6 Days in Mexico City

Temple of the Sun - Teotihuacan
I got halfway up. The people who built this (nobody's really sure who) had really good legs.

A couple of weeks ago, I went to Mexico City for a week. This is not the relaxed Mexico of white-sand beaches and tequila and all-inclusive resort hotels.  It’s more like New York than Miami.



Mexico City is big.  I read the guidebook and knew (intellectually) that Mexico City was a sprawling urban area of 22 million people, but the sheer size does not really register until you see it. It’s huge.  And the locals seem to like building big as well. If they can make something taller, wider, grander, more monumental, they do it.

Palacio de Bellas Artes - Pure Beaux Arts on the outside, pure Art Deco on the inside

A lot of Mexican architecture seems to intentionally dwarf its inhabitants. It’s impressive, not particularly friendly, but very impressive.

University of Mexico

Of course, I didn’t get to see the whole town. Who could see this place in only a week? It would take a month just to get your bearings.  My paltry 6 days barely scratched the surface; all I have is a quick impression. 

Painted storefront - Avenue of the 20th of November

Mexico City is a fascinating, culturally diverse, intriguing, and totally overwhelming destination.  I learned about pre-Columbian food, Aztec theology, the Virgin of the Guadalupe, earthquakes and subsidence (erecting monumental stone buildings on swampy ground is not a good idea).

Aztec goddess in the Archeological Museum - This carving is about twice the size of my car.

I came back impressed and exhausted.  I also caught a cold that flattened me for a week when I got home. 





The main cathedral in the Centro Historico. The altar is solid onyx.

Michael Jackson Day of the Dead figurine

Answered prayers

Mariachis in Xochimilco

Temple of the Sun - Teotihuacan 
When I took this picture, I had agreed to climb the pyramid, and was beginning to think I had lost my mind.

Vacation Snaps

I spent the first two weeks of September in Vietnam. It was my first visit and I hope it will not be my last.

Morning on the Perfume River, Hue

I took a tour, 10 days travelling from Hanoi to Saigon, and it was wonderful.

I'd never been on a tour before, and while I didn't see as much of each individual site as I would have liked (simply not enough time) it was very relaxing to not have to deal with travel arrangements and hotels. All I had to do was show up. I can do that.

taken from the bus on our way to Hoi An

I tried my hand at landscape photography this time round. It's not my strength, but the countryside is beautiful, which helps a lot.


Destined to be dinner

The people are friendly, and the food is great. For those of you who are worried about food being too spicy, chilies tend to be on the side. And the beer is plentiful and good.


Roof detail

A gargoyle, I almost wish it had rained, so I could have seen it in action (Hue)

The tourism industry is in its infancy, so there are no pamphlets to pick up, no signs in English and very few maps. This can be great (less visual clutter and litter) and it can be disorienting (where am I?) They are fixing up the old palaces in Hue, but it's a constant fight against the climate.

And it's hot. There is no way around it, it's hot and humid and we blessed the men who invented air conditioning every time we got back to the hotel.

Saigon, the 70 was to celebrate Vietnam's 70th birthday as a modern nation 1945 - 2015

I arrived two days before national day, on the 70th anniversary of Vietnam becoming its own nation. So Hanoi, where we started, was packed, filled with people paying their respects at Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum, all the government buildings had a fresh coat of paint and there were red flags everywhere.

Daoist temple - coils of incense, with prayers attached (Hoi An)

Ha Long Bay

If you ever get the chance to see Ha Long Bay, go. We felt so incredibly lucky to be there, it's an incredible spot. And I tried kayaking for the first time! I didn't turn the boat over, so I'm calling it a success.

Hoi An at night

Hoi An, in addition to being a UNESCO World Heritage site, is known for its lanterns. These ladies are selling paper lanterns that you float in the river and make a wish. Its a big spot for engagement photos.

Temple offering - Buddha's Hand (Hanoi)

Fishing - Ha Long Bay



I would like to go back and spend more time, about a month, and really get to explore. But for an introduction, my 10 day whirlwind trip was fascinating.

Round Robin: Does travel change you?

The week after my 10th birthday, my family moved to Singapore, about as far from Southeast Texas as it is possible to go without leaving the planet. I remember being excited about it. It was no great wrench, we'd only been in Texas for two years. Two years was our average for staying in a place. We had already lived in Florida, Georgia, Louisiana, and a couple of army bases in Texas, but Singapore was my family's first foreign venture. 

Coconut vendor Merida, Mexico

Since then, I have been to Malaysia, Brunei, Labuan and Sarawak, Thailand, Sri Lanka and France. I've spent a few days in Luxembourg and Belgium, a week in Hungary, a week in Mexico, ten days in Spain and a short weekend in London. So when I think of travel, It's not spending a week at a resort, working on your tan and drinking rum. I think of travel as spending significant time in a place not your own: getting used to the rhythms of another culture, finding new landmarks, learning to navigate when you can't read (or find) the street signs, and figuring out what in the market you can cook.

