Cablebús Línea 2

The Lionel-Industrial Complex would have you believe that trains are the singular solution to public transportation, and while a quaint light rail route is lovely and fun — ding, ding! — they are still expensive and difficult to build. Even bus rapid transit requires wide roadways and no pesky mountains. Thus, in some countries in the Americas, the rise of the aerial cable car. These latter-day ski gondolas are relatively inexpensive, relatively easy to build (less than two years it appears) and work in the trickiest of terrains — not to mention they take traffic off the overloaded streets in these far-flung neighborhoods and reduce travel times exponentially for residents. In Mexico City this summer two such lines debuted. The first was north of the center city and the second, Cablebús Línea 2, serves neighborhoods to the south and east:

Also, THEY’RE AMAZING TO RIDE. In Mexico City, the brand-new Cablebús Línea 2 departs from the end of the number 8 subway line and flies into the hills high above the city — it’s mesmerizing watching the scenes below — you are like a drone flying over them. I don’t know how I’d feel living under a ski gondola but as a passenger it’s well worth the trip; in our six-person car there were ourselves, a tourist from Colombia and two local retirees who were just there to take it all in. Highly recommended.

We bonded with the fellow passengers in our car and eventually they finally successfully impressed upon me (what with my terrible Spanish comprehension) that these airplanes sitting in the middle of these parks are libraries!

Soumaya Museum

The striking curves of Museo Soumaya defy cameras — nothing is perfectly upright and the Guggenheim-esque ramps seem to keep you constantly off-balance. From the exterior, the asymmetrical building makes you shift your focus regardless of where you look:

The inside is even more unmooring:

It’s an interesting building and part of me wonders whether the architectural concept behind it was to play off of the name: thinking the Lebanese “Soumaya” is sort of unusual in Mexico with its extra vowels and curvaceous “S” and “Y” in there. (Not really appropriate, but I was reminded of the first lines of Lolita: “Lo-lee-ta: the tip of the tongue, taking a trip of three steps down the palate to tap, at three, on the teeth. Lo. Lee. Ta.”)

The sculpture farm at the top of the building also defies cameras:

It’s insane how many Rodins are in there! And this place is FREE! Harks back to the nineteenth-century US public-minded benefactors of some of our major cultural institutions: Frick, Morgan, Mellon, Carnegie, et al.

Elsewhere, paintings stand unadorned by walls:

The museum at times feels otherworldly, like something from a science fiction film:

And then there’s phones:

I was intrigued by the footprint:

. . . and obviously you can’t beat the price:

The Venice Of Mexico City

Pretty sure I’ve seen this Venice/canal reference to Xochimilco, at least the part of Xochimilco that is a system of canals with whimsical boats where mariachis and food vendors float up to you to sell their services. It’s magical. There’s a nod to the pre-Spanish Conquest past in that it’s a taste of what the dry valley of Mexico City was once like before the lake bed was drained, but all told, it’s actually really fun and pleasant to be pushed around for an afternoon:

Oh, and the beers are ENORMOUS (that’s a “michelada,” with tomato juice/clamato juice and a spicy rim):

We also stopped to see axolotls . . .

. . . and visited the wonderful and frightening world of La Isla de las Muñecas, which actually has a story behind it: