Organic farms in Mexico City?

Organic farm-to-table is making inroads into Mexico City. We spent some time in Xochimilco, an area of the city that was a lake in bygone times. The Aztecs created artificial islands, called chinampas, for farming with the rich mud of the lake bottom. The lake and most of the chinampas, as I understand it, are gone, and most of the remaining canals are used for recreation, but for this day we met with a man named Ricardo who is working to support organic farming there and supply the crops directly to restaurants and people in the city.

Ricardo awaits us on our little boat, Princesita:



These cheerful rafts, propelled by long poles pushed into the mud of the canals, put you in good mood right away. They generally take tourists, Mexicans as much as foreigners, out for a few hours with an onboard meal.














You can even pick up a band from one of the roving band-boats that can come alongside; as the music progresses, more and more musicians come over onto your boat from theirs:



We went ashore at one of the farms Ricardo works with:





The farmer showed how they collect mud from the lake bottom:





They sew seeds in plugs in the freshly amended soil, then transplant to their fields:







The soil is so fertile and the climate so good that they can grow a huge variety and harvest some crops as much as seven times a year. All this inside a city of 9 million people.



Harlan had a bit of fun with his fish-eye lens, too:

Cool stuff, Mexico City

Talk about color! In Mexico City after a parade of giant alebrijes, wild creatures in paper mache, the monsters were parked for display on the sidewalk of the wide Reforma boulevard.



A quieter view the next morning:



A few of my faves among many:







There were so many of these to study you might have needed a snack along the way:



Along the Reforma there is this rainbow entry to some underground thing:





Another thrill on the Reforma: inline skaters arrange what look like badminton birdies and dance in swooping, sweeping movements down one line, or, as the guy on the far right is doing, zig-zag at impressive speed on one skate attempting a clean slalom run.



We had dinner one evening at the San Angel Inn, very elegant.





A fortune teller at the inn lets you choose between two little birds, Alejandro or Lupita, who is released to draw a slip of paper for you. The bird drops the paper, gets a little seed, and hops right back into its cage. I hope they are as happy as the little fortunes they gave us.

Color

Harlan and I are in Mexico for a bit more than a couple weeks, starting with a few days in Mexico City, a visit to Metepec and Toluca, to the southwest of the city, then eastward to Puebla, and into the highlands northeast of Puebla. Mexico is winning its place in our hearts all over again.

About the easiest thing to start with is the sheer color here. For example, at the Hotel Camino Real:




Fencing:




Washing windows at Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo's Museo-Studio:






Market in Metepec--okay, yes, shooting photos in a market here is like shooting fish in a barrel:






I fit right in, eh?