Laughing Sal, Musee Mecanique, San Francisco

You don't have to go far for the experience. Stay with friends for the summer. Move to a new town. If your town is big enough, move to a different neighborhood. All your landmarks will change. But foreign travel is particularly useful for one thing: perspective.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving” 

– Terry Pratchett

I don't think anyone really understands where they are from until they leave. It's like stepping back from a picture, to better see the whole. Things that you never noticed will jump out at you, and issues you thought important will fade to insignificance. When you are the only person in the room with your cultural background, you suddenly realize that what you have always thought of as normal, isn't. I remember trying to explain: nerds, gingerbread houses, why Americans don't kiss each other hello (I don't know why - we just don't), and garage sales. 

Cockerel - Key West

Of course, you will learn about whatever culture you visit, but you will always see it through the lens of your own. You won't be able to help it. And you will learn how your culture is seen by outsiders. This can be enlightening, flattering, or really uncomfortable. (Sometimes all three at once.) But as long as you remain open, you will gain from the experience. 

Dancer, San Jose Tamale Festival

To read what other people are saying on this topic, check out their blogs.

• Joan Johnson, at One Fish Taco
• William Pora
• Leslie Farnsworth
• James McPherson
• Jenna Sauber, at Lagniappe
• Jon Lundell, at The Real Mil

A visit to San Juan, in pictures

The first week of September, I went to San Juan, Puerto Rico. I stayed in the old city, partly because it's got the oldest architecture and highest density of museums, and partly because I wanted to be able to walk everywhere.

Rainy day in the capitol

Overall, it was sunny and warm and pretty, full of interesting animals

iguana at El Morro

Parrots - unfortunately green birds in green trees don't show very well

architecture,

Small chapel in the cathedral

I don't know what this building is, but I liked the colors

and handicrafts unique to the island.

Carved saints (santos) are a traditional craft. The Magi are very popular subjects.
This is the three kings playing dominoes with Santa Claus.

Painted soda bottles - tourists really will buy anything

But I just enjoyed the chance to be somewhere new and to spend days doing nothing but taking pictures. (and tasting rum, but that's another story...)

Spanish fort - El Morro

The cobblestones in old San Juan are blue. The contrast with the red petals was too much to pass up.

I just really liked the door knocker

painted ox-cart wheel - Museo de las Americas

Bacardi factory tour (meh - at least it was free)

leftover from the World Cup

Arches - Castillo San Cristobal

The most colorful basketball court I've ever seen

wall art

Stepping out of routine

On my little jaunt to the hill country last week, I was playing with the radio stations and stumbled on a county station playing The Derailers, who have made my shortlist of favorite country bands. A band I would never have discovered, had I done what my brother keeps telling me to do and put all my music on an i-pod. "Then you can take you music with you wherever you go." In other words, I could stay in my cocoon of "things I know I like".

But I don't want to stay wrapped up in my own little world. It's why I travel, for the thrill of breaking routines and discovering new things; things I would never have discovered otherwise, like The Derailers.

“Why do you go away? So that you can come back. So that you can see the place you came from with new eyes and extra colors. And the people there see you differently, too. Coming back to where you started is not the same as never leaving.”

― Terry Pratchett

This is why I have a love/hate relationship with the Amazon. As you know, if you buy something on Amazon, the next time you log on, Amazon will recommend things based on what you purchased. So if you buy a murder mystery, your recommendations will be flooded with murder mysteries. In a way, this is good, it helps you find more things in a category. But it doesn't compare with going to a library or bookstore and roaming the stacks, where you just might find ANYTHING.

Maybe Amazon could have a "surprise me" button in the recommendations section. Push it and you would get completely random recommendations. It would be like playing roulette. They might even turn over more stock.

I appreciate routines. Routines are important. They center and ground people. They help us maintain the illusion of stability in a chaotic universe. But too much routine becomes a rut, and ruts close you off from new experiences. Which is a long winded way of saying that I'd rather deal with 5 stations full of static, that hold the possibility of something new, than an i-pod filled with music I've heard 30 times already, even if I love it.

Friday fun video

Hill Country Lavender

If you remember, the very first item on my list of Goals for 2013 was:

Go to the Blanco Lavender Festival

The festival was last weekend and I made the trip to Blanco to see all the purple flowers.

Unfortunately, there wasn't a lot in the way of flowers to see, actually. There is drought in the Hill Country, and the growers are trying very hard to just keep the plants alive. Still, there was lavender soap, essential oil, cookies, jams, lavendar spice rubs, sachets, and honey. I bought some soap and honey to support the growers and went exploring. After all, there is more to the Hill Country than lavender.

There's cattle



He let me take this picture, then sat down with his back facing the fence - he'd been photographed enough for one day

 And wildflowers

I don't know what it is, but the ants love it.

Courthouses

Blanco Courthouse - doesn't it look like the Munsters should live here?

Crafts

Clay flowers

Cowhides, for that genuine Western look

Octopus suncatcher - isn't he cute?

Horses

Horses grazing, Johnson City

 And don't forget this is the home of Presidents


The LBJ state park is right around the corner

I stopped in Brenham along the way and had an ice cream cone. Actually, if you stop in Brenham, you must purchase ice cream, it's the law.

Black cherry, if you're interested. It was VERY good.

And what could be better than spending an afternoon with a book and a large iced tea, under the live oak?

I need this tree in my backyard. I would need to demolish the neighbor's house, but it would be worth it.

And now I'm back and rested and ready to start the week. Happy Monday y'all!