Climbing a Volcano

(To view our trip's album click on the picture above.)

Last Saturday my friend Yuri, his girlfriend Jatziri, Tony and I climbed a volcano! We went to the Nevado de Toluca, a large stratovolcano located about 80 kilometres (50 mi) west of Mexico City near the city of Toluca. The volcano's tallest peak is the fifth tallest in Mexico, at 4,680 m = 15,354 ft.

This national park is truly beautiful. After climbing the east side of the crater the view is breathtaking with the tallest peaks to the West and two crater lakes at the bottom of the basin (at about 4,200 m = 13,800 ft): the Sun Lake to the North and the Moon Lake to the South .

Hiking was definitely wonderful, though challenging. Right off the bat I could feel the altitude, got a headache and felt my lungs asking for more oxygen. As we climbed higher I had to stop every few steps to catch my breath and slow down my heart beat, and by the time we were climbing a steep trail towards the peak I was feeling quite dizzy. The view up above was so rewarding though. We could clearly see the 2nd and 3rd highest mountains in Mexico (the Popocatépetl at 5,426 m = 17802 ft and the Iztaccihuatl at 5,230 m = 17,159 ft) in the distance.

Sadly, we didn't get to the very top. After reaching a secondary summit at 4455 m = 14,616ft we were quite tired and after hearing a few rumbles of thunder in the distance we thought it safer to hike around the lakes in the crater instead. Even so, Tony and I were really excited to have made it to the highest point either of us had hiked to and decided we'll come back soon to try for the summit... I also cannot wait to hike more of the mountains of Central Mexico!

Near Death.

So, I was driving home today and had almost made it home when right in front of me, I saw a huge explosion. And when I say explosion, I mean action feature bright orange flames higher than buildings. I was basically stuck on the road I was in so I kept going, driving right by the huge fire. Absolutely in shock, I managed somehow to drive home feeling my entire body shaking. I noticed the whole area was out of power so I called my dad and asked him to check the news and make sure our apartment wasn't in danger of catching fire. Tony had gone for a walk and locked himself out of the house, and he sometimes walks RIGHT by where it happened, but luckily this time he went to a nearby grocery store and didn't even hear the explosion.

We got inside and found out through people updating us on the phone that a small jet crashed, hitting several buildings and many cars. They are still trying to figure out what exactly happened, but they do know the Secretary of State as well as other government officials were on board. Over forty people were injured, still not sure how many are dead. The pictures on TV are really impressive, but I just can't get over the fact I was so close!

You can check out a map here of where I was and where the explosion happened.

Anyway, at times like this you always feel thankful for your life and your loved ones, so I send you all my love!

iti

Camping fun in a Desert's Oasis

(To view our trip's album click on either of the pictures above.)

Last week-end we had our first Mexican camping trip. We left Friday afternoon with our friends Moy and Karen and their two daughters Liat and Ariela, who were camping for the first time. For this first outdoor outing I suggested going to Tolantongo, a real paradise in the middle of the Mezquital Desert in Hidalgo, where I had been as a child and teenager.

Tolantongo is located in a semi-desert zone at the bottom of a steep box canyon that has walls as many as 500 meters high. Its main attraction is two grottos at the canyon’s closed end, out of which flows a small volcanically-heated river which follows the canyon floor. The large grotto chamber is about half the size of a tennis court with a ceiling of up to ten meters. Above the grotto is a “tunnel”, a small cavern 15 meters deep in which warm water showers those who venture inside. Around these two openings, warm waterfalls flow down the steep canyon walls.

To arrive at the resort, one must leave the highway and travel down an unpaved road that winds its way down the side of one of the canyon walls. At the bottom of the canyon, the vegetation changes from semi-desert to semi-tropical due to the abundance of water and the humid warmth the river and falls give to the place.

