Mexico City

We arrived in Mexico City at 9pm so it was already dark and hard to see the city. Driving to the hotel Mexico City didn't seem too different from Vancouver or Victoria; alot of buildings, cobble stone road, billboards all over. The hotel that we stayed at is very nice. Nicer than many back home.

On Saturday, Ian took us around and showed us the zocalo (the main city square). We visited the Cathedral, the President's Palace, and the Palacio de Bellas Artes. We went up in a tower and saw just how big Mexico City is. The outskirts look as though they are creeping up and taking over the surrounding mountains. The outskirts of the city are much more poor than the central part where we stayed. There are close to 36 million people who live in Mexico City, almost the same population of Canada. Yet the city never felt overly crowded.

On Sunday we took a bus to Teotihuacan to see the pyramids. When the Aztecs discovered Teotihuacan it had been abandoned for over 500 years and there is no evidence to indicate who lived there. So it is unknown who lived there and who built the pyramids. There are two pyramids in Teotihuacan the pyramid of the sun and the pyramid of the moon. And they each align with the sun and the moon somehow.

When we returned to Mexico City there was a large demonstration going on. It was for the anniversary of the 1968 massacre. In 1968 there were many Mexican students who were protesting peacefully before the olympics. As they were protested the government opened fire on them and ended up killing approximately 400 students. So over 40 years later hundreds of students walk the streets carrying banners saying things like never forget never forgive. They walked right past our hotel.

Mexico City was a great experience. The food was amazing and the people were also been very nice. There were many people trying to sell us things, but if you just say 'no gracias' they leave you alone. It has been a great introduction to Mexico so far and I can't wait until I get to Oaxaca and get to my homestay.