Have a floating fiesta on the canals of Mexico City's Xochimilco

Call it a floating fiesta. Along the canals of Xochimilco, 13 miles south of Mexico City's historical center, most of the tourists are locals as families take to the waterways on weekends to celebrate birthdays, anniversaries, even weddings aboard flotillas of small wooden boats called trajineras.

Thirsty? No worries. Rent one of the brightly painted gondolalike boats, and someone will make sure it's stocked with cold beers.

Feel like dancing? Mariachi bands perform for $5 a song.

Hungry? There's corn on the cob and chicken mole cooked aboard floating kitchens.

The canals — all that remain of the ancient Lake Xochimilco, once the agricultural hub of Tenochtitlán, Mexico City's original Aztec settlement — were formed when the settlers used mud and vegetation to created a series of rectangular floating gardens, called chinampas, anchored to the shallow lake bottom and designed to provide food for a growing empire.

As the chinampas expanded, the lake was transformed into miles of canals. When the Spanish arrived, they began to drain the lake bed and only about 100 miles of the waterways remain. A few chinamperos struggle to survive raising crops or cultivating flowers, but today it's mostly tourism that props up the local economy.

Floating food courts

Boats leave from different landings, several of which are within a few blocks of the Tren Ligero light-rail stop in Xochimilco.

On the advice of a local, a friend and I ignored the touts who met the train, and walked instead about 30 minutes to Nativitas, the busiest boat landing (called an embarcadero) where fixed prices for everything from boat rentals to mariachi songs are posted next to rows of boats with names painted on front arches in big letters.

A man approached us and motioned for us to follow him to the "Beatriz," a red and yellow boat furnished with bench seats long enough to seat a dozen people.

We handed him the equivalent of $20 in Mexican pesos for a two-hour ride. Someone had already placed a bucket of cold beers and soft drinks on the floor by the time we climbed aboard.

Our boatman, 12-year-old Philippe, used a long wooden pole to push away from the dock and guide us first through the main waterway jammed with other boats, then into shady side canals lined with marigold farms and plant nurseries.

Vendors rowed by in canoes filled with candy apples, rose, potato chips, blankets, bonsai plants and rubber toys. "Maize!" a woman called out from a boat outfitted with a large kettle and a chair. We motioned her over, and bought ears of corn dusted with cheese and chili.

At 70 pesos per song (about $5), we passed on hiring a mariachi band, but took up a father and son duo on their offer to play "Guantanamera" on a marimba for $2.

Touristy? Yes, but almost all the tourists were Mexican.

A family in the next boat over motioned for Philippe to pull our boat along side theirs and join them. We thanked them with smiles and took their pictures as a guitar, zither and mandoline trio playing "My Way" floated by, and several couples got up to dance.

An afternoon at Xochimilco is a splurge for most Mexican families. For visitors, it's a bargain. We spent a total of $30 including the boat rental, four beers, two ears of corn, one marimba song and tip and orange soda for Philippe.

As always, the best part — the camaraderie with the locals — was free.

Carol Pucci: 206-464-3701 or cpucci@seattletimes.com