Our Photo Walk to Desierto de los Leones looked like it would be cancelled for a second time due to bad weather but we decided to go ahead, even though it was raining as we made our way up to the mountainous National Park on the outskirts of Mexico City. We spent an interesting morning photographing the monastery, learning about its history, visiting the small museum and exploring its dark tunnels and beautiful grounds and gardens.After exploring the monastery, we made our way down through the thickly-forested slopes to an area with small waterfalls and lakes before climbing up again to have a hot café de olla, some quesadillas and choriqueso in a small colourful eating place.
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Spring changes Mexico City like nowhere else I've been. It's the season for the jacaranda trees with their pretty lilac-coloured flowers, turning the city purple. Parks, streets and gardens all take on a surreal colour with soft purple carpets under the trees. Definitely the prettiest time of year.Imagine being in Mexico City but instead of being stuck in a noisy traffic jam, you are gliding along a tranquil canal in a canoe, photographing the birds and reflections and learning how the ancient Aztecs used to grow their food on "chinampas", islands that they made with mud and sticks on the lake. On the "chinampa", we were shown how the farmers continue the centuries-old tradition of scraping out the nutrient-laden mud from the bottom of the shallow canal and make beds which are cut up into small squares like brownies. A hole is made in the square with the finger and seeds planted. When they have sprouted, they are transplanted to another bed.Juanito and Araceli showed us around, explained about their very small local project and picked armfuls of fragrant vegetables for us, while we took photos.
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Margaret MetcalfeBorn to travel, explore and share photos and experiences Archives
May 2019
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