My toe felt much better today, but by the looks of it, ( in addition to my need for a new pedicure) I felt it was a good idea to give it a break from so much walking and take a bicicleta instead.
I’ve been noticing these bike racks all over where I’ve been walking. There is a pay station post and instructions on how to get started.
I went online to ecobici and registered. Then it took me quite a while to actually unlock a bike because I was learning the system on the fly. Finally I found a rack on a corner whose pay station reader was in the shade so I could easily see the LED keypad and read the instructions. I unlocked a bike and was off to discover the neighborhood on bike instead of foot.
My first stop was at a Friday-only street market that was on my list of things to see.
Today I was not hungry ( the search for a bicycle took so long I stopped for breakfast at an unremarkable café in the process ) so instead of tacos, I ordered an agua fruta (sandía) and took it to the nearest park to relax.
The Ecobici system allows for 45 minutes of use. Any registered user can unlock a bike at any bike rike and drop it off at any other bike rack after 45 minutes. I traded bikes once after the 45 minute period and rode the streets of a neighborhood on the edge of my comfort zone looking for a subway station to my ultimate destination and found myself in an unfamiliar neighborhood pretty quickly. Lesson learned: scratch the bike idea too far from home.
I docked my bike at a rack near a subway station ( the Ecobici app on my phone was VERY helpful) and rode two lines to a recommended neighborhood - Coyoacan -where after a few scary moments upon coming up to street level and following the Walking Tour instructions to the letter, I arrived on a lovely cobblestoned neighborhood that reminded me a lot of all the places I’ve been so far in Mexico.
I stopped into one museum of “sound” on the walking tour. Just like in SMA, all you see from the street is a painted wall and iron door, but behind the door was large property with a huge garden.
A part of the lovely old house had a cafe, and another functions as the museum. The rotating exhibit at this time was about Mambo music and the King of Mambo, Dámaso Perez Prado.
More Spanish lesson time while reading the exhibit displays and watching a 1950’s era movie with Mambo music
I passed a small plaza with an Iglesia painted bright yellow.
I sat long enough to be approached by a child selling earrings on a cardboard display. I bought a pair for 50 pesos because my trip is almost over and I’m getting that same feeling I used to get three days before Christmas “Did I buy enough?” These were hand made with crochet decor on cloth so they will be light on my ears and not too big.
By the time I reached the central plaza which reminded me a lot of the one on Valkadolid, it started to rain. I sat on a bench under a huge tree which kept most of the rain away and engaged in conversation with a local man who was very interested in talking English while I talked Spanish. By the time the rain stopped, it was 5:00. I declined his offer for coffee, although I would have accepted had it been sunny and noonish rather than late on a Friday afternoon and in a neighborhood far from home.
I took my first Taxi Seguro to the metro station and headed home with no incident. The women and children car was packed, but calm.
Back at home I sat and talked with Diana and Sergio - I had not seen them for a two days and one night. Diane offered dinner from her kitchen and while we talked, I mentioned I wanted to go somewhere to hear/see music and dancing at a place I knew in the neighborhood. But I had to rest and wait for a while first since music doesn’t start until at least 9:00.
When I came downstairs at 9:30 Diana told me (and I finally understood after repeating what I thought I heard a couple times - Diana does not speak English very well, and like most people I speak Spanish with, she thinks I understand what she says when she is speaking normally) she and her daughter Ekaterina would go with me to a different place they thought would be good for all three of us. Awesome! I would not have to walk alone at night, or take a taxi, or sit alone in a restaurant.
They put a lot more effort in to getting ready to go out than I did. Once they came back downstairs ready to go, they kept primping in the mirror, and Diana suggested I let my hair down, which I was happy to do now that I was not going alone.
Sergio drove us to La Flor del Son which was a restaurant with a big dance floor and a stage for Cuban music bands.
We barely got seated before 17 year old Elaterina was asked to dance. Mom was proud, I was amazed and interested in the music and dancing. We stayed until 1:30 and heard three different Cuban bands - each one playing about 30 minutes or so. When one band finished, there was recorded music playing while the bands changed on the stage, but the people kept dancing. I was asked three times to dance during the night and I accepted, but none of the times did I feel confident about my ability to follow. I was happy and not surprised when I did not receive a 2nd invitation to dance from each of the men. It was fun, anyway. I’ll just have to put a bit of effort into salsa dancing in a way similar to my effort to learn Spanish. I’m sure I can do it. Ekaterina, on the other hand was a very good dancer and had numerous partners, some were repeats. Diana said she was guarding the table, and did not care to dance since - she gets no practice either since Sergio is not a dancer at all.
Sergio is a good taxi driver, though. He showed up at 1:30 to drive us all home. Good night!
No comments:
Post a Comment