Western Xalapa and beyond

My bedroom window provides a sweeping view to the West and I have been curious to investigate what the western side of Xalapa is like. So, after reading about the Club Hípico Coapexpan that is out on the extreme western border of Xalapa I decided to drive out there and pin down the exact coordinates for the CommunityWalk map featured on this blog. Now I wish I had gone the day before when there was an international riding competition going on for young riders. The facility is very large, obviously very well financed and even though I have not ridden a horse since I was a teen, intriguing. The next time they hold competitions out there I will make it a point to attend. (For those without cars, I noted there were buses running out in this part of the city.)

Directly across from the club is a gated residential community, which looks pretty toney. From the Google Earth image one can spot a few swimming pools in the backyards of some homes.

Continuing on west from the club the avenue turns into a narrow paved road that meanders through some beautiful countryside. I passed several haciendas, a dairy farm, and eventually wound up at a country resort, Bosque de las Cipreses. Their sign says join them for desayuno on Sunday. Perhaps I will do that and afterwards continue on westward so I can investigate a settlement you can see on the Google Earth image, but that I cannot find on any map. From the Google Earth image I think I can make out a road leading to Coatepec.

Preliminary information about my GPS experience

While attending a conference in New York recently I took the opportunity to buy a GPS unit for my car. The unit I chose was the Garmin Streetpilot, c550, which has been on the market for some time and is therefore dropped in price. My impression is that Garmin is the heavy favorite in the GPS slugfest taking place now. I paid $324 at DigCity in New Jersey, which is a web store. Actually, Pricegrabber was showing a price of $284, but that may have been for a rturned unit that was no longer in stock. Over the years I have had good luck buying tech toys that have been returned. I think many people buy stuff that they simply cannot understand how to use. As long as the web store has a good rep and a good return policy you can save a bunch of money buying returned merchandise.

To go along with the Garmin unit, I purchased a downloadable "global map" of Mexico, surprisingly named "Global Map Mexico", which I think is a product of a Mexican company, but cannot pin that down. The other piece one needs is software to download and upload data to the GPS unit. That software is "MapSource" by Garmin and is free (not to be confused with the version intended for blue water navigation, which requires a payment).

I had the understanding that Global Map Mexico had detailed street information for Veracruz City, Villahermosa and Oaxaca, but if it is there, I cannot find it. The information for Xalapa is very sparse. State route 140 is shown with a few streets simply labeled "Calle de Xalapa", which confused me at first because I thought the map label meant Av. Xalapa. Silly me. Later on I looked at Veracruz City and could see many map lines labled Calle de Veracruz, obviously this is simply a conventional way of labeling streets when the detail is missing.

A thing that really surprised me was that my Garmin seems to have some basic map information for Mexico and indeed many more places. I hasten to add that there is no detail in this "basemap" until you hit the border of the US which has tons of detailed information. Just for the hell of it I asked my unit to route me to an address in San Diego, CA. Using a product feature that lets you simulate the trip, my Garmin promptly instructed me to drive to route (state road) 140. I was then led towards Perote and then into Puebla. I turned of the unit at that point because the simulation was running very slowly and my battery was getting low. I think the fool thing was going to take me through Mexico City, DF. No way, Garmin!

There does not appear to be a lot of map choices for Mexico that show "street level" detail. Nonetheless, I have discovered there is a way to use Google Earth information along with some public domain software to derive detailed maps of just about anyplace on earth. I will be reporting more on this in future posts as I climb the learning curve.

BBC publishing first person accounts of Tabasco disaster

Here is a link to the BBC website, which features first person accounts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7074323.stm

The Xalapa cable provider, Megacable has not restored CNN to our cable system, so we are relying on BBC and CNN Internet sites for information. CNN has been off the cable for just over two weeks. Perhaps Megacable's search teams are still surveying the cane fields for the the dish that was receiving the satellite feed.

