A Green Space

 Last week I went to the "alcaldía" (borough) of Coyoacán to visit its largest green space "Viveros de Coyoacán".  "Viveros" is a government-owned nursery where around one million tree seedlings are grown each year for reforestation projects in and around Mexico City.  It is also a very popular place with residents for jogging or simply walking along its shady paths.

Soaring above "Viveros" is Mexico City's tallest skyscraper, "La Torre Mítica".

Along the pathways are thousands of small pots containing seedlings.

Most of the plants are not identified, but a sign said that these were "ahuehuetes" (Montezuma cypress), the tree which dominated the forests of Chapultepec.

There was a small garden of native cacti and agaves.

A large prickly pear cactus ("nopal") was bearing fruit.

The fruit turn bright red when ripe.  They are called "tunas" (not to be confused with "atún' which is tuna fish).  The fruit is quite tasty, although it contains a lot of little seeds.

One of the paths was lined with stone carvings.

None of the statues had any sort of identification except for one, labeled as Otafuku.

I had to look that up.  Otatuku, an ugly but good-natured woman, is a stock character in Japanese drama and literature.  However, the plaque identifies her as the goddess of ecology.

I departed "Viveros" through its northeastern gate, and just around the corner was another place that I wanted to see.