Mexico Lindo

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Perhaps my musical selection as I write is a sign of a sort of unconscious nostalgia for Mexico, which we're sailing away from and towards new and certainly unexpected adventures in Panama. Silvestre Revueltas' bold orchestral work La Noche de los Mayas is a must-listen for the entire human race, and oddly enough, I recognized strains of it in one of the exhibit halls at Mexico City's most famous museum, the Museo Nacional de (la?) Antropología played over the sound system there. Right country, but wrong time period, as we were still a millennium or so away from the bulk of the artifacts from the Maya in the museum's holdings.

*Note - not as many photos as I would like to include...upload times are quite slow, but I tried to pick the best/most interesting!*

We spent a day in Acapulco (June 21) after a looooong process of clearing the ship and a diplomatic briefing by a US consular agent about current goings-on in Mexico. The recent election, one of the agent's main topics, is still a hot issue in Mexico City, where some supporters of the defeated candidate, Lopez Obrador, have set up booths in the main plaza and are, once again, giving the bullhorn a bad name. Echoes of the 2000 election fiasco in the US were quite apparent, but like that one, the Lopez Obrador controversy is abating somewhat. Signs still appear all over Mexico City (and I'm sure in rural parts of Mexico that we didn't see, where a good deal of his support came from as well), but Lopez supporters basically seem resigned to another term by the incumbent Calderón.

Anyway, Acapulco is not the beach paradise that many Americans make it out to be. It's a gritty city of some 2 million inhabitants; those on our voyage who stayed in Acapulco's environs mostly regret doing so. But even those of us who had other travel plans for the time in port wanted to see what we could. If you are ever on a cruise ship that docks in Acapulco, I highly recommend bringing a shirt or sign that reads "No, mil veces no, no necesito un taxi." (No, and a thousand times no, I do not need a taxi.) This may not deter the dozens of people who will ask you, but at least they'll know where you stand. At least, Alicia and I didn't need a taxi for our late-morning wanderings around the harbor area after the ship was cleared. Our objectives were clear - phone cards to call back home, some water to fight the oppressive heat and humidity in the city, some real Mexican food, and (for me) a good cup of coffee. I had to accomplish all this by the time a walking tour I had signed up for started in the afternoon. Sure enough, we found a little taquería and decided to take our chances at a place that looked cleaner than many surrounding restaurants. We survived, certainly, and I probably was able to buy the most food I've ever had for $5 - a mix of grilled vegetables and several salsas of varying spiciness with which to coat our freshly made tortillas. We tried to ignore the fact that they were cooking without gloves, and doing crazy things like opening a can of beans with an ENORMOUS cooking knife by making a series of little incisions, and found the food delicious, and the horchata, or slightly cinnamony rice milk, quite refreshing. Some of us didn't navigate the Mexican culinary scene with as much success, including such a frequent visitor to Mexico as Brian Owensby, felled for our last day in port by some nasty food-borne bug. Ever the trooper, Brian the professor, unofficial travel agent, aikido sensei, and frequent patron of the stationary bikes up in the gym, got up and drank some liquids and lectured today to 350 people, so he seems to be quite a bit better.

The walking tour of Acapulco, though I was regretting signing up at first, turned out to be quite illuminating. The oppressive heat had intensified by the time we got to the old fort of San Diego, which has been turned into a museum. Though our guide rushed us through many of the exhibit rooms, we could see through transparent floors some of the indigenous artifacts unearthed in the building and renovation of the fort. We learned quite a bit about the Philippine contribution to the history of Acapulco and its surroundings before we headed down to the main center of the city, not so far from the port. I don't recall a lot of what we did there - peeked into a cathedral that our guide told us was built for a city of 50,000 (back when it was that size), stopped at Benito Juárez's old home, which has been converted into a sort of art gallery (a few pictures attached), and went to a sort of inn to relax, get out of the heat, and drink a local soda only available in Guerrero state (where Acapulco is located.) Time and time again in Mexico, I was confronted with how little I know about our southern neighbor, and my basic lack of the most essential knowledge. (Where are each of the states? What are their human geography and demographics like? Their multifaceted history, not unlike the complexity of the pasts of various regions of the US, rarely comes across to one who has not lived in the country, but has rather studied a very specialized topic of Mexican history in a United States academic setting. (Guilty.))

