Zocolo & DANCING!

We were up in time for breakfast today but didnt quite get the early start to exploring we had planned. As usual we spent too long on the internet and when we finally dragged ourselves off it we went downstairs to get things ready to leave and got talking to a girl from New Zealand, Rachel, who had just arrived. So by the time we left it was gone 12 and at the hottest part of the day we got onto the Metro which is the only one we've come across that isn't air-conditioned and made our way to the Centre of Mexico City, an enormous Square known as the Zocolo but whose official name is the Plaza de la Constitution. It is something like 260m wide and 290m long making it the 3rd largest in the world, a rather impressive sight from the ground as you look up at the gigantic (biggest we've ever seen) Mexican flag on a pole right in the centre of the square. This is all that is to be found here, everything else of interest adorns the edges...the National Palace, The Cathedral Metropolitana, the Ayuntamiento (Federal and District administration) and a long arcade housing many shops selling hats and jewellery. The Cathedral is beautiful with very intricate stonework, in varying styles due to the 200 years or so it took to build and is the largest church in Latin America. After taking a few photos we found ourselves amidst a touristy street market along one of the streets running off of the square where there were people dancing in Aztec style dress, many different wares being sold and lots of incense being burnt which stung your eyes and throat as you walked through the thick smoke. We took our time looking round and managed to get a small map from the tourist info booth there before deciding to try and find the Templo Mayor which is the foundation ruins of a great temple that used to house the ceremonial rites (human sacrifice) of the Aztecs. We walked along a street to find it blocked off and turned round to find another way to reach it, getting increasingly frustrated as each road we tried was blocked or gated! It was interesting however as all these streets were continuations of the market we'd passed through and were filled with noise and colour and bustling people making it quite a spectacle to see. Eventually we found ourselves at the entrance not to the Templo Mayor but to the National Palace which we saw had free entry so decided it would be worth a look, especially as it would likely prove much cooler in there than outside in the sun! Upon entering we had to go through airport style security, twice, before being allowed into the Palace itself where we were confronted with the most amazing murals covering the stairwell and middle storey of the main courtyard walls from floor to ceiling! They are by an artist called Diego Riviera and were started in 1929 depicting Mexican history in a wealth of colourful detail and savage imagery that takes your breath away. After admiring the murals for a while we were lucky enough to discover that there was an exhibition of the 'Treasures of the Spanish Monarchy' the founders of modern (1500's) Mexico. It is the first time a lot of these treasures that have influenced the country have been brought here together for the public to see and appreciate and was well worth the 1-2 hours we spent walking round. There were many famous paintings and portraits of kings, queens and important people, some of which I even recognised from art history in school, as well as beautiful treasures such as golden goblets, silk embroidered wall hangings, tapestries, armour for both knights, kings and horses made with fantastic detail, wooden chests inlaid with silver and exquisite marquetry as well as a hundred other things, all of which unfortunately you weren't allowed to take photos of. Once we had had our fill of Spanish treasure we briefly walked through some more corridors of the Palace including the main courtyard that has a spectacular fountain with a Pegasus on the top and an impressive Cactus garden before exiting and heading back out into the street chaos and noise. From here we were able to finally find the entrance to the Temple Mayor but didnt go in as it was over $5 each and we are already severely over budget, we took some pictures from the vantage point beside the gate instead then decided we should start making our way back tot he Zocolo to head back to the hostel. We once more passed through the tourist market, picking up some ideas for souvenirs that we would soon begin buying having only a few more weeks before returning home. Back on the tube we made it safely to the hostel after buying some veggies from the supermarket to make a salad for tea before getting ready to go out dancing. Claudia from back home, who is Mexican and we hope to meet up with next week, gave us the name of a cross-body style salsa club and we had found out they had a party night on and so decided to go there tonight. We were able to get the tube most of the way although it was so incredibly crowded that people from outside were helping push people on so the doors could shut, not a pleasant experience!! Once out in the air again we started walking the 8 or so blocks to the club before realising we had gone the wrong direction and had to turn round and go all the way back adding another mile onto our journey! Our annoyance disappeared once we eventually made it to the club however as we were able to get in on a 2 for 1 promotion and join in the advanced level class of about 40 people which was about half way through. We picked up the routine quickly enough as it wasn't that challenging but at least showed that there were a lot of people there who could dance to a good standard and we were excited about the rest of the evening to come. After the lesson ended the DJ played a variety of salsa music to which we danced with each other as no one seemed to be asking until the 1st live band came on at 10.30. From here on the night got better and better, more and more people asked me to dance and Andy asked lots of ladies, none of whom refused and we were having a fantastic time. After the 1st band finished, there was a random 15 minutes of 'party' music (merengue, rock, line dance) played for the several people whose birthdays it was and who had received cakes in recognition of this before the salsa continued. They even played half a dozen Bachata's throughout the night which we made the most of and our dancing and dances got better and better until by 2 o'clock when the 3rd band had finished and the place was getting rapidly emptier we decided to call it a night, leaving on a complete high after having the best night, especially as we realised we hadn't actually been dancing since Bogota over a month ago!! An expensive taxi ride back to the hostel and half hour chilling out upstairs before going to bed exhausted finished the night off.