This photography trip took us to the mountains in the state of Hidalgo to photograph the spectacular natural formations of basalt columns at Huasca de Ocampo, the nearby Hacienda de Santa Maria Regla and the colourful "pueblo mágico" Real del Monte, a former mining town with English influence which can be seen in the Mexican equivalent of Cornish pasties.Our first stop was to see the "prismas basálticos" at Huasca which we were fortunate to have all to ourselves. Formed by the rapid cooling of lava coming into contact with water, these hexagonal basalt columns are an amazing sight to see. Visitors can walk along the top of the cliffs on both sides, cross over a suspension bridge and make their way down to the bottom where waterfalls cascade over the rocks. We practised using fast and slow shutter speeds to capture the flow of the water.Nearby is the Hacienda Santa Maria de Regla, one of the group of four haciendas built in the 18th Century by Count Pedro Romero, one of the richest men in the world at that time. It was not only his residence but also where they melted down gold and silver from the mines in the region and is one of the biggest haciendas ever built, a labyrinth of pools, bridges, vaults, underground tunnels, mills, furnaces and even a church. Today it is a museum and hotel and even a film location.We then drove back to Real del Monte, a pretty little town of brightly painted houses with tin roofs and cobbled streets and found a place to taste the "pastes" or pies which are a legacy from the time when the Cornish miners from England ran the mines. The other claim to fame of this "pueblo mágico" is that this is where the English introduced football in Mexico.After wandering through the streets, past shops selling silverware, we returned to Mexico City, a 2-hour trip by car.
0 Comments
Photo Walk Nº105 was a last-minute decision to repeat the San Miguel Chapultepec walk for a couple of people who missed it last time.As with the previous photo walk, we started in Condesa and made our way around the neighborhood of San Miguel Chapultepec and then returned to our starting point. We visited a number of art galleries, stopped off for coffee in a charming little cafe and wandered around the leafy streets, some very quiet, photographing the architecture and other scenes along the way.This neighborhood needs to be walked and explored to be fully valued, and some research should be done to find out where the many art galleries are since they are behind anonymous, sign-less façades. But as photographers, we soon discovered that there is lots of charm to this often overlooked and underrated "barrio".For Photo Walk Nº104, we explored the area around the Alameda Park which was the first urban park in the Americas and originally the site of a large Aztec market. Some of the places around here were badly damaged during the 1985 earthquake, being totally rebuilt, while we saw the effects of the more recent Sep 2017 earthquake in the churches.We met at the Palacio de Bellas Artes, located at one end of the park, and photographed both the outside of the building and the interior before making our way into the park, renovated in 2012 and full of jacaranda trees and fountains. The mounted police have returned to the park in recent months and not only allowed us to take photos but encouraged some of us to get up on the horses. We also visited different places including the Plaza Juárez with its fountain made up of 1034 red pyramids overlooked by the Museo de Memoria y Tolerancia and some other modern buildings.We then went up to the Don Porfirio Café to have some refreshment and take photos of the Palacio de Bellas Artes from an elevated position.Although we had originally planned to go to the Zócalo as well to get some photos of the colourful umbrellas there, we discovered they had been removed so we were able to spend more time exploring this part of the Centro Histórico.San Miguel Chapultepec is a rather small and overlooked neighborhood wedged in between Av.Constituyentes/Chapultepec Park and Condesa. Despite its reduced size and being relatively unknown, it is actually a thriving artistic place, with many private art galleries hidden behind anonymous doors and an increasing number of cafes and restaurants. We went to explore this area for Photo Walk Nº103.Our walk started in nearby Condesa where we paid a visit to the Librería Rosario Castellanos/Cultural Centre and then to Molino El Pujol on the other side of the street. The former, once a thriving cinema in an art-déco building, has been turned into a beautiful bookshop complete with armchairs and coffee shop, a cultural centre and small cinema. The latter is Mexican chef, Enrique Olvera's tortillería where only native corn from Oaxaca is used for the "masa", previously having undergone the ancient Aztec process of "mixtamalización", soaking and cooking in lime which results in increased nutritional value and flavour.We then made our way to San Miguel Chapultepec where we photographed the streets, visited art galleries and had some refreshment at a coffee shop along the way. Our final stop was to see a large colourful mural on the wall of the Espressopolitan Coffee Shop. When we arrived, they were just starting to paint a new mural sponsored by Street Art Chilango, a duo (Alex and Jenaro) who promote urban art in the city and who also do street art walks.This photo walk turned out to be an eye-opener and many of those who came along discovered San Miguel Chapultepec for the first time.Xochimilco is one of the most extraordinary areas in this megacity and witness to Mexico City's watery past. When the Aztecs founded their city Tenochtitlán (now Mexico City), they did so on some islands in a shallow lake. To grow their crops, they made artificial islands called "chinampas" by building a type of raft with roots and branches, scraping mud from the lake bed, packing it