CIMMYT is located about 5 km from the town of Texcoco de Mora, which is roughly 25 kilometers north and east of Mexico City. Apparently, Texcoco was once a major Aztec city, located on a former lake of the same name. There are several archaeological sites nearby, although I’m told that the town itself does not retain much of it’s former architecture. There are a very high number of shoe stores in Texcoco for some reason, and it does seem like a lot of people spend their time in the commercial centers and shopping in the farmer’s markets.
I haven’t explored the whole town yet, but I did spend a lot of time walking around this weekend. Right off the central plaza, Jardín Muncipal Constitucion, is a very large indoor market full of vegetables, clothes, more shoes, meat (I am not a fan of the smell of the meat section), and a ton of other things. I probably spent an hour walking around just there yesterday, and consumed more aquas frescas (guanabana and lime) than a girl should in a normal day.
Today, I just cruised around town some more, looking for some coffee shops I had discovered on the interwebs. I was mainly looking for a place that was a little quieter than the locations on the main streets of Texcoco, and something with wi-fi in case I felt the need to do some work or hang out away from home (which, will probably be necessary since I live with a very creative and energetic six year old who loves to engage me in his playtime). A place by the name of Gaánu had piqued my interest due to it’s relative proximity to my house and their posts of Lykke Li on their facebook page (since I have a thing for Swedish pop, this meant I was probably going to be into this establishment). They are relatively new (opened in February of this year), and seem to be going for something a little more “urban” than the standard Texcoco model, whatever both of those things might be. Gaánu shares a location with a beer garden, Cervecería del Centro, and has a really nice covered patio. I was totally into it and am more likely to frequent there for my coffee than some other locations I scoped out.
Some pictures!
ARIEL RIVERS 