www.theblisspages.com - travel: Mexico
www.theblisspages.com - travel: MexicoThe first glimpse I got of Mexico City was not reassuring as we descended into a yellow smog. Now pollution controls and restrictions on driving into the city are in place, I gather that the atmosphere is now much better. Mexico City is on the southwest side of a bowl surrounded by mountains, the Valle de Mexico. For more information about the geography of Mexico city, see Mexico city: A Megacity with BIG Problems.
Where do I start? There's so much I liked about Mexico.
The people, for a start ... my colleagues in particular were very welcoming ... the Mariachis ... the temples ... the food ... the tequilas ... I could go on. Some of the highlights of my trips (I've visited Mexico about five times) are mentioned below.
Some memories endure: for example, my gasp of astonishment at Rosalia's description of her car as medium-sized - a car so large that its bonnet seemed to disappear over the horizon! I believe it was a Valiant Volare circa 1982. I also remember seeing another large car that seemed to be held together by its gearbox, as you could see the whole vehicle flex every time it started moving.
I also have fond memories of the hospitality I was shown by my colleagues from the office. Carolina and her husband Edwardo made my visits much more rewarding by their friendliness and enthusiasm. I still remember Edwardo bringing in a tray loaded with limes, salt and many bottles of Tequila, for a comparative tasting!
Eating out was rewarding, too. I remember one Sunday we went to a fantastic restaurant in a converted hacienda. We started with a Margarita, served in a small silver carafe in matching ice-bucket. Well, actually, we started with several of them. The meal, accompanied by a Concha y Toro Chilean red wine, passed in a friendly, mildly-intoxicated blur, after which I bought the carafe and ice-bucket, which has seen much use over the years.
I tried Mexican wine - let's just say that I'd recommend you stick with the Tequila! Moving on quickly to other Latin-American wines, Peruvian wine was enjoyable but always tasted old, even though it wasn't. Strange. Argentinean wine was very nice, and I've tasted Bodegas Weinert several times since in England. Chilean wine has long been a favourite of mine and I tasted several other Concha y Toro wines on my various visits. I particularly remember a Marqués de Casa Concha Merlot I was given. Lovely!
I was lucky enough to experience the El Dia de los Muertos or Day of
the Dead. Although celebrated in all Catholic countries as All Saints' and All
Souls' Days, no one else celebrates this day in the same way. While associated
with the dead, the holiday is not morbid. Instead, it's a time of happiness,
remembering loved ones, and feasting. Sweets, bread and iced buns are baked
in the shape of skulls. Skeleton puppets and masks are everywhere. The celebration
begins on the evening of October 31.
The Zapotecs believed that the spirits come to visit their homes once again on this day. They come to celebrate with the living and to enjoy the spirit of what their earthly descendants have prepared for them. Particular flowers, foods and decorations are traditional.
The Myth*ing Links site claims to be An Annotated & Illustrated Collection of Worldwide Links to Mythologies, Fairy Tales & Folklore, Sacred Arts & Sacred Traditions and it has an interesting section on El Dia de los Muertos.
Xochimilco (pronounced so-chee-MIL-co) is an agricultural area in the south
of Mexico City where many of the city's flowers are grown.
Canals dating back to Aztec times criss-cross the area. Many Mexican families head down to Xochimilco for a boating picnic several times a year. Smaller flat-bottomed boats, or trajineras, come up alongside and offer drinks, food, and handicrafts. It's also popular with tourists!
The Floating gardens were a fantastic experience as we floated along, eating freshly-cooked corn-on-the-cobs, with the vendors sailing by selling all kinds of goodies, and Mariachis playing to anyone with a few pesos to spare. There was a wonderful atmosphere; everyone seemed to be having a great time.
Another day we went to visit Popocatapetl or the Smoking Mountain,
17,500 feet high, where in a mountain hut I found a phrase that utilised my
entire meagre knowledge of spanish. At school I learnt the phrase, "The
boys and the girls have the shoes", which I seem to recall is "Los
ninos y las ninas tienen los zapatos". As we walked into the wooden hut
in the fog, I saw up on the wall, a notice in Spanish reading "The boys
and the girls must remove the shoes". At last, my years of agony attempting
to learn Spanish were not wasted. The education system is vindicated!
I bought a four-foot balsa-wood parrot in Mexico City (pictured below) and named it Popocatapetl in honour of the volcano, which has since erupted. Another large wooden parrot has been named after a neighbouring mountain, Ixtaccihuatl (which I pronounce ixtasy-wattle) which is an extinct volcano lying 25km north of Popocatepetl.
There is an interesting archaeological site only an hour's drive north from
Mexico City, Teotihuacán (pronounced teh-oh-tee-wah-KAHN). As many as
200,000 people lived here in ancient times and their non-religious buildings
(dwellings, businesses, etc) were built in wood that has long since decayed.
We do not even know what the site was originally called - the name Teotihuacán
was given to it by the Aztecs long after the city’s decline and abandonment.
