The Essential Urban Experience
Day: 14
Peering out over the city from our 6th floor balcony I had a great view of the huge cathedral to my right. Turning left down Ave 5 de Mayo were towering skyscrapers. A perfect representation of Mexico City, old beside strikingly modern. The one blemish was the soupy yellow smog on the horizon. I´ve never seen anything like it before. The previous night glimmering lights on the surrounding mountains that surround the city were visible, today they were nowhere to be found. If I didn´t know better I would have never guessed there were any mountains surrounding the city. All one could see was yellow haze. So thick is the smog that the day was mostly cloudess but appeared overcast.
The good and bad, mostly bad I´ve heard about this city had both Jordana and I a bit on edge as we arrived yesterday. Reading the “Dangers and Annoyances” section of the Lonely Planet guide will do that to you in this town. Four express kidnappings, 84 car thefts, and 55 muggings a day. Unless absolutely necessary, avoid carrying ATM cards, credit cards and large amounts of cash. After reading that I wondered why would anyone want to come here? We would soon discover that it´s actually not as bad as it sounds. The crime rate is much lower than most large U.S. cities and as a tourist the majority of sites are in the safe centro historico. After being here for less than 24 hours my biggest worry was the annoying sore throat I´d developed from the filthy air.
We started out to discover the city at it´s true heart, the plaza de constitution or zocolo. On the far side of the zocolo beside the national palce sits the Aztec ruins of Templo Mayor. It´s an extraordinary place. Buildings used to sit on top of the ruins for years until in 1978 electricity workers found an 8 ton stone disc of an Aztec goddess. A decision was made to tear down the existing buildings and excavate the ruins. The temple that once stood here was what the Aztecs beleived to be the centre of the universe. Sort of like how Torontonians beleive Toronto is the centre of the universe today. The most impressive part of seeing the site was to think of all the other pieces of Aztec history buried beneath this massive city today. All over the city are buildings that sit on ancient ruins.
Beside the Templo Mayor ruins is the National Palace, office of the president of Mexico. The first palace in this location was that of the Aztec emperor Moctezuma II in the early 16th century. In 1521 when the Spanish arrived they destroyed it and built a fortress. This was destroyed again sometime later and then eventually the current building was built. 
Sorry if that´s not exactly right but the point is the place has been rebuilt several times, I just can´t remember how many. So back to today, it´s a beautiful building but the main attraction for myself was the 9 murals painted by Diego Rivera. They are truly amazing murals, depicting Mexican history from the Aztecs through to the Spainish conquest.
All of the warnings, smog and sheer size of this city was pretty intimidating at first. However, I really love large city like this. It´s quite a sight to see how a city of 20 million people works, or tries to work. It´s even more interesting to experience it in a city that is such a great representation of the first and third worlds. The intimidation was gone and we were both eager to explore more of Mexico City.
Tags: Aztecs, Mexico, mexico city
Michael Coroneos
Sorry, I´ve been a bit behind on the entries. I´ll be caught up very soon. We are currently in Oaxca and finally hitting some beaches tomorrow. Stay tuned for the rest of the Mexico City entries!
Swwet can’t wait to see pictures of Mike in a bikini
Quite alright, Mike. We’re just glad you’re sharing the journey with us. Take your time, we’ll be more than fine. Oh, and by the way, it’s cold in Canada, so enjoy the weather and the beaches 😀
By the way, the last 4 Saturday’s we’ve enjoyed pub night at the Duke of Gloucester. It’s been fun. Tons of U-Sector guys there, also, and lots of Premier League football on the TV. So yeah, that’s what we’re all doing while the winter is keeping our beloved footy from rocking BMO!
Hey Michael Jordan!!…….Sorry…Michael & Jordana,
We just finished breakfast while reading your blog for the first time. Sounds like a great trip already and your just getting started. We also had breakfast on the roof top, overlooking tall beautifull leafless trees with a background of dark glummy clouds spitting out natures dandruf all over the place and the nip of -5 degrees chewing at your kibles & Bits. Ohhhh!… Canada!!
Stop!.. I Know!….Sounds great, but jealousy will get you nowhere. It’s too-bad your not here to enjoy it.
We can’t wait to see some pics. and follow the rest of your trip. Very enjoyable reading Mike.
The entire gang here says Hi!…and Bye!
PS, Have a shot of too-kill-ya on us and we hope to see a blog from Jordana in the future.
And yes, we’re still jealous