Xochimilco - The Lake Minnetonka of Mexico Experience

A few weeks back (ok maybe more like a month) we joined some people from the Newcomers Club for a tour.

The first stop was Coyoacan. Coyoacan is one of the sixteen delegaciones of the Federal District as well as a former village which is now the historic center of Coyoacan. We visited the church of San Juan Bautista and took in a little music in the square while checking out the municipal buildings before heading toward the market. On the way to the market there was an important stop for Churros and coffee. We also stopped at a vendor who had a little bird who flipped pieces of paper and things over to reveal your fortune (I think that was what was happening). After a quick wander through the market we headed over to Casa Azul. Casa Azul was the house where Frida Kahlo lived. The house was turned into a museum four years after Frida Kahlo passed away.
~Coyote at the top of the municipal building.

~The Churro Shop.

~Eating the Churros.

~The fortune telling bird

~The Market

~The Garden at Casa Azul

While stopped at the lights on our way to see the 1968 Olympic Stadium and the murals on the library at the National University Matt did a quick deal with a guy selling little guitars (deal because there really was no bartering, Matt made an offer and the guy, under pressure with the lights changing, accepted) . Dylan was so happy.

~Dylan playing his new guitar.

~Outside the 1968 Olympic Stadium

~UNAM Campus Activities

~UNAM Library mosaic


Xochimilco
Another one of the sixteen delegaciones of the Federal District. The area was established on what was the southern shore of Lake Xochilmilco in the pre-Hispanic time. Xochimilco is best known for its canals, which are what are left from what was an extensive lake and canal system. The canals are a big tourist attraction with people from all over the country and the world coming to ride on colorful boats call "trajineras". Bourdain fans may have seen some of this in his Mexico City episode. Matt likened the experience to Big Island on Lake Minnetonka - lots of fun, drinking and craziness. There are vendors on little boats selling souvenirs, food, and beer. There are also boats with mariachi bands that pull up along side and play until the money stops coming.
~Tequila for the men (I guess we are in Mexico) before getting on the boat (Let the fun begin! What do you mean you aren't having a tequila Matt??)

~The "trajineras"

~A little bit of crazy on another boat.

~Corn and esquites vendor. Esquites is essentially corn kernels served in small cups with varying combinations of toppings - chili powder, mayonnaise, cheese and lime juice.

~Dylan "water skiing" on the boat.

~Isla de las munecas (Island of the Dolls). This is one of the most well known "islands" in Xochilmilco. The owner (now deceased) used to collect the bodies of dolls from the canals and rubbish tips and hang them from the branches of the trees to keep away the evil spirits and to appease the spirit of a girl he found in the canal.

~A little taste of the action...(video coming here as soon as I can work it out....)

~Post boat truck driving.

Grandpa's Oatmeal

On Sunday morning I cooked the last of our steel-cut oats for Dylan and I. When I placed the bowl in front of Dylan he said 'we are having Grandpa's oats!'. I told him yes we were having Grandpa's Oats because I thought it was great that he associated the steel-cut oats with Grandpa. When Matt returned on Sunday night I told him about the oats and he said we should get some more.....my response was 'Good luck with that'. The bag of oats we just finished was one of only two bags of steel cut oats that I have seen since we have been in Mexico City and I bought both of them. If there had been more I would have taken those too. Unfortunately, I have been back to the store and looked only to find that they haven't had any since so we make do with rolled oats.

From the mouth.....

One of Dylan's favorite things to do is have everyone that is home sit at one end of the living room and race matchbox cars. You must race the car that you are allocated and you are not allowed to choose your own car. When I was caught looking at the other cars or maybe even touching them Dylan says "Don't touch my cars cause Dylan get angry". A kiss fixes everything...I say ouch and Dylan says "you bumped mommy? I kiss it". Dylan also thanks whoever cooks dinner (in Spanish) so over the week it was "Gracias para cena mama".

Lunchtime

Dylan got to have leftover meatloaf for lunch accompanied by jicama. When the jicama was served Dylan asked if he could have the "dip" for the jicama. I considered the request for a moment before offering the Tajin seasoning. Tajin seasoning is everywhere here. It is essentially ground up chile peppers, lime and salt. People slather it on jicama, mango, cucumbers....you get the picture.
Anyway Dylan dumped a huge pile of the seasoning on his plate and proceeded to slather his jicama in it. I asked him about it and I gather that this is how they do it at school.

Zacango Zoo

A couple of weeks ago we ventured out to the Zacango Zoo. It was an adventure because I couldn't find a good address for the zoo and it wasn't in our GPS. The Zoo is about an hour drive from us and at one point in the journey we were 'off the grid' - evidently the route we took is not yet in our GPS maps. The Zoo is built on the location of an old Franciscan Hacienda and so has some great buildings and huge trees. From what I was able to find online the zoo has about 180 different species including many that are endangered.

Dylan carried his giraffe card with him most of the visit. Can you guess what he was most excited to see?

After a visit to the snakes it was time for a snack.

Looking at the white tigers.

In with the birds.

Some Bunny is on the way!

We are so excited to meet Baby B. Here are some photos from the fun shower that we had for Sarah.

Day to day...

~Reading with Daddy.

~Tubing.

~Guitar playing.

~Crocodiles!