Aztec Life

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Day one in Mexico City was consumed by recovery from the 48+ hour journey that we had taken to get here. Sleeping, eating, using the facilities that the Hostel Modena generously provided.

The check in at the hostel had been interesting ... the reception staff refusing to speak to us in English... despite our full knowledge that they spoke it perfectly. We had been informed by the security guard that the girl at reception had been to London. I said to Robbie... "Ok, how do I say in Spanish that we've been on a ferry and a bus for the last three days and haven't slept?" - at this point sympathy kicked in - "oh you poor guys..." and that was it, English communication secured.

We got a room but only just - this hostel is very popular - actually it's one of the best I've stayed in - we should have reserved. It's a shame everyone goes to bed at about 9pm.

In the afternoon we decided to soak up some of the real Mexico City, the Hostel is located right in the centre of the city in Zocalo - the administrative section. It's the same as staying just next to the Houses of Parliament back in London. Ok so it's not the real Mexico City - we'd have to travel out to the slums and get murdered to experience that... take the wrong taxi and it could happen. It's sooo busy here. Twenty million people - I think they're all here. In all the back streets and alleyways for miles around there are millions of small market stores, selling everything from stationary to glue guns... an unbelievable number of glue guns are for sale - how many could they possibly sell? The noise is immense - I have very little idea what they are saying but they sing/shout continuously from 10am till 8pm. Wandering around the markets we eventually stopped and had some food - from a café, not a side store - I'm a little dubious of the food they sell.

Robbie worked on his letter of motivation - to help secure a job in the Canadian Embassy Paris. We ate in Vips, some kind of cross between a restaurant and Mc'y D's. Drank a Victoria beer... crashed out.

Day two began well, a hearty breakfast, met up with Francesca and Diego, we had spoken the previous day... Diego - Argentinean with English parents - proudly informed me that his grandparents (had?) lived in Sussex, and that he didn't normally understand English people but could understand me perfectly because I spoke like the queen. Francesca couldn't understand me though - well she could a bit, she's a German student of Environment and Landscape Architecture, here to work in a national park in a few days time. Diego left for Guadalajara, Francesca chose to accompany us to the Anthropological Museum.

The Museo Nacional de Antropologia was really interesting, mostly in Spanish, but I can read a lot more than I can understand verbally. There were many statues from the Aztec city that had formally stood where the City now stands. The Aztecs were a bloodthirsty lot - this extract from my Lonely Planet Guide to Mexico demonstrates this well.

"In the early 14th century, fighting as mercenaries for Coxcox, ruler of Culhuacan, on the southern shore of the lake, the Aztecs defeated nearby Xochimilco and Coxcox 8000 human ears as proof of their victory. Coxcox granted them land and rashly allowed them to make his daughter an Aztec goddess. As described in The Course of Mexican History, by Michael Meyer & William Sherman.

The princess was sacrificed and flayed. When her father attended the banquet in his honour, he was horrified to find that the entertainment included a dancer dressed in the skin of his daughter... Coxcox raised an army which scattered the barbarians. "

Erm - a quote with a quote within it, is that confusing?

They also managed to sacrifice 20,000 slaves within 4 days at one point. The blood was offered to their gods, and had to be collected in vessels during the sacrifice. Consequently the exhibits in the Museum included a lot of pots, embellished with scenes of sacrificial death.

After the museum, we met a herd of Mexican student secretaries, learning English. Could we help them with their homework? Sure - no problem... so they recorded us answering - "What is your name?", "Where are you from?"... it was pretty standard, but I gave them some interesting answers for a couple of questions... do you like Mexican food? "Oh hell yeah, it's great. The best thing is the ring sting that you get the following day." - I hope that one day they discover what ring sting is (the ring of fire, etc etc)... makes me chuckle to imagine them asking their instructor - I hope he's English. They weren't interested in talking to Francesca... just me and Robbie, and insisted on getting photos with us... I'm almost a babe magnet over here... but not quite, Robbie got most of the attention. We wandered around some kind of park that had been converted into a market... lots of markets here. Paid three pesos to visit some kind of tower/castle that we had seen whilst walking, but ended up in a hall of mirrors. You get what you pay for...

Tomorrow, I visit the biggest pyramids in Mexico - but tonight will include a few beers - sorry Mum... more drinking.

Oh and quickly - an apology to Robbie's parents is in order. I apologise to Mr and Mrs Boghen for the exaggeration and blatant lies that have accompanied a few of the entries in these diaries. Robbie is a top guy and we look out for each other, the people we have met and spent time with have been friendly and trust worthy. Though I agree the dive looks pretty daft, but he wasn't the first in and they'd survived. Whilst we have been in dangerous places - such as here - we have been much more cautious.

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Photos

An Aztec Sculpture
Description in spanish - doh

Mexican Secretaries
Me, Robbie, Francesca and the secretaries.