Museo del Telégrafo y Torre Latinoamericana

Last Friday, Justin, Olivia and I went to the Zocalo to find the Museo del Telégrafo. As many of you know, Justin is here working on his dissertation. He is writing about the impact of wireless communications on Mexican politics, economics and foreign relations, 1900 - 1940. Hence, this is why we went to this particular museum. I have to say, though, I was pleasantly surprised by this place (once we finally found it.) For one, it is located in a very cool building which houses the Museo Nacional de Arte. The architecture alone is worth going. It was interesting to see all the old devices that they used for communication and it was nice to see Justin very happy and in his element. Olivia behaved very well too which is always a bonus. I was feeling a bit under the weather. Hung over to be exact. The night before, Ariana and I went out and drank some tequila, ummm yeah. I was feeling depressed so what better way to cure that then to go drink. (There is no logic to that, of course. But what the hell, right?) Somehow I managed to still venture out.

This would be the entrance to the Museo del Telégrafo.

The entire building.

The statue that sits in front of the building. Known as El Caballito (The Little Horse), it's considered one of the cities favorite monuments.

I had to go pay for a fee to take photos, $5 pesos, super cheap. The entrance to the Museo del Telégrafo is free. I don't remember the entrance fee to the art museum but I know it isn't a lot plus one day out of the week, not sure which one, it's free. A snagged a shot of part of the cool stairs of the art museum. I wasn't sure if I was allowed to, since we didn't pay for that, but I was like, I'm going to anyway. (Yes, I am finally coming out of my huge shell. It's ridiculous, I know)

Walking back to the telegraph museum.

Inside Museo del Telégrafo near the entrance.



One of the first antenna used for radio telegraphy in Mexico.

This is another radio telegraphy device. It was used to send messages in Morse code.

The statue of Guglielmo Marconi. He was the first person to successfully send a transatlantic radio message and to patent and commercially apply radio telegraphy.

Apparently, radio telegraphy was an important tool for empire and nation building and the creation of the modern world market. It is also a predecessor to radio broadcasting, television, and the internet.

(...so Justin says)

Olivia, Justin, and Marconi

Olivia and Justin standing in front of the radio device used at Chapultepec Castle. It was imported from Germany in 1918.

A view of the museum in it's entirety.

Some close-ups of some of the paintings that were on the ceilings. They were very impressive. Check out the intricate wood cravings surrounding the paintings too.

Afterwards, we started heading over to the Torre Latinoamericana. On the way, we saw this guy in front of the Museo Nacinal de Arte. Some nice chalk work.

Across the street, a view of the Torre Latinoamericana.

There is an allyway known for selling lots of books along the way. We found some cool t-shirts here too.

I took my own photo of the Casa de los Azulejos (The House of Tiles) finally. My post about that http://acastrophotography.blogspot.com/2011/06/la-casa-de-los-azulejos-y-palacio.html

There were these street performers standing outside the tile house. The one in black was holding a box. Justin gave some pesos and the person opened the box which was filled with lots of little pieces of rolled up paper. He took one and it said something about ... that he had to put everything into his project in order for it to succeed.

The other guy was standing very still and covered in mud. At first I thought he was supposed to be a living statue but then he knelt down and started talking to Olivia, in English.

We gave him some pesos too. He made a flower out of a napkin and gave it to Olivia. Then he told her that it was very important for her to learn seven different languages. I believe he said English, Spanish, Mandarin, Hebrew, German, French and Arabic. Not a hundred percent on that but most of those make sense. I'm not exactly sure why he was covered in mud either. Perhaps to appear like a poor beggar on the street but who was full of knowledge, as in the whole "looks can be deceiving" thing.

Okay, finally we make it to the Torre Latinoamericana. It was $90 pesos for all of us. It would have been $120 but I had a coupon. It's kind of pricey but I knew that there was a cool view waiting for us. We get in an elevator where a lady is sitting. We go up 37 floors and the whole time I was thinking about how this lady does this all day. I mean, wouldn't that kind of suck? Operating an elevator all day and never leaving doesn't sound fun.

Views from the 37th floor on a pretty smog free day.

You can see the Palacio Nacional and the Catedral Metropolitana in this one. I drew arrows to help point them out.

Justin and Olivia ... she's enthralled.

You can see the hotel we stayed at in this one. Again, I drew an arrow pointing it out.

View of the Palacio de Bellas Artes.

You can see the traffic congestion in this photo. It never seems to go away.

This would be me.

I've been wanting to get a Polaroid of the Palacio de Bellas Artes building so what better time to do it. The Polaroid was shot with TZ Artistic film with my SX-70 camera.

Next blog: A Trip to Metepec ... I became very ill and it was bad.

A Jaunt to an Archive

The other day, last week or so, Olivia and I went with Justin to an archive--Centro de Estudios de Historia de Mexico. It's walking distance from our apartment. There are cobblestone streets and a neat little church by it. Always nice to get out and see new things. This was a nice photo making day. Lots of unexpected surprises, which is always the best.

Justin in front of the archive building.

There are some really nice houses around here. Here's a window of one of them.

Outside of another house, there was this nice altar for the Virgin of Guadalupe, also known as Our Lady of Guadalupe.

The church.

Behind the church, there is a small garden and more houses. I saw this nice looking old Chevy parked on the side of the street. (Does anyone know the model and year?) Time for black and white mode.



