With such hot weather these days, it was a breath of cool air to wander around shady Chapultepec Park for Photo Walk Nº74 and sharpen our photography techniques and composition skills.We met outside the Anthropology Museum and first made our way down Reforma, looking at the winning images of the Nature Photography contest displayed along the Galeria de Rejas and commenting on composition and lighting. Learning from the images of other photographers is an excellent way to sharpen our skills and find our own voice and style.Throughout the walk, among other things, we looked for natural frames, different viewpoints, reflections, uncluttered backgrounds, and details.Chapultepec Park is one of the largest urban parks in the world and was where the Aztec rulers once had their summer residence. The springs there provided water for the ancient city of Tenochtitlán and water was conveyed to the Templo Mayor site using aqueducts. Today this enormous park is much more than Mexico City's "lungs"; its wooded areas and lakes are home to wildlife, and within its borders are museums, a castle, fountains, and many places to do outdoor activities or just enjoy some peace and quiet. Not far from the zoo is an eating area, with small stalls providing food and seats and tables to sit at. The shutters of the stalls are all brightly painted with animals and plants and are beautiful works of art.Behind this section, we discovered some off-the-beaten-path spots hidden among the greenery and streams with birds, butterflies, dragonflies, fish and even the odd turtle and tried to capture them with our cameras.All in all, it was a great walk and a reminder that even in the heart of this chaotic noisy city, there is a place where you can find some peace and quiet and get away from the crowds.
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Photo Walk Nº71 was a special photography tour organized in conjunction with a local project in Tláhuac - "Navegando entre chinampas". We had the unique experience of learning about the ancient pre-Hispanic tradition of cultivating food on man-made islands and tasting some of the traditional recipes made using the fresh produce from there.We met Araceli and her two daughters, our guides, outside the church of San Pedro Apóstol in Tláhuac, had some breakfast consisting of atole (a hot corn-based drink) and pan de elote (corn bread) and an explanation about the history of this area. After photographing the church and the pre-Hispanic rings used in the juego de pelota, we made our way down to the canals and got on our trajinera, a traditional flat-bottomed boat used here.On the boat, we were treated to a lunch consisting of a delicious soup of courgette and greens, tacos with beans and vegetables and hot spicy sauces, and tostadas with a mushroom topping. For drinks, we had pineapple and lime flavoured water and tried mango pulque (a pre-Hispanic fermented drink made from the maguey plant). We learned about the "axolotl" or Mexican salamander which is only found in these waters and is in danger of extinction. Unlike other salamanders, it lives all its life in the water and has both gills and lungs and can re-generate part of its body when necessary. It is now a protected species and the guides brought along Emiliano II, a 2-year old specimen, to show us.Once on Juanito's chinampa, our guides told us about the unique method of cultivation carried out there. They scoop mud from the canal bottom, clean it, and make a bed. Then this is cut up into squares, a hole pressed in the middle of each square using their thumb or finger and seeds are planted in the holes. When the seeds have sprouted, they are transplanted into the fields and amazingly, the chinamperos can have more than four harvests a year. We were able to participate in this activity and then picked some vegetables to take home with us.With our arms full of fresh radishes, beetroot, Swiss chard, lettuces and cilantro, we got on the trajinera again to return to our starting point, photographing the canals and birds and even having a turn at pushing the boat along with a pole before making our way back to the church.Leaving this rural enclave behind us, it was back to the noise and traffic of the big city.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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