Our first stop after breakfast was the Zocalo. A town square, it has changed quite a bit over the years. Originally paved by Cortez, the most recent changes involved removing just about everything from the square. (trees, monuments, etc.) The only thing that remains is a giant flagpole and an enormous mexican flag. That is not to say it is empty. The square is filled with street vendors, performers, protesters, students, beggers, and tourists. The Zocalo rests in front of the oldest cathedral in Mexico. It’s construction took over 200 years beginning in the 16th century using stones stolen from an Aztec city that originally occupied this area.
After viewing the Cathedral, we jumped on the subway to get downtown to the Plaza de Computation. A cross between Frys Electronics and a swap meet. Before you even get inside you pass dozens of street vendors selling everything from cell phone chargers to pirated copies of Final Cut Pro or Lost. I was too busy ogling to take pictures. We came for a purpose, to buy me a new hard drive (remember, i broke my laptop in Culican). After that we head to a certain Sears shop with a coffee shop with a spectacular view of the Palace of Fine Arts. Another piece of amazing architecture you cannot seem to go two blocks without stumbling upon.
After that we did a bit more sightseeing before deciding to take a cab back to the apartment instead of the subway. It’s a good thing too, because almost as soon as we get in the green VW Beetle with no front seat, it starts to rain. By the time we get home, it is really pouring
We arrived in Mexico City in the evening. After bringing our stuff the four flights to Eric’s apartment we headed out to a bar. It was actually an art explosion. We paid one cover for bars and clubs all over town. We met some really nice folks. I met some journalists from the US and Canada. After a few hours, we’d move on to another place. Some of the clubs had live bands and all of them were packed full of people. Some of the exhibits were truly inspired while others seemed to be drug induced. One of my favorites had a cleverly edited loop of a standoff between two gunslingers projected on the wall of the sub-basement. It had been edited in such a way to lengthen the loop. Cutting between long shots and close-ups without letting the intensity let up for even a moment. We ended the night with some tacos and then sleep.
The Road to D.F.
Leaving Morelia in the afternoon, it was just a four hour drive to Mexico City. Completing our long journey by finally arriving at Eric’s apartment. A pretty swanky place with an amazing view. Now that i have roughly caught you up, it’s time for more site seeing.
We arrived in Morelia very late last night. A thoroughly modern city despite much of its construction in colonial times. It is the capital of the Mexican state of Michoacán. A beautiful city with a very active night life. We wondered the streets at night to find a hotel and found bars and discotecs brimming with people, even at nearly 2am. We eventually found a place and bedded down. In the morning we explored some of the historic architecture that makes this city famous. A mole torta and we hit the road again.
After the tour we met up with a friend Eric had made on his previous visit. We met up for more drinks and wonderful conversation. A really great guy with a lovely fiancé. He is building a Tequila factory of his own. As the day came to an end, we had to pack our car and get back on the road. The sun was setting on the agave fields as we drove on to Morelia.
The journey here was awful. The 15 was usually a very nice drive, but for this stretch it was one lane each way and there were so many slow moving double trailer semis it took forever. When we finally arrived at 1am, we discovered it was a hole in the wall town that we only slept in. The hotel was straight out of the 60s and quite run down. Rotary phones and no outlets. What more can i say? Back on the road! this time to Tequila!
Mazatlan is very touristy beach side town. Beneath the Americanized restaurants and hotels are wanna be tourist traps and expensive meals. Eric wanted seafood, but it was quite expensive all around. We finally found a nice taco stand run by some very social locals. Back on the road.
In the morning i dropped my powerbook off the bed in our hotel. Killed my hard drive. Doh! That is why the radio silence. sorry.