Sun-Ling and John have been traveling the earth since 2008 while blogging, eating vegetarian and vegan, and riding public transportation. We love uphill day hikes, 20th-century architecture, Roman ruins, all bodies of water, local markets, shopping for groceries, aqueducts, miradors, trip planning, blablacar, and more.
This is our third visit to Mexico City, each spaced by a decade. This time Centro Mexico City seemed to have changed a lot. There are many pedestrian zones, and streets have been remodeled to have more sidewalks, thus fewer car lanes and parking. For the first time we felt at ease walking in the Zocalo after dark. Before we would scurry back to our hotel as shopkeepers frantically made preparations for closing as darkness approached.
The ADO bus from Tepoztlan headed up, up all the way to the ADO Terminal in southern Mexico City which is adjacent to the Line 2 Tasqueña Metro Station.
We rode Line 2 north for 30 minutes or so and got off/out at the Zocalo Station. ;-)
It's impossible to be an Art Nouveau fan and not walk into the Grand Hotel lobby. ;-)
Increasing the "walkability" of the city center has decreased the number of vehicles, while adding porters.
We ate lunch at Bhumi Vegano, and did not realize that we ate here 10 years ago when it was a Govinda unitil we were on the second course. :-) Highlight was the baked vegan samosa/empanada.
We visited some favorite art deco buildings at Plaza de la República. The Jai alai Fronton has been repainted and is now a casino!
New to us, is the Y.W.C.A. building with its cool reliefs.
Finally, in the theater district we checked out the white firehouse, now a museum, and a couple of 1950's-ish theaters.
Chinatown!
And after a rest at the hotel, we headed out after sunset to the Zocalo.
We made our plans to spend Carnaval in Tepoztlan, another Pueblo Magico, rather late. While the festival itself wasn't as interesting as I had hoped, in fact I don't even recommend the Tepoztlan Carnaval, the experience itself was an interesting lesson for ourselves.. Tepoztlan, set in hills, is another one of those pueblos magicos that people from Mexico City visit for the weekend.
A complete opposite of La Candelaria in Tlacotalpan, the Tepoztlan Carnaval was very well publicized, but there was no schedule or any kind of detail. That should have been a giveaway for disorganization. We had to take a room at a lesser hotel as I refuse to pay more than $200 per night. This should have been a giveaway for the crowds.
The first day of the festival, Saturday Feb 18, a lot of people came from Mexico city. Vendors were crowded on both sides of the streets, making streets unpassable. Cars circulated unrestricted in the streets, among the crowds. After darkness fell, after we retreated to our hotel room, there was, according to news reports, fighting, robbing, looting, stabbing,.... The festival was called off by the comparsas until the government steps up security.
Monday and Tuesday the festival resumed. I continue to marvel at Mexicans' capacity to enjoy life.
John adds: The main "traditional" carnaval activity is the procession of the comparsas, groups of musicians and dancers, from 4 of the barrios to the Plaza Civi for a marathon music and dance session. The band is a brass band. The dancers are called Chinelos, and their unique dance is called "brinco del Chinelo". Brinco is usually translated to English as "jump", and the Chinelos are best described as "the traditional costumed dancers of Morelos" - They are the symbol of the city. Some say "Chinelo" is a variation on "Chinese" but I don't see that connection.
To get from Taxco to Tepoztlan, we had to change buses and bus stations in Cuernavaca.
Our Hotel in Barrio Santo Domingo.
The beautiful parish church of Santo Domingo.
Comparsa Anáhuac of Barrio Santo Domingo is getting ready. The musicians are playing and the flag is waving. Almost time to start the procession to Plaza Civi.
Two short videos.
The dancers arrive and put on their costumes.
The comparsa heads out and we follow along.
Three short videos.
Woman watching from above.
Up the steepest part of the hill. And then we take a break.
One short video.
I take a look over my shoulder. Seems that everyone in town is following behind us! Hope we don't lose the sousaphones!
Into the Plaza Civi. The other 3 comparsas are already there.
And all of a sudden, all at once, the comparsas start the Brinco (Jump) in these 15-second videos.
Some photos and videos from two days later; another procession and dance. The comparsa surprised us by marching right under our hotel window. We caught up and followed.
