Google Earth view of Cofre de Perote

Cofre de Perote is classified as a shield volcano, a type that has broad, gentle slopes built by the eruption of fluid basalt lava. The terrain is very interesting from this vantage point. The west side of Xalapa is actually built on the eastern hills of Perote. The area immediately around the peak is designated a national park.

The summit of Cofre de Perote

At the top

At the summit we reach the end of the road. For those with the wind power and strength there are stairs you can climb to reach the very top. I say you can use the stairs, but use may be restricted to use by the technicians who live up here and maintain the communications equipment. Someone has to fix the things that get blown away or replace the navigation lights that burn out. It occurs to me though, that Mexico being Mexico, you might just nose around and ask someone if you can climb to the tippy top. Good chance they might even take you for a guided tour. Certainly, no one would frown on you for asking in a friendly tone of voice. It is not like they are hounded by thousands of visitors and I have the definite sense that Mexicans in general are very proud of their country and genuinely enjoy helping visitors.

It is windy and cold up here so we don't tarry.

Nearing the top of Cofre de Perote

We are almost piercing the cloud ceiling now. The diagonal line in the photograph is the road we have just traversed. If you click on the photo the resulting enlarged view reveals the jagged surface of this cobblestone road. There is a very narrow shoulder and a very steep drop at this point. Here we would be at about 13,000 feet in elevation and the view is looking out towards the North. You almost have the feeling of being in an airplane, don't you? From here on there are several hairy switchbacks and the road gets steeper and steeper.

Piercing the clouds

The road up Cofre de Perote

Western side of Cofre de Perote

Most visitors to Xalapa are probably familiar with, and have no doubt photographed, the Eastern side of this 4 250 meter (13,943 foot) extinct volcano, but I doubt a lot of them ever see the Western face. Perhaps because natives are aware the cobblestone road leading to the summit makes for a very uncomfortable ride and warn visitors off. The road is for sure not there to encourage visitors but to serve the maintenance people who maintain the communication towers and facilities that are situated here. I use the term "road" advisedly. To be honest, only adventurous visitors driving utility vehicles or trucks should make the trip to the top.

On a very clear night from my apartment in Xalapa I can make out the navigation lights on the communications towers that stud this peak 14 miles away. Usually in the early morning the summit is clear of clouds, but by mid-morning the clouds start forming and by afternoon clouds cloak the summit from view. This condition has been true during the summer months I have experienced life in Xalapa, but winter may bring a different set of weather conditions at the peak.

My companion drove right to the base of the rocky protuberance you see in this picture. The formation is actually what is left of the rim of the volcano, the rest having fallen away over the centuries. Some imaginative person gave the Spanish name Cofre de Perote (The Coffer of Perote) to the mountain based on ete shape of this residual part of the rim. If you squint just right it does resemble a treasure chest.

Smithsonian data reveals the last eruption occured around 1150 years ago, but the data is not clear about where exactly this eruption occured. There is a small vent on the northern flank of the mountain and it may be that the last eruption occured through this vent. I guess that is a question that requires more research. The main eruptions are quite old.

La Orquesta Sinfónica Juvenil del Estado de Veracruz (OSJEV)

For those interested in the cultural life of Xalapa, the important news is that Xalapa is blessed with not one but two outstanding symphony orchestras. The famous one and it's little sibling, la Sinfónica Juvenil. That's Maestro Antonio Tornero the man in charge. I think he always wears a white jacket.

Like other youth symphony orchestras around the world, Xalapa's youth symphony is composed of young musicians and serves as a training ground, but this orchestra is definitely not in the minor leagues. You won't hear any screeching violins or sour off key clarinets because these young musicians are tops in their class and they study under some of the best teachers and coaches in the business. The maximum age of a member is 29 years, but I cannot tell from the official web page of OSJEV what the minimum age might be. I doubt they would turn away a prodigy though. Here is the official web site:

http://groups.msn.com/osjev/_whatsnew.msnw

During their regular season, which should roughly correspond to the academic schedule of local universities, they present concerts in the Teatro Estatal, located a short distance from the main commercial district of Xalapa.

Now you want to hear the best part? Tickets are a great bargain. The better seats are 30.00 pesos and the economy seats are 20.00 pesos. I have listened from seats in each section and can not tell a bit of difference. The higher priced seats are of course closer to the podium, but for orchestral performances, I cannot see a great advantage. As for the acoustics in this sala, they leave little to be desired, but I should say perhaps people with better hearing acuity than me might say different.

For me, the two or three dollars (rough conversion I use is 10:1) for a performance by Orquesta Juvanil is a truly a bargain and one of the blessings of living in Xalapa.

Sinfonica Xalapa de Estado de Veracruz

Doing a web search produces many articles about the Sinfonica Xalapa de Estado de Veracruz. Here is the official web site of this Xalapa cultural giant, which some critics claim is the best symphony orchestra in Mexico:

http://www.sinfonicadexalapa.com/

Chow, an incredible web site

Austin, Texas food and travel writer Mick Vann starts his article in Chow with a description of lunch in Xico.

