Conifer-Hunting in Mexico

Day 17: Sunday, February 20

Today: the National Museum of Anthropology.

We rose early—insanely early, by Mexican standards; we were at the hotel restaurant when it opened at 0700 for another splendid Mexican breakfast of huevos rancheros, café con crema and freshly-squeezed jugo de naranja. We went straight to the Metro, which was lightly used at that hour, and proceeded to the Chapultepec "Stadium" station, which is near the Museo Nacional de Antropologia. We emerged into a horde of people. It turned out that a very popular footrace was being held through the park and a great mass of runners—I counted some wearing numbers as high as 7,500—were cruising by. It was a gorgeous morning for a fun run—clear, cool, very little smog. We moseyed on down to the Museum, arriving about 0845 to get a place near the head of the line.

The doors opened a few minutes past 0900 and we entered what may be the largest building I've ever been in. It took us about 8 hours to see enough of the museum to leave, in which time we saw a fragment of what it had to offer, but after a time, you know, feet get sore and brain gets full and belly gets empty. In the gift shop we blew 750 pesos on a book, just published in 2004, commemorating the museum's 40th anniversary, thick and heavy with information and glossy photographs. I will let that stand for any description of the museum I might offer here, save only that it is probably the best museum I have ever seen—though in fairness, most of my life's museuming was over by the mid-80's, so I haven't seen what modern museum technology has done for the great museums of New York and DC, for instance.

Mixtec painting (reproduction).	Aztec painting (reproduction).

Afterwards, we took the metro back to the Zocalo and signed up for a tour to Teotihuacan the next day, about 400 pesos per person. We were done in, so after a turn around the Zocalo and dinner at the hotel, we went to bed. Actually I had coffee with dinner and was up well past midnight editing photos and journal, but Bob and Bonnie turned in early.

Continue to Day 18

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