After visiting the Masayoshi Ohira Park, I walked back to the Metro station from which I had come. It is on Calzada Tlalpan, one of the major north-south thoroughfares. What a contrast between the tranquility of the park and this busy, eight-lane avenue!
Calzada Tlalpan follows the route of one of the three causeways which once connected the Aztec's island capital of Tenochtitlan with the shores of Lake Texcoco. It was along this causeway that the Spanish conquistador Hernán Cortés and his army marched into Tenochtitlan in 1519. The lake is long-gone, and this avenue now connects the Historic Center of the city with the "delegación" (borough) of Tlalpan on the far south side of the city.
If you want to cross this broad avenue, you need to use one of the pedestrian bridges.
Line 2 of the Metro (which is above ground here) runs in the middle of Calzada Tlalpan along the route where the former streetcar used to travel.
When I took the Metro, I had noticed that there were mural paintings at each of the stations. So, after visiting the park, I decided that I would get some exercise and walk back part of the way. The avenue is by no means one of the city's beauty spots, but I could take pictures of the street art. When I got tired (or weary of all the traffic noise), I could always hop back on the Metro at one of the stations.
All of the paintings at the Metro stations on this route were portraits of women.
Along any major street in Mexico City you will find stalls selling street food, and Calzada Tlapan is no exception. The concentration of food stand increases as you near an entrance to a Metro station.
"Tacos de canasta" (basket tacos) are a particularly greasy, not very healthy, kind of taco that get their name from the fact that they are transported in and sold from large baskets.
This stand is selling juices and "licuados" (a blended beverage similar to a smoothie).
At this booth you can buy "caldo de gallina" (literally "hen's broth"), a type of chicken soup.
This stand sells giant "tortas", the tasty Mexican sandwiches on baguette-like rolls. "Hamburgo" (the name in Spanish for the German city of Hamburg) is simply the name of this stand. They do not sell hamburgers.
This restaurant was featuring for a limited time "cemitas de chile en nogada". "Cemitas" are another kind of sandwich and, as I have written many times before, "chiles en nogada" are stuffed peppers with walnut sauce. I like "cemitas" and I love "chiles en nogada", but somehow the idea of a "chile en nogada" sandwich does not appeal to me.
I love that you are using the Metro! I used to take it from the Zona Rosa to the airport where the atty genl's fleet of aircraft were maintained! That was in the early 70's. One of the most wonderful visual images I will never forget was this tall, regal, older man in his native clothes sitting on the seat. I will NEVER forget him.
ReplyDeleteOn my first few trips here after the onset of the pandemic, I was avoiding all public transportation. But I am now using the Metro and and Metrobus most of the time. I wear my facemask, and try to avoid the most crowded hours. Fingers crossed, so far so good.
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