I’m sitting in a restored 18th-century house in a Mexican mountain village, about to have one of the best lunches of my life. I taste my first bite of picaditas, grilled cornmeal tortillas with raised edges that cradle black bean paste topped with pungent Cotija cheese and two salsas.

http://www.chow.com/stories/10660/4#restaurants

What makes Chow unique is the combination of expert knowledge of food and dining together with advice on where to eat, what to eat, what to buy, and where to have fun at your destination; in this case Xalapa, Mexico and surrounds. Actually those basics just scratch the surface. You will also find recipes, shopping guides geared toward food, and ratings of Chow's readers. In fact, pick a country or a city and you will probably find some unique information on this web site, some of it generated by residents.

The author of Mole in the mountains, Jon M. “Mick” Vann is a retired professional chef who has been specializing in international cuisine for more than 30 years. He has been a food writer for the Austin Chronicle for nine years, and coauthored a cookbook on international appetizers with Art Meyer titled The Appetizer Atlas: A World of Small Bites. Vann also owns Atlas Culinary Adventures, a company conducting domestic and foreign culinary tours.

The small town of Xico is a short distance from Xalapa, Veracruz and is only one of the side trips covered in Mick's article.

For residents of Xalapa (or other towns in the vicinity) it would be interesting to receive comments on the articles and recommendations of Mick Vann.

CNN is back

Sometime early this morning CNN reappeared on Megacable. I am something of a news junky and I have my DVR set to record snatches of their segments throughout the day. Having a DVR makes it possible to skip through the commercials (all american products, not Mexican) and the repeated program segments. I plan on writing a post on my take on Mexican cable programming after I get some other topics about Xalapa covered.

CNN is missing in action

My cable provider, Megacable, seems to have a lot of problems keeping CNN on the air. Maybe the outage today is related to our little hurricane that blew through here yesterday, but CNN has been off the cable more times than I like. And then at other times the signal was just really bad, almost unwatchable. I suppose I could call Megacable, but if you think talking to a cable company back in the states is frustrating, just try talking to a Mexican cable company in pidgin Spanish. In a way though, the conversational experience is good. I usually have to get the person on the other end to say everything twice, and I have to make at least that many attempts when I speak. We get more practice this way.

Digression. Here in Mexico, if you are having an exchange and you don't understand something, it is considered impolite, or at least gauché, to just blurt out: what? In Spanish that would be: como? No, the correct rejoinder to a string of Spanish you didn't understand is: mandé? This translates roughly to: at your service (being a conjugation of the verb mandar). The meaning is: will you say again?

There are just so many conversational traps relating to culture you have to learn. I like, mandé, and I seem to use it a lot. Sometimes to keep from sounding like a mindless robot I throw in: no entendí, which translates to: I don't understand.

For your edification and enjoyment, I have included access to the google language translator on this blog. Take a look at the right hand column. If you search for mandé you will not get the full story from this little translator. For example, the fact that the custom of using this expression is only common in Mexico and that it dates back to the days of the aristocracy in Spain.

Now that's a thought -- talking to the cable company as though they were aristocrats. Just goes to show how far the Mexicans will go to be polite.

Hurricane Dean hits Veracruz state

Today is wet and wild as hurricane Dean slams into the East coast of Mexico up North around Tuxpan. The power has been out twice this morning (August 22), but only for brief periods. Last night I shut down my television, DVR, fax machine and computer and pulled the power cord from the wall because I was afraid of a power surge. I do have power strips that are supposed to trip if a surge hits my line, but recently I lost the motherboard in my desktop computer and that experience has made me more cautious. I suspect a power surge fried something but will never know, because repair shops do not troubleshoot to the component part. Replacing my motherboard cost about $200.

Last night around 11:00 the wind started to increase and just about the time I decided to stop reading and go to sleep I heard a loud explosion and simultaneously saw a bright flash in my bedroom window. Because there was no clap of thunder I ruled out lightening. looking out my window (I am on the fourth floor) at the houses behind my building I could not detect anything amiss. What could this be? The electricity seemed to be OK, because the houses behind me had lights. I finally decided it might have been a small propane tank that exploded, but I have no easy way of verifying what exploded. The tanks on most of the houses are so big that if one of those exploded it would surely level a house. No fire trucks or ambulances arrived so I still don't have an answer. It was hard to get to sleep and I spent a restless night listening to the howling wind and the driving rain pelting my window.

With daylight I was able to survey the houses behind my building and could not see any damages. I'll have to ask around to see if I can find out what exploded last night.

It is 12:54 now and the winds are at 39 MPH according to Accuweather.com. I occasionally hear crashing noises, but when I look out I cannot determine what is happening. I am checking around my windows for water entry and so far there is not a great deal of water seeping in. By 6:00 PM the forecast is for 69 MPH wind and I think seepage may start to be a problem then. I'll take some more video later. The avenue in front of my building is fairly full of water now.

As we approach 19:00 hours the winds are calm. The Accuweather forecast of 69 MPH did not materialize, so I think we should be in the clear.