New Trails

Leaving the city behind for the mountains was next on the agenda for this trip. Intrepid, a small group tour company have opened up a new trip hiking in the Sierra Norte mountains, staying in indigenous villages of the Zapotec people. The communities of the Pueblos Mancomunados welcomed us warmly and not only shared their forest trails but their homes, food, knowledge about flora and fauna and an insight to their rural lives. 

The hiking was at altitude, the highest village being at 3200m, but luckily I didn’t suffer any effects. The days were warm with perfectly blue skies, but the nights turned very cold. Our comfortable, simple cabins had a fireplace and we were grateful for its warmth in the late evening. Falling asleep to a fire crackling is beautiful, especially after full days of hiking and learning so much about how people live in these highland villages.

It was a welcome change from the noise and hustle bustle of the cities. I did however have to fly back to Mexico City after my escape to nature for what turned out to be an incredible three days at the Mexico Formula 1 Grand Prix; a fitting end to a wonderful adventure.

Enjoy the tranquil scenes from the highlands of Mexico in the photos. 

Oaxaca

As promised, a post about Oaxaca, for me a much lovelier and less overwhelming city to explore than Mexico City. It has much to keep you busy in the centre with interesting architecture, a great cultural museum, churches and Cathedrals and markets to shop and grab something to eat alongside the locals. Day trips to the UNESCO site of Monte Albán; an important and extensive pre-Colombian archeological site and Hierve el Agua; stunning petrified waterfalls and mineral pools means you can easily spend a week here. In 1932 an amazing discovery was uncovered at Monte Alban, now known as the tomb 7 treasure. It was the first time pearls and turquoise mosaic tiles were found and these make for an amazing display in the museum.

Whilst I was there, the decorations for ‘Day of the Dead’ really were in full swing. There was colour around each corner, as well as traditional dancing, elaborate floral displays, parades and fireworks in the evening with music and more dancing! 

I also encountered two wedding parades known as ‘calendas,’ where giant paper mâché puppets of the bride and groom are carried with the wedding party following behind the dancers, musicians and marmotas (huge spherical lanterns) through the streets, drinking the traditional drink Mezcal. It really is quite the spectacle to see!

From Oaxaca I joined a trip to hike in the Pueblos Mancomunados in the Sierra Norte mountains. More on that in the next post.

Enjoy the photos from a magical Oaxaca.

Colours of Mexico

As this year I have a two week half term, I decided to leave the autumnal colours of Norfolk behind for the sunshine, blue skies and colours of Mexico. It was to be an extra special trip, as at this time of year the country celebrates it’s biggest festival, Día de Muertos (Day of the Dead,) when people gather to pay respect to friends and families who have died. 

I flew into Mexico City, a city with over 9 million people and some of the worst traffic I have encountered! Walking the streets of this city, built on a lake bed in 1325 by the Mexica (Aztecs,) it’s beauty was soon revealed in it’s architecture, food and people. My favourite place was the Anthropology Museum, one of the best museums I have visited in the Americas. Its vast collection is simply incredible and you could easily visit more than once and still not see everything. 

On my way to Oaxaca, I visited Teotihuacan, an amazing architectural site of temples, including the pyramid of the sun and the pyramid of the moon, linked by the avenue of the dead. It was incredible to walk between them and marvel at both the original ruins and the reconstructed parts. Oaxaca deserves a post of its own, so I’ll write about my time there next.

I also spent some time in Puebla, a much smaller city and just wonderful to walk around with a coffee. The architecture is very different to Mexico City and colour was everywhere!

Enjoy the colour in the photos and thanks for reading.