Of Volcanic Craters and Mystical Lakes

“What was I thinking when I signed up for this trek?” I said to myself. We were a group of seven heading toward the volcanic crater of Nevado de Toluca. At a height of about 4000 meters, the oxygen level was not helping the lungs of one who had spent a major portion of her life in the plains. The temperature was around 5-7 degrees Celsius, so it was not helping either.  However, it was after an hour and a half’s trek and a slide down the mountain trail that I realized all this was worth the view. The view of the beautiful Nevado de Toluca, with its two beautiful lakes, and its highest summit the Pico del Frial.

For me it was nature at its best. We were standing inside the crater, and all around us we could just see mountains towering upon us. The cool breeze brushing our face, the biting chill all of a sudden reduced to a pleasant kiss on the cheek. There were patches of lush greenery and then again rocks and volcanic remains covered major portion of the topography. In front of us lay “Lago de la Luna” or the Moon Lake. Blackish-green in color, the Moon lake is deeper of the two lakes. We were told that there have been stories of skeletons being found in the lake, according to the legend, these were people who had been sacrificed to please the volcanic mountain.

We then trekked around the Moon lake to reach the “Lago del Sol” or the Sun Lake. The Sun lake happens to be bigger in area, and is a beautiful shade of emerald. It was here with the backdrop of the Pico del Frial, I saw the most beautiful landscape ever, come to life. The clouds came down to touch the surface of the lake, as if in a silent agreement to make the place look heavenly for us. The silence around us made the place all the more mystical and surreal.

We then decided to head back to the edge of the crater to start our trek upwards, and it was then that we lost our way and had one hell of a fun time playing explorers and finding our way back.  It was a beautiful brush with nature in one of its truest form. Standing inside a crater, which once had led volumes of lava out from the belly of the earth and covered a city in its ashes, gave me goosebumps.

Of Luchadores and Action-Packed Fights

And he flies yet again…this was the second flight into the ring and luchador Marco Corleone came crashing down on his opponent from team rudos. Do I need to say the rest? Two others from team rudos (the bad guys) lunged towards the técnico (the good guys) hero and the fight went on. Luchador Maximo added some humor to the fight and left the spectators in splits. This was my first time at the Arena México; the most well-known and prestigious ring in the city, known for its Lucha Libre fights. Watching that mind-blowing action live was a true experience in itself. I did watch some of the fights on television earlier but it was nothing compared to the live fight.

                                        Photo Courtesy: http://www.theguardian.com

Lucha Libre is a form of professional fighting (somewhat like the WWE, but I found this one much more interesting and entertaining). This type of wrestling is characterized by the colourful masks that the wrestlers, luchadores, wear during the fights. El Santo, the luchador in silver mask, was the most famous luchador ever; in fact he is a legend. Children sing songs about him and think of him as their protector, and his character has also been portrayed in comic strips and movies.

In the three-hours of action-packed entertainment, I was fortunate enough to watch the Blue-Panther fight on the occasion of his 35^th anniversary of being a luchador.  People threw coins toward the ring to show their respect. My voice had gone hoarse because of all the shouting and cheering I did, but the fight was so worth it.

Of Colourful Boats and Merry People

Imagine a warm summer evening, with cool breeze blowing through your hair, and you being directed to this beautifully painted boat, whose tables are oozing with good food and drinks, and you get to know that you will be cruising for the next three hours, through a lake, surrounded by some mystical islands…What do you say?? Well my exact words were…nothing. I was speechless, by the beauty and charm of it all. I was in Xochimilco. This place is a major tourist attraction because of its previously mentioned islands called “chinampas” and colourful boats called “trajineras”. And it also happens to be a world heritage site, so you just can’t miss it.

In the boat you are also given a sound box, you can plug in your mobile phone to it and there you go, you have your own disc right in the middle of the lake. As the light fades and the moon rises, you have this uncanny feeling floating in the middle of a lake with candles burning and their flames reflecting on the black waters. I just wished that the cruise was of six hours instead of just three. Some ducks swam by our boats hoping to share some of our treats and we did oblige them. All in all, it was fun yet serene journey for me. 

Of Electric Shots and Worm-Lined Drinks

 ¡Sí mi Amigo! If you haven’t tried either of these two; you are missing something major. I am sure almost every liquor-educated person on earth would know about the tequila, but how many of you have heard of its big-brother “Mescal”?

