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Published: November 21st 2009
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Monterrey
Quality scenery, despite the smog. So, I've got about a month left now. I'm currently in Monterocco Hostel in Monterrey, spending an afternoon typing infront of a screen in the dark, as I've spent the last few days walking through the parks and city streets of this place, and I'm knackered. Monterrey is definitely one of the better places I've stayed in recently. I remember in Mexico City some yank questioning me with a perplexed look on his face as to why I wanted to travel north. I replied that I wanted to see
all of Mexico, but with hinesight I can see what he meant. There are some awesome mountains and canyons in the north, which I'll get to, but everything else just seems to be industry. The fact that more people have died since 2008 in drug related violence here than troops in the entire Iraq War gives an indication of what a lot of cities here are like. Monterrey is an exception though. Technically Mexico's richest city, their seems to be an abundance of public art and cultural expression on most steet corners. Parque Fundidora is a perfect example, as it contains various museums relating to Monterreys industrial past, as well as vast
Barranca del Cobre
Hours of class canyons and bad smells. open fields and public spaces dotted with strategically placed remains of the steel furnaces that used to inhabit the sight fifthteen years ago. There's also a museum containing a full Apatosaurus skeleton and a gig venue thrown in the mix. The mountains lining the city edges put the icing on the cake as far as artsy views are concerned, providing you can see through the smog.
The mountains around Monterrey are nothing compared to the Copper Canyon though. I read about a train you can catch from Los Mochis to Chihuahua (there's a place called Chihuahua!), some eighteen hours down the line and directly through the place, so I hopped on. I could try to describe the scenery, but I could never do it justice so just check the photo out. Even the engineering of the train line is monumental, as it contains well over a hundred tunnels and bridges, and at one point loops 360° almost like a Scalextric track. The train was a good laugh for a few other reasons aswell, namely the befriending of a Brummie guy who was hilairiously underwhelmed with everything, and greeted the sight of one of the biggest canyons in the world
The River
Rio Fuente passing through the canyon. with "that's awlright.." Also, the 10-12 cheese and tuna sandwiches I'd munched in the train shop over the 18 hours didn't really agree with me, resulting in a stale dairy/rotten fish smell lingering in the air for the last leg of the trip. Atleast it cleared out a few seats so I could lie down and get some sleep.
So, smelling like a corpse I arrived in Chihuahua (the dogs originate nearby, and everyone seems to have one). Chihuahua's a weird place. Whilst walking around in the day I was pretty impressed. Nice buildings, open spaces, again loads of artsy type stuff, such as fountains that sing. It all seemed pretty stylish. Untill the sun went down, and it turns out that EVERYONE was a prostitute. I was wondering why the guest house was so cheap...
Anyways, the less said about that the better. I eventually managed to get to a place called Casa Grandes, famous for some nearby ruins known as Paquimé. In the middle of nowhere, I had the place practically to myself, which made the trip that bit better. Wondering around these ancient ruins with no one around had a quality Indiana Jones type feel
Paquimé
Three storey buildings made completly from mud. to it. The ruins themselves were cool aswell. The ancient people who inhabited the city from the 9th to the 15th centuries worshipped Macaws, to the point where they built clay cages for them that still exist today. Even more impressive, though it may not originally sound it, was the water irrigation system. A people who had not even discovered the wheel managed to design a system which allowed two streams of water to flow through every house, one clean for consumption, and the other for sewage and the like, in the middle of a desert. I thought it was impressive anyway.
This has took me ages to write so I'm stopping now. I've actually travelled another 700 miles since I started this entry. Anyways, see you all soon!!
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Mum
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Pack as much into the last few weeks as you can, I can't believe that you will be home within a month. Logs has got big plans for your first weekend !!!! See you love Mum