THE FLOATING GARDENS OF XOCHIMILCO

A 30-minute drive south of the city (take an uber; see Lowdown), this 80km system of canals runs between artificial islands called chinampas and is one of the last examples of a pre-hispanic waterway. It’s a tourist hot-spot but also packed with locals at the weekends picnicking and listening to mariachi bands. A line-up of gaudily colourful, highly instagrammable trajineras (like gondolas, about £ 30 for two hours with a driver) jostle at the dock, ready to take you on a trip through the tropical plant and bird-filled canals. A UNESCO World Heritage Site, this fertile soil has produced vegetables and flowers since pre-conquest times and Martha supports the farmers who are obviously very happy to see her. ‘I see this as my vegetable garden and love the ancestral ways of producing food,’ she says. Stop at Tim Burton’s favourite Isla de las Muñecas ( isladelasmunecas.com) to see thousands of dolls strung from trees, swinging by their necks and covered in cobwebs. Some visitors claim the dolls whisper to them – which adds a creepy frisson.