Mexico City - Day 10 - El Paseo del Rio, Chimalistac and UNAM

Venturing past the Viveros of Coyoacan, today's exploration continued up the Rio Magdalena, or rather where the Magdalena used to run.  The neighborhood of Chimalstac, during the colonial period, was the property of Carmelite friars, and they developed and extensive, irrigated orchard based around the Rio Magdalena.  Since the colonial period, this section of the river has been piped, but the bridges made of volcanic rock that span the old river bed, remain.

The now underground portion of the river is audible through the manhole covers, but not visible.

Further upstream, we reached Avenida de los Insurgentes, and the trail of the river stopped.  Across the avenue was a park that referenced the path of the river and bridges of Chimalistac, but that path ended at another major road and a car dealership.  

After losing the path of the river, we found the enormous Olympic stadium from the 1968 games.  Decorated with a Diego Rivera mural over the entrance, the stadium has since become part of the National Autonomous University of Mexico (UNAM).  

Back under Insurgentes, and we arrived at the main section of the UNAM campus.  The campus' muraled buildings surround generous and well-used lawns.  Incorporated with those lawns are several rain water collection pools that fill when rains come.   

The topography of the campus, which is built on Volcanic rock, gives more flexibility in dealing with rainwater than the flatter parts of Mexico City which are built on the former lake bed.

Open waterways were not present on the campus, but the sounds of buried rivers came up from the manholes.