Slacks, maps and fanny packs

Mexico City was the touristy peak of these travels.  In no particular order, aka the exact itinerary for week 1, we saw:
Teotihuacan, the National Palace and la Basilica de Guadalupe.  
National Museum of Anthropology, The Museo Dolores Olmedo, Xochimilco, The Ballet Folklorico 
2-3 schools in Mexico City
The Secretary of Education, Murals of Diego Rivera 

Mexico City was in the middle of a heat wave.  Mid-day temperatures reached records highs, as did the volume of photographs taken by our group.  Here is digital proof: of Jess taking a picture.  The giant "Pyramid of the Sun" also happens to be in front of her.  Which is more interesting?  That's for you to decide.

Mexico City marked an intense moral dilemma on my part.  There is a phenomenon, common among humans, characterized by an innate yearning to stand in front of monuments, churches, fountains, walls and animals to pose for a picture.  For this, modern science proposes no explanation.  

A simple google search of "tourist pose" yields countless people holding up peace signs and holding up the leaning tower of pisa.  My best guess is that people want these pictures because they have an inherent desire to show their friends how strong they are.  I debated whether to jump in front of the camera, so to speak, but I just couldn't get myself to do it.  I did not want to contribute to the many stops we took during our tours and walks, so I resisted the urge to document myself lifting up things like this peacock:

Please note, I am no better off than all my picture taking tourist friends.  I consider it a character flaw that I don't stop and ask people to take pictures of me at key landmarks.  I do however, contribute to delaying our groups movement in my own ways, by stopping and chatting with armed guards, by buying any food I see off of the street, by stopping to negotiate prices on earrings or ocarinas that I have no use for, and by playing with peacocks and dogs.  This little guy (above) wanders around the Dolores Olmedo Museum that houses tons of Diego Rivera's work.  This little guy (below) is a Mexican hairless dog.  Note the contrast between him and the beautiful Peruvian dog (below below).

It's not racist, I just think Peruvian dogs are better looking.

Anyway, highlights of the above mentioned 5 days in Mexico City were definitely Xochimilco and any and all Diego Rivera murals.  Xochimilco is like an Italian gondola ride on a school bus.  There are over 2500 boats and over 200 kilometers of canals, all built by the Aztecs.  Dani Cohen, my buddy that put me up for a night in the State of Mexico before the program began told me that you (and all of Mexico) go to Xochimilco to get drunk, plain and simple.  We didn't, but the corn on the cob, tacos, micheladas (essentially a bloody-mary mixed with a beer) and mariachis were flowing. 

Here's some select Rivera murals that were particularly striking.  Diego was hired to paint the entire Secretary of Education building, which ended up being 120+ murals over the course of 2+ years.  He'd always traveled the world, painting, but had barely been through Mexico.  The government financed a year long trip for him all around Mexico, so he could come back with some inspiration and material for the building that he was about to completely decorate.

Finally a tourist shot. Atop the pyramids: