After
Baja California, we took a ferry across the Sea of Cortez and hopped on
the Chihuahua Express, Mexico’s only remaining passenger train. (Like
the US, the rise of the personal auto destroyed train travel.)
Tucked
inside the sprawling canyon are amazing waterfalls (like this!),
ranches, lakes, interesting rock formations, minority groups, old
Spanish missions, and many other things – including us for a few days of
hiking and mountain biking.
I
like this photo as I think it does a good job of representing Mexico.
Among the aging hues of colonization are very vivid dashes of color that
speak to the heart of Mexican life, something the economic conditions
of the country cannot suppress. There is a dilapidated church in the
background, a fixture in Mexico, which conveys the relaxed feeling of
being in a relaxed country. The only thing that’s missing is a dash of
music, such as an organ grinder or street performer…
Like
the previous photo, this is Guanajato, tied for first among the best
cities we visited. (The other was Zacatecas, a very similar city.)
Walking the streets, the colors of the buildings are even brighter, and
when mixed with the vibrancy of colloquial life, the result sets a
traveler’s blood flowing. Mariachis performed for us at restaurants,
fresh fruit was sold on every street, and around every corner was a
quiet plaza with a cafe guarded by lazy parasols from the sun. Also,
the fact it was built in a valley allows the city to evade the boredom
of flat, straight streets, the curse of many a city in the world.
For
our last hurrah in Mexico, we decided to climb the volcano Pico de
Orizaba. This is a view of the volcano from the town at its foot where
supplied ourselves and found a ride to base camp.
For two days we sat in the hut at base camp (4200m/13,800 ft) while
the wind blew, rain fell, and snow drifted in, no chance for a hike to
acclimatize. Even at 2AM when we awoke to begin our summit, the rain
still poured, postponing our hike. It wasn’t until 6AM the fog and rain
lifted just enough for us to set off. For the first few hours photos
were impossible due to the weather. But for a brief moment it lifted
and I was able to get this photo of H.
And
finally, around noon the clouds completely lifted so we could see to
the peak. Awesome!! Here we are making our ascent up the glacier with
the wind kicking up snow and howling overhead. Unfortunately, due to
our late start and inability to properly acclimatize the preceding days,
we were unable to summit, but did achieve enough to smile and say: “We
tried!”, making it to about 5400 of its 5600 meters (17,700 of 18,400
feet). I think this photo is awesome.
Our last days were spent in Mexico City buying gifts and more gifts. Above are some choices we had, colorful toys called abrijoles that match the colorful streets and lifestyle of Mexico.
Mexico
is a souvenir shopping paradise, the number of things to buy both
mindboggling and frustrating as you want so many of them for no other
reason than to just have something cool from Mexico. Unfortunately I
must suffice with a photo of these marionettes and not have one hanging
in front of me as I type. (Talking to me, of course, telling me to head
into the kitchen for a shot of mezcal or to pick up my own guitar and begin plucking along with an imaginary chiquita in a sombrero, sitting beside me, singing about the lost love in her corazon…)
The End
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