Thursday, December 12, 2013 (afternoon): After the incident, I went back to the hostel and charged my phone before heading to Bosque de Chapultepec. In Condesa, not sure about the other areas of DF, there are random places where you can get wi-fi. It worked really well the first couple days I was there, but towards the end of my trip it didn't work as well. Also, Google Maps works well as a map, but not for directions. Even without internet it shows you where you are walking. I even kept my phone on airplane mode the entire trip and it still worked. So, with all that being said, if you have a smart phone I'd bring it with you.
I spent almost every day in Bosque de Chapultepec. It is a massive park, but it also has a zoo, museums, and places to eat. I found an entrance to the park that was only a 5 minute walk from my hostel. It was early afternoon so the park was pretty empty and I thought it would be a good chance to take some pictures. It was a beautiful park. There were so many squirrels! Seriously, they almost come right up to you.
I walked up one of the main paths which to an area near the main entrance which had a lot of monuments, an entrance to Castillo de Chapultepec, and some of the museums. Since I really didn't have any plans I saw people walking into the Modern Art Museum and decided I was going to check that out. The museums in DF are REALLY cheap and they let you take photos as long as you don't use a flash. El Museo de Arte Moderno was really nice, but it was hard to really understand what was going on because everything was in Spanish. I saw works by Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo which I was really excited about. The museum also had sculptures on the grounds you could look at. I really liked the seeing works by Mexican artists because a lot of them had works about political unrest which is not something you see in America.
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| Diego Rivera, Mujer en Verde |
When I left the museum I decided that I really needed to get food because it was going to get dark soon, and I know better than to walk around a city alone at night. I remember there being food stands in the park, so I followed the food signs. I figured that since I was in Mexico I mine as well eat some authentic Mexican food. I walked to the food stalls, and I was immediately overwhelmed. A boy ran up to me and handed me a menu. Then he led me to another booth and another guy handed me another menu and started talking to me really fast in Spanish. He started describing what all the food was and where it was on the menu. I wasn't even paying attention because I was so confused. He then asked me if I wanted to sit down. I took a moment to look at the menu but I really didn't know what I wanted because I knew I wasn't going to eat a lot. I really wanted a quesadilla with jalapeños (which is what I usually get at Mexican restaurants, but I think he assumed because I was white that I wouldn't like it being spicy. That happened a lot actually. Finally, I just decided on alambre and a coke. I never had alambre before so it was a shot in the dark, plus I didn't really know what he was saying so I just ordered the first thing I thought I would like.
The food was really good, but I couldn't eat it all. I got up and asked what I should do with everything. He wrapped my food up for me and then we started talking and different things. His name was Luis, and he didn't speak any English. But like many Mexican men, he asked me if I had a Facebook and for my name. We exchanged information, said good-bye, and then I left. I was so exhausted from walking all day. But that night I had the hostel room to myself which was great!
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