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Published: March 22nd 2008
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I spent the last three days in Mexico City, Mexico. I was not kidnapped nor robbed but yet not disappointed about that. Over three days I saw all that Mexico City had to offer.
Day 1 - March 18, 2008
I arrived in Mexico City at Noon. I went from the airport by authorized taxi to my hotel. From there I walked around the streets till I settled on my first meal in Mexico City. I know very little spanish so the trip was an interesting experience of trying to communicate with the people of Mexico City. My first meal consisted of tacos containing beef and cheese with a big bottle of coca cola and I have to say it was delicious. After lunch I heading by taxi to the Zocalo which is the third largest public square in the world. While I was visiting the Zocalo there was a hugh rally going on and with that was large crowds of people. While in the Zocalo I saw the main Cathedral located there and then I headed to the Templo Mayor or the ruins of the Aztec temple were hundreds of thousands of humans and animals had there still beating
hearts cut out of there chest and sacrificed to the gods. There is not much left of the original temple but you can see how the temple was rebuilt 5 times right on top of each other. Also If you didn't know the Aztecs built the city of Tenochtitlan (Modern Day Mexico City) on top of lake Texcoco. The lake no longer exists but Mexico City sinks 1 to 2 centimeters each year. Also while there I headed into the Templo Mayor museum which was well done and I saw many of the artifacts that came from the original temple. I waited to sunset and then headed back to my hotel via taxi. I enjoyed my first day but I was adjusting to the pollution of the city and the elevation of 7500 feet.
Day 2 - March 19, 2008
After waking up early and walking around the streets near my hotel I was picked up by the tour company for todays journey. Our first stop for today was the Bascillica de Gadelupe. The Bascillica de Gadelupe contains three churches. The first church was built by the Spanish on top of a hill near the original Lake Texcoco. The
original Temple was tough to climb to so a Second church was built in the 1700s but since Mexico City is sinking the church being heavy is sinking at an alarming rate and is now dangerous to enter and will eventually colapse. Now there is a new Bascillica de Gadelupe which contains the cloak that contains the image that appeared on it of the Virgin of Gadelupe. Religious Catholics will crawls on their knees to see the image on the cloak. After seeing the Bascillica de Gadelupe we headed to the ancient city of Teotihucan which contains the Pyramids of the Sun and Moon. These the Sun Pyramid is the 3rd largest pyramid in the world after the two main pyramids in Egypt. Our first stop in Teotihuacan was to see the ruins of noble houses located near the pyramids. In the houses were original stucco murals dedicated to the gods. After seeing the murals we headed to the main attraction of the pyramids. The first goal was to climb the 63 meter tall Sun Pyramid. The Sun Pyramid is tall but climbing the pyramid is made difficult because the you start at 7500 feet elevation. The steps of the
Pyramid are narrow and very tall. You have to be careful when climbing so you don't fall off the pyramid. They have installed a rope in the center of the stairs to hang onto but since there are so many people climbing to the top you don't always get a chance to use the rope. Also there were many people sitting on the steps because they were tired and didn't realize how difficult a climb it would be and blocked parts of the steps. Once you arrive at the top of the Sun Pyramid you are affored a wonderful view of the whole Teotihuacan complex and the pyramid of the moon. Be careful as there are no railings around the edges of the pyramid. The view is wonderful but you have to think that the only people that could originally go on the pyramids were priests, nobles, and royalty. If you are able I recommend climbing the sun pyramid. After descending the sun pyramid I headed down the causeway of the Dead and over to the pyramid of the moon. After climbing some more and running out of time I had to head back to the bus. The bus took
us to the Teotihuacan Restaurant which was good but expensive. After returning back to my hotel I was sore and tired but happy about what I experienced.
Day 3 - March 20, 2008
Today I went about experience Mexico City on my own. My hotel was near the Revolution Metro station so I decided to use the Mexico City subway. There is nothing to fear about the subway of Mexico City. It is clean, well lit, and patrolled by police officer. The Subway can take you almost anywhere in the city. After making a few mistakes I finally figured out the subway system. The Metro system contains 11 different lines. To figure out which direction you go you go in the direction the the last station on that route depending on which way you are going. If you have to go to another line you go to the station where two lines connect and walk to the other line following the signs. All signs are in spanish but if you try you can figure out the signs even if you don't know much spanish. After using the Metro I arrived at my destination of Chapultepec Park. I first headed
to the Castle in Chapultepec Park but although orignally a summer retreat for the viceroy and later a military school is now a the National Museum of History. The castle contains original furnishings but if also has the best views of Mexico City since it is located on top of a hill. Next I headed to the Museum of Modern Art but was disappointed because the paintings of Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera were on tour in Philadelphia. After walking through Chapultepec park I finally headed to the main attraction of the National Museum of Anthropology. This is a hugh museum and it contains the majority of all the artifacts of the cultures of Meso America. In total I spent five hours in the museum to view all the exhibits. The most interesting exhibits in the Museum were of the Mayas and the Aztecs. It contains the most famous artifact of the Aztecs known as the Aztec calendar but is actually called the Sun Disk because of their belief in the Sun God. No trip to Mexico City is complete without a visit to the Anthropology museum. All the signs are in spanish but you can rent a audio tour
for just 60 pesos. After wandering around Chapultepec Park a little more I finally boared the Metro for a final time and headed back to my hotel for the final time. I had a great time in Mexico City and I recommend anybody to visit.
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Patricia
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Beutiful
Beautiful, congratulation you did a wonderfull job describing this journey