The Emperor Has Given Us Games

Politicians will do anything to maintain or increase their popularity. The head of Distrito Federal is no exception. He put an ice rink right in the middle of the Zocolo to give Mexicans a chance to do some winter sports. I must say, it's quite a engineering feat to place an Olympic size outdoor rink in a open air plaza where the temperature has been 27*C or 80*F every afternoon for the last month. The evenings are also quite warm. Skating is free to everyone but the lineups to get on the ice were ridiculously long. The Ruizes and ourselves, along with Abi, Ivan and Abi's mom Gloria went to the rink to enjoy a little holiday fun. Only Ingrid, the girls, Dylan and Daniel went on the ice.
For many Mexicans this was clearly their first time on skates as they clung to the boards and others to keep from falling. There was a slow motion "congo" line around the boards of the rink. With hundreds of people skating during each assigned hour of time on the ice, some accidents are bound to occur. There were many staff on the ice. When someone fell and was significantly hurt, twelve staff would hold hands and form a ring around the injured person. Three people were taken off the ice in this manner, two in wheelchairs and one on a backboard. An ambulance was on standby near the rink for such injuries.
We were impressed with the other 50% of skaters who could skate fairly well! There are only five indoor ice rinks in this enormous city.
After the skating was done, it was off to the kiosks for some cafe con leche (coffee with milk), biscuits and churros. The evening reminded me of our times in Edmonton when we would go to the Silver Skate Festival http://www.silverskatefestival.org/ for a day of skating, eating Dutch food and drinking hot chocolate in the cold weather, only today had a unique Mexican twist. It is fun to watch the girls skate again. They really miss the speedskating they did back home http://www.edmontonspeedskating.ca/ . I was amazed at how well Emma and Kirklyn did after having been off skates for a year and a half. They never missed a beat. As for Dylan and Daniel, the girls helped them get their skating legs. They have skated a bit in Ontario when they have returned for home assignment but it has never been a big part of their lives. However, they did great and after an hour or so of practising, they looked like pros. They seemed to have enjoyed themselves greatly. It was a really nice evening out. To see a video of the skating, click on the bottom picture.