Canal Tour in Xochimilco

Xochimilco is famous for its 180 km of canals. There used to be a huge lake here, but over the years, it has dried up. It's a popular getaway for many Mexicans who head out with their families to rent the vibrant, colorful boats that now cruise the canals. Originally, these were the Aztecs' floating gardens. The name Xochimilco means "the place where flowers grow." We took the metro for the first part of the journey and then a train for the last stretch. Each ride costs just 2 pesos, which is super cheap. It took us about an hour to get there. Many vendors and a few beggars hop on the metro. We bought some gum for 5 pesos and a music CD for 10 pesos. The CD sellers walk around with a little player so you can listen to the music before you buy it. Fingers crossed it’s good! :) There are plenty of street food stalls around the canals. So if you're in the mood for some authentic Mexican food, dive right in! We found a sweet little lady making stuffed tortillas with ham, cheese, and a bunch of exciting spices. It only cost 10 pesos and tasted amazing. We’ve been a bit cautious about eating too much street food since it’s often prepared differently than what our stomachs are used to. There are several spots along the canals where you can rent a boat for a ride. The prices vary quite a bit, so it’s wise to shop around. We paid 400 pesos for a 4-hour boat trip. They’ve built a lock to regulate the water level, which we had to pass through. A crane was lowered into the water to lift our boat over the lock—very clever! Our goal for the trip was to be taken out to the Island of the Dolls, where a very special man once lived and decorated his little island with dolls. Dolls hang from the trees, many missing various body parts. There’s also an altar where the "most important" doll sits. The decoration started as a tribute to a little child who drowned. Today, the dolls watch over the artist's spirit. His family members take care of the island and also give tours. It costs 10 pesos to land. It’s quite a macabre sight to see all those dolls hanging in the trees. It’s eerie that many are missing heads, legs, arms, or chunks of hair. It was a sunny boat trip, and we spent much of the time lounging in the sun at the front of the boat. We passed by a huge party and could barely squeeze through. We also cruised past several nurseries where many people stopped to buy flowers. We had a little mishap too. Our "captain" was well past retirement age, so it took him a while to navigate the canals. At one point, he lost his balance and dropped the long oar he was rowing with. He couldn’t reach it before the boat drifted away. What to do... He grabbed a chair and rowed over to retrieve the oar! :) It looked funny, but thankfully it worked, and we could continue. As I said, it took him a while to get around the canals, so on the way back, we hopped off and walked the last bit. We were starting to feel a bit restless. :) We got off the metro one stop earlier than we needed to, just to explore a bit more of the city and grab a bite to eat. Honny ordered the day's menu, which consisted of three courses. The starter had three parts too. At first, we thought that was all he was getting. The starter looked so different—it was soup with a strange vegetable on one side and something even stranger for meat on the other. But it turned out he got way more than he could eat! :) It only cost 42 pesos. The sun is actually pretty strong here, so I ended up with a nice sunburn on my face after our boat trip. I got so warm that it was almost like Honny was going to burn himself on me! :) It was our last evening, so we celebrated at a nice restaurant where we had nachos with guacamole, parilla, and sangria. The parilla consisted of vegetables, beef, chicken, and fish served on a platter kept warm over a candle. It looked and tasted really good, but unfortunately, we weren’t that hungry, so we only managed to eat about a third of it. You can’t visit Mexico without hitting up a tequila bar. First, we went to a small local bar that had around 40 different kinds. Honny had tequila and beer, while I stuck to cocktails since I got so sick the last time we had tequila. The little local bar recommended another tequila bar called Dos Naciones, which is also located in the historic part of the city. It was way too dangerous to walk, so we took a taxi. Dos Naciones turned out to be a very entertaining place. Upon closer inspection of the bar's patrons, it was easy to see that all the girls were prostitutes. It didn’t really matter though; we still had a blast! :)