Dia de la Independecia Parade

Fire fighters on parade

This morning Ulises and I and some of his family went to see the parade for Mexican Independence.  It started around 10.  They had some interesting floats with depictions from Mexican history.  That was probably my favorite part.  They had other organizations also participating, including the Red Cross, school marching bands, biker groups and people with pimped out cars.  It lasted until about noon.  By the time it was over, I was tired and overheated.  But it was still fun.  So, happy Mexican Independence Day!

Horses!

A church

Traditional costumes

Half-naked little boys

Suffering

More suffering

Different view

Canons

Soldiers

A famous figure

More soldiers

Traditional costumes

More traditional constumes

El Grito de la Independencia

Fireworks

We went to the Grito de la Independencia tonight.  It is the Mexican Independence Cry.  It is shouted every year on the 15th of September and includes calling out the names of heroes from the Mexican Revolution.  It ends with them crying "Viva Mexico" three times.  We arrived just as they were doing the call.  We then saw a long fireworks display.  I was impressed.  I think it was probably the best fireworks program I've ever seen.  The only thing that would have made it better would have been fireworks is specific designs exploding in the sky, like perhaps the shape of Mexico or one of their revolutionary heroes' head.  But it was still good.

Ulises and I

The only thing that was a little annoying was that people kept moving.  Which means we were practically pushed around.  We were able to listen to a few songs of the singer that came on after the fireworks,  but then we headed out.  We figured it was better to leave before we got trampled . . .  Still, since this will be my last September in Mexico, I'm glad to have passed it in this way.  Tomorrow we are going to watch the parade in the morning.

Me with Ulises's sister, brother-in-law and niece

More photos

Crazies in the trees

Setting up my PC and Football

My open computer

It's been about 4 years since the second hard drive on my PC crashed, and about 3 since the first hard drive also bit it.  Since then, I've been promising myself I would buy a replacement hard drive and set up my computer.  But I hadn't done so, until a couple weeks ago.  It arrived literally the day before I went to Chihuahua, and I started to set up my computer earlier this week.  I originally just installed the operating system, but that means that none of the drivers for the hardware were installed.  Yesterday I had to reformat it again and install everything from the beginning.  The good news is that the modem and the sound system are now working and I don't have to manually look for each of those.
In fact, considering that this PC belonged to my brother (meaning it is now over 10 years old), it runs really well.  Hopefully it'll last me for another several years.
Then today Ulises, his cousin, and I went over to my friend's house to watch the Packers vs the 49rs.  My friend is an avid Packers fan.  That is actually an understatement.  I'm not really sure how to explain it.  But lets just say, she was extremely upset when the Packers lost.  Still, the game was enjoyable.  Not because I like football, but just because I like spending time with people, even if the reason behind it is to watch football...

How Ulises was watching the game

Haggling for a Good Price

Ulises with the shirt we bought him
yesterday, and upset that he didn't
get to hear them play the national
anthem

Ulises got up early this morning and went to hear the national anthem . . . again.  But they didn't play it this morning, either.  He was pretty disappointed.  But we got up and went to breakfast with our friends.  The place was really nice.  It was listed in the Lonely Planet Guide as being high end, but the price wasn't very expensive when you think in what it can cost for food in the U.S.  But then again, someone on a normal Mexican salary would never be able to afford living in most cities in the U.S. anyway.
I got a dish that was eggs in a salsa-type with beans on the side.  It was excellent.  Ulises loved his food as well, as did our friends.  One of them ordered ant eggs and longaniza, and we all tried it.  The ant eggs were ok.  They had kind of a spongy texture, but the flavor wasn't disgusting.  I guess you could say that was my first experience eating insects, even if they hadn't hatched yet.  We were really impressed by the service as well, which was a nice change from our experience last night.

Fancy breakfast with hot chocolate

After that, our friends had to get ready and go to the airport because one was leaving around 1.  Our flight wasn't until nearly 6, so Ulises and I decided to go look for souvenirs.  We had wanted to buy a tortillera, and thought about getting something to make huaraches as well.  Last night, I looked online and saw mention of a market called La Merced.  It said it wasn't too far from the Zocalo.  We headed out trying to find it.  Again, we had difficulty when trying to get directions from other people.  They kept telling us vague directions that seemed to conflict.  Finally we found one guy who told us exactly where it was located.  We found it pretty quickly after that.

