Chipinque - the last Monterrey Post

Just before leaving Monterrey, my friend and I  decided to revisit Chipinque, a park at the top of the mountains over San Pedro where we had our orientation when we first arrived in Monterrey. Neither of us had been back since orientation - partly because it has rained in Monterrey almost non-stop for two years, partly because it's a steep and fairly scary drive, and partly because I like roller-skating and my friend likes riding bikes, and we could do both at Fundidora, and neither at Chipinque (well, I've seen people mountain biking at Chipinque, and I think they are insane and also must be really really fit to bike uphill on rough terrain).

On a sunny April day, we headed up the mountain. I couldn't figure out how to park 'up top', near the easier trails, so we took a hike on Brecha de Chile -  making it to the 2 km mark before turning around and heading back to the car. The Brecha de Chile is 2.5 km long and uphill the whole way - with over 1000 feet in elevation change from what I can gather from various websites.

The view of Monterrey from Brecha de Chile is amazing, and the hike is a workout. We returned two more times, once again on a sunny day (setting off early, because it gets very very hot on the trail), and once on a very misty/foggy morning, which was eerie and wet and beautiful in a different way.

The hike is best on a clear morning; it's best to start your walk by 7:30 - before the heat and the crowds hit. The park opens at 6 am. Parking is limited and costs 50 pesos.

A view of the valley I lived in

up and up and up

A view of La Silla, the saddle shaped mountain

Mountains continue on to the north

There are a few pretty railings on the trail. The orange
speck at the top is a hiker, which shows how steeply the trail
rises on this turn.

Looks can be deceiving. This is looking down a fairly steep hill.

wildflowers on the trail

Bird Watching

butterfly

Summer Hike

Last year, a two-year project was completed to replace, upgrade, and improve the road into Huasteca Canyon, just to the west of Monterrey. The original road was wiped-out by a hurricane a few years ago, and today was the first time I have had the opportunity to drive on and use the new road (even though it opened over a year ago, and even though it is less than a ten minute drive from my house).

The road was packed with walkers and cyclists this morning, and offered fantastic opportunities for early morning photography of the "Lord of the Rings"-style mountain peaks in that part of the Sierra Madre Oriental.

As I am about to teach a Landscape Photography unit, I wanted to take lots of pictures to have on hand for examples...I managed to take about 100 in the 75 minute walk.

Here is a sampling of my images from the walk:

Mexican Weather

The mythic blue skies and bright yellow sun searing a burnt desert of siestas and sombreros have eluded me since arriving to Mexico two years ago. Even driving across the desert plains, from the high altitudes of the Sierra Madre Oriental to the low, flat dust of border towns in Texas, there is life in the form of ranches and wild flowers. An hour south of McAllen, Texas, a town built on sand and consumerism, the terrain is hilly and majestic - a mix of fenced-in green foliage and cacti, a mix of brown and green and wildflower purple. There the sky is blue and white and stretches forever and you can see storms from several miles away, gray and black smudges against cerulean and sapphire.

In Monterrey, the sky is different, a limited window into the heavens framed by toothed peaks. When the sky is blue, the green and white limestone peaks of the mountains illuminate and create a Tolkeinesque vista (minus the hobbits and dwarves). But today, like most days this summer, the peaks are black and gray shadows against a gray and white sky. There may be a drizzle today, or a storm, or the sky may just lay across the mountains trapping in the pollution, trapping in the heat, making the air a wet blanket through which one must breathe. Just before sundown, a patch of blue will peek under the blanket, to give us hope that tomorrow the air will be clear and make us want to rise early to see the sun.

It's a trick, I know. The sun has abandoned us until autumn to leave us feeling that the box of crayons that paint the sky has run out of colors.

Guadalupe in Monterrey

Last night, my friend and I went downtown to the Basilica of Guadalupe to see the preparations for the Feast of the Virgin of Guadalupe, which is tomorrow.

The scene at the basilica was beautiful. Many dancers with feathered headdresses came in small groups up the pilgrimage route and then performed in the plaza - several dances were often taking place at once in different areas around the church while the mass going on inside the church played over loud speakers for those who could not get into the church itself. The busy, festival-like atmosphere had a beautiful, simple reverence to it.  There were hundreds of candles and flowers in various areas around the church, and everywhere there were people celebrating, singing, praying, posing for pictures, and taking in the scene.

 

Two of the streets that lead up to the basilica were lined with food stalls, shops, and pop-up vendors selling all sorts of religious and non-religious goods. There were calendars, toys, necklaces, candles, and rosaries for sale on the packed streets. More than that, though, there was food EVERYWHERE.

First, we came across folks selling raw sugar cane by the 'bolsita' or little bag.

Next, came the spun candy sellers - purveyors of candy canes, lollipops, and marshmallow treats. If it was colorful and sugary, it was available on both sides of the street, every few feet.

I was going into sugar overload just looking at all the candy, but fortunately there were many other, non-sugary options for dinner:

 

My friend and I settled down in a little sit-down restaurant and I had one of my favorite warm-me-up treats: Menudo - a very spicy soup made with tripe. I love the flavor of the soup, but can't stand the texture of tripe, so this is what my $2 bowl of soup looked like when I was finished:

Overall, it was a lovely, chilly winter night to take a little pilgrimage into unknown parts of Monterrey - and a great way to kick-off the Christmas season!

