eIrOcA

Mexico City (Sunday 26/08/07)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-01-19T16:07:07+0000

Mexico City (Sunday 26/08/07)

You can not see all of this huge city in a single day!
Mexico City often suffer from bad publicity even by tour operators. The tourist areas of the city and the districts themselves are not so dangerous as they say. However, it is better not to walk around the city wearing valuables and be careful.
The city traffic is very intense. When you do not know the city the best means of transport is by taxi. Taxis in front the hotels are recommended because the drivers are bilingual and can wait during your visits. Simply agree on a price before departure according to your itinerary.
To get an idea of how is the everyday live in Mexico City is absolutely necessary to use one of the many buses that “fly” in the city traffic. They are numerous and all crowded, the peculiarity is that there are not “stops”, wherever you find one, just make a sign and you can literally “jump” on board. To use the bus requires a fair amount of balance in order to remain standing, and a greater amount of agility and coordination for both go down and, above all, to go up (the brakes are used very little).

Paseo de la Reforma

Paseo de la Reforma

Paseo de la Reforma: the main street also called “Les Champes-Elysées” of Mexico City, situated between the Museum of Anthropology and the Old Town.
The last Sunday of August it is closed to traffic due to a maratona, so the whole Paseo de la Reforma was available to the families, pedestrians and cyclists.

As you move away from the old town to southwest, the old construction become rarer and give way to modern buildings, which enhance with their grandeur and majesty the political and social role of the city. It is a very spectacular part of Mexico City, where it is concentrated the best of the capital, all the luxury and all the wealth.
Paseo de la Reforma is the main artery of the city, 15km long and wide up to twelve lanes, begins from Avenida Juarez and finish at Chapultepec Park. Wanted by Maximilian of Austria to give a European tone to the capital, the Paseo is lined by trees and statues of heroes and leaders. It was completed by Porfirio Diaz. Along its path is filled by super-luxury hotels, banks, financial companies offices and trendy shops. After Plaza de la Repubblica, there is the Glorieta Cristobal Colon, a roundabout with a statue in the center of the Genoese navigator, the work of French Charles Cordier (1877).
At the intersection with Avenida Insurgentes is the Glorieta Cuauhtemoc, with the monument to the last Aztec emperor. At the junction with Avenida Florencia, is the Glorieta El Angel, a roundabout with the Independence monument consists of a tall column with golden angel on top (1910).

Glorieta Cuauhtemoc

Glorieta El Angel

At the end of the way there are six thin columns of the monument to Los Ninos Heroes (at the entrance to Chapultepec Park) built in honor of the six National Military Academy cadets who sacrificed to defend the city from North America (September 17th, 1847).

Los Ninos Heroes monument

Woods of Chapultepec

Woods of Chapultepec

In the Nahutatl language Chapultepec means “hill of grasshoppers”. The namesake park is the green lung of this asphyxial city is crossed by the Paseo de la Reforma. More than 840 hectares of parkland studded with museums and playgrounds. On top of a short hill stands the Castillo.
The park was the hunting and the summer palace of Moctezuma. The Castillo, starting in 1785, became the residence of the Spanish viceroy, then home to the National Military since 1843, and finally since 1864 home of Maximilian and Charlotte of Austria during their adventure in Mexico. The Presidents of Mexico lived there up tp 1940, when Lazaro Carena transformed it into the History Museum. In the rooms you can admire relics of the Revolution and two large murals, one of Siquierios and the other of Camarena.

Castillo

Museo Historia

Among the trees of the park there is the zoo and the botanical garden, with animals and plants across America.
Almost at the edge of the park there is the Museo de Arte Moderno, which houses the large murals and the highest representatives of the Mexican school of painting.

