Sleepwalking through Mexico City
There is only one solution to the challenge of jet lag in my opinion. Not a cure, but a way to minimise its impact. And that is, to ignore it as much as possible, adopt the time of your destination as soon as possible and stay active.
So after a brief nap on arrival in Mexico City (four in the morning and bleary-eyed after a twelve hour overnight flight from London) we roused ourselves, had breakfast at our hotel and set off on a guided tour of some of the city’s highlights.
Our guide Lizbet took us first to the Museo Nacional de Antropologia (Museum of Anthropology). That museum deserves a post of its own, which it will duly have.
So for now I’ll focus on the second part of our tour, exploring part of the city, which I’m sharing for Jo’s Monday Walk this week. And if I sound a bit weary at times, forgive me. Remember that twelve hour flight and museum visit earlier in the day!
Diego Rivera Mural Museum
We’re actually starting in another museum. This is a much smaller one, and a personal favourite of Liz’s that she was keen for us to see. The name of this museum says everything you need to know about it. It is home to a huge mural by one of Mexico’s favourite sons and most famous artists, Diego Rivera. Rivera painted Sueño de una tarde dominical en la Alameda Central (Dream of a Sunday afternoon in the Alameda Central) for the Hotel del Prado Misión in 1947. The hotel was so badly damaged by the 1985 earthquake in Mexico City that it had to be demolished, but this mural survived. The museum was built around it to both support the wall and protect the art work.
The painting features around 150 figures shown enjoying a Sunday afternoon together in the nearby park, the Alameda Central. Many of them were prominent in the country’s history, including Hernán Cortés, Benito Juárez, Maximiliano de Habsburgo, Francisco I. Madero and Porfirio Díaz. Interspersed among them are more everyday people such as street vendors and revolutionary soldiers.
The left side of the mural depicts the Colonial era of Cortés and the Spanish Inquisition. From there it moves through the centuries to the early 20th century and the fight for independence on the right-hand side. In the centre is the ‘Catrina’, the Day of the Dead skeleton dressed in 19th-century European fashion. Next to her Rivero presents himself as a young boy, while his wife Frida Kahlo rests her hand on his shoulder.
I was particularly struck by the indigenous woman in the yellow dress, La Revoltosa. She is being prevented by a policeman from entering the park where the wealthy are walking.
Alameda Central
Our walk then took us through the park that forms the backdrop of Rivera’s mural. Rather appropriately it was a Sunday afternoon, so it was very busy with local families. Children were playing in the fountains (it was by now pretty hot), there were lots of food stalls doing great business and people relaxing on the benches or picnicking.
The Palacio de Bellas Artes
On the far side of the park we stopped to photograph the striking Palacio de Bellas Artes. This was built to celebrate the centennial of the Mexican War of Independence in 1910. The architecture is a mix of Art Nouveau and Neoclassical and I was struck in particular by the beautiful orange dome and the ornate statuary adorning the arches of the roof.
Unfortunately there wasn’t time to go inside to see the murals by Rivera and others, nor to visit any exhibitions.
Centro Historico
We strolled along a few of the streets between the park and the Zócalo, the huge square at the heart of the city. These too were busy with locals as well as tourists. Despite the crowds, and my increasing travel-induced weariness, I grabbed some photos of a few buildings that especially appealed to me, including one that seemed to have a more Portuguese than Spanish influence. This is the Casa de Azulejos, covered in blue and white (mainly) tiles from the Mexican state of Puebla. This was once the home of an aristocratic family but is now home to a department store and restaurant. We didn’t go in, but I took lots of photos of the exterior.
The Zócalo
This huge square, also known as the Plaza de la Constitución, was once the heart of the Aztec city of Tenochtitlan. To emphasise their dominance over the indigenous populations and erase all traces of the Aztecs, the Spanish conquerors built their new capital on top of their city, reusing its stones.
On this busy Sunday afternoon the square was lively with street performers, tour groups, a local music performance and more. It was the street performers in particular that caught my eye and my lens. Many were dressed in costumes based (loosely, I suspect) on indigenous styles, with feathered headdresses and wristbands, and lots of body paint.
