 |
|
|
 Travel & Outdoors | January 2006 
Mexico Offers Great Wonders
 Francisco Zermeo
| | Chichen Itza; the Temple of the Warriors seen from the top of the Pyramid of the Sun. |
Did you remember to walk around the block with your suitcases on New Year's Eve? If you did, you will travel in 2006. Also, now that you may be taking up a language — and hopefully it will be Spanish — how about a trip to Mexico for some really great sites?
Not Mexico? That's fine; there are 21 other countries where you can palaver in Spanish. Anyway, there are so many things to experience, south of the border that it boggles the mind. Here is but a taste.
Go see the monarch butterflies. They gather in Capulin and El Rosario sanctuaries near Angangueo, Michoacan, west of Mexico City.
It is a sight to behold, all those black and orange butterflies clinging to oyamel fir branches. Millions of them fly south from the southern Rocky Mountains to an area 2,000 miles away every fall. They are there from November to March, and then return. It seems that everyone has an eternal instinct to return to their birthplace, and these monarchs are no exception.
I do recommend you go soon, as their natural habitat is slowly disappearing. Even though the Mexican government has increased their protected area, much illegal logging takes place. Conservationists are fighting this with seedling planting and protests.
Tours begin at $1,150 per person.
While you are in Michoacan, a short drive west will take you to the Paricutin volcano and ruins. On Feb. 20, 1943, a farmer named Dionisio Pulidor was happily plowing his field with his oxen-pulled plow when, all of a sudden, he felt rumbling beneath his feet. Soon there was noise, vapor, rotten-egg smells, rumbling and shaking.
Before he knew it, they were running for their lives, as a mountain was being formed right before their eyes. When it was all over, in 1952 the whole town of Paricutin was covered with hardened lava. Well, except the church tower. It is still standing, surrounded by lava rock. It is an impressive sight.
Speaking of Michoacan, did you know that the majority of Hayward's Mexicans hail from this state? Second place belongs to my state of Jalisco, home of Puerto Vallarta. Also, I'd be willing to bet that every state of the Mexican Republic is represented here in Hayward.
Let's do a poll. Contact me if you are from the other 30 Mexican states.
Another poll is UNESCO's. Under the leadership of curator Bernard Weber, it has been working on selecting thenew Seven Wonders of the World. Internet voting has been going on, and from the 113 places, the Top 10 include two in Latin America and one in Mexico. More about Easter Island and Machu Picchu in a Latin American Wonders column.
Fittingly, Chichen Itza in Yucatan is right up there in the voting.
Most people who go to Yucatan head to the beach in Cancun, Cozumel, etc., and don't leave the confines of their hotel. You have to visit the Mayan ruins! This area has had people since 2,500 B.C. They knew their astronomy, calendar and mathematics. The Castillo in Chichen Itza is the best example. On each of its four sides, it has 91 steep, hard steps and a step at the altar on top, totaling 365 for all the days of the year! In the afternoon when the sun is setting, at a certain angle you can see the steps forming a huge serpent, ending in the serpent's head at the bottom. A sight.
I believe that those who have participated in the online poll have forgotten to vote for and/or overlooked Teotihuacan, the City of the Gods, which has been around since 2,000 B.C. It is an immense city with an Avenue of the Dead, a Pyramid of the Sun and of the Moon, a unique feathered serpent pyramid and the Ciudadela, a huge plaza in the middle of the complex with capacity for about 100,000 people.
Again, more than one day.
Once you are there, you must do one of the two pilgrimages that all Mexicans should do in their homeland: climb the Pyramid of the Sun. It is actually more massive than the largest one in Egypt, but not as tall. The climb up is exhilarating. Once on the top, spend a few quiet moments on each of its sides, facing each of the four cardinal points. It is inner peace.
The second pilgrimage is to the Shrine of Our Lady of Guadalupe in the Cerro de Tepeyac, in northern Mexico City. It is also our last of the many, many wonders to be visited today. Even if you are not Catholic, a visit to the series of churches, cathedrals, chapels, gardens, cemetery and monuments is just inspiring. Unfortunately, it also is not included in the UNESCO Top 10 list.
Did you notice that both pilgrimages represent the dual culture/religion of Mexico? The Mesoamerican/pagan is the one with the pyramid. It contrasts the Mestizo/Catholic one with the shrine. Awesome.
See you in Mexico.
Francisco Zermeo is an instructor at Chabot College and a member of the Hayward Planning Commission. You can reach him at (510) 732-2746 or at machetez@sbcglobal.net. |
| |
|
Vallarta Weddings
Tell a Friend
Site Map
Print this Page
Email Us