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 Travel & Outdoors | December 2007 
Venice - in Mexico
 Todd Sumlin - The Charlotte Observer
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| | A father and son take a cruise through the canals of Xochimilco. The canals are particularly popular on the weekends and during public holidays, when many Mexican families and tourists rent boats complete with musicians and food. |
Just outside Mexico City lies an oasis. A place with a maze of canals lined with lush, tropical trees and flowers. A place that flocks of wild birds and the endangered axolotl salamander call home. A place where tourists also flock to soak up the sun and scenery and escape the cramped hustle and bustle of one of the world's biggest cities.
Xochimilco (pronounced "so-chi-MIL-co") is sometimes called the "Venice of Mexico." Just as you can cruise the Italian channels in gondolas, visitors to Xochimilco can ride flat-bottom boats called trajineras.
The canals are all that remain of ancient Lake Xochimilco. Farmers still tend their chinampas, their "floating gardens" along the water's edge. Vegetables and flowers are still grown using the same methods Aztecs used centuries ago.
In late spring, I accompanied a family on a day trip there. Because of my limited Spanish-speaking skills, I was unsure of where we were going. I managed to decipher that we were going on a picnic in a park with boats. It turned out to be much better than that.
We took a small bus 141/2 miles south from Mexico City and reached our destination in about an hour. A short walk from the parking area, we came to a vista overlooking hundreds of colorful boats. It looked like the Tournament of Roses Parade on water.
We found a boatman and agreed on 160 pesos (about $14.59 U.S.) for a two-hour cruise. Our group of a dozen people boarded the trajinera. We sat in wooden chairs extending the length of each side of the boat. Down the center of the vessel was a long table. Using a long wooden pole, our young captain steered the boat through a narrow waterway lined with trees.
The trip started quietly as we navigated through a canal no more than 30 feet wide. We eased past stucco houses at the water's edge. Locals sitting on their back stoops hardly paid us any attention.
As we floated under a canopy of tropical trees, I felt like I was in a South American jungle, instead of the dry Mexican climate. At one point, our boat cut through a blanket of flower petals floating on the water that had fallen from the trees above. A little girl on our vessel began fishing them out to make a bouquet.
About 20 minutes later, we came to a sharp bend in the canal. As we rounded the turn, the waterway opened wider to reveal dozens more boats carrying hundreds of tourists.
The trajineras were filled with an eclectic mix of passengers. One boat was filled with nuns wearing navy-colored habits. Another was packed with a delegation of German-speaking youngsters, the first blonds I had seen in a week.
The lilt of mariachi music drifted across the water.
A few minutes later, we stopped in the center of Xochimilco, at an outdoor market with merchants selling souvenirs and an array of traditional Mexican food for a picnic feast. I purchased a few trinkets to bring back to the United States. Our host family stocked up on food for our onboard picnic, and we were off again to resume our cruise.
As we floated through the calm waters, a little girl shouted, "¡Muñecas!" and I turned to see an eerie sight: Dozens of old dolls hanging in the trees. It looked like something out of a horror movie. Our young Spanish-speaking boatman didn't offer any narration on our voyage, so I had no idea what they were.
I learned later we had drifted past Isla de las Muñecas, "Island of the Dolls." It is a strange memorial to a local man who said the dolls magically appeared to ward off evil spirits and were a sign of a bountiful harvest for farmers.
Merchants in small dugouts paddled alongside, hawking their wares. Beverages, food and souvenirs were offered. The best was a boat with a floating mariachi band. Men in traditional Mexican clothes came aboard to serenade us. For a few pesos, the men sang requested favorites. My boatmates knew the words to every song and sang along.
At times, there were traffic jams as dozens of watercraft converged at the same time. It was as if we were playing bumper boats.
At lunchtime, we spread our food over a long table. Three stray dogs on the bank followed our boat, in hopes of a handout.
The family I was with laid out a variety of meats, cheeses, salsas and tortillas. I made a couple of tacos for myself and ate them quickly. This time, the meat was brains. I wasn't sure whose brains they were, but I was determined not to offend, so I gave it a try. It tasted like mashed Spam.
Was this an afternoon in Venice? No, not as romantic. San Antonio's Riverwalk? Closer, but more tourist-oriented. It kind of reminded me of New York's Central Park, a surprising oasis in a crowded urban city.
It was by far the highlight of my first trip to Mexico. Despite the brain tacos. |
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