This is hot chocolate, not tea, but you get the picture :)

On the way, before we knew exactly where the market was, we stopped in a store that looked like it would have what we were looking for, just to price them out.  We found a tortilla press like we wanted, and another device for making the tortillas used in huaraches (which are an oval shape).  The tortilla pressed was 80 pesos (more expensive than we had seen in Ciudad Juarez) and the huarache maker was 40.
La Merced is huge.  It seems like they sections for everything.  It took us awhile to get to the area where they sell kitchen items.  The first place that we went to had the tortilla press marked at 90 pesos (more expensive than the store we had seen) and the huarache maker was 50.  We asked how much they would give them to us if we took the two.  They said that the price was the price.  So we left.  They didn't want to barter.  So we weren't going to give them our business.

Breakfast is served!

The next place we went to, we had much better success.  There the tortilla press was the same price as in the store, 80 pesos, but the huarache maker was only 40.  We figured the price there would be the same as going to the store.  We asked how much it would be if we took the two items.  The guy thought about it a moment and then said, 70 pesos.  We accepted.  We hardly had to barter at all!  It was good.
As we were going along, Ulises saw some dishes and pots made of ceramic.  He wanted some of those for making food because he says that food tastes better in pottery.  I don't know if that's the case.  But it was cheap.  We bought a pot, two plates, and a napkin holder for 50 pesos.  The price was a little higher, like 54 in total.  The lady didn't want to barter either, but she finally accepted 50 pesos for the 4 pieces.

Trying ant eggs

After that, we headed back to the hotel.  The president of elect of Mexico, Pena Nieto, was to be giving a report at the Zocalo, so it was as long a walk back as it was a walk to the market in the first place.  We had to go around all the blockades.  When we arrived, we had about an hour before we needed to catch our taxi to the airport.  My friend had come back from taking her boyfriend to the airport and she wanted to go looking for souvenirs for some friends.
There were some stands near the Zocalo where we stopped first.  They were selling some shirts there like what Ulises and I bought yesterday, but a little more expensive.  They weren't willing to barter at all.  We got annoyed and left.  However, we couldn't really find anywhere else that sold things she wanted to get as a souvenir.  So we went back.  Finally, we got one lady to lower the price, but only when we told her how much Ulises and I bought his shirt for yesterday.
Next it was back to the hotel to get our bags and catch our taxi.  We arrived at the airport within pretty good time, considering that there was quite a bit of traffic.  Then we just had to wait to board our flight and come back to Juarez.

And longaniza.  That one didn't sit so well with me . . .

Ivan and his daughter, Iovis, were waiting for us when we got back.  We went to their house for a bit before finally heading home.  Now I am exhausted.  And I'm not ready to go back to work tomorrow.  I need a real vacation....

Loving his food!

El Mercado La Merced

Meat for sale!

The church in the Zocalo

Waiting at the airport

Mexico City from above

Tired and trying to sleep

Ivan loves his gift!

The kittens trying to get comfortable

This one trying to get comfy in my purse

Chapultepec and the National Museum of Anthropology

Gathering together to start the marathon

Day 2.  Another long one.  We got up this morning rather early because Ulises wanted to hear the national anthem played in the Zocalo.  To our surprise, there were lots of people gathered in the square.  We learned that today was going to be the Mexico City Marathon.  They didn't play the national anthem, so we went upstairs to get ready for the day and then went back to watch the beginning of the race.  The race began with fireworks.  I mean that literally.  It was interesting to watch.  There were several people dressed up in costumes, several pushing their children or someone else who couldn't run it on their on, and one man with crutches.

Everyone's ready nice and early to start running

When everyone had passed, we got on the metro to go to church.  That was kind of a task.  I had the directions and the church building was along the way to our other destinations, but once we got off the metro, finding the right street proved to be much more difficult.  We asked several people, always getting different directions, until finally we found the right street.  The church wasn't too far from the metro stop, so that was good.  We stayed for sacrament meeting and then headed out.
Our next stop was the Forest of Chapultepec, more specifically Chapultepec Castle.  We walked around a little before we figured out how to get there from the metro stop.  They have a little train that you can pay to take all the way up to the top and then they bring you back down when you are done.  We opted to walk, since the weather was beautiful and we wanted to enjoy the beauty of the surroundings.  Entry was free for Mexicans and foreigners legally residing in the country.  That means we got in for free!  It was a nice surprise.  One that I wasn't expecting.

