Sardines and sore feet

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We are up early this morning, Ian having snored his way through the entire night and me waking at 3am - how does he manage it? As penance I send him out in search of coffee at 7am. He returns with two lattes and a heavy bread based cake thing. This is not good for me but I am rather too hungry to object. Apparently the fresh fruit stalls are not open yet.

Today’s plan is to visit Chapultepec Castle and the Bosque de Chapultepec (large park) in which it is situated. In another bid to beat the tour groups we plan to be there by 9am when it opens. Now I know we could easily order an Uber but where’s the fun in that? Instead, we set off for the metro station which is just moments from our hotel. It’s 8am and the ‘healthy breakfast’ fruit and yoghurt stall is just opening - a note for tomorrow!

At the metro we head for the ticket window and point to Chapultepec station on our plan (thoughtfully downloaded by yours truly before we left the UK). I extract a 50 peso note (£2) from my purse to show the lady...she waves a 10 peso coin back at me. Really? So that’s only 5 peso each (20p) to ride 7 stations on the metro!

So now to cause mayhem at the ticket barrier. My ticket slips through just like it does in London but the barrier doesn’t open. A local kindly takes it from me and feeds it back in...but now it has swallowed my ticket! Apparently that’s right, I am allowed through the turnstile ticketless. The same lady helps Ian through too then dashes off to catch her train. It’s fairly easy to find our way to the platform...again just like the London tube system. We have just missed a train but another follows inside of a minute. The train is packed...and when I say packed, I really mean it...it’s impossible to get inside and so the doors close and we wait another minute for the next!

We are more successful with the next train. It’s is equally packed but a local beckons us inside, then pushes everyone to make a space and we are just about in. It would have been good to take a photo but seriously there was not room to move. I just held on tight to my bag just as you would in any packed train in a capital city :-). We are only one station along and I feel like I am creating a personal shower. Only six more stations to go! At each station there is a surge of folk pushing their way off through the exit doors, with an equal number pushing their way back in.

Finally we arrive at Chapultepec Station and Ian successfully manages to navigate us through to the correct exit for the bosque and castle. We enter the welcome shade of the leafy park and make our way towards the castle, stopping first to admire the ‘Monumente a los Ninos Heroes’ which honours the boy cadets who died defending the castle in 1847. A young man stops to indicate that he will take a photo of Ian, bear and I standing in front of it. I’m not sure I should be handing my iPhone over to a complete stranger but I do it anyway. :-)

And now to the castle...but it seems we are out of luck. Anyone that followed our Moroccan blog will be familiar with the phrase ‘the kasbah is closed’ - yes, wouldn’t you just know it...we have picked the one and only day that the castle is closed - there is some kind of special event taking place which is open to VIPs only!

And so to plan B!

It is only 9am so we start with a look around the park gardens at the foot of the castle, moving on to the lake and then back to the start of the Paseo de la Reforma. This is a 3.5km straight walk from the park passing through an area of swanky modern high rise office buildings and various monuments. There is a bike hire system in place rather like Boris’s system in London but we can’t quite work out how to download the app that would make it all possible so we walk instead.

Our first monument is a bronze statue of Diana the Huntress. This was once covered up for fear that it would offend the public - but not for long! Next stop is the Angel of Independence. Erected in 1910, it commemorates the heroes who fought against Spanish colonialism. We stop for a coffee near the Mexican Stock Exchange which is housed in a futuristic building with a glass domed trading floor. The boulevard contains some brightly coloured fibre glass animals - each sporting a different design. In contrast to these modern art pieces there are also traditional bronze statues of revolutionary heroes.

Arriving now at the Monumento a Cuauhtemoc, we are presented with an 1887 statue honouring the struggle of the last Aztec emperor against Spanish invader - it’s a fusion of Classical and pre-Colombian styles with some modern graffiti sadly thrown in. A little further down the avenue, Ian points out the Momumento a la Revolution with its domed top in the distance.

I can’t say I’m not relieved to reach the final landmark as I’m feeling quite weary. This is El Cabillito (Little Horse) - a very modern sculpture pretty much at the end of the Reforma. It’s hard to believe I am usually at the gym most mornings given our fatigue, not to mention aching legs and feet, I doubt we‘ve walked more than 5km in total? Ian puts it down to jet lag and high altitude!

We are now back on the edge of the Alameda Central district on the edge of the historic centre so we might as well see some of the bits we missed yesterday whilst we are here! Ian leads me off through another park to see Hemiciclo a Juárez - another independence monument before arriving at the stunning Palacio de Belles Artes. The Art Nouveau facade and interior is impressive.

Onwards and upwards, the glass facade of the nearby Torre Latinoamericana towers above us - it’s not the tallest or most impressive skyscraper we have ever seen but it is one of Mexico’s first and has survived many earthquakes! Final point of interest for the morning is just across the street - Casa de los Azukejos, an 18th century mansion covered in pretty tiles. The pedestrianised street takes us back to the zocola and back to our hotel for a siesta!

It’s late afternoon and we set off to visit the National Palace - it’s just off the zocola so not that far to walk. First challenge is to find the entrance. It’s very busy in the square today and the place seems packed with visiting musicians and street sellers. We eventually locate a side entrance, only to find that we are not allowed to enter without our passports (they are back in the hotel). Neither of us can summon up the energy for the return trip so we decide on a late lunch/early dinner.

After a bit of a reccy we decide upon a restaurant, electing for the set menu as recommended by our friend Shirley. The restaurant is large and pretty full but they manage to find us a table. We really have no idea what we are ordering though the waiter has a little English and tries to guide us through the menu choices. Ian chooses soup and I choose vegetables as first course. Ian appears to have chip soup and I have a plate of spinach - both taste nicer than they sound :-). For mains, Ian has steak and I have fish. Both come with chips and carrots - another slightly strange combination but very nicely cooked. There was no mention of dessert but the waiter appears with two sweets for us to look at so that we can choose - it looks like a lurid green jelly (I dread to think how many e numbers will be in that) or creme caramel. We both choose the caramel. All in all a very nice meal. Now it’s back to our hotel for a relaxing evening - we have an early start tomorrow!

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