These beautiful, red plants with green tips were everywhere in Xico. I don’t know what they’re called, and I had never seen them before or since.
Archive for the ‘Veracruz’ Category
Candy wrappers
Posted in Veracruz, Xico on January 17, 2011 | 1 Comment »
Olmec Greetings
Posted in Veracruz on December 29, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This Olmec Colossal Head greets visitors as they enter the Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa, Veracruz. His buddy, Number 1, is somewhat reserved in nature and prefers the post outside.
Olmec Colossal Head
Posted in Veracruz on November 24, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Olmec Colossal Head No. 1 discovered at the Olmec settlement of Tres Zapotes in 1939. Photographed at the Museum of Anthropology in Xalapa, Veracruz, where F and I walked through the most important collection of pre-Columbian works including these wondrous heads.
Streets of Naolinco
Posted in Veracruz on November 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
We spent F’s 40th birthday in Naolinco, a charming town in the State of Veracruz. As we walked the town, admiring the bright colors and festive decorations for La Independencia, we heard an old man tell another old man that the rain would be here soon. We looked for evidence of this, and found none, except the air smelled a bit like wet tires.
An hour later, we huddled under an awning as it rained sheets of angry water pellets from a big bellied sky that had been split open, without warning. Dropping like nails it came down and bounced off the ground, until a small river formed and began taking over the sidewalk. We noticed a few people had been caught in the rain like us, including a bunch of adolescents that ran up and down the street screaming with youth and circumstance, invigorated by the storm.
We waited and waited. The rain didn’t let up. A few cars boated down the waterway. The water, the greyness, and sound orchestrated into a meditation. Waiting wasn’t so bad. Then came a truck, the kind with enormous wheels. It was moving fast and splaying water from both sides. F motioned for it to slow down. It did not. As the monster truck passed us, we were doused in a wave of water… all of our awning positioning had been a complete waste of time. Fernando chased after the truck, hitting it smartly on the back window with a 10 peso coin. Water refugees moved from their perch to see what would happen next. Fortunately, the truck kept going.
Now that we were wet from the waist down, we were liberated from our awning sanctuary and made our way to the bus station in ankle high water and rain. It wasn’t that bad.
El Frio
Posted in Veracruz, Xico on November 10, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Little tienda just before entering the town of Xico, Veracruz.
It’s been cold! F and I stocked up on gloves, fingerless gloves (for typing) and beanies to keep the head heat in. Butter stays hard on the counter and I don’t need to refrigerate a pot of chili before going to bed. Not good weather for Cerveza muuuy fria.
Softball
Posted in Veracruz, Xico on October 26, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Place names
Posted in Veracruz on October 23, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
According to this sign, the City of Coatepec is located with latitude between 19.26ºN and 19.28ºN and longitude between 96.56ºW and 96.58ºW with an altitude of 1252 meters above sea level.
The last night we were there, F and I hiked to a look-out called Cerro de Las Culebras which overlooks Coatepec. In the distance, we could see the volcano El Pico de Orizaba, known as Citlaltépetl which in Náhuatl means Star Mountain. Orizaba is the highest mountain in Mexico.
“Cerro de Las Culebras” translates to Hill of Snakes. “Coatepec” is Náhuatl for Cerro de Las Culebras. The lookout is now a natural reserve. Although I kept an eye out, we didn’t see any snakes.
Blue moon
Posted in Veracruz, Xico on October 22, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Madre Lourdes and I headed to Teatro Juarez last night to see Mariza, but the show had been rescheduled for next Tuesday. So, we’ll head back down next Tuesday.
Meanwhile, there’s a full moon occurring in the last degrees of Aries, exact at at 6:37 pm PDT. I look forward to seeing it rise behind the mountains near my place.
Jesús te ampare
Posted in Veracruz on October 17, 2010 | 2 Comments »
There’s a legend behind the name of this charming alley, El Callejón de Jesús te ampare. Back in colonial times, a Spanish family lived in this alley. They had a beautiful daughter. She had a boyfriend named Cosme Taboada. Misfortune struck when one night, as the couple were saying their goodbyes, a mean drunk stumbled by the couple and plunged a dagger into Cosme. The beautiful girl, horrified, began to scream “Cosme, Jesús te ampare!” – Cosme, may Jesus help you!
Since then, people referred to the alleyway “Callejon de la muchacha de Jesus te Ampare”. These days, the name has been shortened to Callejón de Jesús te ampare. The alley is located in central Xalapa, capital of Veracruz.
Kiosko
Posted in Veracruz on October 16, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Butterflies
Posted in Veracruz, Xico on October 12, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
As we made our way to the waterfalls on the outskirts of Xico, we crossed this bridge. Butterflies landed on my shoulders and arms. They were so intelligently designed, I stopped to photograph their lines and colors.
Sharing
Posted in Veracruz, Xico on October 11, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Road outside Xico
Posted in Veracruz, Xico on October 9, 2010 | 1 Comment »
As F and I walked down this wet road, we found a rushing river, bloated from so much rainfall. Next to the river, we saw cabanas, set perfectly in all of this green, right close to the water. I could stay there forever.
Tortilleria
Posted in Veracruz on October 8, 2010 | 3 Comments »
Santa Maria Magdalene Cathedral
Posted in Veracruz, Xico on October 6, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Santa Maria Magdalene Cathedral is named after Mary Magdalene. Even though there is some controversy about her bad girl status before turning Saint, Xico celebrates her fashion. Her dresses in lace, satin, and brocade, are displayed outside of the church daily.
El Muerto
Posted in Veracruz, Xico on October 5, 2010 | 1 Comment »
Barber
Posted in Veracruz on October 4, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The reclining customer in the mirror is getting a traditional wet shave with a straight razor. Barber shop in Coetepec.
Church of Guadalupe
Posted in Veracruz on October 3, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
The church of Guadalupe was located directly across from the jardin in Coatepec. On the other side of the jardin was the Municipal Palace, the market, and a beautiful elementary school. Founded in 1702, the beautiful colonial city of Coatepec is a National Historical Site known as coffee central. I miss the great lecheros (steamed milk and strong coffee) I had there!
Coatepec
Posted in Veracruz on October 2, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
Up Xico
Posted in Veracruz, Xico on September 30, 2010 | Leave a Comment »
This path took F and I to the top of Xico (pronounced HE-ko). One of the things I enjoy most about Veracruz is how lush and green it is everywhere. Last week, it would rain for an hour early evenings, and then through most of the night. In the morning, we would wake up to a bright new day.
The 10 minute bus rides between Xico & Coatepec and Coatepec & Xalapa were a tunnel of tropic, with all shades and sizes of green on both sides.
