Centro Ciudad de Mexico

The Garmin Watch

I just sat down to start on the Centro Mexico City blog but my heart is still racing from a text notification I received minutes ago. It was my adult son, Jeremy’s, fancy athletic watch texting me.

The text read:

“Jeremy’s Garmin device detected an incident. 
You are listed as an emergency contact.  
Incident Location: https://gar.mn/BKVOWV
Coordinates: 37.880700,-122.524177
Follow Jeremy’s current location: https://gar.mn/”

Sh*t, gave me a heart attack. Here I am, in another country, getting an emergency notification from a watch.

What a View

I had just finished watching Jeremy’s post where he had halted his already 45 mile bike ride for a moment above Stinson beach in Marin to take a quick video of the view, so I knew it had to be a biking “incident”. 

I immediately phoned him and he had just T-boned (his words) into a car. It had just happened and his adrenaline was pumping. He kept saying, “ I think I’m alright……I think I’m alright”.  Got my heart pumping too. 

Freeking Walgreens

The car turned right in front of him going into a Walgreens. He was in the bike lane and went full force into the side of a car, flying off the bike and hitting the road hard. He said lots of traffic stopped and the driver was very apologetic. Geez, I hope so.   

Anyway, he was very shaken up, and I’m sure he’ll be sore, but he (and the bike that he uses in triathlons, which was his main concern) are both ok. 

Bike Lanes

Now, back to Mexico City, where they have wide, well protected bike lanes, at least in the heart of downtown.  In fact, on our way across town to the Museo de la Antropología, we passed through an absolutely stunning part of Mexico City where I first spotted the bicycle lanes. 

Our Uber took us down Paseo de la Reforma, a major thoroughfare in downtown Mexico City where we were fortunate enough to catch a good look at two iconic statues.

Luckily we were stopped at a red light before entering each roundabout, and I was able to snap some shots of El Ángel and The Huntress whilst hanging out the Uber window. You know, tourist-style. 

The Center Aisle

The traffic all along Paseo de la Reforma was split by a wide expanse of beautiful gardens that include lots of  white agapanthus (flowers), large leafy trees providing plenty of shade, and a generous bicycle lane. 

The bike lane was so protected and lovely, you could almost forget the masses of traffic on either side of you. It was like a park going down the middle of a huge, multilane, congested street. 

The Museo de la Antropologia 

By the time we left the Museum of Anthropology we could barely recognize where we were, there was such a mass of people and traffic out front. It was such an extreme change from the morning. 

We had arrived at 9:20 am, and were dropped off into a peaceful, open, and expansive area in front of the museum.

A few locals were there before the heat of the day, throwing balls as far as they could for their scruffy dogs across the spacious and unfettered patio area in front of the museum. That’s how much room there was.

The Mesmerizing Waterfall 

I’m so thankful we arrived early before the crowds, which were not far behind, as it turned out.  When we walked into the museum courtyard to access the exhibit rooms, there stood the dramatic and imposing 94 foot tall, 2,000 ton sculpture-fountain raining down in a giant circumference in the middle of the courtyard. 

There were a few people in the courtyard with us, which I appreciated so I could take a picture with some perspective.  It was solemn, breathtaking, and magnificent. 

The Hordes Arrive

By the time we left it was a completely different scene.  The museum is mammoth (and has mammoth exhibits too)  and can absorb a heck of a lot of people, which there were for sure.  Many, many people.  It’s a holiday weekend and a Saturday.  I didn’t even get a picture of the hordes because I was just trying to get through the masses. So be it.  

Time for a Break

I enjoy museums, but usually try to cap the excursion at 2-3 hours.  That usually seems about right.  But this museum was incredibly special and warranted more.  Much more.  We did take a break and had a bite in the very expensive museum cafe, where we ordered appetizers only.  

I just couldn’t bring myself to pay $275 pesos for enchiladas verde that cost $95 outside the museum.  The head waiter/manager took our order, “Those are starters, what else will you be having?”

“Nothing, that’s all”, we said.  There was a language barrier, so it was a little awkward repeating several times “that’s all we’re having”, but we finally made him understand that our order was complete.  

The Exhibits

Before and after our cafe refreshment, we thoroughly enjoyed the outstanding exhibits in the exquisitely detailed rooms.  The 22 enormous rooms in the museum are dedicated to the anthropology and archaeological cultures of the Mexican territory. 

All the rooms are voluminous, with high ceilings, shiny marble floors, and beautiful lighting. The exhibits are superbly preserved and displayed, and the vast variety of interesting exhibits never ends.   In addition, each exhibit room has its own outdoor area, beautifully landscaped, with seating and more exhibit items.  It’s such a lovely and well-thought out venue.  

My Favorites

It’s hard to have favorites in a museum with so many awe-inspiring exhibits, but if you take a look at my picture count, you’ll see that I have a ridiculous number of pictures of the pottery and the little ceramic figurines. 

I just love examining the tiny figurine’s faces, bodies, and demeanor.  They were between 3-5 inches in height and so detailed. And there were probably close to a thousand. 

My Very Favorites

These two (what I call doggy) figures delighted me. Just sayin.

Museo del Templo Mayor

Speaking of  well-laid out museums, the Museo del Templo Mayor is right around the corner from our apartment and has an incredible story.  The Templo Mayor was the main temple of the Mexica people in their capital city of Tenochtitlan, which is now Mexico City. 

Construction of the first Tenochtitlan temple began sometime after 1325. That’s quite a long time ago. And it was the center of the political and religious life of Mexica society.  It was a really big deal.

Let’s Rebuild

In 1521 AD, the Spanish destroyed Templo Mayor to make way for a new cathedral, the Metropolitan Cathedral of the Assumption of the Most Blessed Virgin Mary into Heaven, or the Metropolitan Cathedral, for short. 