Cactus growing along fence.

Close up of a door.

There are some cool flowering trees growing here, Angel's Trumpet.

Olivia likes to build "fires" with sticks. When we leave, she "puts them out" by kicking them over.

Walking back home...

A neat sculpture. Chimalistac is the name of the torres we live in.

Side of a building.

There is a cool book sculpture outside of a bookstore called Gandhi.

 

Next blog: Museo del Telégrafo y Torre Latinoamericana

Desierto de los Leones

Oh my, this place was heavenly. Seriously, a get away actually in the city limits. Have I mentioned that Mexico City is huge? It is enormous and filled with millions of people. So, when I stumbled upon this place on the web I was stoked. Justin had mentioned the day before that he wanted to go hiking in the mountains. I was like, yeah, I do too. Voila!

Let's start with a few facts. It is located in the Sierra de las Cruces mountain range west of the center of the city. The area was used as a retreat for a religious group hence the name Desierto (Desert) meaning not populated. The "Leones" part doesn't refer to the animal, lions, but to the original landlord's last name. It is a national park. It is covered with many pines, firs and oaks, as well as, brooks, ravines and waterfalls. The weather stays cool and damp. There is a Carmelite monastery situated in the center. You can walk through the monastery for a mere $10 pesos. The gardens are breathtaking.

How did we get there? We always start with the metro, typically. We took the M.A.Quevado train to Baldaras, hopped off there and then took the brown line to Tacubaya. We exited the station and went looking for a collectivo (small bus) headed towards the park. After asking, we got on a collectivo heading towards La Marquesa (you can take one going towards Acopilco too.) It was $6 pesos/person. It took longer then I thought it would. The traffic here is horrendous and I'm so glad that I don't have to drive here. The thought of driving is terrifying. I believe it took over an hour to get to our destination. The driver dropped us off at a pedestrian bridge. We were definately in the mountain area and it was cold and damp. At first, we were like, is this right? He told us to walk across the bridge and that it was right there. Yep, he was right. Thank goodness. A short walk and we were in a small town. Apparently, there is a small area to wait for a taxi to ride up the 2.5 mile road that leads to the park entrance. There wasn't a taxi and it was starting to rain. Like idiots, we just started walking. We didn't get far when the rain really started to pour. (And seriously, how far was Olivia going to get before we had to carry her?) Fortunately, Ariana brought her rain poncho and we were able to flag a taxi down. It was $30 pesos. The driver drove like a speed demon. The road was curvy and wet. I was a bit nervous and a little perturbed. We made it safely though. It was still raining and cold. Olivia didn't have a jacket. Justin noticed one of the stalls selling these really cute sweater hoodies. We ended up getting one for her. She really likes it. The rain finally lets up to a minor sprinkling and we found where the monastery was so decided to go check that out.

Such a beautiful and peaceful place. I understood why people retreated here. Here's the entrance to the monastery.

Some photos inside the monastery. I've been shooting in B&W mode lately too. Which has made me miss shooting with B&W film.

Justin and Olivia, with her new sweater.

A hallway, in color and B&W with silhouettes of Justin and Olivia.

The hallway led to this awesome garden and the back view of the monastery.

There was another part to the garden area. Walking down a tree lined path, we reached a building called the Chapel of Secrets.

We decided to eat some lunch here. Ariana was sitting and studying the tuna (prickly pear) she was eating.



Heading back towards the monastery. I saw these Hens and Chickens. I've always liked those plants.

Another garden on the side of the building.

There was a tunnel that ran underneath one of the buildings. It was the basement area. It was built to allow water from nearby springs to flow underneath and was used for watering the gardens and cleaning.

Justin and Olivia in front of the tunnel entrance.



Walking through the tunnel.

It was dark and hard to see but it wasn't a long walk. We reached a small open room. Here's a view of the tunnel from the room.

Photo of one of the rooms the monks would stay in. They were very small.

After the monastery, we decided to hike around for a bit. There was a playground here and once Olivia saw it she didn't want to go hiking. Meltdown time! Again! She had one in the monastery too. There was a woman selling snacks and candy and she wanted something. Justin had to carry her out of the building screaming. Ariana was nice enough to watch Olivia at the playground while we hiked for a little bit. Thanks again Ariana!

The trail we went on had some buildings along it. They are called hermitages and there are ten of them located throughout the park. I was getting out of breath and was like, what the hell? I shouldn't be out of breath we haven't even gone that far. Mexico City is already 7350 ft. above sea level. Then I realized we were in the mountains and apparently this place is around 10,000 feet above sea level. It takes some getting used to, at least it did for me.

Some photos of our short hiking trip.

Justin took these.

We didn't want to be gone too long so we decided to head back. On the way, I spotted these cool mushrooms.

A neat lean-to with Justin posing under it.

Dew drops and pine leaves.

Walking back towards the playground.

Olivia wasn't done playing so we chilled for a little while.

We took a taxi back down to the small town. He drove like a speed demon as well. I guess that is just how they all drive. I don't get it though. This place was so nice. It was a much needed break from the city. The air actually smelled fresh. It reminded us of northern California and it made us want to go back there. I hope we can soon. We will definitely be going back to this place.

Next blog: A Jaunt to an Archive