A wander through Coyoacán

After a morning at the Frida Kahlo Museum, wander down the Avenida Ignacio Allende. It will take you into the Coyoacán neighbourhood and some of Mexico City's oldest Spanish architecture.

You will pass the Mercado de Coyoacán which has a wide variety of stalls selling tourist souvenirs, fruits and vegetables, fish and meat products. 

Continue down Ignacio Allende into the Coyoacán neighbourhood and some of Mexico City's oldest Spanish architecture. Along one side of the Plaza Hildago you will find this one-story Colonial palace. It was built in 1755 on property previously owned by Cortez the Conquistador.

Many of the buildings in Coyoacán are one-story high. I wonder if they have a central courtyard like at Frida's home?

Also on the Plaza Hildago

is the remarkable 16th century Church of Saint John the Baptist.

The impressive Baroque interior has been recently restored.

The church is still an active centre of worship.

John and I were delighted by the strange effigies. We liked this mannequin behind wavy glass

and the Spanish intensity of these images

of the suffering Christ.

A wonderful surprise was the lovely two-story cloister with its exotic planting.

A monastery once filled the large garden, Jardin Centenario, in front of the church.

We loved this fountain with its snarling coyotes at the centre of the plaza. BTW, the area's name,  Coyoacán, means "place of coyotes" in a local indigenous language.

Beyond the fountain we found the original gateway to the monastery grounds.

At the monastery gates we decided to return home by a different metro stop, Viveros, by walking the picturesque Avenida Francisco Sosa.

Its tree-lined streets are narrow and lined with residential buildings and shops.

We particularly liked the tiny Capilla de Santa Catarina in all its ochre glory.

Weary, we slipped down a side street, Avenida Progreso, a short cut to our metro stop. We shall return to Coyoacán and its neighbours on our next visit.