México - The Blue House of Pain and Power

 June 25-26

Hello everyone!

For the next month, I will be based in one of the Americas’ most populous nations: the United States of…Mexico! Actually called the United Mexican States but almost fooled you, yeah?

The many faces of Frida Kahlo

By land mass, Mexico is the 14th largest county in the world

I’ve said to many people since moving to El Salvador almost two years ago that I don’t really know much about Mexico. Sure, I’ve heard of the stereotypes of tacos, sombreros and “Spring Break woo” destinations on the coast. But what of the people? Who is a famous Mexican?

Sombreros

Churros, which I always find slightly disappointing

One of Mexico’s most famous people is a lady called Frida Kahlo. I’ve heard of her and am aware that she was a popular artist. However, I wasn’t exactly sure why she is so well-renowned across the world. As she was from Mexico’s seemingly never-ending sprawl of a capital city, I thought this would be a chance to get educated about her life and work.

Her dad was a photographer which means there is plenty of evidence of her life

I had found this book in the school library. When I started
reading it, I realised that it was aimed at 5-7 year olds.
Still, I learnt some important things from it!

Frida Kahlo has arguably become more prominent since her death in 1954. She lived her life in a house in the suburb of Coyoacán, in the south of Mexico City. This house, which itself is a lovely place, is now home of the Museum of Frida Kahlo, and one of the city’s most popular attractions.

It may not look far from pink to red, but took
over 30 minutes by public transport and walking

The entrance: quiet before 11am

Its popularity and small nature means that you have to reserve a spot quite far in advance. Luckily I was aware of this and able to get a ticket for entry in the first 15 minutes of the house being open. Mexico seems to value its teachers, which meant my ticket was only about a quarter of the cost of a regular ticket.

Frida and Diego Rivera lived here for those dates

The line was speedy and orderly

The house has a lot of informative boards (unlike another place I visited the day before, they did have English text) interspersed between documents, pictures, paintings and trinkets connected to Frida Kahlo and her husband, another famous Mexican called Diego Rivera. 

Fruit were common targets for painting

Collection of her paints and brushes

I did feel that some important information is somewhat glossed over, so having that prior knowledge from a book for 5-7 year olds was actually helpful. For those of you who don’t know, Frida Kahlo had medical challenges throughout her life. She developed polio aged 6 and was in a terrible traffic accident aged 18, the latter of which forced her to stay in bed for months. She had a mirror installed so she could start to paint self-portraits, which helped refine her art skills.

This leg brace was used for a lot of her life: her right
leg had to be amputated shortly before her death 

The mirror is cleverly positioned at the top

A lot of her art is said to stem from the pain of her life. One of the reasons she is seen as famous in the art world is for this personal touch in her paintings. They also tap into pre-hispanic culture.

The Two Fridas, painted in 1939, depict different aspects of her personality

Many figures like these can be found around the house

Having learnt about Frida Kahlo by visiting her very ‘Blue House’ - complete with lovely garden - I think that her almost iconic standing is due to her success in spite of her pain, her artistic themes and the simple fact that she was a woman in a historically machismo nation. Whilst she has been more successful since her death (she only held one solo exhibition of her art in Mexico whilst alive), the fact that we know so much about her shows her ability to ultimately triumph through adversity.

Frida Kahlo died aged 47 in 1954

Garden: wild!

The neighbourhood in which the Blue House is found, Coyoacán, is a lovely, relatively peaceful suburb within the land that makes up Mexico City, a metropolis inhabited by a whopping 22.5 million people. Depending on what source you use, it is either the largest or second-largest urban area in the western hemisphere. Yet as you sit in one of Coyoacán’s sleepy parks, watching the fountain dance over statues of wolves, statistics like that can seem a world away.

Behind this sign is the 'House of Cortes', which you'll read about later in this blog

This pretty church was created soon after the Spanish arrival

The wolves are also known as coyotes. You may notice that ‘coyote’ looks similar to the name of the borough. In the Aztec language, Coyoacán translates as “place of the abundant coyotes.” The historic importance of this animal, which used to be found in this area of the country, can be seen in the fact that one of the most ancient Aztec deities, called Huehuecoyotl, was known as ‘Old Coyote’. 

They are no longer found in the neighbourhood, obviously

Hungry life the wolf...

Some would argue the real coyotes were the Spanish, who came to Mexico in 1519 and conquered what has become Mexico City in 1521. Their leader, Hernan Cortes, had a house in this neighbourhood. On the main plaza is a building called the ‘House of Hernan Cortes’, which strongly suggests that he lived there. In all likelihood, he didn’t. Though there may have been a structure there before, this building was created in the eighteenth century.