⇐ Day 1: Mexico City

⇒ Day 3: Teotihuacan

Travels, Mexico, Mexico City, Paseo de la Reforma, Chapultepec

Oaxaca - Monte Alban - (Friday Mitla 31/08/07)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-01-19T16:07:07+0000

Oaxaca - Monte Alban - (Friday Mitla 31/08/07)

Monte Alban (white mountain)

Monte Alban museum

Monte Alban is located 10km from Oaxaca, in the middle of the valley at 2000 meters altitude, was the capital of the Zapotec civilization for over 1000 years.
Urban and Zapotec ceremonial center, founded 800 BC, erected by a people originally from La Venta (Olmec), had the peak between 100 and 800 AD. It had close relationship with the Olmec centers during the Preclassic period, when the city was adorned with pillars, and sculptures.
After the abandonment of the Zapotec (950 AD), the site was transformed by the Mixtec in a necropolis (1350) to accommodate the remains of nobles and priests. It houses the rich tombs, with votive and funerary urns, often painted, of which there were found over 170. At Monte Alban entrance there is the museum with the finds of the site.

The trail climbs to the Grand Plaza. The ceremonial center consists of a vast open space of 300m in length on the north-south and 250m wide on an east-west, bounded north and south by two major platforms. To the east, the playground of the pelota game, with a “I” shape, and the Palace, with a grand staircase.

Gran Plaza

Playground of pelota

Palace

To the south is the Southern Platform, a huge pile of stones covered by a wide staircase.
On the west lies a series of buildings: the Building J, arrowhead-shaped, with internal gallery; Building M, with the remains of four columns on the top; Building L, with bas-reliefs of danzantes where are portrayed slain enemies dripping blood and genitals cut; Building IV, built with large stone blocks stacked and the huge Stele No 18.

Southern Platform

Building J

Building L

Building M

To the north, lies the majestic North Platform with rooms that housed the tombs.
In the middle of the esplanade rises the mysterious Building G, which archaeologists are still studying to understand the ancient usage; was probably an astronomical observatory.

Northern Platform

Building G

In the north-west, more secluded, there are the tombs. The most significant are the n.104, with murals on the sidewalls and two gods who hold up a stick and a bag (representing the god of corn), No 7, dating from 400 AD, whose burial chamber was discovered the fabled treasure, the Jade mask of the god bat, which is located in the Museum of Oaxaca, and No. 105, sul Cerro del Plumaje, has wall paintings representing figures walking.

Mitla

Mitla is the other archaeological pole of the region, Mixtec site of the VIII century in which remain five magnificent palaces. It is a true architectural masterpieces decorated with panels of mosaic with 14 unique variations of geometric designs, consisting of thousands of small cut stones, each representing a different element. There are 5 Grupi and most significant, the Grupo de las Columnas, consists of real buildings. Among these are the Sala de las Columns with 6 columns and 34m long, the Patio de Mosaicos, where the walls and inner walls of these rooms are covered with intricate mosaics; the Patio Sur with two underground tombs, one of which contains the Columna de la Vida.

Sala de las Columnas

Patio Sur

Underground tomb

Columna de la Vida

Dominates the site, the Church of St. Paul, from dark red domes, flanked by the Grupo de la Iglesia, with a series of columns. Not far away is the Grupo del Arroyo, in large part still to be excavated.

Church of St. Paul

Grupo de la Iglesia

Mitla was inhabited by the Zapotec until the conquest of the Aztecs in 1494, followed by the Spanish one occurred in 1521. Its people spoke Zapotec language, although the source is Mixreca. Its current residents, just over 8000 people, are the direct heirs. Many people continue to pursue, as in the past, the art of weaving, and their women, minute and voice as thin as those of girls, pressed the tourists to buy their embroidered blouses.

El Tule

10km east of Oaxaca, here El Tule, with the immense tree ahuehete (Montezuma cypress), a species of cypress, which stands outside the church. The tree is included in World Guinness Records Book because it seems to be the largest in the world with its 42m high, 58m in circumference and more than 2000 years.

El Tule

⇐ Day 6: Puebla - Oaxaca

⇒ Day 8: Oaxaca - Tuxtla Gutierrez

Travels, Mexico, Monte Alban, Mitla, El Tule

Teotihuacan (Monday 27/08/07)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-01-19T16:07:07+0000

Teotihuacan (Monday 27/08/07)

For reasons of traffic you should visit Teotihuacan in the morning. For convenience, we endorsed one of the many taxi drivers affiliated with the hotel, and it was good.
As a first step took us to the place of a cooperative living by making Obsidian objects and multicolored fabrics made of cotton and agave. They shown us the working of obsidian, how to build cord from the agave and how to extract the Pulche, agave lymph, which can be drunk as it is slightly alcoholic (not bad after all).
Subsequently, the driver took us to the Pyramid of the Moon and he waited us at the end of the Way of the Dead, but only after making a long introduction to the site and having us hear the cry of an ancient extinct bird, a strange acoustic effect produced clapping in the middle of the squares of some archaeological sites (also at Chichen Itza).

