In March we visited Xochimilco which is best known for its canals, which are left from what was an extensive lake and canal system that connected most of the settlements of the Valley of Mexico. These canals, along with artificial islands called chinampas, attract tourists and other city residents to ride on colorful gondola-like boats called "trajineras" around the 170 km (110 mi) of canals.
This is our ride from the center of town to the canals for the boat ride.
All the colorful boats!
Family selfie!
As they take you down the canal there are vendors in smaller boats selling souvenir's or food.
Happy to be on the boat!
They also have Mariachi's that will play for you for a price of course. You can request a song if you like. We have done it a couple of times.
Enjoying the sun!
They also have the island of the creepy dolls. Here is the legend of how it began if your curious.It belonged to a man named Don Julián Santana Barrera, a native of the La Asunción neighborhood. Santana Barrera was a loner, who was rarely seen in most of Xochimilco. According to the legend, Santana Barrera discovered a little girl drowned in mysterious circumstances in the canals. He also found a doll floating nearby and, assuming it belonged to the deceased girl, hung it from a tree as a sign of respect. After this, he began to hear whispers, footsteps, and anguished wails in the darkness even though his hut—hidden deep inside the woods of Xochimilco—was miles away from civilization. Driven by fear, he spent the next fifty years hanging more and more dolls, some missing body parts, all over the island in an attempt to appease what he believed to be the drowned girl's spirit.
It was a beautiful day. A lot of families host parties on these boats so it can get quite loud, but if you go off the beaten path it is a peaceful ride.
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