Sundays in Mexico: Day of the Dead edition

Every city I have been to in Mexico has a fancy neighborhood, and in that fancy neighborhood, every Sunday morning, they close a major thoroughfare to traffic so that people can walk, bike, or skate with their friends and family.

In Monterrey, the Sunday street is Calzada San Pedro, a 2.5 km long tree-lined commercial street that hosts the likes of Louis Vuitton and Vera Wang. Down the middle of the 6-lane road is a tree-lined walking path made of some space-age walking surface that hosts walkers every day, but on Sundays the street on both sides of the walking path is closed as well and the entire area becomes crowded with families, friends, and neighbors walking their dogs, riding their bikes, and taking in the great weather (at this time of year, anyway). They even have fancy port-a-potties!

Fancy Port-a-Potties in San Pedro Garza Garcia

In Monterrey and Merida you can rent bikes by the hour by simply turning over your driver's license (it is returned when you return the bike!) and 20-25 pesos. In Monterrey, you can also adopt a dog for an hour from the local pet shelter (the dogs wear little capes that say "Adopta Me!!" on them) and give the pet some much needed exercise and attention.

Bici-Ruta Rider in Merida

Bikes abandoned in Merida while the owners get some
chilequiles for breakfast...mmmm...chilequiles

This week, in honor of the Day of the Dead (November 2, a day when we remember those who have passed) various groups set-up Dia los Muertes altars along the path. There is an altar to remember Monterrey citizens who were killed in drunk driving accidents in the last year, an altar to remember famous Mexican artists, and an altar to bicyclists among the entries this year.

 

Cyclists' Altar

Artists' Altar / Grave Markers

Painted Gravestones

Last fall, the Calzada was one of the few places I was able to get some exercise, as Monterrey has such a car-culture. Fortunately, I've added dance and my Wii Fit, to the mix; but really nothing beats getting over to the Calzada and bumping in to friends, students, parents and colleagues as I walk along (Starbuck's in hand...wouldn't want to be too healthy!) and getting some much needed fresh air.

September Status

I just got back from another spectacular weekend in Merida, Yucatan for Mexican Independence Day! I even managed to stay-up past 10 pm this time and my friends and I went to the Greeto (Viva Mexico!) and the fireworks!

Street Food and Party Lights

 It was a bit drizzly in the Yucatan, but David (the proprietor of my B&B of choice in Merida) has recently built a covered porch on the back of the hotel, so our group bought a pizza at Vito Coreleone (in the Centro - so Yummy!) and brought it back to the porch and read-away an afternoon. Evenings were spent gouging ourselves on cochinita pibil, panuchas, local soups, and crepes with cajeta!

Other than the drizzles, it was the perfect temperature out and the cloudy days were really pleasant for walking around the streets of Merida, empty of people, yet crowded with a mixture of deco and colonial style homes - some restored, some evolving, some crumbling like cookies left out in the rain.

My favorite store (Minaturas) and my favorite restaurant (Amaro)
as seen from the doorway of Vito Corleone Pizzaria.

Unfortunately I've come back to rain in Monterrey. Lots and lots of rain - today, courtesy of Hurricane Ingrid. So much rain, for weeks now, that school was cancelled today by order of the local government and there is an impromptu waterfall behind my house:

This is the sky's perpetual mood these days.
That is also the hummingbird feeder I recently
had to replace due to clumsiness.

Because of all the rain, I had some time to update my travel map, so I thought I'd post it here, as long as I was posting.

Otherwise, life is school: it's teaching, it's learning, it's growing little minds into critical thinking machines. The world is just turning on and on and on and in a few days I turn older than now, which, despite all the planning, is going to catch me unawares this year, I just know it.

Sunset over the Valley

Yesterday afternoon as I was driving home from the grocery store, I noticed the blue sky beginning to be darkened by wispy purple/grey clouds (how's that for some passive voice?). Within minutes, the mountains began disappearing and the sky turned the color of soot from a chimney sweep's cheek.

I watched the sky, an old habit from my days in Louisiana when tornadoes regularly tore through the area: a cold front was coming in and clashing with the hot hot hot air that had preceded it and huge black clouds were butting-up against puffy white ones and rolling over the mountain tops (I wish I had taken video of this because it was beautiful in a terrifying kind of way). Rain pounded the windows slant-wise and flooded the streets for an hour and the dust of a dry August was washed from the trees.

Then it all stopped as abruptly as it began, leaving behind a watery-grey evening. 

A few hours later, as the sun began to set and dipped below the clouds on the horizon, little bits of the lower slopes of the mountain opposite my window began to look as if they were illuminated by a spotlight...a neighborhood here, a rocky crag there, until finally the whole valley was awash with the fiery light of a post-storm sunset full of pinks, blues, and blood-orange insides.

So I ran up to the roof and did my best to capture the dying embers of the day.

The Coolest Thing in Monterrey, Mexico

For my 200th post, I give you: THE COOLEST THING I'VE DONE IN MONTERREY!

Today, after rollerskating two laps of the bike path at Parque Fundidora, which is FOUR MILES (and only falling once...really hard...on my tailbone...on concrete),

and after having this amazing lunch at El Lingote,

"Mexican Empenadas" - Cabrito, Carnitas, and Carne

Apple Streusel and Cajeta

which is in an old steel furnace-turned-museum called Horno 3, 

I got to ride this old industrial elevator

all the way to the top!

This is by far coolest thing I have done in Monterrey! (Going up the elevator, I mean. The bruise on my bum that I will have to endure on a two-hour plane journey tomorrow is a whole other, not awesome at all, thing).