Email & ShareOkay, this article is not strictly about the Yucatan, but while we were driving back to Merida from Lake Patzcuaro at the end of the holidays, we saw something that we had never seen before in all of our drives over the Sierra Madre Oriental from the Alto Plano of the Mexican highlands to the lowlands of Veracruz. What we saw in all its glory is the third highest mountain in North America, which until this particular day, has always been obscured by a thick blanket of clouds whenever we passed by. The photograph above is of Pico de Orizaba, an inactive volcano that rises 18,700 feet above sea level. (It is called Citlaltepetl in the Nahuatl, or Aztec, language, which means “star peak”.) We were so excited that we drove off the highway and up a steep mountain road to the little pueblo of Plan de Capulin, where we finally decided we were close enough for this view. It may sound strange that capturing an image of something so huge and obvious would feel like the equivalent of getting a photograph of the Loch Ness Monster or Bigfoot, but that was the feeling. Enjoy!
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Nice capture, Ellen.
I climbed El Pico de Orizaba several years ago, and I’d really recommend to anyone that’s considering passing through the area for a peek to check out a small pueblo on the western side on the volcano called Tlachachuca. It’s a very dry region, as it lies in Orizaba’s rain-shadow, and it’s got that distinctly Mexican, high-plateau feel to it. What makes it truly unique and adds a bit of interest is the climbing community that’s grown up around several of the families in town. If you have enough time to devote an afternoon to the area, you could learn a lot from stopping in at the Reyes family’s “lodge” and talking to the family and local guides, catching a ride up to the “base camp” lodge in one of their old lorries, or just poking around the town. If you’ve got a bit more time on your hands, there are some spectacular crater lakes to be seen just outside of another pueblo called Seco, maybe 15-20K to the south.
Sorry to morph into a travel agent there. Don’t want to push a place on anyone, but it’s a beautiful region of México… hope someone can make use of the info.
Just ran across this page on the net and decided to leave a comment. Both my parents are from Plan de Capulin and this is a very nice picture. I try to make it out there every year with them…the volcano makes for a beautiful site, whether at night or by day.
What a beautiful picture of my childhood !!
My grandparents lived there their entire life and I spend part of my life looking at this beauty from my window, the memories are endless, the name of the town is Tlachichuca and the Reyes family are good friends of mine.
Happy trails to you !!!!!
DORIS