Jason and I spent last week in Mexico City, wandering and adventuring. One of the many reasons I love this man is that our spirit of travel is similar. We like tours, to a point. We like adventurous foods, to a point. And we like to see a new place by foot when possible.
Mexico City is home to 24 million people, many of whom live outside of the capital, in brightly colored modest homes that stack on top of each other. To look at these colonias, you wonder how so many could live in such a small space. The barrios are cheery in color and faulty in design. The lack of water is one of the biggest public health concerns.
Here are a couple photos from our trip, including the Shrine of Guadalupe, Zocalo and a couple pyramids we managed to scale.
We are standing on the pyramid of the moon here, with the pyramid of the sun (Teotihuacan) in the distance. The view from both was amazing.
These were a couple shots from the pyramid museum. I was impressed with the sheer number of museums available in Mexico
— most of which are open to the public for free, and showcase relics centuries old. This carving was made without metal tools. So were the pyramids.
The Shrine of Guadalupe was a life changing experience. I’ll write another post about this.
This 1600-era Spanish Catholic church in downtown Mexico City was built with the rocks of the previously dismantled Aztec pyramid seen in the foreground.
The Revolution Monument, with the elevator running up the center to a museum in the middle.
Flora and fauna at the National Palace.
The fountain in the central courtyard of the National Palace.
The central Zocalo, looking toward the (sinking) basilica of Mexico City. The city was built on a lakebed, and sits near a major fault line. Buildings are sinking at an increasing rate due to global warming.
Palace of Fine Arts built with marble from Europe
Benito Juarez memorial plaza
I hope these posts will serve as a tourism guide for Mexico City. We couldn’t have had a better time.
Tomorrow: a museum roundup.
~K