Hopping in a boat on the Grijalva River, the travelers view the wildlife in Sumidero Canyon.
Tag: #historic areas (Page 2 of 2)
Chiapa de Corzo is a town in the Chiapas highlands of Mexico. People have lived here since 1400 BCE, and the earliest Mesoamerican inscribed date is found here on a Stela 2: 36 BCE is the first Long Count Date. The colonial city of Chiapa de Corzo was founded in 1528 CE near the ancient city.
In the center of the Valley of Oaxaca, rising up from the plain is the Pre-Columbian city Monte Alban. This Zapotec city dominated the valley by 200 AD. It covers the top of a hill that overlooks the valley with mountains in the distance. In addition to the small ballcourt are stone platforms, palaces and tombs.
The two major volcanoes near Mexico City that you drive past on the way to Puebla.
A mellower sun
It was their last morning in Mexico City and Cheryl was determined to sit outside on the rooftop patio for her breakfast. She gingerly walked out and looked up. The sky was grey with a haze that kept the sunshine at bay: it would not be her enemy today. A mellower sun hung in the east like a round yolk just to the right side of the cathedral. It was sweet to see it rise above the square Zocalo.
They left Mexico City for Puebla that morning and spread out on their full size bus. There were only fifteen travelers, including Daniel and Jose the driver, so they each had their own seat. This initially looked like a good arrangement, but it kept the travelers from getting to know each other. It kept Cheryl lonely.
Cheryl sat a few rows from the front of the bus where Daniel sat. She watched happily out the window when a restaurant with a large sign came into view. The yellow sign said Vips. “Daniel,” she yelled, “is this what you meant when you said Beeps?”
He looked where she pointed, “yes.”
“Okay, thanks.” Cheryl popped back down.
Daniel thought it was a weird question. She was full of weird questions. After a few kilometers he stood up and held the microphone to his lips.
“Just letting you know that we are driving past two very important volcanoes. Iztaccíhuatl, that means white woman, and Popocatepetl, or smoking hill. You can begin to see them on this side, and we will pull off the road at a better location. Hopefully there won’t be clouds or pollution and we’ll be able to see them clearly.”
Cheryl took shaky photos through the window of snow covered mountains that evolved into volcanoes. Iztaccihuatl was visible first; a series of snow covered peaks that resembled a woman lying down. Popocatepetl appeared next and was the quintessential volcano shape: a round peak with snow on the top and puffs of white smoke. Their bus pulled off the road and they unloaded into a field. There they both were, both volcanoes smoking, and both so much a part of the lore, myth, and history of the Mexican people who trace their ancestry from mountains. The travelers took pictures of themselves and each other. Debbie insisted they take one of her and Cheryl, so she could look at it later and remember that “crazy Aussie lady.”
Back on the bus Cheryl noticed that Daniel was not pronouncing the ancient Mexica sound of “tl” correctly. It was a tull sound you made by holding your tongue against your teeth. This sound did not add another syllable as it was a consonant, and not a syllable. The word tepetl, which meant hill in Nahuatl, was only two syllables: te-petl, but when Daniel said it he made it three syllables: te-pet-tul. Cheryl remembered the pronunciation from university.
Cheryl hopes she’ll have a religious experience in front of the tilma…
The word Zocalo means the base of a statue or column. In the main square in Mexico City, in Colonial times, they planned on erecting a column, but it was never completed. People would say: “meet you at the zocalo.” The name stuck and this square became known as the Zocalo. This has transferred to other Mexican cities where they refer to their main square as the Zocalo.
When most people think of vacationing in Mexico, they see themselves lying on a beach with blue skies overhead, and a drink in their hand. Cheryl had other ideas.
The Weaselhead is an area in Glenmore Park in Calgary with a history stemming from the late 1800’s and was named by the Tsuu T’ina Natives. The first bridge to cross the Elbow River was built near Weaselhead Crossing, where people had from time immemorial crossed the river by foot. 
For more information about this area visit https://calgaryringroad.wordpress.com/2012/05/01/the-weaselhead-and-the-city/
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