This most recent outage started the night we experienced "frente frio 4"' or as this cold front condition is called, a "norte". I think it is interesting that Mexicans track cold fronts and number them. Sort of says how important these things are to the rhythm of life in Veracruz. As I reported in an earlier blog, wind speeds were up around 60 miles an hour. Besides causing a lot of wind damage here, that weather system was the start of the tragedy down south of Veracruz in Tabasco state.

Living on this side of the border one begins to appreciate why Americans are thought of as shallow, self absorbed, self-centered and indifferent to what happens outside their borders. Since CNN is out of action I watch the American Network, which carries CBS news. During an early morning broadcast November 5, there was a brief, all of ten second report on the flooding in Villahermosa, the capital of Tabasco. Take note that the floods have destroyed or severely damaged the homes of 500,000 people. Tens of thousands are still stranded on roof tops or whatever high ground they can find. They lack dry clothing, food, and water. In terms of the area flooded and the lives affected, this flood makes New Orleans pale by comparison. The loss to Mexico is staggering.

But, on the bright side, CBS morning news November 5, gave the story a whole 10 seconds. I know this because I timed the segment. The 30 minute evening news program did not even mention the tragedy.

Ok, we all know that network news in the United States sucks. But if we didn't know this I think the way CBS news reacted to one of the biggest natural disasters to befall our Mexican friends and neighbors tells us something. Maybe, just maybe, we are shallow, self absorbed people.

More bad weather news

I am closely in touch with the recent severe weather events that have battered the eastern coastal states of Mexico this summer and now are extending into the fall. Tonight, it was heartbreaking to witness this evening's television reporting on the current crisis in Tabasco. Even more disheartening is the news that yet another storm is forecast for this weekend.

To the south, the flooding in Villahermosa, Tabasco is already the worst in 50 years. Over one million are homeless and like in Katrina, many are still stranded on roof tops without dry clothing, food, or water as the crisis deepens. Over 20 people have lost their lives, crops are destroyed, and roads and bridges have sustained major damage. For Mexico, the loss is staggering and officials describe this tragedy as the worst natural disaster to ever befall Mexico.

Our Mexican friends, families and neighbors desperately need our generous support. One of the best ways you can help is to contribute to the American Red Cross and specify that you want your donation to go to help Mexican flood victims. I cannot get over the Spanish way of expressing such unfortunates: "damnificados", which I assume translates literally as "the dammed".

As a resident of Mexico for over a year I can testify to the wonderful people I am meeting here and I am deeply saddened to witness their tragedy. Please help. Here is the American Red Cross web site:

http://tinyurl.com/33uqhq

If you read Spanish, you can follow local newspaper reports by reading the online editions of Diario Xalapa:

http://www.oem.com.mx/diariodexalapa/notas/n387585.htm

For other towns and cities go here:

http://www.oem.com.mx/oem/

I don't know how CNN is reporting this tragedy because my local Megacable service lost CNN two weeks ago during a fierce wind storm that racked Xalapa. I suspect the CNN satellite dish is long gone and they have not managed to install a replacement.

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

TakItWithMe - A tool to load Google Data into a Garmin GPS

Xico Fiesta

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.

Increible Naolinco

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.

Susana Zabaleta appears with OSJEV

Personally I am not acquainted with the song styling of Susana Zabaleta, but it appears she has fans in Xalapa that eagerly anticipate her upcoming concert on October 6. Señorita Zabaleta is an award winning singer and actress. As usual, the venue for this OSJEV performance is el Teatro del Estado and the performance time is 20:30 hours.

Judging from articles in Diario Xalapa and on her web site, her repertoire covers a wide range from pop to opera. Tickets are higher than normal for an OSJEV concert ($250 and $350); but somebody has to pay Susana. I believe advance tickets are available at the upstairs offices in the theater (and in other places, but I don't have the information in front of me). If you want to attend, an early ticket purchase is advised. I promise to be better organized the next time I write a blog entry.

As Diario Xalapa notes:

No se pierden este concierto altamenta recomendado.