Photo Credit : http://www.sciencedaily.com, (iStockphoto/Tryfonov Ievgenii)

Mescal is a traditional handcrafted drink manufactured in Mexico. It has strong alcohol content and unlike tequila has a strong smoky flavor. Unlike tequila you cannot mix mescal with any other drink to make a cocktail out of it as. The result of such a mix can be disastrous as it can successfully kill a drink which is a winner on its own. Mescal bottles are believed to have worms at the bottom…you may wonder why. There are various theories as to why the drink contains the larvae of butterflies in it; some say it is to enhance the taste of the drink while others believe it shows that the mescal is fit to drink.

So what do you do when you have sipped enough of this mighty drink and are somehow unable to differentiate between a fork and a spoon? Easy… buy yourself a series of high voltage electric shocks to jolt you back into reality, so that you can drive your way back home without a ticket! Electric shock machines are common in pubs and plazas in Mexico. But you better not try it if you have a heart condition, or better, an extreme fear of getting electrocuted.

Coming up next… “Is this for real? ---Xochimilco” 

Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico

The first place that I visited once I was in Mexico was the UNAM. The National Autonomous University of Mexico. I took the metro from Balderas to the last station on the green line, the Universidad (or the University station). Once there I met my friend Aleida who had happily agreed to take me around the university. The main campus of the university is a World Heritage site and is truly a beautiful place. I was at the university to inquire about the Spanish language program for foreigners. The university campus holds a lot of important buildings, notable amongst them are the Central Library, Museo Universitario Arte Contemporaneo (MUAC - the museum of contemporary art), and the Universum (the famous science museum in UNAM).

Words of wisdom for the readers: please note the timings and how long it might take to make a complete tour of a museum beforehand and plan your trip accordingly. During summers you will find a very long queue, even on weekdays, since it is vacation time for school and college students and they are the ones who mostly flock to the museums apart from the regular tourists.

The Central Library (on the left of the picture above) is truly marvelous. The outside of the building is covered with various murals which were painted by Mexican painter and architect Juan O'Gorman. The murals are made out of thousands of colored tiles and each wall of the building depicts different time periods of the Mexican history. The Northern Wall depicts the pre-Hispanic past, the South Wall depicts the colonial past, the East Wall depicts the contemporary world, and finally the West Wall represents the University and modern Mexico. In the center of the building you can see the famous symbol of the eagle eating a snake standing on a cactus, the same symbol that you find on the Mexican flag. All-in-all it's a beautiful structure to behold.

At anytime during your tour at the university if you would like to take a quick bite, there are plenty of canteens and cafes to choose from. But if you are a hardcore vegetarian, you might have some trouble in finding the right bite. In any such case you can simply ask for corn chips and cheese which can be found easily and is 100% vegetarian.

While waiting for the route bus at the MUAC bus station I found this symbol painted on the seat. Yes! It is the symbol of "Om". It was eerily calming to see the symbol painted there when I was standing in the middle of an unknown place, with people around me who did not speak my language, but it somehow made me feel so connected to everyone and everything around me.

More on my experiences in Mexico coming up soon!!

Hola Mexico!

It has been four days since we arrived in Mexico City. I have been waiting long to write this post. In this blog I will be sharing some facts, observations, and things to do in Mexico. When I said I had been waiting to write this post for a long time, but didn't...well the reason would be the absence of an international travel adapter plug, you see. So along with every experience I share in this blog, I would try to jot down as many Spanish translations as I can, so that when you visit Mexico, or any of the Latin American countries you would know what you are talking about!

We landed at the Benito Juarez Airport, Mexico City and the taxi and radio cab kiosks helped us find a quick ride to our hotel which is at the heart of the city. On the way to the hotel I noticed that the city had best of both the worlds, the old and the new, the traditional and the modern. There are old cottages and villas alongside some apartments. And the street art and graffitis are so bright and vivid, they are sure head turners.

Driving towards Paseo de la Reforma, our address for the next couple of weeks, the city becomes more and more beautiful. The city has done a great job at preserving its art and architecture. There are towering statues on either side of the roads (more on it coming up later), and the roads themselves are in mint condition. So here we are at the Paseo de la Reforma, a main street that runs through an upscale residential neighborhood as well as the city's historic district. This area is best visited on a Sunday. Why you ask...well you will get to know this coming Sunday, when I visit it again, sans the jet lag...till then tener un gran día (have a great day)!!