We can't believe our last day has ended. We stayed at the Casa de los Amigos again last night, and it was difficult. Our room was next to the men's restroom, and it was like being in a college dorm. The Casa is involved in a program to asssist immigrants from all over the world, and it seemed that most of them were young African men. We decided that hostel living is not for us on an extended basis.
We attended Meeting for worship this morning, and it was a very moving experience, to share a common religious meeting with people from many different places. We met Ricardo and his wife again, and several other interesting people. A young Mexican man enjoyed praecticing his Engish with us. After Meeting, we decided to check into a hotel across the street, so we could have a more restful nights sleeep and our own bathroom. It is very basic, but clean, and cheap.
After checking in, we decided to go to the zocalo and see the National Palace, since we did not do that the first week we were here. We grabbed a taxi, and got our first taste of being ripped off without Omar. Omar kept telling us to trust no one, and he was right. The driver said the fare would be 70 pesos (about$7.00) to go 12 blocks, and when we got there, claimed he didn't have change for 100 pesos. Oh, well, not much we could do.
When we got to the zocalo, we couldn't believe the scene. It's like everybody goes there for Sunday afternoon entertainment. Vendors shouting out their wares lined several blocks. We held hands as we walked so we wouldn't lose each other in the bustling crowd. There were dancers in native costume -a very colorful sight. Finally, we wound our way to the Palace. It's a cross between the White House and Versaille. There are huge, inticate, and deeply symbolic murals by Diego Rivera that portray the history of Mexico. He was an amazilng artistic genius.
The musem inside is a maze of art work, relics, and explanations of the major historical events and people of Mexican history. After the museum section of the Palace, you pass the Hall of Presidents, with large portraits of all the Presidents. Then, there is room after room of grand halls with exceptionally elegant tapestries, chandeliers, parquette floors, etc. These rooms may still be used for official state occasions. We felt like we were in Versaille (or how we imagine it since we have never been there). When we exited, we were happy that we did not miss this before we left.
Beside the Palace is the old Cathedral, and we walked through it. Remember, many of the zocalos here have grand churches on them. Again, we were impressed with the ornate interior, but a little saddened that so much wealth in this country did not trickle down to the masses. As we strolled the streets, it was hard to see so many beggars - entire families, handicapped people, old people. We are blessed to live in a country that has a social safety net for its citizens. Here there are no unemployment or social security benefits here, few retirement plans, and little if any help for poor families . It makes me grateful for the people in our country who worked to make sure these conditions do not exist to the extent they do in Mexico.
After a 3-course lunch, we decided to walk back to the hotel, down one of the nicer streets, across Alemeda Park, and along Paseo del Insurgentes. We managed to make it back just before the afternoon rain. All in all, it was a very nice way to spend Karen's 60th birthday. So, unless we get mugged in the airport tomorrow, we survived 3 weeks in Mexico unscathed.
We have decided to make our last blog after we return home, and offer our final thoughts, lessons learned, and impressions of our fantastic adventure here.
Your sad-to-leave turistas in Mexico,
Karen and Roger
No comments:
Post a Comment