| | |  Travel & Outdoors | August 2008 
Adventure, Relaxation, Education Fill Mexico City Vacation
 Andrew Conte - Tribune-Review
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 |  | Mexico City revealed itself to us in layers, spanning hundreds of years from ancient ruins to vestiges of Spanish colonialism through to modern skyscrapers and hotels. |  | | | |
Mexico City - Halfway up the steep, rough stone steps of the 250-foot Pyramid of the Sun, my 5-year-old daughter grabbed my hand and pulled me toward the peak.
A few minutes later, we stood atop the stone mound and looked across the sprawling ruins of Teotihuacan, a pre-Aztec urban complex about 25 miles north of Mexico's capital city. I wanted to stop along the wide open ledge to take in the moment. Grandmas and young children - Mexicans out for a day trip - sat along the edge, dangling their feet, resting.
My daughter wanted to go right back down.
But this is why my wife and I brought our two young children here - for easily accessible and relatively affordable adventure, without leaving North America. Mexico City revealed itself to us in layers, spanning hundreds of years from ancient ruins to vestiges of Spanish colonialism through to modern skyscrapers and hotels. In one day, we explored recently uncovered Aztec temples, wandered through the colonial-era National Palace and dined at a contemporary upscale restaurant.
With more than 18 million residents, this city ranks second only to Tokyo in population. So to get our bearings after arriving, we hired a private driver for a short orientation ride. Like many large cities, this one has a reputation for crime, and hotels warn guests not to hail cabs on the street. At about $25 an hour, the hotel cars were typically reliable, clean and new, and over several days, we spent less than it would have cost to rent a car.
Riding along the city's European-styled main drag, the Paseo de la Reforma, we passed statues of Christopher Columbus and the Aztec ruler Cuauhtemoc, as well as Latin America's tallest building, the Torre Mayor, designed to withstand earthquakes. The street cuts across the city, taking us close to the Zocalo, or main square, overwhelming in its expansiveness.
The National Palace dates to 1563 and houses federal government offices as it runs along the eastern side of the square. Mexicans claimed the building with the War of Independence in 1821, and artist Diego Rivera made it the people's own during the last century by painting a series of murals depicting Mexican history. Colorful images trace the lives of indigenous people, the arrival of Spanish invaders and the emergence of a modern republic.
Nearby, the Roman Catholic Cathedral Metropolitana is another vestige of Spanish colonialism, and we paused inside during a midday Mass. Sitting along the northern edge of the square, it was built by Spanish colonials in the early 1600s and ranks among the largest cathedrals in the Western Hemisphere.
Mexico City's history runs even deeper than that. Between the two colonial-era buildings, archeologists in the late 1970s uncovered Templo Mayor, a main temple for the ancient Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan, which was mostly destroyed in the early 1500s. As we walked toward the ruins, our daughter and 8-year-old son wilted in the midday sun until catching a glimpse of them.
Inside the temple complex, we strolled along a raised path, stopping to watch lizards scampering near serpents chiseled from stone. Near a stucco relief lined with skulls, the children stopped to mimic the empty faces. Inside a museum attached to the area, we ran into groups of local schoolchildren.
While looking for adventure, we also wanted relaxation. After all, we had picked this landlocked city over pricier destinations such as Cancun and Puerto Vallarta. Our hotel, the Camino Real, offered a tropical respite with an inner courtyard and heated pool that seemed an oasis from the bustle of the surrounding city.
We booked the room through an Internet site, and upgraded to the hotel's club level. The room came with a short balcony overlooking a jacaranda tree in full bloom of purple flowers. In a private club area down the hall, attentive and friendly staff served up freshly squeezed orange juice, complimentary snacks and sodas throughout the day, a simple continental breakfast each morning and free beer and margaritas for cocktail hour.
After exploring the central city on our first day, we traveled about 30 minutes by car to the neighborhood of Coyoacan on the second. We went there mainly to see the house where Rivera and his wife, Frida Kahlo, lived and worked. With a tropical, fountain-filled courtyard inside a walled compound, the so-called Blue House is preserved as it looked when they lived there, and a small exhibit features Kahlo's sketches and artwork.
Although Rivera lived in the house, too, his artworks are kept at a separate museum in the neighborhood. Leon Trotsky, the Soviet revolutionary who was assassinated here in 1940 with an ice pick, lived around the corner in a home still riddled with bullets from an unsuccessful attempt on his life.
Walking out of Kahlo's home, we ventured into the eclectic, bohemian neighborhood. We stopped nearby at a crowded market with stalls selling Mexican crafts and with butchers carving up beef tongues and other offal. On a Saturday afternoon, local residents strolled the streets, stopping for street performers and ice cream stands.
No adventure on our trip, however, compared with the visit to Teotihuacan. We arranged for a driver to pick us up on a Sunday morning and take us to the pyramids for the day. Visiting the site requires endurance, plenty of water and a great deal of personal responsibility.
Rather than heading straight to the Sun Pyramid near the center of the site, we climbed several smaller structures first and walked along the wide pathway, known as the Avenue of the Dead, running through the middle of the complex.
Unlike so many places in the litigious United States, these ruins are open for exploration. But also unlike many tourist sites north of the border, Teotihuacan demands that visitors care for themselves.
Metal cables wrapped in plastic offer handholds in some steeper areas of the pyramids, but most climbs do not have any handrail or guards against a steep fall. As we started up the side of one, the backpack of a man ahead of us opened up and his water bottles tumbled out, bouncing end-over-end toward the ground. I tried not to imagine that happening to any of us.
From the tops of each pyramid, the views were reward enough for the risks involved.
After briefly topping the Sun Pyramid, we headed for its lunar cousin, the Pyramid of the Moon. Although not as tall, it offers a better vantage of the entire complex from a flat area halfway to its top.
That's where we finally paused for a moment of reflection, imaging what life must have been like there hundreds of year ago - and trying not to think about having to climb back down its steep stone face.
If you go
Where to stay:
• Camino Real: Located near shops and restaurants in the Polanco neighborhood, this five-star hotel features modern architecture, resort amenities and classic service. It is an oasis of calm amid the bustling city. Club-level rooms come with breakfast, cocktails and access to a private dining room. Weekday rates start at $230; weekend, at $125. 800-722-6466.
• Sheraton Centro Historico Hotel & Convention Center: Situated in the central city near the Paseo de la Reforma, this hotel is well-placed for sightseeing with a clean, contemporary design and resort amenities. Weekday rates start at $145; weekend, at $105. 800-325-3535.
Where to eat:
• Sanborns, La Casa de los Azulejos (House of Tiles), center city: An exception to department store restaurants, this one sits in a 16th-century palace decorated outside with blue and white tiles. The main dining room features a two-story atrium with Moorish styling and natural light from the glass ceiling. Prices: moderate.
• Oh Mayahuel, Coyoacan neighborhood: With an artsy setting in a bohemian neighborhood, this restaurant is funky enough to draw an eclectic clientele but accommodating enough (at least during daytime hours) for young children. The menu offers contemporary twists on classic Mexican dishes. Prices: moderate.
• Vips, multiple locations: Mexican diner food in a family-friendly setting. This is the kind of place Mexican families turn for an average night out, and they do. Prices: inexpensive.
Passport requirement:
As one official told us, Americans do not need a U.S. passport to come into Mexico - only if they want to go back home. Officially, the U.S. State Department requires American citizens to present a passport for re-entry by air but not by land or sea until new rules take effect in June 2009.
Andrew Conte can be reached at andrewconte(at)tribweb.com. |
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