The Catedral Metropolitana
The cathedral lies on the north side of the Zócalo. This was built over several hundred years (1573 to 1813) around the much smaller church that was erected soon after the Spanish conquered Tenochtitlan, eventually replacing it completely. It therefore shows a mix of architectural styles. It was hard to get a good photo of the exterior with so many people milling around and with scaffolding covering one of the towers. But I picked out a few details including a relief panel above the east portal showing a ship carrying the four apostles, with Saint Peter at the helm. According to Wikipedia, the title of this relief is The ship of the Church sailing the seas of Eternity.
Inside the cathedral it was cool and much more peaceful than the square outside. We took the opportunity for a short rest before strolling around. I found it rather sombre but liked some of the details. The sunlight was falling on some of the statues, making them stand out from the rest of the rather dark interior.
Liz led us around the main altar to the choir area behind and the royal chapel with its Altar of the Kings. This was even more ornate than the main altar and rather better lit, although still hard to photograph. There were many side chapels too, each with its own ornate altar. With more time, more energy and better light I would have taken many more photos, I am sure.
The Templo Mayor
By now I was definitely wilting, a combination of tiredness and heat with a bit of altitude and jet lag thrown in. I would happily have gone straight back to the hotel from here, but Liz wanted to show us one more sight. Behind and to the east of the cathedral lies the Templo Mayor. Here are the ruins of the massive temple pyramid that was one of Tenochticlan’s holiest sites, which was destroyed and its stones used to build the cathedral. Its rough location was known about for years but until relatively recently not properly investigated. This was in part because it was thought to lie under the cathedral and in part because this was an area of higher-class housing which people were reluctant to destroy.
From time to time small finds were made in the area but little done to explore further. But in 1978 electricity workers found a massive pre-Hispanic stone disc, which triggered renewed interest. A major archaeological dig was initiated, for which a number of buildings were demolished. According to Wikipedia, more than 7,000 objects have been found here, mostly offerings including effigies. They are now displayed in the next-door museum, which we didn’t have time to visit. The site itself can also be visited but we contented ourselves with a quick look from above. And I failed to take a single photo!
Apology
Writing this account of our day I became very conscious of how much we didn’t see in this vibrant city, and how much I failed to do justice to in my photos. Maybe we’ll be back one day, but I doubt it, as we very rarely return anywhere. And maybe it’s good to come away feeling you could have seen more?
I visited Mexico City in February 2024
59 Comments
equinoxio21
Good choices again. So you did make it to Dolores Olmedo museum? I wasn’t sure it had reopened.
Sarah Wilkie
No, and according to Google it’s still temporarily closed, pending a relocation. But I doubt we would have had time in any case. We did go to Coyoacan for Frida and the Diego Rivera museum, but no others.
equinoxio21
All right. So they moved the fresco, the one you stitched…
Sarah Wilkie
I understood that they’d built this museum (the mural one, not the one Rivera had built in Coyoacan to house his personal collection of artefacts) around the fresco, not that they’d moved it here?
equinoxio21
You might be right. That is one of the few museums I haven’t seen here. Don’t know why. Probably the fresco in Dolores Olmedo’s house is a copy. That I have visited. Probably the largest collection of Diego’s work in the world.
wetanddustyroads
Even when you’re jet lagged, it doesn’t let you down! Your photos are beautiful as always. I like the kids at the fountain (I myself wouldn’t mind being there in the cold water right now). And the azulejos also immediately made me think of Portugal – it’s so beautiful.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much 🙂 Yes, I guess I’m so used to jetlag I just push through it for as long as I can! And to be honest it wasn’t very bad on this trip, I think I was more tired from lack of sleep than anything else.
rkrontheroad
Somehow I have never made it to Mexico City, although I’ve been through the airport. The Diego mural is soooo wonderful!!
