Day 44 - The Floating Gardens of Xochimilco

How could you not want to go to a place called the “Floating Gardens of Xochimilco?”  The floating gardens are a series of canals and small artificial islands known locally as chinampas.  I ended up going to the floating gardens twice, once with just Erny and Max and then with Erny and the tour group.  You can get to the floating gardens via Mexico City’s fantastic metro system.  I really like the metro system as they have cut out all the nonsense of buying tickets.  Instead you just get a card, load it with money and scan the card at the barrier to let you into the station.  Scanning your card will deduct 5 pesos and after you enter the station you are free to use any train.  Technically if you really wanted to you could spend all day going back and forth on the trains and it wouldn’t cost you more than 5 pesos.  It is almost cheaper than walking.

Middle men

After arriving in Xochimilco we were greeted by some man on a bike.  “Floating gardens?” he asked.  After we told him we were heading to the gardens he kind of led the way slowly cycling in front of us.  When we arrived at the entrance to the gardens he passed us over to his friend who gave us a laminated sheet listing destinations and prices.  We agreed to go as far as the “Island of the dolls” as this covered pretty much everything worth seeing in the gardens and gave us around 2 hours on the water.  The guy then passed us over to one of the boatmen.  Really the first 2 guys weren’t necessary; they were just middle men who make a living by taking a cut off the boatman’s salary.

The edge of the dock was lined with colourful gondola-like boats known as “trajineras”.  All the trajineras were identical with the hulls painted bright yellow and red.  Each had a long yellow table in the middle and a row of wooden chairs running along each side.  The only thing that made each trajinera unique was the large decorative sign and archway affixed to the roof.  Each sign was colourfully decorated and some had the names of tour companies and painting of flags.  Like the gondolas of Venice the trajineras are non-motorised and are powered by a single guy using a long wooden pole. 

The boatman we had was very quiet; he stood there at the corner calmly pushing the trajinera forward along the canal.  There was a little community who live off the tourism on the canal.  Locals in small boats pulled up to our trajinera selling various items.  One guy pulled up selling corn on the cob.  He had a little boat with a small fire and rows of corn roasting on the grill.  We also saw a few mariachi bands in their own trajinera patrolling the floating gardens looking for business.  Really the name “floating gardens” is misleading as the chinampas are not floating.  It was just like taking a boat trip down a canal, not like there is anything wrong with that.  I guess “floating gardens” sounds better.

The Island of the Dolls

One of the more interesting chinampas was the “Island of the dolls”.  The story goes that a man lived on this chinampa and he witnessed a girl dying in the canal, possibly after being raped.  He felt terrible about being unable to save the girl and started to collect and hang dolls on various trees on his chinampa to remember the girl.  The guy died many years ago but the dolls remain.  The island is an odd and disturbing place.  Through age most of the dolls have become disfigured with some missing limbs and eyes.  It was just like something out of a horror film, the product of a lonely man with a tragic obsession.

After a bit of further research I read that the man was called Julián Santana Barrera and that he found a dead girl in the canal.  Apparently the dolls were placed to ward away evil spirits and to appease the spirit of the dead girl.  It is said that at night the dolls come alive and roam the island.  It is also said that Julián died and that he was either driven to the canal by madness or the dolls came and killed him.

Come play with us.

Politics of the water boatmen

On the way back Erny started talking to our boatman who had been very reserved for the whole journey.  Apparently his wife had died recently and he had taken some time off work.  However after returning to work he had some issues with the other people who worked the canals who apparently “screwed him over”. 

Erny said that he would bring future tour groups here to the floating gardens and go directly with our boatman cutting out the middle men.  It was nice that this guy was going to get some reliable business from now on.  Erny and I came back to the floating gardens a few days later with the tour group.  It was a nice day with just Max and Erny but it was definitely more fun with more people.  We saw the same things we had seen previously but Erny arranged for one of the mariachi bands to come onto our boat and perform a few songs.  Like the mariachi band from the other night these guys were awesome, for 20 minutes are quiet and peaceful trajinera became a party boat.

The trajineras are fairly big and you could probably fit around 20 people maximum.  Erny told me that the trajineras were popular not only with tourist but with local kids and young adults.  “They like to come here on the weekend with a sound system, hire a trajinera and get drunk and have a party” he told me.  Hiring a trajinera with your friends and have a party on the water away from the hot and busy streets of Mexico City?  I could see the appeal of this. 

It was definitely more fun with the larger group.  Having a few alcoholic drinks and a mariachi band made for a good party atmosphere.  I saw a few trajinera that only had one or two people in them.  It is definitely not the same experience.  It is a nice atmosphere floating along the canal but there isn’t that much to see.  You should go there for the atmosphere and you should go with friends.  There is nothing sadder than sitting on your own on a boat with 19 empty seats next to you.

Us and the boatman.

Next post will be Sunday 31st May, same time.