SOME Scotland fans keen to do something a bit different have been warming up for the night’s match with a trip to visit Leon Trotsky Museum, close to the Azteca Stadium.
In one of the most notorious assassinations of the 20th Century, the Russian revolutionary was killed with an ice pick while he worked in his study at his Mexican home by a Spanish-born NKVD agent sent by Stalin.
It wasn’t the first ordered attempt on his life by his former Communist Party colleague: his 14-year-old grandson had been shot in the foot in a bungled attempt the previous year, and one of the most striking features about the museum today is the level of fortification he had installed in his home.
The rabbit hutches and beautiful courtyard garden hint at peace and tranquillity but there are thick steel doors, high walls and several watchtowers.
In the end they weren’t enough and the list of his family members also killed by Stalin makes for chilling reading.
Close by to Trotsky’s Museum and also drawing plenty of passing interest today was the old Olympic Stadium where Bob Beaman achieved his legendary world record long jump.
The altitude-aided leap of 8.9 metres or 29 feet, 2.5 inches is rated of the greatest performances in the history of the Games.
A huge 55 cm longer than the world’s previous best, his record stood for 23 years until beaten by Mike Powell.
It remains the second longest legal jump of all time.
Mexican food-loving members of the Scottish press have been grabbing the opportunity to enjoy as much authentic grub as they can.
The proliferation of street vendors means it is hard to walk a few hundred yards without being offered something appetising.
And for those fearing the clear and present danger of Montezuma’s Revenge there are plenty of decent sit-down restaurants offering a bewildering range of exotic options.
Adopting the ‘When in Rome’ policy, I had a bash at Chapulines Tacos last night, a dish described on the menu as, ‘Toasted salty crickets from Oaxaca served with queso fresco, guacamole, pasilla mixe, chilli salsa and freshly made tortillas.’
What did it taste like? The crickets themselves were a bit like unusually textured peanuts but the whole combination was not too bad at all.
“Ah, that will be because they are from Oaxaca, they are not just any common or garden salty crickets,” said a colleague, a quip which may, or may not, have been based on reality.
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