What?
Yesterday, sunday, cloudy and fresh, we were invited by Gerardo, member of the Club Espaņa Rowing Club to the South Side of Mexico City where the Olympic channel is. Right there where the American Olympic racers came last June.
We did not paddle in the official racing channel. It just happens that Xochimilco is the only remnant of what used to be Mexico City. A town built with roots over a lake by the first mexicans, following their religious traditions and ancestors instructions. When they arrived in the valley they just saw water and in the center there was A ROCK AND A CACTUS CALLED NOPAL AND AN EAGLE EATING A SNAKE.
That was the signal for the place to settle, expected for generations, and so they had to live there on the water. (The signal is in our mexican flag). As good mexicans always capable of improvising under critical situations, they started building solid stuff knitting roots and filling them with soil and grass and what have you.
With time, they had solid squares of land, all of them communicated through channels and bridges, just as the Spaniards found the city in the sixteenth century.
The city grew, the lake dried, and the only vestiges of that marvelous work are in Xochimilco, which still keeps land surrounded by a laberynth of channels, some nice lakes and a good amount of all the things that one would never expect to find in Mexico City like silence, lots of jumping fish that I identified as carps and "mojarra" (I donīt know the name in English), herons, storks, swallows and frogs. No alligators, never known to exist in these waters. No iguanas either. The only close thing to them are small lizards.
We were three from our home town Queretaro: Alejandro, Rodrigo and myself. There was our American friend Cynthia who lives in Mexico City and Gerardo the host.
We paddled two and a half ours to make about 11 or 12 miles. She had an Olympic training K1, like most of the people we ran across. We were on our Xel-Haīs, in the lower speed part of paddling vessels but much faster than the "TRAJINERAS AND CHINAMPAS". They are wide, rectangular, flat, beautiful water vessels all wooden with a tall roof all decorated with fresh flowers on the front and back, surrounding the TRAJINERA name, usually a girl name. Families are carried around by a guy with a pole just like in Venice. As TRAJINERAS move and families enjoy the scenery, food and drinks, CHINAMPAS get close and sell tortillas, beer and soft drinks, and mexican dishes warmed or fried right there in the chinampa with a coal stove or a little gas stove and tank. Other chinampas or TRAJINERAS get close with "Mariachis" or different mexican singing groups, to entertain and follow the family TRAJINERAS, all along their routes in the cumbersome channels or the open lakes.
No roll attempts because the water honors the longevity of the place, and we had no intentions to be coated with ancient algae, soil or more modern type of unknown organic elements. It is interesting to notice that the water level does not vary much because there are some fresh water streams that replace the evaporating water. Still the color is opaque and kind of light green in the best places.
Xochimilco is known to provide with plants, flowers and vegetables the markets of most of the country.
The rowing tradition in Xochimilco started early on last century. The oldests club were built by a German community and the Spanish community, both with nostalgy of their sport in Europe. The German Club has very little activity since the old Germans and the next generation of prestigious rowers didnīt transmit the tradition to the grand children. The Club Espaņa is live and growing. It has a beautiful Club House, two hangars, one for rowing stuff and the other for paddling stuff, with beautiful modern racing kayaks and canoes, soccer courts, swimming pool, restaurant, etc. and of course good trainers. Itīs romantic part is provided by a non decorated TRAJINERA that crosses members from the parking lot to the Club premises pulling the boat with gloves from a polyester cable hanging from trees in the Clubīs island and land. By the way, the cable has to be raised a bit with a stick every time a TRAJINERA passes through.
We thank Gerardo for his excellent hospitality and take his word to come back with teams of friends from other cities and other countries as well, and of course he is welcome to our plateau "seas" anytime.
Best Regards,
Rafael Mier Maza