The ruins were buried and largely forgotten until their rediscovery in 1978, when workmen uncovered a huge, eight-ton sculpted stone disk depicting the scattered limbs of the Aztec moon goddess Coyolxauhqui. 

A presidential decree gave permission for the archaeologist Eduardo Matos Moctezuma to uncover what his team could of the temple.

The Ancient City of Tenochtitlan

Yes, turns out Mexico City is built on the ruins of the ancient Aztec city of Tenochtitlan and a large portion of Centro, including our apartment, is right on top.  The huge, ancient civilization once covered about a 5 x 8.5 mile chunk of Centro.  The site is still under excavation. 

The museum has boardwalk-type paths that wind throughout the ruins that have been unearthed.  There’s an indoor section of the museum too that houses even more artifacts from the ancient city.  

Look Down

Not all the areas where current Centro Mexico City has been built could be cleared, so there are plexi-glass sections along many streets, including right near our apartment, where the subterranean ruins lie.  We can peer down and marvel at the civilization that thrived here hundreds and hundreds of years ago.   

The Works of Diego Rivera (& friends)

Diego Rivera, the very talented and famous Mexican muralist, also thrived here in Mexico City.  We had visited the Museo Casa Diego Rivera in Guanajuato, Rivera’s childhood home, so it was exciting to visit two sites here in Mexico City that also feature his works. 

The Palacio de Bellas Artes

One of the most iconic and grand buildings in all of Mexico City, The Palacio de Bellas Artes, houses superb floor to ceiling murals in the building’s entire second floor by a variety of artists, including Diego Rivera.  

My favorite was actually by another artist, Jose Clemente Orozco, entitled, “Eternal struggle of humanity”.

Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso

The second site we visited with works of Diego Rivera was at the Antiguo Colegio de San Ildefonso, which turned out to be literally next door to our apartment. 

We had been admiring the incredible, ornate building all week, but didn’t realize until almost our last day that it was a college and museum and is where Rivera completed his first mural as a very young man.  Thankfully we barely squeezed in time to visit.  The building and the murals didn’t disappoint. 

So Clean

It’s such a pleasure walking around the Mexican cities we have visited on this trip. Every city, small and large, that we have been in is incredibly clean.

I mean no trash on the streets, or in the gutter.  No garbage, no wrappers, no plastic bottles to be seen anywhere. The courtyards, every street, and every corner is clear and litter free.   No cigarette butts, no fast food wrappers, no old worn masks are about.  There’s not even fallen leaves or old blooms on the ground – at least not for long.

The Broom Crew

There’s a large crew of street cleaners (2,700 in Mexico City alone) that are out in force every day.  They work in shifts morning, afternoon, and overnight. We see them every block or two.  They are everywhere doing a great job. 

In Mexico City they wore bright green jumpsuits.  Every street cleaner we’ve seen uses a homemade looking broom.  It appears to be made of flexible sticks latched together and looks like it wouldn’t be very effective, but to my surprise it is.  The streets are cleaner than anywhere back home, that’s for sure. 

We noticed right away that the street cleaners congregate for a lunch break in the mid-afternoon right in front of our apartment.  It’s a nice shady spot to stop and have lunch.  And they sure do deserve it.

The Zocalo

One huge area the street cleaners didn’t have to contend with in recent days is the enormous Zocalo. 

The Zocalo has been closed off all week (or more) and an enormous temporary structure is being constructed inside. 

We assumed it was a special Easter structure for a special event, but Easter has come and gone. While taking a picture of it on our last day, still not knowing what it’s for, a silly guard made a funny pose just outside my frame. 

A Bit of Rome

The usually stoic guard seemed game, so I asked him through my translator app what was being built. He said it was the Sistene Chapel. I assumed the translation was off- what would they be building a Sistine chapel in the middle of the Zocalo for?  So strange. 

Well, an article I just found confirms it. “The capital government, in coordination with the Vatican Museums and the Archdiocese of Mexico, announced that a faithful reproduction of the Sistine Chapel, which was painted by Michelangelo, will be installed in the Zócalo of Ciudad in Mexico.” 

It will be open to the public starting tomorrow (we leave the area today). But that’s ok because we’ve seen the real thing in Rome. 

But just wondering aloud, why do they need a rendering of the Sistine Chapel from Rome when they have all this beauty that surround the Zocalo? Beats me…

WINS

Iglesia de San Francisco

Happening upon the magnificent Iglesia de San Francisco.  Just walking by and decided to take a peak.  Wow, pow, and wow. Stunning and more stunning.  Lots of gold and substantial murals on the walls.  Nice combination.

Good Friday Processionals

We were fortunate enough to witness two very different Good Friday processionals.  

One paraded by us as we had dinner at an outside table (where the finger incident occurred – see “Losses”).  The processional consisted of maybe 50 people, a couple of priests in cassocks (robes), and the figure of Jesus lying in a glass encasement being carried along.  

The second was much more striking because the processionals wore long white robes, masks that covered their faces, and hats that came to a point. In both processionals a lead person banged a drum slowly to set the somber pace.  

Clean Clothes

Having a washer and dryer.  First time in over 2 weeks. Gotta love it.

LOSSES

A freak finger accident.  Somehow I smashed the heck out of my finger while adjusting my chair in a restaurant.  Blood, pain, and lots of throbbing ensued. Now I have a phobia of adjusting my chair.  Seriously, I do.  

The Palacio Nacional was closed due to Covid.  More Diego Rivera murals adorn the walls, so we’ll have to go next time we’re in town.  We feel lucky that the Palacio Nacional was the only Covid casualty.  

What a good reason to return to this vibrant, multifaceted and energetic city full of museums, history, and gorgeous Colonial architecture.  Hasta Luego, Mexico City Centro!