Chapter Six – “Russian” To See Coyoacán’s Museums & Music To My Ears
July 10, 2023
Chapter Eight – Chapultepec Castle & It’s Another Tequila Sunset
August 8, 2023Historical & Hip: Mai Tai Tomás Travels To México City
Chapter Seven: Exploring Chapultepec Park & Museo Nacional de Antropología
Day Seven: Charming Boutique Hotel, Who’s A Lardo?, There’s Trouble Afoot, Monument To Heroes Defending Mexico City, Be Sure To Come Here On A Weekday, Travels Through Mexico’s History, Going Out Of My Head, You Gotta Have Heart,, Hail Montezuma, A Happening Part Of Town and Our Only Restaurant Misstep
It was moving day one more time. Tracy and I zipped back to Condesa at the charming Hotel Villa Condesa (Calle Colima 428 Colonia Roma Norte).
Villa Condesa is a boutique hotel with an onsite restaurant plus a shaded patio that we enjoyed each evening for wine. 
We checked in during the in-between breakfast and lunch hours, so we headed out into the neighborhood in search of food having not eaten before we departed Centro Histórico. Tracy blurted out, “Hey Lardo!” I knew I had partaken of copious amounts of food on the trip, but I thought that statement was a bit harsh. It was then I noticed the restaurant sign for Lardo (Agustín Melgar 6, Colonia Condesa).
We shared a Lemon Ricotta Roll (outstanding) followed by scrambled eggs, avocado and parmesan cheese served on a house-made English muffin. Lardo serves breakfast and lunch and also has a take-out window for house-made pastries and coffee. Lardo is a very popular restaurant, so expect a wait at lunchtime.
You see, we don’t always drink wine.
From there, it was only about a 15-minute walk to Bosque de Chapultepec (Chapultepec Forest … better known as Chapultepec Park). Knowing Mexico City’s affinity for dogs, it was no surprise when we saw one driving. We prayed for its safety.
Entering Chapultepec Park, panda-monium nearly broke out when this guy nearly made me his sole man. We safely made it through the gate.
It seemed lots of prey were after me.
Next we came upon Monumento a los Niños Héroes, dedicated to six teenage boys who became heroes during the Battle of Chapultepec, which took place during the 1847 U.S. invasion. These young cadets were killed attempting to stave off advancing American troops.
One cadet, Juan Escutia, did not want the Mexican flag to fall into enemy hands. He draped himself in the flag and jumped to his death. The boys were eventually buried in Chapultepec Park and their remains were moved to the monument in 1952.
If you don’t want to walk through the park, there are other means of transportation.
On this weekday, the park was uncrowded, unlike the massive amount of people who were here when Tim and Sheila visited on a weekend. We didn’t explore too much, because we were going to meet Stephen to see the most visited museum in all of Mexico. We walked by one the park’s three lakes, which I think was Lago Mayor.
Before traveling to Mexico City, we had been advised not to miss Museo Nacional de Antropología. We’re glad we didn’t.
This anthropology museum is recognized as one of the premier museums of its kind in the world. There are more than 20 rooms but unfortunately many were closed on the day we visited, however the rooms we wanted to see were open. The impressive complex of rooms were constructed in the mid-1960s, upon entering the courtyard we were wowed by El Paragua (the umbrella) fountain.
The first room dealt with the Introduction To Anthropology, and the second and third rooms took us through ancient history.
Although a popular museum, it was fairly quiet on a Thursday, which was great for viewing the artifacts.
Primates were shown in various stages.
I only wish the cave art we saw at Font de Gaume in France was this good. Then Tracy reminded me these were recreations.
A Neanderthal burial is depicted, as well as the grave of homo sapiens.
Although the museum has more than 100 murals, only about 15-20 are displayed at a time. The one below in the Peoples of the Americas Room was completed in 1964 entitled Las Razas y La Cultural.” This mural celebrates diversity where 14 goddesses represent different races of the planet. I’m sure it would not be allowed in Florida.
Hold on to your heart! In the Teotihuacan Collection, a grinning skull caught our immediate attention. It was found in a 1964 excavation very near to the Pyramid of the Sun. There are a number of interpretations of what it depicted, perhaps even of human sacrifices or the Teotihuacan God of Death. Some have even called it the “Disc of Death.” I thought he might have just been laughing at me for sliding down the nearby mini-pyramid on my rear end a few days before.
There were remnants of the Pyramid of the Feathered Serpent.
The Terrestrial Water Goddess, originally resided near the Temple of the Moon.
I met up with my contemporary, The Elderly God of Fire Huehueteotl.
I thought the sculpture on the left might be an ancient surfboard.
I read that this piece called El Creado (The Creator) “represents a kneeling adult, bearded and with fangs. He has two penises that are intermingled with cocoa leaves that go up behind his arms and run down his back until they end in a knot on his chest.” He is said to be linked with fertility. If they had X-rated films back then, El Creado would have been its biggest star.
Before entering the Mexica Room (6), in the hallway we read about something called Mesoamerican ballgame. It is too long to explain, but cutting to the chase, some of the competitors didn’t come home for dinner. A sign read, “When a play was made that went against the movement of the sun, a decapitation was carried out, and the blood vitalized the earth and sun.” I wonder if the term header came from that game.
The Mexica Room was one of the two most interesting rooms in the museum. If you are an (ancient) Aztec fan, this is your room. The first gigantic artifact you come upon is the Ocelotl Cuauhxicalli, a jaguar that was utilized as a “vessel for the hearts from sacrificial victims.”
