Mexico City - Day 3 - Xochimilco part 2

We arrived back in Xochimilco on Saturday morning by tren ligero.  The frequent pop and crackle of fireworks signaled that weekend days are a much different experience than the weekday.  We were shuffled and directed to one of the embarcaderos where plenty of trajineras were waiting.  After a little bargaining in my very limited Spanish, we were off cruising on the canals.

After leaving the embarcadero, the quiet interior of the canals appears.  The calm waters are kept that way by the flat-bottomed trajineras propelled only by poles.  Boats were numerous out on the canals, mostly families enjoying a relaxing cruise and enjoying the floating food vendors and mariachis that would pull up and offer to play a song.    

The buildings facing the canals serve this weekend party atmosphere with restaurants, nurseries (selling some of the many plants grown in the area), and of course W.C.s. raised slightly above the water level.

After disembarking, we explored on foot again some of the area to the East of the center of Xochimilco.   This trajinera lift connects two of the canal systems that are at different levels.  The process takes a few minutes, but lets the party continue.     

In the center of town, the canals only appear as you cross a bridge, but moving out of the center, the canals and roads start to appear in tandem.  

These two images taken from the same point, but in opposite directions show how the canal system influenced the later road system:  The axis travel remains the same, but the surface material has changed.