Day 3, Morning in Col. Napoles (Naples Colony)

Sunday-

I took a taxi to a neighborood I'd read was nice and planned to walk north from there through other neighborhoods I want to explore. But the neighborhood was not as nice as I thought it would be. Sort of like Flatbush before it got nice or downtown Brooklyn. And the taxi had taken me over arterial roads I didn't want to be near.

Anyway, wasn't feeling too safe so I walked around until I found this cafe where I'm sitting on the patio across from a small park. Smoker nearby.

So I can call a taxi from here but want to get a clearer idea about where I want to go first. I think to El Bosque (The Forest) of Chapultapec, the Central Park of this city.

Today the interior lanes of the Champs-Elysees equivalent - El Paseo de la Reforma are closed to cars and there are tons of people on bikes. I'm jealous!

I'm beginning to feel a little lonely. I miss my Saturday ritual of brunch and evening plans with friends and family. I realize now I should have called my cousin Elizabeth to get together this weekend.

But school starts tomorrow and that should begin to fill my social needs.

Anyway- maybe today I'll find a gym near my apt.

I want to take pics of typical Mexican houses- fortresses with interior parking and courtyards. The front doors are either built into a solid windowless wall or are simply garage doors that one drives through to park and then enter the home.

But I've read it's better not to have expensive electronics out. I took a few from the taxi...

Later Sunday-

I did go. The park has a grand building. Construction began in the 1780's but with one thing or another they didn't get around to finishing it for another 80 years.

The "Castilo"t sits atop a hill with steep rocky drops. From there a number of teenage military cadets threw themselves to their deaths rather than surrender to US Marines in the Mexican-American War. They are called the "Ninos Heroes" or the child heroes.

The monument is on the site of their deaths. At the base of the cliff from which they jumped are small portraits of each one of the heroes.

Mothers and Fathers educated their children, speaking with reverence, having them repeat the names of each boy so they could begin to memorize them. Mexico lost half their national territory (California, New Mexico and Texas) in that war.

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