down and anchoring these "floating islands" by planting trees along the edges. Over the centuries, the lake has all but disappeared but there are still a few small vestiges of the canals and islands left in Xochimilco and Tláhuac. From the "embarcadero", we walked across the main square and up to the big market where lots of the fresh vegetables such as beetroot, carrots, radishes, coriander and spinach are brought here on wheelbarrows. We also photographed the food stands and were offered tastes of some of the different dishes on offer.Our visit to the bustling market turned out to be the perfect complement to our earlier boat ride along the peaceful canals.For this private walk with a family from Florida, we explored the area around the Alameda Park and the Zócalo, to give them an idea of what Mexico City's Centro Histórico was like. They learned about how the Aztecs founded their city on an island in a shallow lake and how it grew to become one of the largest cities in the world.Among other things, we made a short visit to the Museo de Artes Populares to see the Vochol, a VW Beetle completely covered in small beads, and stopped in the Palacio de Bellas Artes, the Post Office, the Casa de los Azulejos and on reaching the Zócalo, the Gran Hotel.To celebrate our milestone of 100 Photo Walks, we organized a special photography trip to the volcano Nevado de Toluca. The weather couldn't have been better, providing us with spectacular shots and an unforgettable experience.Also known by its indigenous name of "Xinantecatl" (the Naked Man), this volcano is the fourth highest mountain in Mexico at 4680m high and has two lakes in its crater, the Moon Lake and the Sun Lake. Long ago this was the site of ceremonies and rituals.We left Mexico City at 7.30 am and drove 2 hours to the Nevado de Toluca Natural Park. From there we made our way up an unpaved road to the top car park, and dressed in warm clothes and sturdy boots, hiked up to the rim of the crater and then walked around the two lakes there, the Moon Lake and Sun Lake. It was a great opportunity to do some landscape and nature photography and also practise using a tripod.To wrap up the day, we had "sopa de hongos" and "quesadillas" at a simple eating place at the bottom of the mountain before returning to Mexico City.This private photo walk took us around the Alameda Central Park and part of Mexico City's Centro Histórico to give a general idea of the city's history and culture to a couple who were only here for a very short time. There was so much to see and photograph and they enjoyed the experience so much that they are thinking of returning for the Day of the Dead celebration later this year.Spring is the prettiest time of year in Paseo de la Reforma with scores of purple jacaranda trees in bloom and blue skies. For Photo Walk Nº101 we wandered down part of Paseo de la Reforma and explored Cuauhtémoc with our cameras.We met at the Estela de Luz and first of all photographed the cluster of Mexico City's highest buildings, also looking out for contrasts... especially regarding the old and modern architecture. As we made our way up this wide, tree-lined, boulevard, which Emperor Maximillian had built to link his castle to the centre, emulating the Champs Elysées in Paris, we looked for shots that captured the essence of this modern, financial district and also the everyday scenes.The second part of the photo walk took place just one street away from Paseo de la Reforma yet we seemed to have stepped into a completely different world, more like a small town. Some of the places we visited were the Monumento a la Madre and the Jardin del Arte and our last stop was to have some refreshment sitting at a pavement cafe.The Carnaval de Xochimilco took place over 1-4 March and lots of events were programmed. We went to photograph the Chinelos dancers who perform over Carnival here and in many towns in Morelos. While we were there, we also wandered around the market, and took photos of the typical "trajineras", flat-bottomed boats which ply the canals there.The origin of the "Danza de los Chinelos" goes back to 1807 when the Spaniards didn't allow the indigenous people in Tlayacapan, Morelos, take part in their Carnival festival. So the people dressed up in costumes and masks with beards depicting the Europeans and mocked their mannerisms in this dance.
For our 100th Photo Walk we made a fun visit to the rather wild and eccentric old toy museum, MUJAM (Museo del Juguete Antiguo de México), in Colonia Doctores. Not only are there thousands of toys from 1920 to 1970 piled up everywhere but throughout the old building and especially on the rooftop large areas are covered in vibrant urban art.The MUJAM was set up 2008 and is run by the Japanese-Mexican collector, Roberto Shimizu, who has displayed more than 40,000 old toys in a very original way. This is no ordinary, run-of-the-mill museum, but a delightful place to explore and for many, to revisit their past. We spent a long time wandering through the many rooms and areas of the 4-story old building, photographing different toys and displays. When we got to the roof, we were amazed by walls full of urban art, done by different artists, many of which had the theme of toys. The views over the neighborhood were interesting to photograph too.Roberto Shimizu very kindly told us the story of his museum and gave us lots of background information, also letting us see his very meticulous record of the items which, as he said, "shows the difference between a collector and a hoarder."To finish off the walk, we photographed some of the street art in the nearby area and everyday scenes typical of Colonia Doctores, where many people work out on the streets.After the photo walk, we went and celebrated the 100th Photo Walk and a birthday!
|
Margaret MetcalfeBorn to travel, explore and share photos and experiences Archives
May 2019
Categories
All
|