Shakked recovers and Amit enjoys a show

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We had a rough night where no one but Ilan slept much (Shakked had a fever and was up for 4 hours, Maytal had an upset tummy, and I lay worrying about them both while Ilan snored away). Happily, we woke up to find Shakked all recovered and ready to venture again. Back to the anthropological museum we went. While Shakked Ilan and Maytal went to see the exhibits and take more pictures, me and Amit enjoyed the colorful presentation of the Ballet Folklorico - a show of dances from all over Mexico, with wonderful costumes and great music.
Amit wrote: “ One of the most amazing dances was about hunting a deer, another amazing feature was the colors, they looked so colorful in their costumes and it was amazing how fast they feet moved. On the last dance they threw confetti at us, we collected confetti and threw it at my brother and dad when we saw them”,
Shakked: “ The museum was completely astounding! It contained beautifully carved masks showing the faces of gods, intricately carved stones depicting ancient happenings. In my opinion however the most amazing artifact was the stone of the sun. It was a huge circular stone beautifully carved. In the middle was a picture of the sun god. Around it was a circle of animals, originally thought to be an Aztec calendar because each Aztec day was named after an animal, plant or tool. Encircling the ring of animals were two amazing fire serpents face to face with their tails touching. After that we went to see a “voladores “show: 5 men dressed in Aztec costumes climbed to the top of a 50 foot tall pole with a box shaped bench on top. On the bench the four on the sides tied ropes to their feet while the middle one played his flute. The four with ropes tied to their feet suddenly dove off, head first. They flew around the pole while slowly descending. The most amazing part was than even while swinging upside down on ropes they were stock-still frozen on different poises. “
On the way back to the hotel we stopped at the National Palace, where huge murals by Diego Rivera describe the gruesome history of Mexico. The boys were very impressed by the murals. Maytal really wanted to touch the paintings, she is a very tactile child who wants to touch everything she sees, especially if it is colorful and bright. (She also wants to touch every baby, dog and woman with long hair, which makes for some interesting encounters )
Shakked: “Then we went to see the murals in the Presidents’ own palace! They showed the whole history of Mexico! Beautifully painted they depicted the wars between Hernan Cortez and the Aztecs, the slavery of the Aztecs and finally the revolution that freed Mexico.”
Amit: “ The murals were drawn by Riverewa and Tamayo. They were about the history of Mexico from the Aztecs to Modern Mexico”.
We bid good bye to Mexico City- now we are in Tepoztlan, a small town an hour drive away, in a lush valley surrounded by tall cliffs. Here we will stay for 5 days - the kids will have daily Spanish classes, morning and afternoon and we will rest and enjoy the town. It is very different from the capital - 20 million people live in Mexico City, one of the most polluted cities in the world. Whereas here in Tepoztlan there are only 50,000 residents; we can see clear blue skies and we feel safe walking around the cobble stone streets in this small town.
The kids had their first Spanish class this morning and enjoyed learning verbs, numbers and colors. Later on three Mexican kids joined them, and they played soccer and bingo while practicing what they learned. Maytal really wanted to join the soccer game!

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Comments

[Fran Margulies]

Hunting Deer Dance?
Maybe if there is a hunting dance you could do a hunting hula? (Not too many deer in Hawaii, except on Lanai, though.) It would need a little adapting, but I could see you doing the movements. I am enjoying following your travels and your comments! Fran

[Nesya, Amiel, and Selilah]

Poor Maytal
Glad to hear Shakked is doing better. Nesya says she feels sorry for Maytal because she's left out of all the big boys' fun. But Nesya is still glad Maytal's a baby because baby's are fun (even if they grab your hair). The kids really liked the description of the voladores. Nesya said she could climb up a pole like that, but as I continued to read your description of the act, she got noticeably quiet. Guess we don't have a future bungee jumper in our midst! Amiel thought the art was cool, especially the statues, the skeleton, and the skull. We hope you are now all healthy and having a good time.

[Tutu]

I liked the skull and the Mayan preschool pictures. Each looks funny in its own way. As to the creepy picture, there are much more creepy catacombs in Sicily - I walked out after 20 seconds, couldn't stomach it. Shakkedi writes about the beautiful stone of the sun. Is there no picture of it? Maybe I missed it - I'll look again. And, Amiti, by the time you come to Israel you'll know 100 (or 1,000) times more about Mexico than I do! Neshikot Tutu (next blog will be Saba's)

[Olivier]

Looking forward to more adventures!
It is so fun to follow your travels in words and pictures. We are vicariously traveling with you! Looking forward to more! Enjoy!