Other meso-americans before the Aztecs - the Mayans, Toltecs and Zapotecs -
were equally mystified by the vast ruins, speaking of them in terms filled with
myth and legend. See this site on Teotihuacán which has more information on Teotihuacán.
The area is set on either side of the 2 km long highway - Calzada de los Muertos
or Causeway of the Dead that runs north-south for the entire length
of the complex. The Pyramid of the Sun was the first major structure built around
150 AD over a sacred cave just east of the causeway, whilst the rest of the
city was built to the west between 250 and 600 AD. The area is divided into
the Pyramids of the Sun, the Moon, and the Temple of the Feathered Serpent,
Quetzalcoatl, which was believed to have been an administrative centre.
Teotihuacán is bit of an archaeological mystery since it seems even the language, as well as the origin of the inhabitants is still unknown.
The Temple of the Sun and Moon site is awe-inspiring. The complex is huge. I climbed to the top of the Pyramid of the Sun to admire the stunning view, sat in the Lotus position and meditated for a while. Bliss!
There is a weekend art market near where I stayed.
I bought several paintings there and the one shown on the left is by Roman Lopez, painted in 1987. I like the naive style that has been used.
It has pride of place in my hall. The rest hang in my lounge.
I also bought a molcajete, or pestle and mortar.
I couldn't resist a large cockerel made out of car parts. This made for considerable
amusement at a wine tasting I put on at home a few years ago.
I try to keep my tastings informal - in fact, they sometimes start as raucously as others I've been to, have finished!
Anyway, the tasting was on during the summer, so the windows were open. A gust of wind caught the net curtains which wrapped round the ornament and dragged it through the window.
Someone shouted, "Look, Mike's tasting hasn't even started and his cock's fallen out of the window!"
...well, maybe you had to be there!
I flew from Mexico City to Merida and spent a week touring round Yucatan with some friends. There were some magnificent temples including Chichen Itza and Uxmal.
It was a fantastic experience seeing these ruins looming out of dense jungle and it was amazing wandering around them.
Chichén Itzá, the capitol of the Toltec-Maya from the end of the tenth century, brought together the architectural traditions of the Maya and the Toltecs of Tula.
The Pyramid of Kukulkán or El Castillo is 79 feet high. Each
side had 91 steps, which if you include the platform at the top makes 365 -
one step for every day of the year. It has 52 panels on each side representing
the 52 year cycle of the Maya calendar. At sunrise during the spring and autumn
equinox a shadow cast by the steps of the pyramid gives the illusion of a snake
undulating down the structure. It's an impressive sight which is witnessed by
thousands every year - unfortunately not by me! I did get to visit an internal
room with a jaguar throne near the top of the pyramid after climbing a narrow
passageway from a special entrance at the bottom.
The Temple of Warriors is impressive, flanked by the Thousand Columns.
The Great Ball Court is the finest built by the pre-Columbians. The complex is 160m by 75m and the pitch is 7000 square metres. Just in front is the Temple of the Jaguars. There are sculpted bas-reliefs showing the losing team manager being decapitated!
Climbing up the pyramids is quite hard work. They are very steep - some have
a seventy-degree incline!
The views, however, make it all worthwhile!
Uxmal was the greatest metropolitan and religious center in the Puuc hills of Yucatan during the late Classical period, flourishing between the 7th and 10th centuries. Uxmal translates as 'thrice built' and, whatever the actual number, there was several building phases resulting in a variety of architectural styles. It was abandoned in the 10th century after apparently coming under Toltec influence.
The names of some of the buildings came from the Spanish conquistadors and do
not necessarily relect their actual use. For example, The Nunnery Quadrangle,
was named because it looked like a Spanish convent, but it was was actually
used as a school for the training of astronomers, healers and shamans, mathematicians
and priests.
On the right, images of the god Chac, are everywhere.
I just liked this statue, which seems to be lolling indolently. No wonder it's
headless!
The Pyramid of the Magician is incredible.
At 100 feet, this is the tallest structure in Uxmal and was used as a ceremonial center.
According to an ancient legend, a magician-god Itzamna, was single-handedly supposed to have built the pyramid in one night, but we now know that it was constructed in five phases.
It is also interesting to note that the pyramid of the magician is oriented so that its stairway on the west faces the setting sun at the time of summer solstice.
Some parts of this pyramid date back to 569AD!
We saw some interesting wildlife.
These are a few of the reptiles I saw basking in the sun.
I think most of them were Black spiny-tailed Iguanas, but I'm not sure about the dark one. Suggestions welcome!
There were also swarms of Africanized Honey Bees (AHB) aka
'killer bees' - a particularly vicious strain, which I saw, and heard, several
times at Uxmal. DesertUSA
has more information and advice on these bees.
It is thought that the Gulf of Mexico was originally formed by a large meteorite
impact and when you look at a map, it is obvious what a cataclysmic event that
was.
We spent a day on the coast and the most cataclysmic event we saw evidence of was this ship in Cancun, the Lady C (out of Kingstown), one of 83 beached by hurricane Gilbert in September 1988.
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: © Mike Bliss 2008