Loaded up on the free hostel egg-and-toast breakfast and headed out to walk the several mile length of Mexico City's Spain-inspired huge main boulevard Reforma. A ton of surprises and new admiration for this city that had such a bad rep for pollution, crime, poverty. The biggest surprise is that the main drag is closed on Sundays for bicycles, dog walking, skateboards and just plain strolling! Thousands of newly middle class Mexicans enjoying their avenues and prosperity. Hundreds of them doing zumba or gliding by on the city's share-a-bike program to better air quality and their own health.
One end of the avenue is Bosque Chapultepec, or Grasshopper Hill Park. I guess there used to be a lot of locusts but these days there's all kinds of monuments and national institutions like concert hall or archeology museum. It's way bigger than Central Park or Gorky Square and has the last remnants of the local lakes that were drained or filled in. Mostly, there were Sunday crowds with families in tow.
(I wonder if some of them were in the 100,000 people at the outdoor Mark Anthony concert last night?? You know, the famous Latin American crooner, one of J.-Lo's exes? We watched a bit, it was only 2 full-volume blocks from our room!)
Two oddities in the park. One was a Canadian totem pole, a gift for Mexico's 150th anniversary in 1960. The other was a red-and-grey squirrel near it, the only wildlife we have seen in this megalopolis. Pat wandered the Botanical Garden (seemed OK, mostly native dryland plants). Then a Metro ride home. Guys wander the subway cars selling cigarettes, toothpaste, candies, and CD's. I wonder if they have that oldie
I Found My Thrill On Grasshopper Hill??
No comments:
Post a Comment