We spent the week-end dipping in hot water springs and having a total blast! It was great to come back to this place I had such great memories from. The place has changed a lot though: back in the day when my parents first went there there was no infrastructure at all, not even a road to get to the bottom of the canyon, you had to hike down or borrow a donkey from the locals. Here's a picture I just got from my mom from when she went there for the first time:



When I went there as a child you could make it all the way down with the car, but the place was totally "wild". Nowadays there's a hotel and cabins to rent, bath and shower facilities, places to eat at (we had amazing food for SO cheap!) and a whole new area midway down the canyon where they've built over 40 little pools on the side of the cliff, surrounded by waterfalls, feeding from five different hot water springs... I have to say, that's not bad at all! It's definitely more crowded than it used to be (my mom told me today the first time they went there they were ALONE!) but we still had an amazing relaxing time and I think the girls had a perfect first camping experience!

Sweet Skulls

(To view our trip's album click on the picture above.)

Last week-end my parents, Tony and I decided to spend the day in Toluca to check-out the Alfeñiques Market, a once a year market where candy artisans showcase and sell their Day of the Dead specialties, mostly sugar shaped skulls and skeletons and other varied candy. It was fun!

After the market we walked around downtown and stopped at the botanical garden, known as the Cosmovitral. From 1920 until 1975 the Cosmovitral's art nouveau building was a market but it was then transformed into botanical garden. The large windows that surround the building on the second level were transformed into stained-glass murals. The murals consist of 71 stained-glass one-story panes containing 3000 meters of colored glass in almost 30,000 pieces in 28 different colors. This is considered to be the largest stained-glass artwork in the world. It was really beautiful.

Before returning to Mexico City we stopped in Metepec, a town renowned for its pottery artists, in particular for its "Trees of Life" and Day of the Dead traditional pieces. We walked around the main street for a while, checking out the stores.

All in all, we had a great day!

A walk in the park, part II

(To view the pictures in the album click on the picture above.)

I am still loving living by the park and try to go out there as often as possible. The other day Tony and I went at sunset and took a couple of shots, following several people's requests for images. I also took some pictures to try out the panorama stitching program Hugin my friend Yuri recommended. I have to say that I like the stitching I did on Photoshop (above) better than the one from Hugin, but I'll keep trying it out...

A walk in the park

After waiting for over two months for a new condo we're getting, we decided to move out of my parents's condo and find a temporary place to stay while we get the other place (I'm sure Tony will blog about this, see his blog!). My aunt Maggie found us an awesome furnished apartment in one of the most beautiful neighborhoods in the city and we get to rent it month to month for as long as we need it! We moved in a week ago and Tony left for Raleigh the next day so I spend last week getting things organized, working and hanging out with my parents, so I didn't explore the surroundings much.

Tony got back over the week-end and as soon as we go home he suggested going for a walk in Chapultepec Park, of which the second section is only one block from our place.

The hill of Chapultepec and surrounding land are now Chapultepec Park, a popular spot both for locals and tourists.

The park covers 1,800 acres (7.3 km) of land, centuries old forest, several small lakes, and landscaped areas with outdoor cafes. Chapultepec Zoo is located here, as well as an amusement park, and the official residence of the President of Mexico, Los Pinos.

Chapultepec Castle atop the hill is the National Museum of History. The park also includes the National Auditorium, along with several other museums, including the Modern Art Museum, the Tamayo Contemporary Art Museum, the Natural History Museum, the Papalote Children's Museum and the large Museum of Anthropology with perhaps the world's finest collection of Pre-Columbian, Mesoamerican art and artifacts.

We walked around the Great Lake (on the picture) at dusk, and it was incredible: great scenery, beautiful lake, perfect weather. This morning I went back for a walk just after sunrise and LOVED it again. I am hooked! I cannot believe I hadn't gone there before!!!

Aluminum Rocks!

My parents have a friend who's a big time theater, dance and music producer and for her birthday she had a private showing of the Aluminum Show, an amazing dance, performance and visual arts company from Israel that uses, yes you guessed it, aluminum in practically every form. It was amazing plus going to a free private show definitely feels VIP!!!! If you're in Mexico, don't miss the show, at the Teatro de la Ciudad, next week-end. If you're not in Mexico, check out their bbc video at http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/scotland/7546874.stm.