Princesita
Everyone surfaced really late on Sunday so it was after midday by the time we got out. However it turned out to be the perfect time to leave as we managed a largely hassle free journey some 45 minutes south to what remains of the lake on which Mexico City stands. Here it is possible to rent a brightly coloured boat and go punting along the channels which have been formed as part of the lake has been reclaimed and is full of islands constructed of reeds and other water resistant plants. Indeed this is how Mexico City started and some people live and work on these artificial islands. Some had football pitches on them while others still had cows, horses and dogs which suggests they were being used as farmland. These animals stared at us as we went past, particularly the dogs who were guarding their patch. Some people even live on the island, with one particularly creepy collector settling up an abode dedicated to dolls, which he even attached to the trees on his island. Apparently it is now an exhibit but not one we got to see. Inexplicably, there were also football pitches on some of these islands and we could hear the sound of people playing drifting in the air at regular intervals. It was very much like the most pleasant type of day we get in England, with temperatures up to 25C, bright sunshine and everyone determined to enjoy it as it may be their only chance.
The boats are massive and have a long wooden table akin to a Viking dining table (albeit far more brightly coloured). Around thirty people could sit around this table but there were just four of us, so we had a lot of room to ourselves. A rental for two to three hours (we ended up being out for three) was quite expensive at 1000 pesos but it was definitely worth it as we were soon gliding through tranquil waters on a boat called Princesita (they all had individual names on their brightly coloured frontages) enjoying the peace of the countryside and lounging in the glorious sun. It's amazing to think that this is their winter and seeing the locals wrapped in jumpers highlighted this even more. To us, it was probably he most prefect weather we could ever realistically get in England. There were other boats on the lake but probably no more than twenty, with their peak time apparently being later in the afternoon. The conviviality of families enjoying their time together - listening to music, sharing food - added to the experience and made me feel very content and relaxed. I enjoyed laying on the front of the boat, which was some slightly angled wood, looking into the dark murky water and watching the sunlight masturbate patterns in the ripples the boat was causing. Seeing sea snails attached to lilies was another delight as was darting through the banks of reeds. In many ways it evoked happy memories of punting in Cambridge, with the geography and ambience being incredibly similar, not to mention this boat being just like one massive punt, with it being steered in exactly the same way.
Along the way we encountered food boats, which docked to our side and cooked freshly prepared enchiladas while offering us beer and other beverages. I grabbed a chicken enchilada, eschewing the spicy brain offering, and also had a michelada, which is a little like a shandy with extra chilli. It came in a plastic cup and was effectively Corona mixed with lemonade, fresh lime juice and chilli powder, with the latter liberally coating the rim of the glass too. This gave the drink quite a hot hit and it was a rather acquired taste, but one that was rather quick to acquire. I didn't find it particularly refreshing but it was pleasant enough, although probably not something I would get again. We also bought some potato crisps, plain in flavour with freshly squeezed lemon juice and salt added. This gave the crisps quite a strong and intense flavour, although in time the lemon juice did saturate the potato and turned the crisps somewhat soggy. It also played havoc with my chapped lips, with the lemon searing its way through the cracks. In addition to this, there were also mariachi boats, which sidled up to the boat and attached themselves to you, like the food boats did, and played music as you were travelling. We didn't get to enjoy any of these sadly.
