Day 89: Xochimilco Canals and the Island of the Dolls

On Friday, the four of us headed to Xochimilco, a neighourhood in southern Mexico City that is famous for its canals and the Island of the Dolls. We got our boat from Embarcadero Cuemanco, one of the recommended ports, and chose the four-hour tour that included a stop at the Island of the Dolls.

The boat rental cost us 2,000 pesos (~135 CAD) for the four hours and the great thing is that the cost was per boat as opposed to per person. Each boat can easily fit around 16 people so going with a large group or joining forces with another group can make the cost quite quite low for each person. Unfortunately for us, the other groups were comprised of young boys in their late teens and early twenties who seemed to have only one mission on their minds – to get as drunk as possible.

So just the four of us it was. We ordered some food and beer before our boat left the port, and then enjoyed a nice cruise down the river. There were some boats with Mariachi bands floating around, but none of the food boats that numerous online resources mentioned. We were glad we ordered our food and drinks before leaving.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

About two hours into the cruise, we came to the infamous Island of the Dolls. The entry fee to the island was a reasonable 40 pesos (~2.70 CAD) per person; however, to take pictures with our professional cameras, we would have had to pay an extra 100 pesos (~6.70 CAD) each, so we opted to stick with our cell phone cameras for pictures of the island and the dolls.

The story behind the island is that the body of a drowned young girl was found by the island’s caretaker, Don Julián Santana Barrera. He later found a doll floating near the canals and, assuming it belonged to the drowned girl, he hung it to a tree as a way of showing respect to the girl’s spirit. He was allegedly haunted by the girl’s spirit and started hanging up more dolls in an attempt to appease her. According to the legend, after 50 years of collecting and hanging dolls all over the island, Julián was found dead, drowned in the same spot where he found the girl. However, his nephew, who narrates the story of the island to all visitors, says he died of a cardiac arrest.

I have a fascination with all things macabre so, naturally, this place called to me. I found the story tragic and the island not the slightest bit as creepy as pictures and television make it out to be. It feels more like a dumpsite than a shrine because the dolls are caked in filth and cobwebs. I wouldn’t recommend anyone to go to Xochimilco just for the Island of the Dolls because I would have been disappointed if that was my sole purpose for the trip. I recommend going for the canal tour and taking the stop at the island because it happens to fall along the way.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After Xochimilco, we went back to the city, explored some neighbourhoods, ate some churros, and then headed home in the evening.