Our spanish is improving daily, we have managed to book our bus tickets completely in spanish- with the help of our phrase book and lots of hand gestures!
It is our final day in Mexico city today, we are leaving this evening to go on a mammoth 15hr bus journey to the coast. We are going to a coastal town called Puerto Escondido, which is famous for itīs surfing and fishing. So we are taking the opprotunity to use the free internet at the hostel we are in at the moment to download some more pictures. We have had a fantastic week in Mexico city, and canīt wait to get home to learn Spanish properly so we can revisit here.
Yesterday we went on a gondola trip in the south of Mexico city, we braved the metro and took a local train, not too scary! We went to a place called Xochimilco, which is famous for itīs floating gardens, as it is part of the original aztec mexico, with all of the canals which used to run through the city before the spanish arrived and drained them all. Xochimilco is a little town with canals all through it, quite pretty when you are going on the canals, a grubby village if you are walking through it. We saw a market which was selling all sorts of animals, and a pet shop with puppies and kittens crammed into tiny cages, not nice! I wanted to buy them all but James wouldnīt let me!
It has been a week full of surprises, on Saturday we went to the Zocola, which is the town square, there was the Mexican equivalent of the Brit awards there, open to the public in the form of an open air concert. We arrived and it was packed, and in usual mexican style there were many women walking amongst the crowds selling all types of strange things. Anyway as we arrived, who appeared on stage to do a set, no other than Robbie Williams! A free open air concert with Robbie Williams as the main act. How chuffed was I!
There is so much art here in Mexico City. We went on a tour of the city during the week and we saw some fabulous Murals in the national Palace, which were painted by a famous Mexican artist called Diego Rivera, who is the husband of Frida Kahlo, another famous artist. These Murals cover all of the walls of the palace and tell the story of the mexicans history. They are really impressive. We also went to the Museum of Antropology which had some lovely artwork which is native to Mexico, and also had some famous artifacts from the Aztecs and Mayans. Those history buffs (Jean) might recognise the aztec calendar!
We must go and make the most of our last day, then spend two weeks lying on a beach catching a few rays. We have heard how cold it is back home, just to make you feel slightly better, it rained the other night and there was a thunder storm! But we hear the weather in Puerto Escondido is lovely at the moment!
tforinton
I'm no history buff, butthe Aztec Calender is actually the ring which the Mexican version of a gladiators would fight on. I can not remember who the doody in the middle is, but he is holding 2 human hearts. Whichever competitor lost, ie died, was the sacrifice for the God. A system I think would be wise to introduce to schools in England.