Xochimilco is one of the most extraordinary areas in this megacity and witness to Mexico City's watery past. When the Aztecs founded their city Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City), they did so on some islands in a shallow lake. To grow their crops, they made artificial islands called "chinampas" by building a type of raft with roots and branches, scraping mud from the lake bed, packing it down and anchoring these "floating islands" by planting trees along the edges. Over the centuries, the lake has all but disappeared but there are still a few small vestiges of the canals and islands left in Xochimilco and Tláhuac. From the "embarcadero", we walked across the main square and up to the big market where lots of the fresh vegetables such as beetroot, carrots, radishes, coriander and spinach are brought here on wheelbarrows. We also photographed the food stands and were offered tastes of some of the different dishes on offer.Our visit to the bustling market turned out to be the perfect complement to our earlier boat ride along the peaceful canals.
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Margaret MetcalfeBorn to travel, explore and share photos and experiences Archives
May 2019
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