Parks in D.F.

Think of the most dangerous park equipment you can imagine. Now age it about 30 years. Cover it in grime. Yes, the surely lead-based paint is chipping. Put all that equipment on a bed of small rocks (or concrete), add a few stray dogs and you've got it!

The parks in Mexico City are colorful, filthy, dangerous, mostly ancient, and wild. I'm sure not a one would pass code in the US. Know who doesn't care? Kids. Luckily Ellie is old enough to climb fairly well and Jack is (crazy?) brave enough to give anything a chance.

Let's take a tour.

First up, one of two local playgrounds walking distance from our home. This is the first one we discovered with the kids. It ticks the boxes: colorful, dirty, old, and dangerous. All right!

This park is no big deal for Mr. Incredible!

It's located in some random spot along a lovely path with really nothing else around.


Who wants to play "interpret the graffiti"?

"I am Dioina.  All the kids..."  That's all I can do.

Next is our second local, ahem, "park" that we discovered walking to the kids' new school.   Jason un-ironically refers to it as Parque Peligroso.

Located in a large green-ish space with trees, a dusty soccer pitch, a cracked cement basketball/soccer (?) court, a permanent tent for the homeless, and three (3!) dusty rock-filled play areas, parque peligroso has teeter totters (when was the last time you saw one of those?) that are practically vertical, slides older than time, random climbing structures and "swings." Sorry for the over-use of the quotes, but it's difficult for me to describe these things using their proper names.  Photos!

Random climbing structures,  spinning globe of injury, ancient slide, teeter totters.  What better?!?

 

 

Let's see: solid metal seat, rusted chains, graffiti.  Why not?

A solid metal pommel horse at a park?  Why not.

Jack just loves playing in the dirty rocks

"I wanna pet the perros!" (think there are at least 3 strays on that little hill), and the permanent homeless tent is off to the right.

Here is the mother of all dangers: a park in the middle of a narrow cement sidewalk placed between two busy streets. We have to go out of our way to avoid this one because Jack cannot reach any of the "ladders" but insists on trying.

See the tube structure in the middle?  It's much steeper than it looks.  Both kids get stuck.

Here is a random playground in Chapultepec Park.  Danger!

Hey, how you doing random pointy metal piece right under Ellie's foot?

Despite (because of?) the obvious danger, Ellie did not want to leave.

We'll end with a positive: Parque Lincoln.  Located in the chic Polanco neighborhood it's bright, mostly clean, and semi-modern. We need to take a cab to get there but it's worth it. Jack literally shit his (diaper) pants the first time he visited and refused to leave. Don't worry, it still has its required element of danger. I won't bring the kids alone, one would surely get hurt. One adult per kid.

This massive structure IS the park.  It is completely connected so if a small child runs up the ramp on the "kiddie" part, he will, before Mom can find him chasing along on the ground, be at the top of some of the steepest slides and random openings.  Good times!  

I read an article in the WSJ a few weeks back about how parks in the US have become too safe, and now kids are not taking any chances, learning to conquer fears, etc. #firstworldproblem
At least I don't have to worry about that.