Zacango Zoo, Metepec and Lunch in the Mountains

Today we caravanned (4 full minivans/SUVs) to the Zacango Zoo, about an hour from Mexico City: grandparents, great-grandma, uncles, aunts, cousins, etc:). On the way from the parking lot to the entrance, the kids found some animal hats that 'ito graciously got them- Tonito chose a tiburon (shark), Vivi got a delfin (dolphin), and Maya, a pink elefante! Sorry my accent marks are not working right now!

The drive was beautiful: out of the city and into heavily forested mountains. It's amazing for me to see cactuses next to pine and cypress trees (or even palm trees) because pines remind me of Minnesota, cactuses should be in the desert, and palm trees on the beach!? And yet here we are in the mountains!? Anyway, the zoo was lush with all of the above foliage, and the kids kept us busy running from animal to animal. Vivi even got to see her beloved lemurs!

Here's the whole group from the back left to right: ito, cousin Juan Enrique, cousin Mario Enrique, Aunt Tere, Uncle Mario, Tia Tere, cousin Mario Alfredo, Uncle Mario Alberto. In the middle left to right: cousin Natalia, great-grandma Tete, ita, Aunt Normita, Uncle Roberto, Tonito, Aunt Sandra. In the front left to right: cousin Abril with Inaki, Vivi, me with Maya. We were just missing a couple of cousins, and of course Tonio! Check out the repetition of the names:). Very Mexican, right mi amor?

For some adorable reason, Tonito became BEST friends with Juan Enrique (Tonio's cousin) and wouldn't let him go the whole day. He was carried, held his hand, rode on his shoulders, etc.

Above- see Tonito eating "fruit gazpacho"- cut up mango, jicama, and pineapple in orange juice, lime juice, salt, and we didn't add chile.

After our adventure at the zoo we had a little snack "Mommy! It's the same pink hair we ate on our field trip!"

We drove through Metepec and I snapped these pictures from the car. The first picture is a typical artesania from this area, the "Arbol de la Vida" (Tree of Life) with tiny clay figures attached to a tree. They can have either a Nativity scene in the middle, or Adam and Eve, Noah's Ark, or just a celebration of God's creatures, etc.

We ate on the side of a mountain (I was too busy to take a picture, but trust me- picturesque!) at a little restaurant with it's own pond for you to fish out trouts for dinner that they would prepare steamed or fried with cilantro, limes, etc. Tonito, Maya and I each ordered a Tlacoyo (kind-of like a thick blue torilla filled with beans) topped with avocado, nopales (cactus), fresh cheese, red pepper, and cilantro. We all loved it! Vivi got Sopa Azteca, aka Torilla Soup. She wasn't thrilled about the cheese melting in the soup, but she did finish it!

After playing for a couple of hours and running around crazy like they owned the restaurant (well, we were the only patrons there), they all crashed in the car on the way home. The kids loved their hats so much they slept with them on:)----