Ruth and the sunset at the island of Dhiffushi, Maldives.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Kuwait City, Kuwait on March 31st.

Sunday, March 4, 2012

Mexico City (day2)

We only had coffee and tea yesterday morning. I think we were still full from the tacos the evening before! Finally getting hungry around around 10:30am, we left the apartment with Adrian taking us to a "sandwich" place. What a sandwich!

But first, we had to walk to his friends apartment so he could feed their cats. The friends live on the 9th floor and have a decent view of the city.


We took a taxi to Coyoacan. Adrian was going there to visit his father anyhow and said it was a nice area to wander around. We went to the market where he knows a busy popular place that makes fruit smoothies and sandwiches. He recommended Ruth and I split a sandwich, and it was a good recommendation!

The sandwich place in the market. We had to wait a few minutes to get a seat.

Now that's a sandwich! And look at the size of the fresh fruit smoothie! One sandwich and one smoothie for 75 pesos ($6.00). 

Pinatas for sale

After brunch, Adrian walked us to the plaza and pointed out a few places we could visit, then left us on our own. We wandered around for a couple of hours, sat in the plaza and watched the people, visited a cultural house and of course the cathedral. Coyoacan was just another small town until it was amalgamated into part of Mexico City many many years ago as the City grew. 

Ruth relaxing in the quiet plaza outside the cultural house.

Nice gardens, but otherwise not much to see. Good thing entrance was free.

The statue and fountain in the main plaza at Coyoacan.

The cathedral is nothing special on the outside.

But the inside is very ornate! There was a communion or something going on.

We then took the local bus for 3.5 pesos (28 cents) each, to the University of Mexico City. This is the largest university in Latin America, and has been designated a UNESCO World Heritage site because of the "outstanding" architecture. Personally, I didn't find it that outstanding, only one building really caught my eye.

The library building, with a mural done with different colored stones.

Close up detail of the stone work.

Opposite the university is the stadium where the 1968 Olympics were held. We weren't allowed inside.

We walked to the metro station and took the subway back to Adrian's apartment. Made it there for 6:00pm so it was still light out. We had walked for miles and our legs felt it! We relaxed for a couple of hours and then Adrian took us to a nice Thai restaurant for dinner. We haven't eaten out this much for a long time! But Adrian is a young single guy with a decent income who doesn't do much cooking so he knows a lot of good restaurants.

Today, we are off to the central zone (many things are free on Sunday's), and then tonight Ruth is going to make Adrian dinner!

18 comments:

  1. I'm glad to see you guys are enjoying the Big Tamal. I know your friend will be very happy with Ruth's dinner. Have fun!

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  2. Another interesting day in Mexico City. It looks much the same as I remember. Do you guys ever have any trouble with the water, or is that a non-issue now a days?

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    1. Everybody, including the locals in the out of the way villages, drinks bottled purified water. You can buy a 20 litre (5 gallon?) jug for around a dollar in most places.

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  3. Do I see smog in your header picture? It looks a bit like LA, but not quite.

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  4. Looks like a great day exploring the big city, and a few more to enjoy.

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  5. If you're history buffs, you may enjoy going to Cortez's final resting place.

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  6. Jim went to Mexico City before I met him and still remembers trying to ride the city buses. But he has very few pictures so I'm enjoying seeing the city through your camera lens.

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  7. I'm a new reader. Do you have a previous post about how you contacted Adrian and set up this arrangement?

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    1. Yes, just search our blog (top left corner) for couchsurfing.

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  8. Hey Kevin & Ruth. Too bad we missed you in the Lake Chapala area. We are on our way to El Roasario Butterfly sanctuary. At the moment we are in Patzcuaro again, after a side trip to Angahuan to see the volcano. We are planning our next couple of nights, and are wondering if you have any suggestions regarding El Roasario campgrounds. We see Church's book has 3, plus the possibility of boondocking in the parking lot up at the sanctuary itself. Do you recommend any one in particular? Church's book also recommends going from Patzcuaro straight to El Roasario, which he says takes about 7 hours. By my calculations, it seems we would be way better off stopping in Zinapecuaro (north of Morelia), also in Church's book. Do you have insight as to why such a short trip would take 7 hours? Thanks alot. Enjoy Mexico City!!!

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    1. Hey Guys...we stayed at the Givali Hotel in El Rosario. When we were there, the hotel that has RV parking in San Felipe was closed for good, so not sure if that's changed.

      The problem is that the road from Ocampo to El Rosario is VERY steep. There were times I had the pedal to the floor in first gear. And coming down our brakes started to overheat. We would not do that again with our style of rig. If you are confident in your engine and brakes...then go for it.

      Yes, I would try to break up the drive. Checking back, it took us about 4 hours to do 80 miles.

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  9. Your header picture made me dizzy. SUCH a big city. You two are very brave. Not because I think you are in danger, just to tackle the whole thing. Makes me feel tired just thinking about it. :-)

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  10. Mom looks like she had a few shots added to her smoothie :P haha. Love you and glad you're having fun :) We miss you!

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  11. now that was quite a sandwich...

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  12. A must see would be the Diego Rivera Murals at the National Place.

    Enjoy your time.

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  13. What the heck..what is in the "sandwich"? Never saw something so big.
    Another great day of seeing God's great creations. ~wheresweaver

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    1. There was just about everything in it. Chicken, 3 different kinds of cheese, carrots, jicama, cucumber, lettuce, tomato and beetroot, I think that was about it.

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