There were a few interesting islands upon which we called along the way, including one with a wooden carved totem of a female figure wearing a bridal veil. This is based on a Mexican legend of a lady who lost her son and frequently cries for him. There were some makeshift toilets here too, which we had to pay five pesos for, and which involved having to go to a large water butt with a bucket in order to get water to flush. I have been in worse toilets but the profusion of spiders' webs everywhere was a little concerning. We went to another island on which they breed rare newts, largely for commercial purposes as their meat is highly prized. Like with the crocodile farm in Australia that John Bishop visited on his travels, this conservation effort is based on making money and provided it does this, the efforts will continue. They are obliged to return a certain percentage of the newts to the wild by law but the introduction of foreign predators, specifically turtles, means that these newts rarely survive. We saw a black male newt with a rubbery tail and a pregnant female white newt who looked like she was very close to spawning. The gentleman handling the newts told us in Spanish that the albino ones were a result of inbreeding and wouldn't survive in the wild while the black ones have a greater chance as they largely match the colour of the water. I was surprised at just how much Spanish I understood while it was great seeing the newts sloshing around the man's hands, with the eyes looking like someone had just stuck two small googly eyes on top of an amphibian's head. There were other animals here too, with a snake being one of them. Fortunately, we had been given prior warning of this upon disembarking on the island (the poleman wanted a fifteen minute break so we had little choice) and I didn't see it as even though it was in the middle of the conservation hut, Taneli and Cryn blocked my view. I was still a little paranoid on this island that someone had taken it out and was walking towards me with it but fortunately I managed to avoid it. We did see some butterflies though, with a nice wrinkly old lady taking me aside to have a discussion in Spanish about the yellow and black caterpillars which were on a few of the plants as well as the monarch butterfly clinging to the top of a wire-mesh cage. Again I was surprised by how much I understood and regretful I didn't get chance to brush up on my Spanish before I came out here.
On the way back to the docking station, we saw a range of interesting people on the lake including a flower seller in a boat shaped like a coyote and a rather elderly man who was snorkeling in the water for no discernible reason and then complaining it was cold. We also saw bric-a-brac salesmen carting a range of odd goods including a TV with them while a few motorboats, including those belonging to the water police, punctuated the tranquility. We listed to music on a phone for a short while but I preferred the silence myself, while I enjoyed talking over some beers as the stunning countryside drifted serenely by. On the way back, we also tackled 'The Labyrinth' which was basically a narrow river which proved great fun when we encountered another large boat heading in the opposite direction. This resulted in my face being crashed into some reeds but we navigated around them adroitly eventually. This was a shortcut back to the docking area, at which we tipped our poleman and wandered around the myriad of food eateries, disappointed there was no bin to deposit my dirty cup. We then decided to go to a place that Misha recommended back towards home as he told us that this was the best place for tacos in the whole of the city. On the way, we saw some of the triple stacked highways which are aimed at reducing the chronic traffic problem here and discussed how they could withstand an earthquake such as the one that hit the city in September 1985, of magnitude 8.1 and killing over 10,000 people.
We didn't realise that there was a bullfight on - had we realised then we may have gone on a different day. Culturally, it's a fascinating thing that whereas in the UK it is football matches that can cause such situations, here it is the bullfight, which takes place in the Plaza del Mexico, a custom built bullfighting arena. Bullfighting, a legacy of the Spanish colonial period, is very popular here, particularly amongst the middle classes, who pay a lot to see the action. It's not popular with everyone though as there was a sizeable protest going on outside he stadium, flanked by riot police with auxiliaries preventing the throngs from spilling onto the road. Many were wearing hats which looked like bull's horns, with them protesting about the bloodthirsty nature of the sport. Enhancing the popularity was the live TV broadcast which was shown alongside the NFL American Football in the Taqueria to which we went, founded in 1961 and called El Villamelon. This is a place where you pay for your tacos beforehand and then they make them to order right in front of you, with you then standing around a table to eat them. I had four tacos - of salt beef and mixed (salt beef, chorizo and pork crackling) varieties - with Victoria beer as an accompaniment. Victoria was a standard beer in all honesty, slightly sweet as is typical of all of the beers here, but the food was gorgeous if perhaps a little dry. Misha recommended the hot sauce but feared it would be a little too hot for us, although I think it enhanced the tacos and was certainly within the realms of my tolerance, albeit at the top end. I did struggle with the huge wooden ladle used to spoon the hot sauce out of the pot, perhaps drowning one of my tacos rather than lightly dressing it. The salt beef was very tender and salty, probably being my favourite of the tacos as the pig skin was perhaps a little too soggy for my taste. However, the hot sauce really boosted it and I agree with Misha when he says this is the best thing about this small eatery.