Sarah Wilkie
It is, isn’t it?! We went through Mexico City airport rather too many times on this trip, with internal flights that meant changing there 🙄
margaret21
This looks such a vibrant and interesting city. Well done for beating the jetlag.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Margaret – ‘vibrant and interesting’ certainly describes it well 🙂
Amy
Thank you for this wonderful tour of Mexico City. Great photo tour!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Amy, I’m glad you enjoyed the tour 🙂
Tanja
You managed to do a lot in a day
Sarah Wilkie
Yes, but we barely scraped the surface of the city!
grandmisadventures
I find that nothing eases the jetlag like a good walk around a new place. Then by the time I return to sleep I am so exhausted that I fall right to sleep. I really love the painting and all the figures. It just makes me want to pull up a chair and imagine who all these people were and what their story was in the greater community of all those there. 🙂
Sarah Wilkie
You’re right, a walk is the best way to both stay awake during the day and sleep more easily at night! And we like it when we have a tour pre-booked as then we’re forced to get moving 😀 The painting was full of interesting details, and there was a thorough sign explaining all the figures and their place in Mexican history.
Suzanne
We did exactly that you did when arriving at a new destination after a long haul flight. Hard on the system and travelling for more than 24 hrs isn’t something I miss. You certainly made the most of it. I hope the girls musical performance gained them enough money. Beautiful and detailed images, Sarah.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Suzanne 😊 The journeys are the worst side of travelling for me these days. They used to bother me less, partly because we did fewer of them and most of them shorter. But they’re a small price to pay!
thehungrytravellers.blog
There is indeed soooooo much more to see, it’s actually a city full of variations, differences and contradictions. And buildings tilting post-earthquake. Good to see you took in as much as possible in a short time though!
Sarah Wilkie
We saw a little bit more over the coming days, including a dramatic tilt to one of the churches at the Shrine of Guadalupe!
thehungrytravellers.blog
Yep, that’s the very one I had in mind!
Sarah Wilkie
We were told though that the tilt was mainly due to the fact that the city was built on what was once a huge lake surrounding the original Aztec city.
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
Lots to see even if you missed some of the sights, all of it fabulous. I agree with your approach to jet-lag, ie getting on with things at the new time asap, but once met someone with the opposite approach. He never changed his watch at all and tried to stick as far as possible to his usual routine. Weird!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anabel 🙂 I can’t imagine how anyone could stick to their usual time. If we’d done that we’d have been asleep for a big chunk of the day and awake in the middle of the night when there would be nothing to do!
Anabel @ The Glasgow Gallivanter
I know! He was at a conference and stayed with us, so he went to whatever sessions he needed to and built his routine round them. It made him easy to entertain because we hardly saw him! I assume in the night he was up working. Still bizarre though.
Graham Stephen
Frida ☯️
-✧✦☆❖◈❋✤☆✦-∞-♡-∞-✦☆✤❋◈❖☆✦✧-
Sarah Wilkie
More on her to come soon …
Forestwood
It is an interesting city with much to see. Those night flights do you in. I agree the tiles on that building don’t fit with the image of Mexico, but more so Portugal. Looking forward to reading more.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Amanda 🙂 Yes, night flights are a pain, but unavoidable sometimes.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
Lovely photos, you got to see so much, and capturing those streets and people is done with style. So much to take in. As for jet lag, we try to stay in the rhythm of the local area. Tiring, but it works best for us.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Ritva 😊 Yes, I’m convinced that’s the best thing to do, although I know some people prefer to take a few days to adjust. We find if we do that we’re just pushing the problem back!
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
and the unjustment is worse is when flying home from west
Sarah Wilkie
I have a theory that flying home is always worse, whatever the direction! You don’t have the distractions of new places and new adventures and it’s hard to push yourself to get back into your daily routine.
Ritva Sillanmäki Photography
When traveling west, we get a little extra time, which makes it easier to adjust Going east again, time is lost and the sleep rhythm has to be brought up 🙂
Easymalc
You may have had your eyes half-closed but mine were wide open following you through Mexico City. It’s impossible to see everything in a large city like this in a short space of time, but if this post is anything to go by I can’t wait for the next one.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Malcolm, glad to have been able to share these highlights 🙂 You’ll see a lot more of Mexico in future posts, but not much more of the city.
