Today I wanted to rent a bike. That was my plan. So I walked to Paseo de la Reforma, a few blocks from here. It's a lovely tree-lined boulevard that goes up past the Museum of Anthropology and in the other direction goes down past the Centro Historico.
I took my time getting up and out because I didn't sleep well last night. Seems my lovely room on the 10th floor is not immune to noise from down below. There was some sort of live band playing somewhere and it seemed the party went on all night long. Even though it wasn't really loud, it was enough to keep me, a very light sleeper, from falling asleep all night.
After breakfast I lay down on my bed and enjoyed the quiet (of course it was quiet now that I was awake). But finally I decided to get up and see about the bike situation.
I walked over to Reforma, first stopping at Starbucks and getting a green tea latte and then walked down the street a bit. I stopped and sat and watched the many people riding bikes, roller skating, roller blading, running, walking dogs, walking, and even a person riding a unicycle. It was a mass of people enjoying a fine Sunday morning, and I intended to join them.
I passed the spot where they rent bikes but it was not clear if *I* could rent one or if they were only for Mexican residents. There was a line and I didn't want to wait just to be told no, so I walked on. I passed another spot with another line and kept walking.
It was quite nice and I thought maybe I'd walk down to the Centro Historico, and then I got another idea. After looking on the map today I saw that the Basilica of the Virgin of Guadalupe was also on Reforma and it seemed that I could continue walking there with the street closed to traffic the entire way.
So I did.
I walked. And I walked, and walked, and walked, and walked, and walked and walked and walked on and on and on and on....
Eventually more lanes were open to traffic and fewer lanes were open to bikes, but I kept walking because I was sure it wasn't far.
And I walked.
And I walked.
The bike lanes had now narrowed and most of the lanes were taken up with traffic. The street had also narrowed and was no longer a boulevard. But I kept walking.
I saw a sign and it did not say "Paseo de la Reforma" anymore. It said something about Guadalupe. I thought I was going the right way, but now I wasn't sure. I stopped and asked a woman and she told me it was straight ahead but I had a ways to go. She said it was about 10 blocks. Having already walked several miles by now, 10 blocks didn't seem that bad. So I kept on.
And I walked. And walked.
Finally I saw a KFC and decided to grab a bite to eat. I'd had a hankering for fried chicken and figured with all of the walking I had done I deserved it. I also thought the cole slaw would be a good alternative to the vegetable-less meals I'd been eating.
I got two pieces with two sides and a drink for 40 pesos. I can see the draw for fast foot -it's cheap.
I finished my meal and continued onward. It looked like there were other pilgrims now joining me on the trek so I felt more confident that I was going in the right direction. Soon I could see the old basilica ahead of me. As I got closer, the crowds got larger and larger. Stalls began to appear selling food, virgin statues, rosaries, and all sorts of other things. It began to get harder to walk and I looked for alternative routes but there were none. I just held my breath (well, not really) and forged on in the throngs.
We headed up a ramp and through a gate and finally there was some space. Ahead of me was the old basilica with the small chapel on the hill where the virgin supposedly appeared to Juan Diego (in the photo above) and to the left was the new, huge basilica which can hold up to 40,000 people. I went inside the new basilica to see if I could find the moving sidewalks that go under the painting of the virgin that is supposedly the image that appeared magically on Juan Diego's cloak. the basilica was full, packed. I got swept up in a crowd thinking I was heading to the moving sidewalk. People were pushing. Nuns pushed through praying and holding some sort of statue. People on the side were saying the Our Father together. A mass was going on. I was feeling very claustrophobic. Finally we reached a turn and I saw light. We were outside. This huge throng was simply moving to the exit.
I wasn't about to give up just yet. I walked through the old basilica, which is now sinking and was too small to hold the crowds of people who come to see the virgin. It wasn't that interesting.
I headed back to the new basilica and decided to walk in the other direction. I knew there was a way to go down to this moving sidewalk. I passed a gift shop and then saw a line of people moving in one direction. I went to join them and sure enough, I was right below the image of the virgin draped in a Mexican flag.
I was too close to get a really good shot, but had had enough of the crowds.
I went to the gift shop because I wanted to get something for my friend Maria. I bought a poster that explains the "Guadalupe Code" - all of the symbolism of the image, from her eyes, mouth, face to the cloak and dress she is wearing, the colors, the background, etc. It's very interesting. I had seen it in a church in Puebla and wanted to get one.
The process was complicated. First I had to tell the clerk what I wanted. She didn't understand me at first, because she didn't know the number I said, but I just repeated what I saw GAJ08. Then I told her "los codices" and she got it. She went and got the posters (I bought one for me too) and wrote up a receipt. I had to make my way through the crowd to go to the cashier to pay. After that, I took my receipt back to get my posters, but she told me I had to go to a window in the center, so again I made my way through the crowds and picked up my posters.
WHAT A ZOO!
I hope Maria appreciates how hard I worked to get her this!
From there I asked for directions to the subway and made my way to the station two blocks away. I had to take three trains, but eventually made it to the stop near my hotel.
Many things were for sale on the trains today - fashionable bags, candy, a book for mathematics for children, and bubbles, among other things. My favorite was the bubbles. It was only 5 pesos and was a tiny little thing that made tiny little bubbles. I liked that our subway car was filled with bubbles as the guy demonstrated how it worked. They were really small and floated down the entire length of the car and lasted a long time.
Well, now I am exhausted. I really want pozole, but don't know where to get pozole that is good. I may have to settle for tacos again unless I go to one of the other restaurants nearby - maybe italian. I really don't want to walk a lot to find food.
Then I think I am going to take advantage of my bathtub that has jets to sooth my aching feet and legs.
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