Of course, no trip to Acapulco would be complete without going to La Quebrada to see the famous cliff divers, which Alicia and I did along with a couple staff members. For some reason, we again avoided taking a taxi, perhaps out of spite, and hiked up an increasingly narrow road, following signs to La Quebrada and asking directions when signs failed us. Actually, I'm really glad we did this - not only was it good exercise, but we passed the homes of regular, ordinary citizens of Acapulco, and momentarily left our cadre of Americans and a quite pampered way of life that we have here at sea. Often, doors and windows were open (still being oppressively hot at night, but much less so than the morning we had pulled into the harbor), allowing a 2-3 second glimpse into various lives, or a quick hello if several were gathered on the steps drinking beer, or a momentary audio clip of whatever TV they were watching. It sounds like pretty uninteresting stuff, but I was fascinated by the walk up and the smells, sounds, and sights of daily life. 30 pesos (about $3) bought us "admission" to a neighboring cliff viewing spot and a can of Sol Light beer to drink while waiting for the divers to dive. Regrettably, none of us had our cameras (of four inveterate travelers who always carry cameras...?!) so I have no pictures of this event to show off. I don't know what it takes to be a cliff diver besides a LOT of guts...not only do they climb up a sheer cliff with no shoes or hand protection and nothing but Speedos, then they dive. For the grand finale, they light a fire at the base of the cliff which casts an eerie red light onto the side of the cliff. The diver goes over to a little altar with the Virgin Mary and prays (hey, I'd do that too if I were about to drop a triple-digit number of feet in darkness) and then he dives. Pretty awesome. There were five divers, each of whom dove from increasing heights until the finale. The divers then come out and talk to the people and collect tips, which we were more than happy to fork over. A taxi ride back down to the port, a short night of sleep, and I was ready for Mexico City - as much as anyone can be ready for such a place!

The trip to Mexico City began with a 5:45 alarm - kept the shade to my ship cabin window open so the light could help me wake up as much as it could. There wasn’t much…but the alarm woke me up just fine. I’ve decided I’ll try and go on all these trips with nothing but a backpack, since it makes life much easier. (At least when it’s not cold Andean places that I’m going to, thus requiring more bulky clothing!) For a couple hours, everyone on the bus slept, then most awoke to watch a History Channel video about the building of Tenochtitlán (the Aztec city around which - I think - modern Mexico City is centered, or else the Aztec city closest to MC.) Either way, it’s not the same as Teotihuacán, the breathtaking Aztec site that we did visit on the second day. By lunchtime, we were in Cuernavaca, which prides itself on having an “eternal spring.” It really does - it had none of the humidity and heat of Acapulco, nor the rain and grayness of Mexico City. The legendary conquistador Cortés had a summer home near there, and other lesser conquistadors built gardens and enormous homes in the city as well. One of these was Borja (his first name escapes me), whose botanical garden we walked through in our brief time in Cuernavaca. These earthly Edens seemed to be everywhere - our restaurant had a beautiful plaza (and pool alongside it) with a couple parrots in a cage. But after lunch and a tour of the Borja gardens, it was on to the reason for our trip: Mexico D.F., or “Distrito Federal,” the official name for Mexico City.

We arrived in the Zócalo, or main square (I believe it’s the second largest in the world behind Tiananmen Square) around 4:30pm that day. It’s bounded by an enormous cathedral on one side, the Palacio Nacional on an adjacent side, several shops and cafés opposite, and I’m not even sure what was across from the cathedral. We had the distinct privilege of seeing a very elaborate flag-lowering ceremony - the nearest parallel I can draw would be the Changing of the Guard at Buckingham Palace or perhaps the Tomb of the Unknowns. But Mexico City’s ceremony involves literally hundreds of soldiers who march from the Palacio Nacional to a small square formation around the flag. A rather raucous military band plays a sort of crazed reveille-sounding tune as a few soldiers approach the flag and begin to lower it, then more come in to receive it and ensure it doesn’t touch the ground and is properly returned to the Palacio. The whole thing took fifteen or twenty minutes, and even the raucous López Obrador supporters were respectfully quiet during the proceedings. The main cathedral in Mexico City is more stark and less ornate than its European counterparts, by far, but still stands in a sort of beautiful austerity. What struck me most about a quick trip around the church was a display of a huge number of vibrantly-colored ribbons and padlocks. I initially assumed these were a sort of security device to keep the ribbons in place, but once again, my assumptions were wrong: it seemed that prayers and names had been written on the locks. If anyone can help me decode this symbolism, I’d be most appreciative - I was left thinking it was beautiful near the few lit candles behind it, but utterly mystified by what it might signify.
Soon it was time for a trip to our hotel. The bus wound its way through the end of rush-hour traffic to Polanco, probably the wealthiest neighborhood in Mexico City. NYC’s Fifth Avenue would probably be the most apt comparison to Polanco - the main drag is lined with the shops of major designers and extremely fancy restaurants, and from our own rather swanky hotel, we could see a Bentley and a Ferrari dealership. In addition, our hotel was just one of several uber-nice lodging options in the neighborhood. (I didn’t pick this one, but rather the tour agency…I loved the hotel but felt a little guilty staying in a place so geographically and economically removed from the vast majority of the city and its residents.) We did little there besides marveling at the place, sleeping and eating breakfast…and I was able to take some awesome night shots of the city on my first night there too. When York, my roommate for the excursion, returned, we ended up watching SportsCenter until falling asleep…a nice little touch of home!

