Monday, October 29, 2007

Even more spectacular than Naolinco

To approach Pico de Orizaba on the route chosen for our drive on October 28, 2007 we went south from Xalapa to Coatepec and then continued generally south, passing through the villages of Tuzanapan, Tlaletela, Pinilla, Ohuapan and Tutula, which barely appear on the Guia Roji map. On our single minded way, we sped through some famous river rafting country Veracruz promotes to tourists eager for a thrill. Although my camera shutter finger twitched to go into action, we did not pause for pictures -- we pressed on. As we left Xalapa, the prospects for a cloud-free day had looked remote, but we hoped the afternoon might see a break in the cloud cover.

Our goal now was the pretty little town of Coscomatepec, where a branching road runs straight east to the skirts of the mountain. Before making that our route, we needed more information from the locals. Eventually, the tertiary road system we were on spit us out at Totutla, where we joined a major highway that runs between the coast and the town of Orizaba.

We arrive at Coscomatepec

Before setting out, Eric had identified at least three possible routes to explore, but after some impromptu discussions with a few residents in Coscomatepec we decided on the route west out of Coscomatepec. This put us on a mostly paved road that ends at about the 9,000 foot level in the village of Nueva Vaqueria. But the pavement runs out for the last few miles.

After experiencing the mirador at Naolinco I didn't think any other place in Veracruz could be that spectacular. Boy was I wrong. Climbing to the faldas of Pico de Orizaba takes you on a magical tour of jagged peaks and steep sided, apparently bottomless canyons.



A camera simply cannot capture the sweep and grandeur of the landscape. But, since these photographs were captured at high resolution (3264 x 2448) you will get a much better appreciation of the views if you double click the photographs so that they completely fill your computer monitor (and then some).

(The Google Earth image below is an exception, it will not enlarge by much if any). By the way, I turned this image 90 degrees so that the view is from east to west corresponding to the almost due west heading we are traversing from Coscomatopec. Unfortunately the image resolution is poor. Otherwise this shot would present a spectacular sight. Nonetheless, you can get a better idea of the deep canyons radiating out from the peak and can appreciate how the road must try and follow the crests of the canyons. In Mexico, roads built on top of a ridge are often called "the devils spine". I would have to agree this road is devilish.


The good thing is a tall ridge top affords a view for miles in all directions. Peaks stud the horizon whereever you turn. Many peaks sport a twin spired church, standing alone in mute testimony to the people who cleared the rugged land and raised their vision rock by rock and plank by plank. Because of the high altitude and difficult farming conditions, the flanks of Pico de Orizaba are lightly populated. People who scratch a living here lead simple lives without many of the comforts of modern life.







Another surprising thing to see was the scale of human effort evident in the landscape. Everywhere you look, great swaths of hillside have been cleared. Of course this work was unaided by machinery until chain saws came along, so what you see is basically the result of men and women wielding axes and machetes. The plots of cleared land provide cash crops to sustain the population. Of course this work must have taken many, many years. Nonetheless who can fail to be impressed by the human dedication and muscle power.


Our destination the village of Nueva Vaqueria

This is as far as we should drive because the track gets steeper and more rugged as you climb on up the mountain. The locals tell us that to drive any further you need a "quatro por quatro", and apparently there are drivers in town who have such vehicles for hire. Eventually, at some point if you want to go to the top of the peak you will have to put on your pitons, shoulder your ropes, load up your carabiners and other gear and climb the rest of the way on foot.

From the picture of Nueva Vaqueria below you can see why we were unable to capture a photograph of the peak, which must be spectacular from this vantage point. Perhaps we will return another day when the weather is more favorable. Our current plan is to drive up Sierra Negra another extinct volcano a few miles away from Pico de Orizaba. This fifth highest mountain in Mexico now sports a huge radio telescope that is due to go into operation next year. It took 10 years, and 116 million dollars to build this Mexican (70%) - American (30%) bi-national project of the Instituto Nacional de Astrofísica, Óptica y Electrónica (INAOE) and the University of Massachusetts at Amherst. The project puts Mexico at the forefront of radio astronomy where it will remain on the cutting edge until another larger telescope in South America goes into operation in 2012. The scientists running the project hope to add important new insights into the very early moments of our universe after the big bang occurred. You can read a report on the project here:

http://www.lmtgtm.org/people.html














Here is another way to go up Pico de Orizaba.










Coscomatepec and the road to Nueva Vaqueria

Monday, October 15, 2007

Xico Fiesta

Sunday, October 14, 2007

Susana es una coqueta


Yes, I did go see Susana. I thought the night was worth the money ($25.00 US) even though at times I found myself wishing I was better at interpreting Spanish. That’s because Susana is quite the coquette and not at all bashful. Between songs, she flirted with at least two violinists and the maestro plus tossing frequent sly asides to audience members. They all seemed to lap it up. I have to say she is a very accomplished entertainer.

While I could not fully appreciate her humor, I cannot be too hard on myself, I realize that humor and poetry are the very last things one masters in any foreign language. I am a very long way from mastery of Spanish.

Susana has tremendous vocal range and when she sang popular songs she stayed in her lower register. So often when classically trained sopranos sing popular songs they stay in their high register and this never really sounds right. I don’t know if she made a conscious artistic choice, or she was saving her vocal cords, or what, but I liked her decision.

There were supposed to be several songs by legendary peruviana Yma Sumac according to the announcement in Diario Xalapa, but the program only noted one, and I was not even sure she sang that one (the performance and the printed program did not really match all that well). Sumac had legendary vocal range and power and could sustain a note for an incredible length of time. For some reason this is always a crowd pleaser. I wanted to see how Susana measured up because I remember listening to my sister's Yma Sumac recordings a long time ago.

Friday, October 12, 2007

Increible Naolinco

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The photo montage pulls together many of the shots taken at the famous mirador of Naolinco de Victoria, a quaint colonial town a few miles north of Xalapa. This famous viewing site is perched on the edge of a steep cliff and offers a stunning view of the canyon and waterfalls below (click on the photos for an enlarged view). Off in the distance loom Cofre de Perote and Pico de Orizaba. The area is known geologically as the Naolinco volcanic field (in the Sierra de Chiconquiaco range) and they sure got that volcanic part right. The entire area is studded with small volcanoes and mountains of debris thrown up from from all the volcanic activity.

OK, cliches are bad, but I don't know what to say. The view from this lookout is breathtaking, stunning, awe inspiring, and heart stopping. If you come to Xalapa and do not go to the mirador in Naolinco de Victoria you will have missed one of the most exhilarating experiences in the catalog of world travel thrills. Really, I'm not exaggerating a bit.

Plus, the mole at Doña Josefinas Restaurant ranks with the best of this region, which is saying a lot. Every town and village around Xalapa competes for the reputation of having the best mole. Doña Josefina's location could not be more convenient. She is right on the Plaza de las Armas at #8 Col Central, tel (279) 821 50 93.