| An outer suburb now of Mexico City, this is Xochimilco. It is built on a series of canals, which are actually floating islands that over time have been built up and solidified into a canal system. The Mayans used to cultivate maize on the chinampas (floating gardens). Nowadays, the waterways are filled with brightly painted punts. The waterways are where the life of the suburb happens - on the water you'll find mariachi bands, guys with stoves ready to cook you a meal, ladies selling you soft drinks, snacks and flowers. We had a whole punt to ourselves (so did all the other gringos we met), but we passed many a punt filled with local families eating and drinking and dancing to the mariachis (they actually LIKE it). Our punter couldn't believe that Australia wasn't connected to South America by land and that we didn't have mariachi music! |