Day 2 started nice and early, but well rested. I had several cups of what I considered to be delicious hotel coffee (especially in comparison with that of the ship), so I was quite awake for hiking around the ruins in Teotihuacán. I must say climbing the Pyramid of the Sun is quite an experience, and only at the top did I realize that the ruins went about as far to the left as they did to the right, the direction from which we had come. The scale of Teotihuacán is pretty impressive on its own, and our tour guide told us the “code” for finding what had been reconstructed and what was original: the reconstructed portions had little stones in the mortar. The Pyramid of the Sun is as durable as it is impressive, since there were not many little stones in its mortar at all. Teotihuacán, sadly, is completely overrun with people trying to sell masks, random “obsidian” objects, tapestries, little statues, jewelry…no one but one guy thought to sell what anyone who finished hiking the Pyramid would want: WATER. The view from the top was pretty hazy; Mexico City is fairly polluted, as I had been told. I didn’t notice so much in the city but it was visibly apparent from Teoti. Still, it was pretty amazing to contemplate the engineering and historical marvel stretched out in front of us. There’s apparently a little brass dot that marks the absolute top of the pyramid - I missed my chance to touch this or see it, because I didn’t learn about it until I got down! Well, I was at least on the same rock as that point, so I’ll take some comfort in that.

Ah! I forgot to mention Café Tacuba from Day 1…a couple teachers who are on the voyage (these would be Teachers at Sea, a program I don’t really understand but that sounds like basically a sweet vacation for educators with a little bit of work involved) and I decided to go back from the hotel into the main city via Metro in search of a legendary Mexico City restaurant, Café Tacuba. (Of course, I couldn’t pass up a restaurant for which one of my favorite bands was named!) It’s truly a Mexican institution. I had the best enchiladas I’ve ever eaten - made with a large dose of parmesan cheese, of all things - and my two companions and I shared little portions of our meals. The interior of the restaurant is beautiful, reminiscent of a Spanish interior plaza with tiles, high ceilings, and a somewhat paradoxical coexistence of a down-home feeling while remaining essentially classy. A quite excellent mariachi band roamed around the restaurant and played various songs, but it had no brass or violins as I thought traditional ones might. In their place, as far as I could see, a couple mandolins and flamenco guitars filled the bill nicely. These dudes could harmonize too. Mexican hot chocolate and some pan dulce, cake-like sweet bread, finished off the meal in a lovely and culturally appropriate fashion. Price of round-trip transit per person - about 40 US cents. Unreal!

I’ll keep the somewhat disjointed narrative going here by recalling what we did right before we headed to Teotihuacán the morning after the Café Tacuba meal and the night shots of Mexico City. (Time is of the essence in recording my memories of a port visit…things have been a little crazy on the ship, hence the delay in this blog post - and gaps in my memory are already creeping in!) We returned to the center of the city to see the Palacio Nacional, which had closed within minutes of our arrival the previous day. The main attraction there is Diego Rivera’s largest-scale mural along with his customary monochromatic panels that tell a complementary story to the immense mural above. Like Picasso’s Guérnica, I was astonished at the size of Rivera’s masterpiece. In bright, swirling color, full of visual allegory (as he needed to communicate historical or cultural messages to a largely illiterate public), Rivera’s mural at the Palacio Nacional is simply breathtaking. I’ve included a couple panels in my photos. What struck the students (and me) is that he painted in his murals fairly accurate portrayals of what is, at times, a pretty dismal national history of conquest, disease, poverty, and political unrest.