Getting directions so we could figure out how to
get where we needed to go

I wanted to learn more about the history of the castle, but they didn't have a lot about the castle itself.  They had lots of artifacts, murals about the history of Mexico and some rooms set up as it would have looked when they were inhabited.  I guess, though, that the castle of Chapultepec was the location where the Ninoes Heroes died defending Mexico during the Mexican-American War.  One of the boys wrapped himself in the Mexican flag to save it from the invading army and plunged to his death.  They have monuments near the castle in memory of those teenage boys.
Despite that, the thing that stuck out to me more than anything else was the extravagance of the furnishings and the building.  I could only think to my self, how could they not have been embarrassed to live in such luxury when the people around them were dying of hunger.  It's one of the reasons that I have no desire to be rich.  How could I live like that when people are struggling to get by?  But another reason is less noble.  When you have something that other people don't, those people want to take it from you.  That means being rich makes you a target.  And I really have no desire for that.

Ulises wanted to look out the window, but he needed my
help to get his leg over the table.  I guess I wasn't very
happy about it.

We spent the better part of the morning there, and then headed down.  By that time, it was getting much hotter.  We were a little sorry that we didn't have a ride back down.  From there we went looking for lunch. We found a place and bought some food, but we were less than impressed by the quantity, supposedly enough for 2 people.  Plus Ulises didn't like the salsa, so we decided to go some where else.  Instead, we headed off to the National Museum of Anthropology.
We got to the museum late.  Entry was also free for us.  Unfortunately, we were really tired.  We went through a couple of the halls, and a garden behind them, but our feet were tired, so we had to rest.  Ulises has been interested in the Aztec Calendar for a long time.  You should have seen the way he energized when I told him the rock was there at the Museum.  We found that towards the end of our time.  Once he saw that, he was ready to go.

Looking out our window

As we left, we stopped at the market outside the museum and bought some souvenirs.  Then we headed back to our hotel.  Unfortunately, out metro stop was closed, so we had to get off at the stop prior to ours and walk back.  We met up with our friends and went out to dinner.
The place we went to was recommended by the hotel.  The food was good, but our server was horrible.  She messed up on people's orders, was very slow, and wasn't very courteous either.  In the end, we left a very small tip.  She actually stopped us and asked us to give her 10%, but we refused.  We didn't feel like she deserved anything more.  But it made the experience very awkward.  I can tell you, we will never go back to Cafe Tacubo again.
That was our day.  We are understandably tired.  Tomorrow is a shorter day, since we fly back to Juarez.  Too short.  This weekend has been far too short.  I am convinced that I will have to come back to Mexico City again soon.

Nice view from our hotel

The marathon began with fireworks

And they're off!

The cathedral as runners pass by

Everyone can participate, even people who can't run

And some are pushed by other runners

Here I am!

Buy tickets for the metro, 3 pesos per trip!

First time on the metro

Oh no!  What's happening?!?

Peace

I wasn't really going to jump, I promise!

The squirrels in the Forest of Chapultepec were not afraid
to get very close to people

The castle of Chapultepec

Monument to the Ninos Heroes

Walking up to the castle

Plaza at the top of the hill

Staircase inside the castle

Painting on the ceiling commemorating the Ninos Heroes

A warrior

The foundation of Tenochtitlan

Ready, aim, fire!!

A mural of the history of Mexico

Another mural

Generally murals depict something important in the
history of Mexico

This is part of a large mural.  The document says:
It seems that the Spaniards brought Christ to
the Americas to crucify the Indians.

1 of 3 photos showing the larger mural

2 of 3 photos showing the larger mural

3 of 3

The original Mexican flag

Rifles

The castle interior was beautiful

One of the rooms set-up like it would have been
when it was inhabited

Beautiful view of the city!

Around the castle wall

Beautiful staircase

Elevator!!  They had to keep up with the times

Behind me was a bathroom

Beyond the balcony, a very changed city

A building in an inner courtyard

Ulises and I

Castle from the other end

Really hungry!

Hmmm, what do I want to eat?

Another monument to the Ninoes Heroes

Waiting for Ulises to take his picture of the monument

A crowd gathered together for a show

The angel of Independence in the distance

Outside of the National Museum of Anthropology,
giant wings that you could take pictures with.

Outside of the National Museum of Anthropology

A statue man.  I've seen much better.  He was
more like a robot than a statue.

Native dancer

Inside an ancient home

A giant pillar inside the museum

Eeww!  Don't touch me!

Tired, so tired!

Oooh!!  Fish!

Some ancient carvings.  I think these are replicas.

In front of another pillar

Replicated building

The Stone of the Sun

The Stone of the Sun is often called
the Aztec Calendar

An ancient Aztec game