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Fifty thousand shades of green

Today will be my last full day in Mexico City before I head 72 kilometers west toward Cuernavaca to visit my mom. I have been here a week and other than walking, I have not been exercising at the level I am accustomed to in Ottawa, which included daily spinning, weight lifting, and playing tennis 3-4 times a week. I have also not conformed to the same level of calories I normally consume, as you have been witnessing by my food porn posts. I crave my daily arugula, so today I was overjoyed to strap on my sneakers and visor and head to the tree park across the street for a run/walk. The altitude here is very high, and it takes a few days to get used to it, so now I am able to get my heart pumping faster by other means than walking up a flight of stairs. 
Yay, Arugula!


After my jog, I went to the plant nursery right next to the tree park. The nursery, or Viveros de Coyoacán, started in the early 20th century as a way to provide seedlings for the reforestation of  Mexico's badly damaged forests. Today the nursery produces one million seedlings per year and I have captured each one individually in the photos below. (I joke).

The seasonal Cempasúchil flowers are at their peak 

This is called Japanese Cherry in Spanish, Cerezo Japonés.


Have you planted flowers in your household skull yet?




Seriously though, the plants were so gorgeous and fresh, and I wanted to take them home with me, especially the coveted arugula! I did not buy a single thing, but I am glad I was camera happy. Viveros de Coyoacán is now a national park and attracts up to 3000 visitors a day (pre-COVID days).


This palm tree is called "elephant's leg"



After the nursery, I had lunch with Luis, my Airbnb host and we settled the bill, Mexican style. He bought $200 US from me, from which he then subtracted the cost of the Airbnb (3,274.56 pesos, or $200 CAD) and then added my half of the lunch we shared, and then he gave me back the leftover in Mexican Pesos so I would have local money available. That sounds about right! 

While I was having lunch, my friend, Francisco texted me and asked if I was available for an evening visit and since he lives in one of the ritziest parts of the city that I had not been to yet during this trip, I agreed to meet him there in Polanco. The Uber I took passed by a green project called Via Verde which is 60,000 square metres of vertical gardens installed across 1000 pillars of a busy motorway. The project was erected to combat the pollution that is visible every day in the city.  

My Uber speeding along the Via Verde

Francisco and I walked around and I was in awe at how much the area has changed. In 2011 a new landmark was erected by billionaire Carlos Slim, a Mexican business magnate and it is called the Museo Soumaya, named after his late wife. Its architecture is inspired by a beehive and is made up of thousands of mirrored hexagon tiles. Some people think it resembles the Guggenheim Bilbao. It's a stunning building whose sweeping, soaring curves couldn't help but make it an instant landmark. We did not go inside but I will on a later trip as it houses one of the world's largest collections of Auguste Rodins. 
The Museo Soumaya behind Clara and Francisco

The Museo Soumaya without Clara and Francisco

Next to the Museo Soumaya, is a new performing arts theatre, the Teatro Telcel. I was attracted to the live wall which from a distance looked like green shag carpeting covering a giant cube. It was so green that even Francisco didn't think the plants were real. The theatre will be selling tickets soon to Aladdin, which will be the first live Disney production in Latinamerica since the pandemic. 

Teatro Telcel (Theatre) and yes, they're real!

One last strip of greenery I noticed on our stroll was the linear park that is divided into a pedestrian track and a bike track. Both are flanking an old train line that used to go all the way to Cuernavaca. It is actually a state park called Linea Ferrocarriles de Cuernavaca Park. That train left the station ages ago, so I guess I won't be taking the train tomorrow!


Linea de Ferrocarriles de Cuernavaca Park

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