Mexico - Valle de Bravo 1.09

To Valle de Bravo. A stop along the way at the bus station in Toluca.


Our hotel, Casa Nueva, offered a welcome respite after the bus ride and lugging our belongings from the bus station. Valle de Bravo may be a small town, but it wasn't the quiet, sleepy place I was expecting.


Our first night, we filled the window ledge with all our belongings in order to block out the street noise from below. Vendors were working the street at all hours, selling tamales, fire works, cups of boiled seasoned corn, and special bread for Three Kings Day. We suspended the window treatment after the first night. I fell into bed exhausted each night and had no problem sleeping (til the birds turned on at 5:30/6 a.m., that is).


This was where we welcomed the new year. We fell into bed at about 9:30 p.m. on 12/31 with a plan to wake up when the fireworks fired at midnight. It worked!! At midnight, the church bells across the street began ringing wildly and woke us up. We hung out the window, watching fireworks going off in the square and the vendors hurredly cleaning up the street to go home. Not your typical New Year's party, but more memorable than most.


The view of the church from our window.


El Pinon is the name of the big rock across from launch and what we call Valle's main flying site. This is the view of El Pinon from the landing zone, known as "The Piano." I was often the first pilot to land, so I'd hang under the shade tree in The Piano waiting for a shuttle back to town. From there, I could watch other newer pilots coming in to land and the more experienced pilots taking off and getting altitude over launch or the Pinon. By the time the Monarca Open competition started on January 3, there were a lot of pilots in the sky!


The basic cross country flight seemed to be trying to get from El Pinon to the landing zone on the lake in town. The landing zone is pretty sleepy early in the morning.


But, by early afternoon, pilots were coming in from the launch over town (La Torre) or from El Pinon. After my morning flight, the shuttle would drop me back here and I'd grab a Torta (sandwich) and water from the food stand and watch pilots coming in to land until heading back to the hotel for a shower or back up the mountain for an evening flight.


Meredyth told us that kids in town had lowered a fake spider on a string right in front of her as she walked down the street. I later caught them as they awaited their next victim.


A quiet moment on the street.


"Please let me in."

Mexico - Zitacuaro 1.09

After two days of flying from El Pinon in Valle de Bravo, we hooked up with a group from Boston and headed northwest to Zitacuaro to try another flying site. Here's the view from launch.


It was a two-flight day with some kiting in between. The landing zone was a dusty soccer field at the lake. Bianca, George, Stefan--the fun folks from Boston.


A happy pilot I know.


Wait a minute. There he is again, actually smiling for the camera.


Johann, our guide, promised a nice sunset on the lake. Here we are packing up from our second flight in the golden light.


Another nice day.

Mexico - Mexico City at Large 12.08

The breakfast room at Casa Gonazalez, our hotel. We tried breakfast elsewhere, but my favorite place to start the day was here. Cafe con leche, fresh fruit and some variety of Mexican eggs. The final morning they served a sliced banana topped with sugar and fresh squeezed lime. It was so good!



Our first morning in the city, we walked to the anthropology museum. Sites along the way: the main boulevard Paseo de la Reforma, vendor booths in Chapultepec Park, and these dancers, called voladores. They perform a "dance" that comes from a traditional indigenous ceremony. They climb a tall pole, and then gradually descend to the ground as the rope attached to around their waists unwinds from the pole. Four men descend, while one stays on top playing the flute.


The rest of these photos are from the Coyoacan neighborhood. We had a great day exploring the neighborhood's main square, markets, and the surrounding residential area. I wish I had gotten a photo of the food market we walked through between the subway stop and this central square. Just picture stacks of fresh fruits and vegetables, dried chiles, and piles of sauce pastes and spice mixes.


Typical Christmas decorations on a municipal building at one end of the square.


Massive wooden doors on the church at the other side of the square.


Capilla de la Conchita, a small chapel constructed in 1521 by order of Cortes. We took a break in a quiet cafe right across the street from the park where this chapel was located. A rare quiet moment in a crowded (!) city.


Chris and I in the garden at Frida Kahlo's house.

Mexico - Teotihuacan 12.08

The first thing that struck us was the huge scale of this place. Just like at the museum, we couldn't stop telling each other how incredible this place was. This is the citadel, at the southern end of the complex.


Almost all of the sculptural ornamentation that originally decorated the temples and pyramids is gone. The only exception is this area, which was buried behind the adjacent building and therefore protected.


At the other end of the complex is the Pyramid of the Moon. This picture was taken from there, looking back toward the Citadel. On the left is the Pyramid of the Sun, the largest structure on the site.


Another view from the Pyramid of the Moon. As soon as we arrived, we realized that not bringing our sun hats was a big mistake. We bought new ones to get through the day.


A young couple taking a break.


The grand Pyramid of the Sun. It seemed that we spent all morning walking toward it. Although it loomed large over the entire site, it didn't take as long to climb as we had expected. By noon, the line to climb to the top was long. Glad we got there early!


The reward at the top: a cool, breezy place to rest and take in a 360 degree view of the surrounding area.

Mexico - Museo Nacional de Antropologia 12.08

Before the trip, every person who mentioned the museum said it was one of the best they had ever visited. They were right.


Every case in every room seemed filled with amazing objects made by the Mayans, Aztecs, and other pre-Hispanic cultures. What a rich history.


The depictions of dogs, birds, and other animals were charming.


A beautifully ornate object. I'm not sure of the meaning, but this is a man's head peaking from the mouth of a coyote/dog. About 8-10" high and covered with shell.


Big head.


Little head.


Great masks.