On the way home, we saw the stadium of one of the most famous Mexican football teams, Blue Cross, which is near to the bullfighting ring. Both looked a little dilapidated in all honesty, but I do like looking at football stadia of the world so this was particularly interesting to me. Once we arrived back home, we had a rather chilled evening, largely doing our own thing, which allowed me to update this journal and recover from the huge Buddha belly bloatedness that all of the delicious Mexican food had given me. And that's pretty much it for Mexico City, at least until Saturday when we return. Taneli and I now fly to the city of Merida on the Yucatan peninsula, where we are hoping to see some Mayan ruins. We have had a great time so far in Mexico's capital and have seen a great deal, although we have only just begun to scratch the surface of this vast city. Cryn and Misha have been excellent hosts and we look forward to seeing them again on Saturday. But first onwards to Merida and the second phase of the holiday.
The boats are massive and have a long wooden table akin to a Viking dining table (albeit far more brightly coloured). Around thirty people could sit around this table but there were just four of us, so we had a lot of room to ourselves. A rental for two to three hours (we ended up being out for three) was quite expensive at 1000 pesos but it was definitely worth it as we were soon gliding through tranquil waters on a boat called Princesita (they all had individual names on their brightly coloured frontages) enjoying the peace of the countryside and lounging in the glorious sun. It's amazing to think that this is their winter and seeing the locals wrapped in jumpers highlighted this even more. To us, it was probably he most prefect weather we could ever realistically get in England. There were other boats on the lake but probably no more than twenty, with their peak time apparently being later in the afternoon. The conviviality of families enjoying their time together - listening to music, sharing food - added to the experience and made me feel very content and relaxed. I enjoyed laying on the front of the boat, which was some slightly angled wood, looking into the dark murky water and watching the sunlight masturbate patterns in the ripples the boat was causing. Seeing sea snails attached to lilies was another delight as was darting through the banks of reeds. In many ways it evoked happy memories of punting in Cambridge, with the geography and ambience being incredibly similar, not to mention this boat being just like one massive punt, with it being steered in exactly the same way.
Along the way we encountered food boats, which docked to our side and cooked freshly prepared enchiladas while offering us beer and other beverages. I grabbed a chicken enchilada, eschewing the spicy brain offering, and also had a michelada, which is a little like a shandy with extra chilli. It came in a plastic cup and was effectively Corona mixed with lemonade, fresh lime juice and chilli powder, with the latter liberally coating the rim of the glass too. This gave the drink quite a hot hit and it was a rather acquired taste, but one that was rather quick to acquire. I didn't find it particularly refreshing but it was pleasant enough, although probably not something I would get again. We also bought some potato crisps, plain in flavour with freshly squeezed lemon juice and salt added. This gave the crisps quite a strong and intense flavour, although in time the lemon juice did saturate the potato and turned the crisps somewhat soggy. It also played havoc with my chapped lips, with the lemon searing its way through the cracks. In addition to this, there were also mariachi boats, which sidled up to the boat and attached themselves to you, like the food boats did, and played music as you were travelling. We didn't get to enjoy any of these sadly.
There were a few interesting islands upon which we called along the way, including one with a wooden carved totem of a female figure wearing a bridal veil. This is based on a Mexican legend of a lady who lost her son and frequently cries for him. There were some makeshift toilets here too, which we had to pay five pesos for, and which involved having to go to a large water butt with a bucket in order to get water to flush. I have been in worse toilets but the profusion of spiders' webs everywhere was a little concerning. We went to another island on which they breed rare newts, largely for commercial purposes as their meat is highly prized. Like with the crocodile farm in Australia that John Bishop visited on his travels, this conservation effort is based on making money and provided it does this, the efforts will continue. They are obliged to return a certain percentage of the newts to the wild by law but the introduction of foreign predators, specifically turtles, means that these newts rarely survive. We saw a black male newt with a rubbery tail and a pregnant female white newt who looked like she was very close to spawning. The gentleman handling the newts told us in Spanish that the albino ones were a result of inbreeding and wouldn't survive in the wild while the black ones have a greater chance as they largely match the colour of the water. I was surprised at just how much Spanish I understood while it was great seeing the newts sloshing around the man's hands, with the eyes looking like someone had just stuck two small googly eyes on top of an amphibian's head. There were other animals here too, with a snake being one of them. Fortunately, we had been given prior warning of this upon disembarking on the island (the poleman wanted a fifteen minute break so we had little choice) and I didn't see it as even though it was in the middle of the conservation hut, Taneli and Cryn blocked my view. I was still a little paranoid on this island that someone had taken it out and was walking towards me with it but fortunately I managed to avoid it. We did see some butterflies though, with a nice wrinkly old lady taking me aside to have a discussion in Spanish about the yellow and black caterpillars which were on a few of the plants as well as the monarch butterfly clinging to the top of a wire-mesh cage. Again I was surprised by how much I understood and regretful I didn't get chance to brush up on my Spanish before I came out here.