Teotihuacan where "men become gods"

Lying forty kilometers northeast of Mexico City, the city is located in a huge valley in the middle of the arid mountains, it was the largest city and capital of Mexico's largest pre-Columbian empire.
It is one of the most important archaeological sites. In its period of maximum splendor, the place where “men became gods”, was inhabited by 250,000 people. It was founded in 150 BC in a strategic position, by the excellent climate, capable of controlling the traffic to the Gulf of Mexico. From farming town soon became a manufacturer of obsidian and trade center.
Today is one of the most visited sites of Mexico and the local population continues to live on the production of obsidian, manufacturing beautiful pieces based upon models collected in different sites of the country.
In the seventh century began its decline. I Its inhabitants abandoned it in 750.
Entering you see the Great Sacred Way, Avenida de los Muertos, the main axis, is flanked by wide platform for the celebration of religious rites.
The Great Sacred Way leads to Ciudadela, built in the classical period, reaches a considerable length of 400m. It consists of four platforms and preserves the Temple of Quetzalcoatl, whose facade has fine examples of Teotihuacan tablero. The steps of the temple is flanked by numerous alfarda with huge heads of plumed serpent.

Avenida de los Muertos

Head of plumed serpent

On the left rises the gigantic the Pyramid of the Sun: a square base with 225m and 63m high, 365 steps.
Get ready for a long, steep climb (in the whole site there are also steps on the road in plain …), but from the top the view is remarkable.

Pyramid of the Sun

At the north stands, in the Plaza de la Luna, the Pyramid of the Moon: 46m high, formed by four superimposed levels, with 112 steps. This ascent was certainly easier to accomplish than the climb to the Pyramid of the Sun, also because it was limited the first steps, as you can not climb to the top.

Plaza de la Luna

Pyramid of the Moon

The Plaza de la Luna includes other buildings such as the Palace of the Butterfly or Placio del Quetzalpapalotl, with a patio that has several columns with depictions of the Quetzal Butterfly, the Patio of the Jaguars with traces of paintings and the Temple of the fledged shells dating back to second century.

Patio of the Jaguars - traces of paintings

Guadalupe, Our Lady India

Apparition of Our Lady of Guadalupe

In December 9, 1533 the Virgin appeared close in a cloak embroidered with gold, to the Indian Juan Diego in the woods, on the Cerro El Tepeyac, where once stood the Aztec temple of the goddess Tonantzin, mother of the gods. Our Lady asked him to build a chapel in her honor, but the bishop, Fray Juan de Zumarraga, gave no regard to the words of Juan Diego. The Mother of Christ, then clear again, imprinting his image on the white mantle of indium and telling him to gather the roses that grew in that place and to bring them along to the mantle, to the prelate.
The coat is hung above the marble altar of the new Basilica.
Since then, Our Lady of Guadalupe was the saint patron of Mexico. Thus the work of conversion of indigenous peoples was also facilitated by this prodigy, used instrumentally by Spanish clergy.

Our Lady of Guadalupe

The new basilica

⇐ Day 2: Mexico City

⇒ Day 4: Mexico City

Travels, Mexico, Mexico City, Teotihuacan, Our Lady of Guadalupe

Palenque - Campeche (Thursday 06/09/07)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-01-19T16:07:07+0000

Palenque - Campeche (Thursday 06/09/07)

Palenque

Buried in the jungle of Chiapas, Palenque is considered one of the most important Mayan ceremonial centers. Knows its apogee during the classical era (600 - 800).
The excavations carried out along a perimeter of 1.3km² have unearthed the remains of what many consider the pinnacle of architecture and west Maya civilization.

The day for this hike was not the most propitious, but considering that we arrived shortly after a hurricane and another was coming was not so bad.

