Mexico City

We took the 11:00am bus from Valle de Bravo. We had been on most of these roads with Sherman, so didn't take any pictures of the ride there. We had been told that it was a two hour and fifteen minute bus ride, and sure enough we pulled into the Observatorio terminal at 1:10pm.

The bus station is HUGE, and this was one of four major long distance bus terminals in the city. Then, it was a short walk to the Observatorio Metro (subway) station. We pretty much just followed the crowd and made it with no problem. We got in line for tickets. The Mexico City Metro system is one of the cheapest in the world with adult tickets costing only 3 pesos (24 cents) per ride.

We had figured out ahead of time how to get to the National Museum of Anthroplogy and it was only three stops away so we were there very quickly. We got out of the subway and above ground and of course you are a little disoriented in a new city. But we asked a guard for directions and I knew we were close anyhow, figuring on about a fifteen minute walk from the station.

Most of the walk was through a park. Kind of reminded us of central park in New York City. We stopped for lunch at one of the many little restaurant stands.

Ruth and the Los Ninos Heroes monument in the park.

Looking the opposite way from the monument.

Lunch. Cost...70 pesos ($5.60) for the two of us. Ruth says she's not sure why the funny look on her face....it  was really good!

Made it to the museum at 2:00pm. This is a bit of a late start however we weren't expected at Adrian's apartment until 7:00pm, and the museum doesn't close until then anyhow. We paid the 57 pesos ($4.56) each admission fee, and checked our backpacks for free.

Ruth and the fountain in the plaza of the museum.

The roof structure is supported by that single column where the waterfall is.

This museum is world class, and it is huge. The sheer number of artifacts from Mexico's history is mind boggling. You could easily spend a full day here, so we tried not to linger in any one area for too long. No flash photography is allowed, so sometimes it was difficult to get decent pictures, but here's a selection of our best ones...

A seashell carving.

This skull was found wearing a wig.

One of the halls.

This was made by an indigenous woman. It is made with wool!

Another hall.

The famous "Stone of the Sun".  This stone is often incorrectly referred to as the Mayan Calendar stone, however that hypothesis has since been discounted.

It was excavated during  repairs to the Mexico City cathedral way back in 1790.

The stone is 12 feet across, and weighs 24 tons!

This big guy was found near Veracruz.

This mask and decorations were found at the tomb at Palenque in the state of Chiapas. We had been to the Palenque ruins before and wanted to see this. It dates from the year 683.

We left the museum at about 6:10pm, figuring that was lots of time to make it to Adrian's apartment. But Friday rush hour goes on for a long time in Mexico City! Plus, the park we had to walk through closes at 6:00pm so we had to walk around it to get to the metro station.

Mexico City traffic is everything they say it is. Why you would own a car here, I have no idea! Notice the guy standing in the right lane...he is selling pistachios!

We had to go four stops on the metro, then switch trains and go another four stops. By the time we got back above ground it was about 7:10pm and it was dark out. Fortunately I had programmed Adrian's apartment into our GPS and we were able to do the fifteen minute walk without a problem. Lots of people out and about on the streets.

We sat and chatted with Adrian for a couple of hous and then he took us to a nearby taco place for a late dinner. It was a little pricey at 100 pesos ($8.00) each, for three very good shrimp and beef tacos each...we were stuffed...should have only ordered one! We'll know better next time.

What's on the agenda for today? Adrian is going to take us to a breakfast place he knows, and then he's going to visit his family but first he will take us to Coyoacan and get us oriented a little bit. 

A great first day in Mexico City!