A few weeks back we went to Mexico City again. As you might recall, I spent a few days in the hospital there...well, when I was admitted to the hospital I was required to put down a $20,000 peso deposit (roughly $2,000 dollars) until my travelers insurance paid the bill. So, I had received word that my insurance had paid the bill and I could come to Mexico City to collect my deposit.
We happened to get there on October 31, which as you all know, is Halloween in the States. Halloween is not really celebrated in Mexico...although it is making some inroads in a few of the bigger cities. We saw a few kids in costumes, but that was about it.
What is celebrated with fervor, however, is Dia de los Muertos...Day of the Dead, on November 1st and 2nd. This is a huge holiday for the Mexicans. It's a mix of all sorts of things...honoring loved ones who have passed away, paying homage to pre-hispanic tradition and also a nod to the Catholic traditions brought over by the Spaniards when they came for the gold and silver here in Mexico.
People make altars to the deceased, and decorate the altars with purple and orange marigolds...these are supposed to have the smell to bring the dead to the altar. Also on the altar are food, drink, alcohol, cigarettes, and all sorts of things like that. The idea is to put all the things that the deceased would enjoy on the altar. There is also the skeleton dolls that are pretty famous for Mexico...they are doing all sorts of things...everything from taking a bath to riding a horse and anything else you can think of. All over they sell candy skulls and bread with "bones" on it (made out of dough). It really is actually beautiful, but I felt uncomfortable with it in many ways. For many, it is only a symbol of respect for the dead...for others it is a way to communicate with the dead.
While we were in Mexico City, we stayed at the Moneda Hostal...the place we were at when I got so sick. Everyone of the staff remembered us! They were all happy to see us and glad to know I was feeling better...it was great, and a real testament to their staff. The cook, the woman who offered to keep Sierra while I was in the hospital, was there and was really happy to see us. We spent a lot of time visiting with her...turns out she's a Christian! She wanted to invite us for dinner, but we had to leave before she could have us over.
One day we went to Xochimilco, on the outskirts of Mexico City...it is a place where they have all these water canals and you can rent a boat to go through them. It's known as the Venice of Mexico. We rented a boat for 2 hours...these boats are pushed along by a guy at the back with a long pole...all the boats are decorated beautifully with flowers and painted bright colors. They take straw and fashion it into designs and paint it. All along the byways of the canals are people in other little boats and they are selling flowers and food and candy and all manner of things. Other boats carry mariachis and other types of musicians who will play for you. It was beautiful and relaxing. Sierra tried her hand at pushing the boat along and it was a lot harder than she thought! She had to balance on the edge of the boat and maneuver a pole that weighed as much as she did and was about 20 feet long...all the while keeping the boat going in the right direction! A few times she almost lost the pole, but our trusty conductor was able to get it.
Another day we went to Six Flags, which is also in Mexico City. We thought it would be real quiet because it was a Tuesday, but it was a little crowded by school groups. We had fun, though! It's a lot like any other Six Flags in the States, although they did have some fun rides..Superman and Spiderman. We were disappointed that several rides were closed for refurbishment. While we were standing in line for the Spiderman ride, we talked a bit with the people in front of us...a young girl and two young guys...they were probably in their early 20's. We all rode together and then after the girl gave Sierra her bracelet as a memory of her new friend and her time in Mexico. It was so sweet! We ended the day with a water ride...it's one of those kind where you are on a giant wheel/inner tube boat and it's "white water"...we got SOAKED!! Not only was it white watery, but they also dump water on you at every chance. The first was going by some ceramic kids squirting us in various ways...holding a hose, a watering can, etc. One of the "kids" was "peeing" on us!! And they actually had his little private out there doing it, for all the world to see! We couldn't believe it! We also were taken under a waterfall, and by sprinklers...let's just say we were totally soaked. It was getting cold by this time, so we ended up buying matching Superman sweatshirts.
Back at the hostel, Sierra was making friends with everyone. Ricky, the guy who was so into lime juice as the ultimate cure for all ills was there and he gave her a little doll...also as a memory of her time in Mexico and her friend. They were supposed to be having a costume party, so Sierra spent all sorts of time trying to put together a costume, only to be disappointed that she was the only one to dress up (well, besides me in my old standby Pippi Longstocking braids). One of the other guys who worked there fell in love with Sierra and they had fun playing dominoes with the other travelers from all over the world. He said when she is 25, he will be waiting for her! NOT what a mom wants to hear! Haha...he meant it in good fun.
Of course, Sierra being Sierra...she was cartwheeling her way through the city and causing all sorts of commotion as other kids were trying to get in on the cartwheel action. A few of the vendors by the hostal would yell out at her every time we passed by..."more cartwheels, more cartwheels!" This has been a very interesting little phenomenon here in Mexico...everyone is absolutely fascinated by her ability to do cartwheels and backbends...and she has an endless supply to give them! Not to mention high kicks!
We now love Mexico City and are no longer afraid of it...and I have to say - the Metro is awesome!! After Mexico City, we decided to go to Guanajuato for a few days before returning to Tepa. We took a long bus ride...they do seem to be getting longer and longer...and ended up staying at a youth hostel there in town. Guanajuato is a beautiful little city. It was made rich by the silver mines, so the architecture is beautiful. Now it is a college town, and the college is known for it's Arts program. It's a very romantic little place, built up the sides of the hills so it sits in a "bowl" of sorts.
We walked around a lot, just looking around. We also went to their famous mummy museum. There is something in the soil that mummifies the bodies that are buried here...it's very weird. The people have to pay "rent" on the burial sites because there isn't much room. After a few years, if they don't pay rent anymore, they exhume the bodies and if they are "good" mummies, they put them in the museum...the others are burned. It is creepy but very interesting!!
The famous artist Diego Rivera was born in Guanajuato, so we went to the museum in the house where he was born and looked at some of his paintings...that was really interesting and Sierra enjoyed looking at the different techniques he used.
There is a gondola tram that will take you to the top of one of the hills...it is probably at a 75 degree angle! We went up that to see the view and also the statue at the top. It is fun to ride, but scary to look down! Boy, it is steep! At the top we found a museum of the "legends of Guanajuato" so we decided to check it out. It scared us!! It was all dark and we were the only ones there! It was one of those animated ones, where you see one scene at a time. Man, the Mexicans love gory, scary stuff! We were freaking out and were real glad when it was over.
One of the legends is actually true, though, and pretty cool...at one point the Spaniards were taking over the city and they had taken control of a big building on a hill and were shooting all the Mexicans who were fighting. Finally, this one guy took a huge slab of rock and tied it to his back and was able to get to the door of the building and set it on fire. The rock protected him from the bullets, while the door on fire smoked out the Spaniards and gave the Mexicans a chance to come in and take back the city. It didn't turn out well, however...eventually the Spaniards got it back, and they took the heads of all the leaders and hung them out on hooks at the four corners of the building. Ugh!
After all this excitement, we were happy to return to Tepa and relax for a day before getting back to work.
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