Far-Flung Postcards is a weekly series in which NPR’s international correspondents share snapshots of moments from their lives and work around the world.
Mexico City is dog-crazy. Ladies push their poodles in strollers across the parks; one of the Chinese restaurants by our house has a full menu for your pooch — not just a bowl of whipped cream, we’re talking a chicken breast dinner! And just like there are street vendors who cater to humans, there’s one guy who runs a food truck offering doggie delectables. (His most popular item seems to be dried chicken feet).
So, as you might expect, Mexico City is also home to many doggie schools that that teach basic obedience and how to get by in a rambunctious megacity. And, well, that means you also need canine transportation. I took this picture just by Parque España, one of the big parks in central Mexico City. It’s a kind of dog bus, powered by a motorcycle. The driver told me the pooches were headed back home after a long day of learning. The vehicles don’t go very far or very fast, but I asked, “And they never jump off?” He said, “The ones that do, go in the cage.”
See more photos from around the world:
- Greetings from the Galápagos Islands, where the blue-footed booby shows its colors
- Greetings from Afrin, Syria, where Kurds danced their hearts out to celebrate spring
- Greetings from Dharamshala, India, where these Tibetan kids were having the best time
- Far from the front lines, Ukrainians fight a war to preserve their culture
- As Greenland prepares for tourism increase, a moment of stillness among the icebergs