A Late Celebration

In Mexico, the traditional day for giving gifts is not Christmas, but "Día de Reyes" (Day of the Kings or Epiphany) on January 6th.  Since my arrival in Mexico was not until January 11th, our celebration of gift-giving was going to be a bit later.  As it turned out, Alejandro's unexpected COVID infection delayed that a couple of weeks more.  They would have to wait longer for the arrival of that fourth Magi King from Ohio.

Yesterday, I opened up my big suitcase, organized all the presents, wrapped them in tissue paper, and put them in gift bags.

There were bags for Alejandro, his dad, his sister and his nephew.  There were also gifts from friends back in Ohio who know Alejandro.  I set aside a couple bags to be given at later dates for the birthdays of Alejandro's father and sister.

After dinner yesterday, I asked Alejandro's nephew, Ezra, if he thought it was time for gifts, and he enthusiastically said "Sí!".  So I brought out the bags of presents.  I let Ezra decide the order in which the gifts were given, and, kind-hearted kid that he is, he said first his grandpa, then his mom, then his uncle Alejandro, and finally himself.

Alejandro's father poses with a shirt that I bought him at the Cleveland Metroparks gift store.

Alejandro's sister, Sandra, really liked the butterfly painting which I did for her.

After all the gifts had been given, yet another bag appeared for me.  I was filled with handmade figures of villagers and animals to add to my Mexican Nativity scene next Christmas!

It was a wonderful to be with my "Mexican family" and to celebrate the Day of the Kings, albeit a few weeks late. 

Hurray!

 I am writing this from Alejandro's house, so that should tell you that things have gone well.

However everything did not go according to plan.  You may remember that I wrote a couple days ago that I had purchased a home-testing kit at a store down here.  It was a blood test (somewhat similar to the kind of test that you use to test blood sugar by pricking your finger) rather than the test with a swab that you stick up your nose.  I opened the box, read the directions, and discovered that the test would be useless for Alejandro (or even for me).  The test detects antibodies in the blood.  Since Alejandro has been both vaccinated and infected, he should have plenty of antibodies.  I called him and told him.  So, yesterday afternoon, he went to a private lab not far from his house, and got a second test.   Within an hour he had received the results...

Negative!

So now with two negative tests, we can rest assured that he is no long contagious.

Meanwhile, I went to have another test, just to be super-cautious before being with Alejandro's family.  I told you previously that a private lab had set up a testing site in a park just a few blocks from my apartment.  I walked over there, but, as luck would have it, there was a line of about ten people waiting to get a test.   I got in line and waited for about ten minutes, but we did not seem to be moving.  Even though we were outdoors, masked, and spaced apart, I did not feel comfortable.  The woman behind me was coughing, and telling her mother on her cellphone how tired she was.   I took off, and went to another lab that was about a twenty minute walk away.  

There were very few people there, and I was attended to almost immediately.   In less than five minutes I was called in for the test.  They told me that they would email me my results in two hours.  I went back to the apartment, and in less than two hours I received the email... negative!

In the early evening Alejandro arrived at my apartment.  I had fixed him some dinner... his sense of taste is gradually returning... and then we drove back to his place where I will spend several nights.  It was great to be with my Mexican family, even if it was two weeks later than planned!

Snow on the Mountain

Winter is the dry season in Mexico, however we have had rain a couple of time during the night since I arrived.  Of course at the elevations of the highest mountains, that precipitation falls as snow.

I have not been able to see the volcano Popocatépetl from the city, but I looked at the website "Webcams de México", and, sure enough, "Popo" had snow on its peak.

I like this night view in which the smoke rising from the volcano is illuminated by the fiery cauldron of the crater.

Hidden Shopping Spots

There are a couple of little shops that I stumbled upon during my many trips to Mexico City, and I return to them to buy souvenirs to take home.

The first is a little hole-in-the-wall in the neighborhood of Roma Norte at 395 Colima Street.  "El Huacal" (The Crate) specializes in artisanal beauty and hygiene products all made in Mexico.

In addition to various creams and lotions, they have large variety of artisanal soaps.  I often come here and buy a number of bars.  I not only use them myself, but they come in handy if I should unexpectedly need to give someone a small gift.  Last week I stopped by and purchased six bars... jasmine, rosemary, gardenia, mango, violets and chocolate.  

However, I only buy soaps when I have checked luggage.  For some odd reason, the security at Mexico City airport does not allow soap in carry-on luggage.

The other store doesn't even have a name.  It is located at 632 Pedro Romero de Terreros Street in the Colonia del Valle neighborhood, just down the block from the market that I often go to.  It's a little gift shop, not geared toward tourists, but I always find some really neat Mexican handicrafts there that I haven't seen in the more tourist-oriented places.  The man and wife who own the store are very pleasant, and I enjoy talking to them.

