Mexico City, Mexico

Diary:

Since we were digging Diego Rivera's paintings so much, we started the day with a visit to the Museo Mural Diego Rivera.

Then things turned somewhat more gruesome as we checked in to the Museo de la Medicina Mexicana at Plaza Santo Domingo where a special exhibition "Inquisition - Instrumentos de Tortura y Pena Capital" was showing. Ahh, the good old days of the Spanish Inquisition and other medieval delights. On display was a very comprehensive selection of actual antique instruments of torture, including an Iron Maiden, a guillotine, racks, thumbscrews, whips, skull crushers, flaying knives, headsman's swords, stocks & pillories, chastity belts and lots more stuff that is really too revolting to mention! I think the most abominable would have to be a device known as the "Breaking Wheel" (if you are interested to learn how it works I'm sure there is lots about it on the Internet). There must have been some really sick individuals devising this stuff. Most of the really diabolical tortures originated in Germany, and Spain around the time of the Spanish Inquisition (Nobody expects the Spanish Inquisition). More evidence of what a truly heinous institution Organized Religion can be. But despite the horror these instruments inspired we thoroughly enjoyed the show. And I felt grateful to be living in an age where violent torture has largely passed from our society.

After lunch we split up. Keiko went to the Museum of Modern Art, and I found a street cafe and spent the afternoon people watching, reading and updating Travelog notes.

At night we went into the Zócalo where some kind of big event was taking place with lots of live music. The Plaza was lit up with a million lights in the red, white and green colours of the Mexican flag and it was way cool. We ate a delicious dinner at Potzollcalli on way home.