Trajineras, beer and decaying dolls... Oh my!

An adventure of a life time to Xochimilco.

My first official day in Mexico City, I met up with my friend (of 6 full hours) Rose, and we decided to take Mexico by the balls (sorry mom) and head to Xochimilco. Xochimilco is a hot tourist destination with beautiful street art and is most known for their vibrant trajineras (boat) rides down the Xochimilco canal... Iris flowers, beautiful bright colors that reflect perfectly off the canal and mariachi bands everywhere. What's not to love?

How we started the day.

The day started at 9:30 AM. Rose and I met for a chilaquiles at a small boutique restaurant. Then we started planning the day. Who am I kidding, we didn't plan anything. We just did it. When I mentioned earlier that we took Mexico City by the balls (sorry again mom lol)... we actually did. We took the metro. As a foreigner, I had been warned plenty of times about the metro:

-Don't take it at night.

-Hold onto everything you have.

-Be extra alert.

-Don't get distracted.

-Don't have your phone out.

-Don't trust anyone.

Yadda. Yadda... all the common things you hear about public transportation.

Well we rode the metro from Condesa all the way to Xochimilco, which is over 25 stops AND we took it at night. How do you like them apples?

Beep, beep! We are here.

We hopped off the metro at Xochimilco and were immediately stunned by the imagery on the buildings. As we stared in awe at the electric art, the people knew exactly what us foreigners were in Xochimilco for.... To ride the trajineras. We were pointed in the correct direction and in about 10 minutes had made it to the starting port eager and excited.

The Trajinera (tra-he-nair-ah).

A trajinera is a long wooden boat with a flat bottom, holds up to 16 people, has no motor and decorated with fabulous colors and flowers. Each trajinera is named and ours wa Dalia. Rose and I, being smart travelers, did our research beforehand and bought beers and 2 (disgusting) canned tequila drinks for our ride. This is a good tip if you are going for the first time, because alcohol is available on the canal, however it's a pretty peso for just one drink.

The Ride.

Our ride total was 6.5 hours - YES! Holy bananas is right. Angel our sweet guide and captain of the trajinera fearlessly rowed miss Dalia with a giant stick thing. There was no paddle on it, he simply would stab it into the bottom of the canal and use his strength to keep the trajinera moving. Rose myself and Angel were the only three on aboard (lucky Angel). As we slowly made our way down the canal, the mariachi music started to play. Mariachi bands on trajineras playing and singing beautiful music would stop at your trajinera (for a price) and play multiple songs for you to enjoy. Everywhere we went down the canal, people were singing, dancing, selling things, and even cooking!

Starvin marvin's.

After a few tecates (a type of light Mexican beer) and watching Angel do all the hard work, our stomach’s started to growl. A tiny boat with a man and an older woman came up to our trajinera with a whole cooking station. They had options from enchiladas, mole, tacos and more. I jumped at ordering Mole and Rose ordered Chicken tacos. The Mole was effing fabulous. Gritty, spicy, cinnamony, and the perfect balance of sweet and salty. It came with rice, tortillas and pollo (chicken).

For two entres: 460 pesos (which equals about 23 american dollars). Definitely pricey for Mexico City, but again... we are in a top touristic destination.

This is where things get weird: Doll Island.

People who love dark and mysterious places come here from all over the world to admire this mutilated floating island. Currently, there are 1500 plus dolls on the island. The number of dolls on the island is a tribute to a young girl who had drowned in the canal 60 years ago. A man by the name of Don Julian Santana Barrera, found a little girl dead in the canal. He tried to revive her spirit, but failed. Days later, he found a doll in the canal and assumed it was hers. To honor her spirit he hung the doll and soon began collecting more dolls to keep her spirit enlightened. On the island you will find horrifying dolls strung across the yard, hiding in trees and sticking up from the ground. Some of the locals do not even go here, because they believe her spirit is still haunting the island. Don. Don. Donnnnnnn...

We did have to pay an additional 40 pesos to get off and walk on the island where the dolls were strung. Demented. Creepy. And completely weird. NOTE: there are replicate Doll Islands, so BEWARE and make sure your guide takes you to the right place.

Take it home Angel!

Hours later, we are out of beer and have had our fix of weird for the day. We slowly made our way back to the main canal greeted by the peppy mariachi bands and beautiful scenery.

Would you do it again?

Sure! I would take the trajinera again at Xochimilco, however I would not need to do Doll Island again. Once is enough for me. But, I would like to go with a larger group of people and listen to the Marachi for an afternoon:) Additionally, you can barter down the trajinera pricing... so definitely do that.

Hasta Pronto!

-Eatz