I had spent enough time with my symptoms at this point to be near certain that I had some sort of parasitic worm infection -- either from something I ate, or most likely from naively drinking the tap water regularly at the beginning of my trip. I picked up some Mebendazole from the nearby pharmacy, a low-risk medication that is commonly used to treat such diseases. After dosing up, I walked to the Palacio de Bellas Artes, known for its opulent architecture and for housing works by some of Mexico's greatest muralists.
One of the most stunning works there is Man Controller of the Universe, a massive mural by Diego Rivera. Originally titled Man at the Crossroads and commissioned by the Rockefeller Center, there was a furor in the press after it was unveiled that the mural contained a portrait of Lenin. Rivera was sacked by The Rockefeller Center and the mural destroyed. Rivera eventually returned to Mexico to complete the mural under a new title.
My appetite had come back with a vengeance at this point and I picked up a juice and a sim card as I meandered south of Alemada Central. Lacking ideas of where to go next, I took the metro back to the hostel. After a refreshing shower, I took an Uber to an interesting looking library, Biblioteca Vasconselos.
I have to admit part of the reason I was intrigued to see this library was their Sala de Música, a room full of instruments that library users can use.
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| The floating shelves of Biblioteca Vasconcelos |
I spoke with the man at the front desk of the music room and he told me it was necessary to get a library card before playing on the pianos. My reaction: Why not? So after speaking with the lady at the front desk I was directed to the Credenciados room where I spoke with a few people, filled out a form, had my photo taken, and voilà! I had a Mexico City library card.
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| My crowning achievement thus far as a foreign language learner |
I returned to La Sala de Música to put my card in the queue with all the other library uses. The library was only open another hour, and my name didn't come up before 10 minutes to closing and they started to shut the room down. The man at the desk had some pity on me and said I could play just a tantito, so I did get to exercise my fingers for about five minutes.
Leaving the library, I entered the adjacent Forum Buenavista Centro Comercial, a joint train station / shopping mall. Exhausted from so much cultural immersion, I made dinner of a McDonald's big mac combo meal before taking the metro back to Centro Historical.
My day wasn't over yet, though. I had found a jazz club near my hostel, Zinco Jazz Club, that was having a performance by Las Swing Sisters that night.
After a full day of activities, I walked the half kilometer back to the hostel without incident and swiftly succumbed to sleep.
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