A plaque which may misrepresent the truth

Did Cortes eat a quesadilla? Probably not.
Cheapish (just over $2) and very greasy, this.

Someone who definitely did live in this neighbourhood is the famous Soviet Leon Trotsky. He escaped Stalin’s clutches by moving out of the USSR, ultimately landing in this southern part of Mexico City. He didn’t move on; instead, Trotsky was brutally murdered with an ice axe by a Stalin agent in 1940. His house can be visited.

Rumour is that Trotsky actually had an affair with Kahlo

Artwork on the edge of the neighbourhood
suggests an edgy, possibly revolutionary vibe 

He had lived briefly in the Blue House with Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera. A lot of aspects of Coyoacán lead back to these two influential artists, the former of whom I am happy to have learnt a little more about in her striking house.

Cool Kahlo

This was in the kitchen of the Blue House

Apparently this is one of Kahlo's most famous paintings,
completed months before dying. The watermelon
is inscribed with 'Viva la Vida': live life.

Love you all,

Matt

El Salvador - If You See a Crocodile...

 June 2

…take lots of photos because it’s so cute!

A 'cocodrilito': a baby crocodile

A baby croc sunning itself in Barra de Santiago 

Hello everyone!

About a year ago, a documentary called El Salvador Untamed was shared on YouTube. The 50 minute video showed a lot of positive and lesser-known, yet fascinating, areas of the country. I added almost every place that Nigel Marven had visited onto my ‘future El Salvador travel’ list on my phone. This weekend gave me the opportunity to visit one of them: Barra de Santiago.

A man fishing in the Barra de Santiago

On a Sunday, it is a little over a 90 minute drive from Santa Tecla

This coastal spit is reasonably well-known. It has pretty beaches with wild Pacific waves. Close to shore, these were fun to play in, resembling being thrown around as if in a washing machine.

Shortly after exiting the water, a large lifeguard - running
with a soda in hand - was running over blowing
his whistle for people to get out of the water

The ocean isn’t what makes this place special, however. That would be its other body of water, sitting about 300 metres inland. 

The area was declared a 'Wetland of International Importance' on July 23, 2014

The forest on the right is less than 500 metres away from the beach...

You can hire boats here which take you through the calm inland waters between the settlements of Barra de Santiago and El Zapote. Our boat never reached the latter village, though. We turned right…into the largest mangrove complex in the North Pacific…

Our boat!

I adored the reflections in the still waters

This is a protected area. After paying the entrance fee to the ‘park’ from our boat, we quietly chugged along an ever-narrowing stream, surrounded by chirping birds and long, spindly fingers of mangrove roots. 

We were able to pay as residents so it was only $3 per person

Mangrove swamps like this are some of the most
important areas of natural carbon capture on Earth

That was after seeing some other wildlife: specifically, an iguana. It had blended expertly onto the tree branch. I am always amazed by how guides can spot wildlife!

In the wild, on average iguanas live to about 9 years of age 

This iguana wasn't as well hidden... 

We were here to see something different, though. Something with a bit more…bite…

Adverts by the 'jetty' advertise seeing massive crocodiles

Yes folks, this is the most common area in El Salvador in which to find crocodiles. A few websites claim you can also find alligators, though many others suggest that Florida is the only place where both coexist. 

More likely to see a croc than an alligator here!

We saw an adult crocodile…for about half a second. Its head then sank below the surface and our guide informed us that we needed to move. Don’t want to croc to come up next to or under our boat, after all.

Did you see it? It's under the water.

What we saw instead was arguably rarer and more magical. We were looking at a bird from the left side of our boat. Well, I was anyway. The guide had spotted something else on the little tree stumps near it. Some beady eyes…

A croc emerges from the egg measuring 20-30 centimetres

English: crocodile. Spanish: cocodrilo. Looks similar, but
the placing of that R makes it quite tricky to say!

We had chanced upon a float of baby crocodiles (I do love collective nouns for animals). Our guide said that they were probably about one month old.

Crocodiles have lineage to the dinosaurs

Possibly the best moment was when the bird decided to fly elsewhere. Its flapping spooked the little crocs, causing them to practise their synchronised swimming dive into the water. It was only then that we realised there were at least 10, and more likely over 15, crocodiles on that one tree stump.

A group of young hatchling crocs is collectively known as a ‘pod‘ or a ‘crèche‘

Going on safari to witness creatures in their natural habitat is something I miss greatly after living in southern Africa for six years. Different places have different draws. It was therefore nice to spend a little over an hour plodding along up a river channel in relative peace, scanning the mangroves and the water lapping below them for any signs of life.

Many birds stop here on their migrations 

Google Lens calls this a 'true crab'.
I feel sorry for the other false crabs...

