After ticking off the center and the largest urban park of Mexico City, it's time for a very unusual sight: the famous floating gardens of Xochimilco.
We leave the rich and famous in Polanco and head south. It all began with the Aztecs founding Tenochtitlán on an island in Lake Texcoco. After the conquest by the Spaniards, Mexico City experienced its difficult rise to become the metropolis of today. After we learned everything important about the history, we took care of travel and accommodation. Of course, we started our big sightseeing tour in the Centro Histórico. Via the Alameda Central we went to the magnificent street Reforma. We followed it to the famous Bosque de Chapultepec. There we looked at world-famous museums and the only royal palace in North America. North of the huge city park we enjoyed another culinary experience in one of the great restaurants in Polanco.
Today we go to the southern edge of the city. A very special sight awaits us here: on brightly painted boats, the so-called trajineras, we travel through narrow canals past small islands, the floating gardens of Xochimilco.
Overview Xochimilco
Xochimilco is located about 25 km southeast of downtown Mexico and has been a UNESCO World Heritage Site since 1987. 14 different indigenous peoples live in the area of the municipality with about 500,000 inhabitants who try to preserve their traditional roots despite urbanization. The area is also home to Mexico City's largest nature reserve.
The name Xochimilco comes, as always, from Nahuatl and means something like place of the flower field. In the northern part of Xochimilco there used to be the lake of the same name (part of the original gigantic Lake Texcoco). Today you can find the famous canals there. To the south of the lake, a mountain range with the peaks of Xochitepec, Tzompol, Tlacualllelli and Teuhtli limits the plain around Mexico City.
How do you get to Xochimilco?
Xochimilco is far to the south of the metropolitan area and outside of the Metro area. There are several options on how to get to the area. The safest and easiest is to use Uber. You should allow for a 40-minute drive and a cost of around 300 pesos (13-15 USD) from the Centro Histórico.
Alternatively, you can take metro line 2 from the Zócalo to Tansqueña (last station) and take the Tren Ligero to the center of Xochimilco. You can walk the rest of the way or take a taxi. You should plan about 1.5 hours. Please note the safety instructions for Mexico.
There are eleven boat embarcaderos in Xochimilco that offer a variety of activities. The oldest and most traditional are Nativitas, Las Flores Nativitas and Zacapa.
Embarcadero Nativitas
History of Xochimilco
As mentioned in the article on the origin of Mexico City, an interesting agricultural system was established by the Aztecs to support the ever-growing population of Tenochtitlán. The Aztecs did not have large beasts of burden to transport food, so you had to produce locally. They built the so-called chinampas.
These were large networks of reeds, which were filled with nutrient-rich mud from the bottom of the lake and floated in the lake. Planting the edges with aquatic plants or willow shrubs prevented the mud from being washed away. The chinampas were planted with vegetables and provided for the people of Tenochtitlán. The so-called Jardines flotantes (floating gardens) were created.
Over time, the floating gardens became small solid islands due to the lowering of the water level. After the arrival of the Spaniards, the original Texcoco Lake was drained more and more, but in the area of Xochimilco some channels remained (about 180 km!). Nowadays, vegetables and flowers are still grown on the small islands, but the area is increasingly used for tourism. On large, brightly painted boats, the trajineras, you can be driven through the canals and experience a very special kind of fiesta.
Sights of Xochimilco
Through the canals on the colorful trajineras
When I was working as an intern at the BMW plant in Spartanburg in 2012, I went on my first weekend trip to Mexico City. I had a friend there, but otherwise I didn't know much about the country and didn't speak a word of Spanish. My stay was brilliant - in addition to a tour of the city, I spent my first evening in Plaza Garibaldi with the many mariachis and their music.
I had never seen anything like this and I was fascinated! But it got even better: On the second evening we drove to Xochimilco and let us ship through the canals on a big raft. In the middle of these colorful, covered boats, there is a kind of beer table set. You bring food and drinks with you or you stop at small islands along the way to get supplies. Of course, loud music should not be missing at the fiesta.
If you like, you can even get it live: on the canals you not only meet other tourists but also boats with mariachi bands or mothers who prepare tortillas. You just call them over - both boats are tied together and for a little money you get great music and good food. What a party!
Costs
Up to 18 people can usually ride on a trajinera. Due to the pandemic, the number of people was limited to 12. The prices are fixed, so don't get ripped off. The cost is 500 pesos per boat per hour. A tourist tour (up to 3 hours) costs 750 pesos, a five-hour tour with a stop at the island of the dolls costs 1750 pesos.
Curious: Island of the Dolls
I've never been there myself, but I've read some reports about it. On this island, hundreds of mutilated dolls were hung in the trees to ward off the spirit of a girl who had drowned near the island. Flower grower and fisherman Julián Santana Barrera was the only resident of the island until his death in 2001. He told that in 1951 a girl drowned off the island and was washed ashore. Since then he felt haunted by her spirit, she always demanded toys from him. So he collected dolls that he found in the canals. But since the spirit would not calm down, he mutilated the dolls and hung them in the trees to scare the spirit away. About 1,000 dolls hang in the trees, some without limbs or eyes. Julían drowned in 2001 where he had found the girl 50 years earlier.
Locals used to use the island for dares: they had to spend a night on it. In the 90s, however, it developed into a tourist attraction. There are currently tours several times a day, and an entrance fee is required to enter the island. Anastacio Santana, Julián's nephew, is now the only resident.
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