It was tough living back then. The Jaguar was an important symbol for the Aztecs.
We explored the galleries of ancient sculptures.
There were cylindrical monoliths and serpents.
I had been looking forward to seeing the “Aztec Calendar,” figuring it would have San Diego State’s football schedule on it, but was surprised to learn this exquisite piece is actually named Piedra del Sol (Stone of the Sun), and Aztec Calendar is incorrect. It was used as a “gladiatorial sacrificial altar.” It was discovered in 1790 in the Zocalo when the Metropolitan Cathedral was going through restoration work.
Keeping with the gladiator sacrifice theme (probably tough to get life insurance then) we saw the Monument of Tizoc.
The Aztec Moon Goddess was beheaded by her brother, but lives on here in the museum.
He reminded me a little of Babe Ruth.
One of these might be Tlaloc, the Aztec god of rain … or not.
I am fairly certain that this is the Aztec god of art, games, dance, flowers, and song, Xōchipilli.
For a brief moment in time, I became emperor of the Aztec empire as I donned the headdress of Moctezuma II (known better to San Diego State Aztecs as Montezuma). This is only a replica of the headdress that currently resides at the Weltmuseum in Vienna. That has caused much friction between Mexico and Austria. Give it back or we’ll rip your hearts out!
As if on cue, I was feeling rather thirsty when we ran into Dios del Agua.
The Mexica Room is a must if you visit the museum.
Now it was time to head outdoors into the museum garden, where some recreations of Mayan temples take up residency.
They were pretty cool, but the weather was hot, so we headed back indoors.
We were now at the gallery dedicated to the Mayans.
Chac-mool is one of the room’s most famous sculptures. It is from the pre-Columbian city of Chichen Itzá, which was constructed by the Mayans. You can visit its pyramid, El Castillo. I believe I read that this is the oldest sculpture here.
Don’t miss the big ticket item, which is located downstairs. Below is a recreation of the Tomb of Pakal The Great (original discovered in 1952 at the Mayan city of Palenque), who reigned in the 7th century, and was deemed by many as “the most powerful person in the entire Americas,” since overtaken by Oprah Winfrey.
Inside the tomb was Pakal’s remarkable death mask that now is at the museum.
We checked out some more pieces of antiquity, but after a couple of hours we had reached maximum sculpture overload.
This is definitely a museum where you could easily spend half a day.
As we exited the museum the sound of a beating drum echoed through the park. Nearby a guy in native garb was climbing a nearly 100-foot pole. Upon reaching the top, a group of others started to climb up as well. Eventually they started swing around upside down around the pole.
Round and round they went, getting closer to the ground on each rotation. This is certainly a pole dance where everyone knows the ropes.
Eventually they all made it down safely to the applause of passersby. But what was this death defying routine? As I found out after returning home, this ancient ritual is called Danza de los Voladores or Dance of the Flyers (there are a few names for it). If interested, there are a number of websites describing its meaning.
Even the squirrel was amazed by the performance.
We walked back to Hotel Villa Condesa, where it was nearing siesta time again. This was another great place to stay, but you might want to watch your shins at night.
After late afternoon showers (of the rain variety) Stephen joined us for wine hour in the courtyard (which for us really can mean any hour) before dinner.
Then it was off to hipster neighborhood also known as Colonia Roma and dinner at Blanco Colima (Colima 168, Roma Nte., Cuauhtémoc). Colonia Roma was bustling. Everything from the streets to all the restaurants were packed with what looked like well-heeled young people. Well, except for the three of us. It started off well enough, because the building where the restaurant is located dates back more than 100 years, and is lovely inside and out.
It went downhill from there. I’m all for music at restaurants, but the pulsating, very loud music plus the noise from the patrons made it virtually impossible to hear the waiter. Tracy ordered a Bluefin Tuna Tostada, which the waiter assured her could be a meal but turned out to be a teeny tiny tostada. Stephen was served his fish entrée while I had two unremarkable tacos. We attempted to summon our server so we could order something else, but he somehow managed to not see us. Soon, Stephen and I were done with dinner, while Tracy had gone on an unplanned diet. When the waiter eventually arrived, my rather perturbed spouse said to me, “To heck with it (she might have used more colorful verbiage), let’s get out of here.” Hey, you can’t pick winners every night.
Tomorrow, we would return to Bosque Chapultepec and visit Chapultepec Castle, which we were told is the only castle in North America ever occupied by European monarchs. Then we would head over to Polanco to a lunch place that Tim and Sheila had ambianced to earlier in the week. We’d stroll through Polanco, admiring its beautiful buildings and go over to Parque Lincoln to check out a couple of statues we had wanted to see. Then we’d walk to Uruguay (the plaza, not the country) to see its unique cubist fountain. The previous evening’s dinner fiasco would be long forgotten after our terrific meal back in the Polanco area. Not only was the food good, but we would also receive VIP personalized service that included a mini-tour of a room that offers a prized tequila collection. That’s more like it!
Next: Chapter Eight – Chapultepec Castle & It’s Another Tequila Sunset
Day Eight – Where’s That Ticket Office?, Not A Bad Walk At All, Magnificent Murals, Stained Glass Hallway, Exploring The Grounds, It’s All Up From Here, Perambulating Polanco, Raindrops Keep Falling On My Head, A Quick Stop In Uruguay, VIP Treatment & Mas Tequila!
