Spanish Word of the Day

By now I'm wondering why Europeans had such a morbid obsession with cannibalism.

My blog entry is up on the climb: Ascending Mount Iztaccihuatl.

Quote: Wizard

My blog entry is up on the climb:

Very well written and entertaining. I saw "El Jabanero" on the map, and Google maps lists the trail as "El Paso del Jabanero" which better mirrors "El Casa del Jabanero" from the proverb.

Could you include a mention of your time in Puebla (on this forum at least)?

We checked into a budget hotel that I booked online, and it was very uncomfortable. Fortunately it was semana santa, the city was almost empty, and the luxury hotels were half price. So we checked into this luxury hotel for two nights. A converted convent, it is one of the prettiest hotels I've ever seen.
http://mesones-sacristia.com/espanol/galeria.php

A well known traditional restaurant in Puebla
http://www.fondadesantaclara.com/

Calle De Los Dulces
http://www.puebla.travel/es/ver-hacer/sitios-de-interes/espacios-naturales-3/item/calle-de-los-dulces-puebla

Callejón de los Sapos (I don't know why they call it that. Maybe it was a marsh at one time)


Arab style tacos popular in Puebla

I stayed at the Gilfer hotel hotel in Puebla, a block from the Zocalo. It was a modern and fairly big hotel, compared to the many small boutique hotels in the area. I had one full day in Puebla, Sunday, Feb 21. I didn't accomplish any big tourist attractions but mostly wandered around the historic part of town and walked through various markets of outdoor vendors. Here are some pictures.
















Muy flaco.




I enjoyed some drinks from a second-floor balcony at this restaurant overlooking the Puebla Zocalo. Once in a while a tour bus would stop to let tourists in and out. Some of them said omnibus, which helped me feel justified in my argument that there is such a word in Spanish.


Half my trip overlapped with the Pope. I saw his plane at the MEX airport. There were signs commemorating his visit all over Mexico City and Puebla.

Quote: Wizard

I stayed at the Gilfer hotel hotel in Puebla, a block from the Zocalo. It was a modern and fairly big hotel, compared to the many small boutique hotels in the area. I had one full day in Puebla, Sunday, Feb 21. I didn't accomplish any big tourist attractions but mostly wandered around the historic part of town and walked through various markets of outdoor vendors.

Nice photos. The city has a very compact historic center.

The Calle de los Dulces with about 40 candy shops in a row was about two blocks from the hotel in the opposite direction of the zocalo. Did you happen to wander over there?

Quote: Pacomartin

Nice photos.

The Calle de los Dulces with about 40 candy shops in a row was about two blocks from the hotel in the opposite direction of the zocalo. Did you happen to wander over there?

Thanks. From Google Maps, that looks like Avenida 6. I would have crossed it but I never knew about at the time. It would have been interesting to check out but I'm not a big candy person. Salt is more-so my poison.

Quote: Wizard

My blog entry is up on the climb:

My guess is some people might be tempted to try this climb on the cheap, with an experienced friend, and without a professional guide.

It seems like this hotel (54 km from Mexico City airport and 31 km from La Joyita parking lot on the mountain) is the best intermediate stops. They even rent rooms for 6 hours for the weary climber who is looking for a shower and a nap. But a single room for 24 hours is about US $20.
Hotel Fonte Santa 19.111920, -98.776844 @ 8130' elevation


Hotel Fonte Santa is on the outskirts of the town of Amecameca (pop 50,000)

I think it would be almost impossible without renting a car at the airport. You would need to drive up to the parking lot @ 13,000' every day to do some hikes to acclimate. Driving back down a change of 5000' in elevation at night to sleep would probably mean that you need more than two days to acclimate.

A room at the Altzomoni Hut where Mike spent two nights can be secured at the visitor center at Paso del Cortez (@12000' elevation) on the main road (7.3 km from La Joyita parking lot).

There is another budget hotel (Hotel San Carlos) about a mile from Hotel Fonte Santa at the center of Amecameca which is a traditional place for climbers to stay. It is super cheap at under $10, but it looks to be really noisy.

Without a car, you would be at the mercy of any public transportation going up the mountain. But, if you insist on getting to Amecameca on public transportation, you must take a taxi or subway from the airport to TAPO the giant bus station built in 1978 about 5 km from the airport. Personally, I wouldn't want to carry luggage on the subway. From TAPO buses leave for Amecameca on 15 minute headway. The bus terminal is on the other side of town from the hotel (roughly 2.7 km from Hotel Fonte Santa or 700 meters from Hotel San Carlos) so you are either facing a long walk or a taxi ride.

I would not recommend Americans do this climb without a guide. Seems a recipe for disaster. I could also see getting lost, especially if climbing at night. Regarding where to stay, the higher up the better. A lot of people stayed in tents along the trail.

Moving along, on my last full day of the trip, Feb 23, I paid a visit to the Basilica to the Virgin of Guadalupe. There are two bus routes that go straight there from Avenida de la Reforma. Here are some pictures of it.

Note how skinny I am. This is after losing about 8 pounds due to getting sick.

For those people not familiar with history the old basilica was not finished until 1709, and commemorated the sighting on 12 December 1531. In 1921 a bomb planted in a flower vase near the altar by an anticlerical terrorist exploded, causing great damage to the interior of the building. As much of Mexico City was built on a former lake, the land was unstable and the old basilica was sinking. The New Basilica was built between 1974 and 1976, and has a circular floorplan so that the image of the Virgin can be seen from any point within the building. The basilica is the most visited Catholic pilgrimage site in the world.

A Marian apparition is a vision of Virgin Mary, but as different women. The image resulting from this visitation must receive a cannonical coronation. There are three such images in the USA.

A Canonical Coronation is a pious institutional act of the Pope, duly expressed through a Papal Bull in which a Papal Legate or a Papal Nuncio designates a crown, tiara or stellar halo towards a Marian, Josephian or Christological image under a specific devotional title that is being venerated in a particular diocese or locality.

Canonically Crowned Images in Mexico

1. 12 October 1895 Our Lady of Guadalupe of Mexico, Mexico City:Pope Leo XIII
2. 5 April 1898 Nuestra Señora de Salud, Pátzcuaro: Pope Leo XIII
3. 15 August 1904 Our Lady of San Juan de los Lagos Jalisco Pope Pius X
4. 18 January 1909 Nuestra Señora de la Soledad Oaxaca Pope St Pius X
5. 31 July 1909 Our Lady of Ocotlán Tlaxcala Pope Pius X
6. 18 January 1921 Our Lady of Expectation of Zapopan Zapopan Pope Benedict XV
7. 23 October 1923 Nuestra Señora de los Ángeles Mexico City Pope Pius XI
8. 24 May 1939 Nuestra Señora de la Luz Salvatierra Pope Pius XI
9. 18 August 1940 Nuestra Señora del Rayo Guadalajara Pope Pius XI
10. 8 December 1954 Nuestra Señora de los Milagros Cuernavaca Pope Venerable Pius XII
11. 17 August 1961 Virgen de Natividad de Atengo Atengo, Jalisco Pope John XXIII
12. 7 February 1964 Nuestra Señora de los Dolores de Soriano Colón, Querétaro Pope Paul VI
13. 31 May 1964 Virgen del Roble Monterrey, Mexico Pope Paul VI
14. 29 May 2004 Virgen de la Santa Anita Jalisco Pope John Paul II
15. 8 October 2014 Our Lady of Immaculate Conception of Juquila Oaxaca Pope Francis