Monkey's Tale
We’re looking forward to Mexico City and you’ve further excited us with you tour. We also find that the best way to deal with jet lag is to convert right away to the local time and keep as busy as possible. Going home (west) we usually find more difficult. Maggie
Sarah Wilkie
You’re going to enjoy it there I’m sure. I probably don’t need to tell you this but do visit the Museum of Anthropology if you do nothing else! I’m planning a separate post on that for later this week (hopefully tomorrow) and although we didn’t have time to do it justice (you could easily spend a day there), it was amazing, and also helpful background for our visits to Teotihuacan and Monte Alban 🙂
Monkey's Tale
Thanks, good to know!
Annie Berger
Flabbergasted that you saw so much of the heart of Mexico City and, I add, also its soul in just one day, Sarah. Given the generally bad press Mexico receives in our country, I, too, was amazed at the beautiful sights we saw there over a course of a few days at the end of a long South American trip. Kudos to your guide as she chose some of the city’s best attractions in my opinion!
At our ages, we also don’t return to places as there are so many new places we want to see if we can!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Annie 😊 It’s good to have confirmation from you that we got to see many of the best sights in our limited time. I would like to have had a bit longer in the city but as I mentioned to Jo, we used our remaining days here for a couple of tours to sights on the outskirts which were must-sees for us. No, I doubt we’ll go back, unless a transit here means it might be feasible to stay over for a night or two. We’ve never really tended to do so and like you we now feel the added pressure of age and time running out!
Anna
Beautiful photos!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Anna 🙂
Egídio
Gorgeous photos, Sarah. I loved seeing the Catedral Metropolitana, especially.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you 🙂 The cathedral is very imposing although I found I liked the smaller churches in Mexico better than its cathedrals, in Oaxaca too for instance.
the eternal traveller
We find that’s the best way to deal with jetlag too. Just get on with the day and run on adrenalin. Great idea to discover the city on a guided tour on your first day.
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks Meg, yes – having a tour pre-booked ensures we stick to our plans and get up and on with the day 😀
Anne Sandler
Thanks for showing/sharing what you could of Mexico City. Your photos are beautiful, especially of Rivera’s mural.
Sarah Wilkie
Glad you enjoyed it Anne, thank you 😀
Teresa
Great job capturing the streets of Mexico. Your images of people are again amazing. That mural/painting is wonderful and yes I recognise Frida Kahlo.
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Teresa 😊 You could study that painting for ages to find all the details, although knowing more about Mexican history would have helped us understand more. Luckily our guide was very informative and pointed out a lot of the characters.
Sue
What a brilliant post – for one in the throes of jet lag you packed in a lot!
Sarah Wilkie
Thanks so much Sue 😊 We do try to hit the ground running, even if we run out of steam later!
Sue
Well, good for you!
Marie
You’ve done a great job – very similar to our own walkabout a few years back but we missed out on the Museum of Anthropology alas so looking forward to that..
I can’t believe you managed to get up for breakfast!
Sarah Wilkie
Thank you Marie 🙂 A shame you missed that museum as it was a real highlight of the day for me, just amazing (even in my befuddled state!) Yes, we were up for breakfast – our tactic is to try to get into the time of our destination as soon as possible even if it means missing sleep. And as that was late morning by UK time my body was relatively happy to be awake despite my tiredness.
restlessjo
To be honest, I didn’t have any great expectations of Mexico City, Sarah, and you have surpassed those, so I’m happy enough. Love the museum built around that incredible mural. Bellas Artes looks fabulous and naturally I love the blue building. I guess you were rushing off to the next destination the following day? It’s often hard to know how long to allocate a place. Thanks a lot for sharing.
Sarah Wilkie
I’m glad you were happy with this Jo, as was I 🙂 No, we weren’t rushing off the following day, we had two more full days here, but we used those for tours to nearby sights as you’ll no doubt see in future posts – Teotihuacan (amazing ruins that pre-date the Aztecs) and Coyoacan, for Frida Kahlo’s home.