A lovely day trip from the capital, and a day which has made me want to tick off many more things on my future El Salvador travelling list!

The chances of a baby crocodile reaching their
first birthday are around a hundred to one

Love you all,

Matt

El Salvador - The Lighthouse of the Pacific

 May 10

Hello everyone!

May 10th is Dia De La Madre in El Salvador: Mother’s Day. It’s a national holiday here, meaning a day off work to spend time with those who are mothers. Or do something that your mother may not approve…

Before hiking Volcan de Izalco

Just inside the edge of the crater of Izalco

That behind us is Volcan de Izalco. It is El Salvador’s youngest volcano. It is said to be one of the more difficult volcano hikes in the country. Having only scaled two volcanoes (Boqueron and Santa Ana) in Central America’s smallest country, I wasn’t really sure what that meant. Particularly in comparison to the beasts in countries to the north and south…

Izalco is the cone-shaped volcano on the left 

A pretty view of Izalco framed by foliage from Cerro Verde

Not to say that there was a lack of respect for the Izalco volcano. When viewed from nearby Santa Ana and Cerro Verde volcanoes, it looks…steep.

Cerro Verde is on the left, Izalco on the right

From the starting point of the Izalco hike,
you're actually at a similar height to its peak

By some judges, it’s also the most active volcano in Central America. It’s erupted more than 50 times since 1770. On average, that’s once every five years. It erupted so much that it was given the nickname of ‘the Lighthouse of the Pacific’. This is because the ships were guided by the constant eruptions and lava flows from its top.

Apparently the steam is from previous rainwater
touching the rocks, rather than an imminent eruption

Pretty wildlife, such as this Spiny Liazrd, can be found in the area

It hasn’t erupted since 1966, however, and climbing to its peak is permitted. Knowing that the volcano was exposed to the elements, a group of us wanted to set off early to beat the sun. This involved meeting our guide at the petrol station for nearby Cerro Verde National Park, from where we would start our adventure.

The park has a coffee shop and overrated restaurant called Casa 1800

A slight misunderstanding meant that our guide was left stranded at the petrol station for the turning to head towards Cerro Verde National Park. Quite a long way from where we were when we realised this: in Cerro Verde National Park….

We had actually driven past that petrol station but
hadn't realized that this place, 30 minutes away from Cerro
Verde, was what he meant when he said 'Cerro Verde'

After managing to find a guide to take us before the public tour at 10:45am, we left at around 8:30am to head…down. Strange scenario this, one in which you have to hike down hundreds of metres from the Cerro Verde volcano before starting to scale Izalco. Very green, owing to the fact that it is dormant and hasn’t erupted in hundreds of years. 

Almost all of the first section was steps like these

There is a hotel higher up on Cerro Verde. Apparently it was built
so that visitors could stay and watch Izalco erupting. It
was finished soon after 1966: Izalco's last eruption... 

At its base, the volcano seems a bit more imposing. Our guide informed us that the streak down its centre which looks like a path is in fact incredibly dangerous, and that we had to zigzag along the side of this. 

Our guide said the word 'toboggan' when referring
to that streak. Not sure I'd strap in for that...

The start of the hike up to the top

In spite of the threats of a 45° incline, the walk up was reasonably easy to do, with lots of big rocks to ramble on. These rocks started to feel warm - and then hot - to the touch as we got closer to the top, which was a slightly surreal experience. The steam emanating from vents near the top and the lack of sunshine added to the atmosphere.

Its name in Nahuatl means 'place of the black sands'

Vegetation is understandably sparse on the volcano

A little over half an hour after starting from its base, we reached the peak of Izalco: 1950 metres above sea level. Unlike other volcanoes I’ve scaled, you can circumnavigate the top of Izalco. That means you have a 360 degree view: ranging from Cerro Verde and Santa Ana volcanoes to the north, to the…well, you should be able to see the sea. You can also see the lava field from the last eruption, in 1966.

The Pacific Ocean would be visible on a clear day

The 1966 eruption destroyed coffee fields but didn't,
to our guide's knowledge, result in mass loss of life 

Arguably the most fascinating view is the crater. A surprisingly shallow crater, which probably doesn’t descend further than 10 metres from the edge. Walking through the steam had the feel of being in a sauna. Whilst doing this, you can see how steep some of the sides of Izalco are. 

The crater is about 250 metres in diameter

Walking around the edge of the crater

The whole hike took a little under 4 hours at a pretty leisurely pace. It was nice to conquer a volcano which has a reputation of being a challenging climb. A very enjoyable Mother’s Day morning.

Going down was slow but not too slippery

Enjoying the views and a water break!

A more enjoyable volcano than other recent ones we have scaled

A 6km jaunt in total

Love you all,

Matt