Category Archives: Tours

Cholula Walkabout – 02/01/2020

October 24, 2020

During our visit to Oaxaca, we made a 4-day visit to Puebla during which we made a side trip to Cholula. This post is being prepared 6 months later, so the description is minimal, but I invite you to enjoy our photos.

Getting There

We hired Uber to deliver us from Puebla to Cholula, some 8 miles, and for the return.

The Walkabout

During our walkabout we enjoyed a lunch in a local cafe, visited the church Parroquia de San Andrés Apóstol, then visited the Great Pyramid and Iglesia de Nuestra Señora. As part of the visit to Iglesia de Nuestra Señora we toured the interior including the tunnels beneath the church which were part of the pyramid build by the Aztecs. While at the Great Pyramid we happened to come across a procession bringing one of their saints up to the church – truly a treat for our visit. From there we found our way to Cholula’s Zocalo and toured the grounds of the San Gabriel Franciscan Convent including the huge Capilla Real. We finished the day by walking through a market area near the Zocalo. Then another Uber ride back to Puebla

Statistics

Total Distance: 6.02 miles
Elevation: start 7,044 ft, maximum 7,214 ft, minimum 7,008 ft
Gross gain: 206 ft. Aggregate ascending 790 ft, descending 791 ft
Maximum slope: 25% ascending, 36% descending, 3.5% average
Duration: 8:22

Cholula Walkabout.Pat.2020-02-01 (KML)	72 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
Cholula Walkabout.Pat.2020-02-01 (GPX)	74 Downloads

I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.

References and Resources

Wikipedia: Cholula, Puebla
Great Pyramid of Cholula
San Gabriel Franciscan Convent, Cholula
SFGate: Inside Cholula’s labyrinth: Exploring Mexico’s largest pyramid
aztec-history.com: cholula pyramid
Science Alert: The World’s largest Pyramid Is Hidden Under a Mountain in Mexico
BBC Future: The giant pyramid hidden inside a mountain
Mexperience: Exprience Cholula
Atlas Obscura: The Great Pyramid of Cholula

Pat's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show

George's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show

Kasha-Katuwe Tour – 07/12/2012

March 6, 2019

Published in March 2019. One of our early hikes, this during a visit from grandson Peyton.

During Peyton’s summer visit in 2012, we visited Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. This is a favorite place to take visitors to New Mexico. It provides the chance to see ‘hoodoos’, a common geologic formation, but these are somewhat unique in their tent shape. Visiting the Monument affords the chance to walk among a few of the hoodoos, as well as pass through a slot canyon and climb up to the top of the mesa overlooking the formations below.

References

BLM: Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
New Mexico True: Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
AllTrails: Tent Rocks Trail
TripAdvisor: Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument
TripSavvy: Tent Rocks national Monument in New Mexico
Hiking Project: Slot Canyon Trail Out and Back

Pat's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

George's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

Mitla & Matatlán Tour (Oaxaca) – 01/15/2018

June 18, 2018

This is another retro-post (June 2018), about one of the excursions during our visit to Oaxaca in Jan 2018. We engaged Eduardo, a great guide, for a visit to the villages of Mitla and Matatlán.

The Tour

Mitla, in the village of San Pablo Villa de Mitla, is an important archeological site and the Zapotec culture. We visited the ruins of the Zapotec village including the courtyards and mosaics, and the San Pablo Mitla Church. These are quite amazing for the architecture and structure as well as the patterns one sees in the mosaics. And … we visited the famous “El Tule” tree in the nearby town of Santa Maria del Tule.

We then headed for Matatlán, a village known for its production of Mezcal. Driving towards and into the village we saw numerous palenques (distilleries for mezcal) along the road. Eduardo had chosen the El Sabino palenque for our visit. We learned some about the processes that take the cooked fibers of the agave pino through fermentation, then distillation of the liquid from fermentation to produce their varieties of mezcal. They served us a very nice lunch, after which we were offered the chance to sample various styles of mezcal – and of course to purchase some to take with us.

Jay here: Having Eduardo (Lalo) for a guide made this a most interesting trip. He offered up many insights into what we were seeing. E.g. stones for the zapatecan and mixtecan constructions were recycled into the Spanish built churches; the red dye used for the murals and decorative treatments contained mercury, so it kept on poisoning the painters; the short steps and tall risers in the stadium like seating were meant to make people look down out of respect. All in all, a very informative trip.

Mitla Matatlan Tour.PatJay.2018-01-15 (KML)	125 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
Mitla Matatlan Tour.PatJay.2018-01-15 (GPX)	66 Downloads
Mitla Matatlan DriveInOut 2.PatJay.2018-01-15 (KML)	68 Downloads
Mitla Matatlan DriveInOut 2.PatJay.2018-01-15 (GPX)	66 Downloads

I urge you to explore our hiking tracks with Google Earth. With the virtual 3-dimensional presentation, achieved by panning and tilting the view, you can get a much better idea of the hikes and terrain than you can get from the 2-dimensional screenshot above. For assistance: Using Google Earth Track Files.

References

Mitla:
Wikipedia: Mitla
TripAdvisor: Mitla

Jay's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

George's Photos: Click on a Photo for Gallery Show.

Finca las Nieves Tour (Oaxaca) – 01/27/2018

February 11, 2018

Spending a few days on the coast in Puerto Escondido during our trip to Oaxaca we came upon an interesting excursion – a visit to a coffee plantation.

The Tour

Felix was our guide, taking us to Finca las Nievas (Snow Plantation) , in the Sierra Madre Oriental north of Puerto Escondido. He was a great host, offering us -fresh- coconut right from the tree, a tour of the facilities where the coffee beans receive their first processing, and a hike up into the forest and the coffee “trees”.

After touring the facility where husks are removed from the freshly picked ‘cherries’, we started up a short incline into the forest. The trail was easy, and certainly we were going into a tropical forest. About a third of a mile in, Felix led us to a beautiful waterfall. There was quite the stream of water coming down 70 or 80 foot rockface. From here we continued on up the trail where Felix introduced us to many different kinds of coffee plants that they grow here at Nieves. They produce only -shade grown- coffee; in the forests the plants are diminutive, a few stems each less than 2″ in diameter, no taller than 10 feet or so. We picked a few of the cherries and chewed on the husks; they have a nice sweet flavor.

Upon return, Felix served us 3 types of their coffee and guided us through the coffee aficionado’s tasting regimen. Then he served a delicious lunch. Although it was short, this was a great hike.

Statistics

Total Distance: 1.33 miles
Elevation: start 4,214 ft, maximum 4,512 ft, minimum 4,176 ft
Gross gain: 336 ft. Aggregate ascending 483 ft, descending 479 ft
Maximum slope: 33% ascending, 37% descending, 12% average
Duration: 2:24

Finca las Nieves Hike.Pat.2018-01-27 (KML)	149 Downloads
GPS Track Files for Download
Finca las Nieves Hike.Pat.2018-01-27 (GPX)	116 Downloads
Finca las Nieves DriveInOut.Pat.2018-01-27 (KML)	101 Downloads
Finca las Nieves DriveInOut.Pat.2018-01-27 (GPX)	67 Downloads