From the Palacio, then, it was about an hour to Teotihuacán, then back to Polanco (our hotel’s neighborhood in MC) to see the National Museum of Anthropology. I’ve never been one impressed by ancient artifacts from Greece and Rome, for some reason, but apparently the museum’s collection of art and artifacts from Mexican antiquity had quite a spell on me. I didn’t make it up to the second floor at all, so I technically saw less than half of the museum in about two and a half hours. It’s laid out in a horseshoe format, with a huge, high fountain in the courtyard formed by the hollowed-out shape of the building. Around this courtyard are twelve exhibit halls, the seventh (and largest) opposite the building where people enter and buy tickets. (Of course, this largest edifice is dedicated to the Mexica or Aztec civilization, not only, I think, as a matter of national pride, but because their artifacts are most recent and prevalent of the civilizations with exhibits there.) Pretty much all I knew about pre-Hispanic peoples in Mexico - and this is a fairly small amount at that - had focused on the Aztec and Maya. But the museum drew links between these famous examples and lesser-known ones - but just as important - like the Olmecs, Toltecs, people of southern Mexico in Oaxaca, and other regions of Mexico that don’t usually enter discussions of pre-Hispanic peoples. That second floor I didn’t see traced the same geographic and temporal track, but in modern times, examining the lives of indigenous peoples living in the regions formerly occupied by the civilizations exhibited on the lower floor. I decided to absorb as much of the lower floor as I could, a decision that was supported by the torrential rain outside. The museum’s gutters dumped water into the courtyard for a good two hours of unabated hard rain, and my much-awaited trip to the gift shop was a bit disappointing, as there were few unbreakable souvenirs that I could afford. Very fun window-shopping, though!

Day 3, sadly, was the one on which we had to go home - well, at least back to Acapulco. We all checked out by 10am and headed back onto the bus, which took us to Hacienda Vista Hermosa, Cortés’s summer home. I’m lacking pictures of this impressive ranch/hotel/pool/restaurant/leisure spot because I ran out of camera battery near the end of my museum visit. My favorite part of the hacienda was not actually anything that Cortés was able to enjoy, but rather a sumptuously sized shallow pool which ran under a sort of columned bridge so one could swim around the pillars. So beautiful and so tempting to dive in, but we were all able to resist. (I have neither been in the ocean nor even to the ship’s swimming pool the whole time, something I intend to correct in Panama!)

#1 on the agenda was watching the US-Mexico game which concluded the Gold Cup tournament - our tour guides had told us this would be possible at the hacienda. And they were right! I saw the last ten minutes of first half and all of the second half, when Semester at Sea students (ostensibly not soccer fans) began creeping in and standing at the back. They were rapt with attention in a narrow and (altogether too) hard-fought 2-1 US victory. Happy, but tired, this US soccer fan got back on the bus and read/slept his way back to Acapulco.

Well, we’re along the coast of Panamá now, sailing towards Balboa, our next port city (just outside Panama City.) Then it’s two days to put my Panamá tales into a blog before we dock in Ecuador…wish me luck! Please write me email and let me know how things are going wherever you may be - I’m a faithful (but somewhat erratic) correspondent while at sea, but I try my best!

Take care, and best wishes to all!

Chris

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Photos

Restaurant patio, Cuernavaca
Eternal spring? I'll take it!

Flag Lowering Ceremony
Most soldiers were still standing in a square around the flag, but a select few get to collect and fold it.

Padlocks and Ribbons
The interesting and beautiful altar (?) of which I was writing in the Mexico City cathedral.

Cathedral viewed from Zócalo
Hustle and bustle in the heart of the city.

Lights of Mexico City
It really seemed to be an unending sea of light and people.

Tourism is a force?
Apparently so, and pulling us eternally inward!

Rivera mural and admirers
And it goes onto both neighboring walls, which are MUCH longer than this one. Staggering.

Teotihuacán
Despite all my black-and-white photography in search of dramatic shots, this one shows the scope of Teoti the best.

Dog Days in Teotihuacán
We all felt a little like this poor pooch sacked out under the Pyramid of the Sun...

Xochipilli be with you!
I just loved the contours of this sculpture of the Aztec god sitting in the Museo Nacional de Antropología.

Too good not to put in
The "purification ceremony" - whatever they were burning smelled sort of pleasant and this smell kept recurring in the city. Note the dress of the ceremony's honoree...this cracked me up.

Comments

[denis]

wow
wowow... that all looks absolutely amazing. when is NAFTA trip pt. 2 going to occur? i'm reaaady to go!