In the Second Section

 As I wrote in my last post, I crossed the new "Floating Walkway" from the first to the second section of Chapultepec Park.  Although Section 1 is more visiteded by tourists and Mexicans alike, there are number of things to see in Section 2, including a brand-new attraction.  

The walkway brings you to the Avenue of the Composers, a promenade lined with busts of famous Mexican song writers.  I wrote about it on my previous trip.

The fountains along the promenade were on.

Rather than continue along the Avenue of the Composers, I turned to my left.

The area which used to be La Feria de Chapultepec, an amusement park, was now a fenced off construction site.  The amusement park closed in 2019 when an accident on one of the roller coasters left two people dead and two injured.

I peeked through the barricades to see what was going on.

I later found out that a brand-new theme park is being build.  It will be called "Parque Urbano Aztlán".  The future park is described as a tour through the history of Mexico from pre-HIspanic times to the present.  In addition to amusement park rides there will be open-air forums for concerts and sporting events.  The park will also be the new location of the Dolores Olmedo Museum.  The museum, inconveniently located in the far south of the city, will now be much more accessible.  It boasts 145 paintings by Diego Rivera and 25 by Frida Kahlo.  Unlike the former amusement park, admission will be free.  I am really looking forward to visiting when it is completed.

Continuing through the park I come upon this statue of Cantinflas, the famous comedian and movie actor who has been called the Charlie Chaplain of Mexico.  Audiences in the U.S. may remember him for his role in "Around the World in 80 Days".

Just beyond that is the modern structure of "El Papalote", the children's museum.

I then came to the recently opened feature of the park which I wanted to see, the "Centro de Cultura Ambiental" (Center of Environmental Culture).  It was built on the site of a former parking lot. 

The pavilion houses exhibits on the environment of the Valley of Mexico and climate change.

A large, aerial, photgraphic map of the four sections of Chapultepec Park is on display along with information on the master plan for the park's future.

Here we see just the first two sections of the park.

The third and fourth sections are to the west (right).  The third section is largely a wild and rather dangerous area of deep ravines in the heart of this enormous city.  The master plan calls for reforestation, cutting dead or diseased trees, and integrating it with the rest of the park with trails.  The fourth section is an area that belonged to the military until recently.  There are plans for a number of attractions there including a military museum, the restoration of a 16th century hermitage, and a national cinematheque.

When the pavilion was constructed figurines from the preclassic period (2500 B.C. - A.D. 200) were found, proof that Chapultepec has been a place of human habitation for thousands of years.

Gardens have been planted around the pavilion.

 

Nearby is the "Lago Menor" (Lesser Lake) which attracts a variety of waterfowl.  

A Mexican fellow and I were both photographing the ducks.  They didn't seem to be afraid of us.  In fact, some of them seemed to be posing for us.

I left the tranquility of the park.  Just outside the park's gate is broad, busy Constituyentes Avenue.  I crossed over it on a pedestrian bridge and walked to a nearby subway station to head back to my apartment.

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