You visit the Temple of Inscriptions, which contains one of the rare crypts discovered in a pyramid in Mexico in 1952 by the archaeologist Alberto Ruz L'Huiller.
The tomb of Pakal, Mayan leader of the sixth century, were found baby walkers, masks, jade ornaments and other important objects.

Unfortunately the temple was one of the few buildings not accessible.
Despite the bad day, the site has been wonderful, and maybe the rain has intensified the colors.

Temple of Inscriptions

Palenque

The Palacio, where works for the preservation of artefacts are on going.

The Palacio

The Templo del Sol also here there are some frescoes still preserved and the Templo de la Cruz Foliada.

Templo del Sol

Templo de la Cruz Foliada

Campeche

Founded in 1540 by Francisco Montejo known as “the ship's boy ” Campeche is the oldest Spanish city in the Yucatan Peninsula.
Capital of the state, this city seems to live peacefully along the coast of the Gulf of Mexico. In the center of city there are beautiful colonial buildings with pastel colors and it is surrounded by “strongholds” bunkers used to protect the city from pirates.
Campeche was a strategically important to the Spanish due to its geographical position and for the export of precious wood from dyeing, the famous “Wood of Campeche”.
Campeche is currently undergoing a major restoration effort. In the evening a small train enables you to make the tour of the enlightened walls. The local population lives from fishing for prawns and extraction of oil.

Campeche

⇐ Day 12: Palenque - Yaxchilan - Bonampak

⇒ Day 14: Campeche - Uxmal - Merida

Travels, Mexico, Palenque, Campeche

Mexico City - Puebla (Wednesday 29/08/07)

Anonymous (anonymous@undisclosed.example.com) — 2019-01-19T16:07:07+0000

Mexico City - Puebla (Wednesday 29/08/07)

After the largest urban area in the world, we wnet to the magnificent colonial cities, several pre-Hispanic sites (Aztec, Zapotec, Mixtec Maya), the stunning scenery and indigenous regions still preserving their traditions.

Cholula

Located 10km west of Puebla, this small farming village is mainly specialized in the cultivation of flowers.
Cholula is one of the largest pre-Columbian ceremonial centers and enjoys of a terrible reputation: it seems that when the Spaniards arrived there, its walls were covered with the blood of sacrificial victims. The conquistadors, terrified, completely razed to the ground, killing all its inhabitants, and built in its place a new city with 365 churches, one for every saint in the calendar.
Remains the Great Pyramid of Tepanapa, taller than 120m, the highest in the Americas, in which the tunnels have been restored (8km) and the summit of which there is the basilica of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios, which is accessed by strenuous steps.
From his yard the view is incredible and in clear day you can see the snow-capped Popocatepetl volcano.

Basilica of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios

Cholula

Popocatepetl volcano

Puebla

Capital of the state, it was founded in 1531 under the name “Ciudad de los angeles” in a very fertile valley. At 216 meters above sea level, it is surrounded by high mountains of which the best known and the “Cerro de la Malinche”. Towards the middle of the nineteenth century, Puebla was the scene of fighting between the Mexican armed forces and the United States agents who seized the city in 1847. On 5 May 1862, the General Laurence commander of French troops failed in his attempt to seize the city, having been defeated by General Ignacio Zaragoza (thanks to this victory 5 May has become the day of national holiday in Mexico).
Today this city has developed significantly, with its 3 million inhabitants, is square to the 4th place of the national ranks. Puebla is famous for its colorful colonial architecture through the use of multicolored glazed tiles, which are used in the majority of the domes of churches, as well as in wall coverings, roofs, bell towers. The decorations are inspired by the pagan myths as the artists was the direct descendants of the builders of temples and pyramids.
We must not forget the renowned gastronomy with the famous “Plobano mole” (sauce composed of many ingredients, among them the cocoa).
In Puebla there is the largest German community living in Mexico and it organize, in August, the festival of beer, which has nothing to envy to 'Oktober Fest' in Monaco of Bavaria.

Puebla

⇐ Day 4: Mexico City

⇒ Day 6: Puebla - Oaxaca

Travels, Mexico, Cholula, Puebla