Happy 2014! I brought in my New Year spending time with my roommate and her family in a small town called Chalco. New Year's in Mexico is pretty strictly a family day, which, while certainly calmer and quieter than the traditional NYE parties in the states, turned out to be a pretty nice time. Anabel's (my roommate's) family were very friendly people, and I got to practice my Spanish. We had a dinner, we lit off sky lanterns, and I learned a new tradition -- at midnight on TV, they ring 12 bells, and for each bell you eat a grape. For each grape, you get a wish. As a side note, they need to ring that bell slower. I almost choked on grapes.
 |
| Also, I blew up 100 balloons. I could have stayed in my balloon fortress forever. |
Because I was at a New Year's Eve - Eve party the night before, I fell asleep pretty early. And slept intermittently until 3 pm the next day. And woke up
starving. So, Anabel, her mom, and I set out in the car to go find lunch. We got side-tracked, though...
 |
We drove to a town called Amecameca, which is kind of between the volcanoes
Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl. This is Amecameca's church, built in 1680. |
 |
| The inside of the church has peeling paint and crumbling walls, but also has that old-world beauty. |
 |
| A nativity near the front of the church. |
 |
| Pigeons are cruel. |
After leaving the church, we walked through the market and picked up some sweet sesame-bar snack to appease the roaring dinosaur in my stomach.
Then went to find lunch.
 |
On our way to the restaurant, we took a scenic route so that we could have
a nice view of the volcanoes. The one you see here is called Popocatepetl. |
 |
| This one is called Iztaccihuatl, also known as the sleeping woman, a dormant volcano. |
There is a beautiful legend of Popocatepetl and Iztaccihuatl, and if you're interested in that story, click
here.
 |
We had a delicious lunch, complete with tlacoyos and chalupas, in a small restaurant in the
middle of nowhere. Behind the restaurant, there was an area where you could swing, play
volleyball, jump on trampolines, rest in a hammock, and enjoy a great view of the volcanoes. |
 |
| On the left side is Iztaccihuatl, on the right is Popocatepetl, and of course, I'm there in the middle. |
And so the New Year begins! New Year's Resolution #1: Hike those volcanoes. Upcoming volcano climbing post, maybe?
