lot of energy and concentration to see everything we could see in the few afternoon hours left of this day.  The museum is massive and covers humanity in meso-america.  We saw the original Olmec Heads, the items taken out of tombs/pyramids that we had already visited and much more.  The historic items were presented in a very tasteful and artistic way. A brief summary about all the different cultures and artifacts covered and presented in this place would be too lengthy. You got to see it yourself.  My self-concept is changing – I think I am beginning to like history – at least some parts of it.  I have pictures of it.  About 700 taken this day alone, although not all were keepers. We liked this day. Talk about time travel…

Original Olmec Head

Artifacts

Tommy takes us to an area of Mexico City where the Mariachi Bands loiter, waiting for someone to come along and hire them to work for a party, family gathering – whatever.  He explains that like karate – these musicians use color to show experience.  Black suites indicate full- blown mariachi status.  White indicates brand-new bands. Other colors in between.  We went into a local establishment for social hour and two of the white bands played for us.  They were very good, and Tommy even participated.  Des and Arlene danced and a good time was had by all. 

Flag Of Mexico

We are tired and fall asleep quickly. Unfortunately, we do not stay asleep.  The carnival, loud music, but mostly the firecrackers/fireworks/canons constantly interrupt even the best of dreams.  Church bells chime in again in the early morning. Even I could hear this.