A few days ago I went there and I found some hand-painted plates from the state of Jalisco that are suitable for hanging on the wall.  I ended up buying this one...

 

Good News

It will be two weeks tomorrow that I arrived in Mexico, and just before my arrival Alejandro came down with COVID.  I had brought a home-testing kit with me that I was going to use myself after I arrived.  Instead  I gave it to Alejandro, and that is how he knew for sure that he was positive.  Fortunately he never had any life-threatening symptoms, but he felt quite miserable.  Gradually he started to feel better, and now he feels OK except for some lingering coughing and scratchiness in his throat.  His sense of taste is starting to come back too.  The home test that I had given him contained two swabs, test strips and test tubes.  So yesterday he took the remaining test, and it said that he was negative.  

All this time I have been by myself in the apartment that I rent, and I have not yet been to his family's home.  Alejandro isolated himself in one part of the house, and, thankfully, none of the family has developed any COVID symptoms.

Now that he has tested negative, the plan is that he will drive to the apartment tomorrow evening, and take me back to his house for a few days.  We will be cautious and still wear masks at first.  I found some self-testing kits in a nearby store, but they are the kind that use a blood sample rather than a swab up the nose.  I don't know how accurate those are, but he can take one as soon as we return to the house.  I figure that if he has another negative test, the probability that he is still contagious is extremely slim.  We can take off the masks when at home.

I discovered that a laboratory has set up a tent in the neighborhood park just a few blocks away from my apartment.  They are giving rapid COVID tests, and they have the results in twenty minutes.  Unlike the government sponsored sites giving free tests, this place does not have a long queue of people.  Tomorrow I am going to walk over there and have myself tested.  I feel fine, and I have been extremely cautious, but I just want to be sure that I do not have an asymptomatic case.  I would hate to carry the virus to Alejandro's family.

So, fingers crossed, it looks like this trip will soon return to normal... or at least as normal as possible during this wave of Omicron. 

The Mysterious Pillars

 Many of the avenues of Mexico City have what are called "camellones", tree-lined, pedestrian walkways in the middle of the thoroughfare.  Walking along the "camellones" in the neighborhood of Condesa I have come across three large, stone columns that appear to be quite old.  One of them is along Avenida Nuevo León and two more are on nearby Avenida Alfonso Reyes.

There is no information about these pillars, other than a plaque which says "prohibited to post advertisements and / or to paint on this work of historic value".

I would love to know the story behind these "works of historic value".

Odds and Ends - Downtown

Here are some random photos I took last week while wandering around downtown Mexico City...

One of the city's most famous landmarks is the "Palacio de Bellas Artes" (Palace of Fine Arts) which includes a lavish concert hall where the "Ballet Folklórico" performs, as well as murals by some of Mexico's most famous artists and galleries where special exhibitions are held.

This tent city, built by indigenous protesters from the state of Oaxaca, has been in front of the Palace of Fine Arts and blocking Avenida Juárez since at least last April when I finally returned to Mexico City after more than a year's absence.  The residents of Tierra Blanca, Oaxaca, have been protesting the forced displacement from their land and alleged human rights abuses.

A perfume shop which has been in the same location in the Historic Center since 1932 still has its Christmas displays in the windows.

On a pedestrian side street next to the National Museum of Art, there are a number of "alebrijes" on display.  These papier mache figures of colorful, fantastical creatures were probably featured in last year's Day of the Dead parade.

Organ grinders are a fixture on the streets throughout the city.

The 18th century Church of La Profesa is tilting and sinking due to Mexico City's soft soil.

A beautifully carved wooden door on one of the colonial palaces in the Historic Center

You may remember that yesterday I mentioned Josefa Ortiz, a woman who in 1810 participated in the plot to break away from Spanish rule.  Here she is honored with a statue on the Plaza de Santo Domingo.  The church in the background was the headquarters of the Dominican order of monks in Mexico during the colonial era.

The new building being constructed on this lot is incorporating the beautiful 19th century façade of the building which formerly stood here.

 

The Ottoman Clock was presented as a gift from the Ottoman community in Mexico City in 1910 in honor of the centennial of Mexico's independence.

This statue on the edge of the Zócalo, the city's main plaza, is a new addition that I had not seen before.  It honors Samir Flores Soberanes, an indigenous activist.  He established a community radio station broadcasting in Nahuatl, the Aztec language which is still spoken by 1.7 million people.  In February of 2019 he led protests against the construction of a thermoelectric plant on native land in the state of Morelos.  The following day he was assassinated.

The Zócalo, the heart of Mexico City, dominated by the Metropolitan Cathedral