On the way back to the docking station, we saw a range of interesting people on the lake including a flower seller in a boat shaped like a coyote and a rather elderly man who was snorkeling in the water for no discernible reason and then complaining it was cold. We also saw bric-a-brac salesmen carting a range of odd goods including a TV with them while a few motorboats, including those belonging to the water police, punctuated the tranquility. We listed to music on a phone for a short while but I preferred the silence myself, while I enjoyed talking over some beers as the stunning countryside drifted serenely by. On the way back, we also tackled 'The Labyrinth' which was basically a narrow river which proved great fun when we encountered another large boat heading in the opposite direction. This resulted in my face being crashed into some reeds but we navigated around them adroitly eventually. This was a shortcut back to the docking area, at which we tipped our poleman and wandered around the myriad of food eateries, disappointed there was no bin to deposit my dirty cup. We then decided to go to a place that Misha recommended back towards home as he told us that this was the best place for tacos in the whole of the city. On the way, we saw some of the triple stacked highways which are aimed at reducing the chronic traffic problem here and discussed how they could withstand an earthquake such as the one that hit the city in September 1985, of magnitude 8.1 and killing over 10,000 people.
We didn't realise that there was a bullfight on - had we realised then we may have gone on a different day. Culturally, it's a fascinating thing that whereas in the UK it is football matches that can cause such situations, here it is the bullfight, which takes place in the Plaza del Mexico, a custom built bullfighting arena. Bullfighting, a legacy of the Spanish colonial period, is very popular here, particularly amongst the middle classes, who pay a lot to see the action. It's not popular with everyone though as there was a sizeable protest going on outside he stadium, flanked by riot police with auxiliaries preventing the throngs from spilling onto the road. Many were wearing hats which looked like bull's horns, with them protesting about the bloodthirsty nature of the sport. Enhancing the popularity was the live TV broadcast which was shown alongside the NFL American Football in the Taqueria to which we went, founded in 1961 and called El Villamelon. This is a place where you pay for your tacos beforehand and then they make them to order right in front of you, with you then standing around a table to eat them. I had four tacos - of salt beef and mixed (salt beef, chorizo and pork crackling) varieties - with Victoria beer as an accompaniment. Victoria was a standard beer in all honesty, slightly sweet as is typical of all of the beers here, but the food was gorgeous if perhaps a little dry. Misha recommended the hot sauce but feared it would be a little too hot for us, although I think it enhanced the tacos and was certainly within the realms of my tolerance, albeit at the top end. I did struggle with the huge wooden ladle used to spoon the hot sauce out of the pot, perhaps drowning one of my tacos rather than lightly dressing it. The salt beef was very tender and salty, probably being my favourite of the tacos as the pig skin was perhaps a little too soggy for my taste. However, the hot sauce really boosted it and I agree with Misha when he says this is the best thing about this small eatery.
On the way home, we saw the stadium of one of the most famous Mexican football teams, Blue Cross, which is near to the bullfighting ring. Both looked a little dilapidated in all honesty, but I do like looking at football stadia of the world so this was particularly interesting to me. Once we arrived back home, we had a rather chilled evening, largely doing our own thing, which allowed me to update this journal and recover from the huge Buddha belly bloatedness that all of the delicious Mexican food had given me. And that's pretty much it for Mexico City, at least until Saturday when we return. Taneli and I now fly to the city of Merida on the Yucatan peninsula, where we are hoping to see some Mayan ruins. We have had a great time so far in Mexico's capital and have seen a great deal, although we have only just begun to scratch the surface of this vast city. Cryn and Misha have been excellent hosts and we look forward to seeing them again on Saturday. But first onwards to Merida and the second phase of the holiday.