Anna, my little host sister from Germany.
Not so little anymore, since i was going to Brazil and passing Mexico, it made sense to visit her, since i would not see her on my return to Germany. And it was great, she is there on her rotary exchange, she had only arrived 2 weeks prior.
Julieta the girl i couchsurfed with. http://www.couchsurfing.org/
She was a very welcoming person, we got on well, and was very interesting.
so much colour, when i pointed it out to Julieta, she noted MExicAns are not afraid to express themselves through colour or to show their true colour,
In Mexico you make do with the room you have.
All over there were many places to buy Tacos, all kinds of people came.
Friday, Julieta took me to this place, i no longer know its name. Behind me is the Valley of Toluca, so this ride was about 30 minutes from Toluca. It was a nice old town, located on a hill.
We drove up into the hill there, and for some reason i was surprised to see that the trees were pine.
I can't remember the full story, but once a year the people hang these purple flowers on their crops to thank the land for giving them healthy crops, thus providing them with food
what Julieta is picking is Tuna which is the fruit of this plant, what us westerners consider cactus, but to Mexicans its not. And there are spikes all over, stupidly i used my jacket to hold it, and for weeks after i was attending to spikes in my arm
In Mexico there was always people just standing around, not matter what the time of day was
Julieta works with the minister of Environment. And she was telling me how they are trying to conserve many hills with trees in Mexico, because many people who inherit the land just sell it off because they need the money. SO they are trying to educate the people, on the importance of the land. They being the conscious of Mexico.
As you can see they no longer have any trees, but the photos of the pine, is one hill of few which remains untouched.
Eucalypt in Mexico - was brought there many years ago because of its smell, Julieta was telling me that now its a problem because its a pest to the other native trees
Saturday Anna and I visited her friend Riccardo family's Ranch, in the end i was only able to quickly ride a horse, due to their tired and sickness, i could feel their unease
holay
This is their sport. They pull the cow but its tail, and attempt to bring it down.
practicing
Young horses, about 2 years, not yet fully trained, so they were crazily playing together.
I questioned why they wore these hats, it is because they are their helmets. Very hard topped
Julieta and her mother went shopping, and bought all this fresh organic food.
Then her mum took most of it with her on a 12 hour bus ride to see her brother, as the produce was fresh, local and organic
This was cookies
their crazy fun dog
Green, blue and my washing too
Looking down from the top of their roof.
Lots of mountains surrounding the city.
My last two nights in Mexico, I stayed with Anna host family
Anna and i decided to cook them dinner. Left to right around the clock, Riccardo, Anna, Maria Estella her host mother, Lu her host sister, Cesar Lu's boyfriend and Vincente her host father.
myself, Anna, Vincente, Maria Estella, Lu and Cesar
We cooked from Anna's recipes - the host parents were both educated in Geography, and had important roles in the field.
We cooked lemon chicken with rice and a zitron cake for desert
added to this photo is Gabi the middle child
This is fresh potato chips, sold all over, they are served with a spicy sauce and lime juice, very delicious.
one of many Cathedrals in Toluca, there's alot of religion, so theres alot of religious statues and ornaments sold all over the place.
The original gates to the city, are now the city's shopping centre.
policemen controlling traffic
another little shop. With peppers behind.
Toluca is known for chorizo
Lu left the same day i left Mexico, except for France, she was going on a one year Rotary youth Exchange. They were able to take me to the airport.
right near where Anna lives
taken from the same spot, on a bridge
the taste of juicy fruit.----fresh fruit sold everywhere
another little shop window
this is the fruit Tuna, like the one we picked with the spikes, it is very sweet and juicy..
Tamal is a typical food for the region, flour prepared in the skin of the corn, with different flavours, this one is Molle, a green spicy sauce. Then theres fresh Salsa and
Yes i tried alot of food in this week, especially this last day as i wanted to try alot before leaving, this is corn, cooked with chillis and toped with a chilli powder and strangely served with mayo.
This is the ice cream shop Lu and i went to, there are many crazy flavours. I tried Tequila, and cheese with berries.
Toluca traffico esta Loca, Toluca's traffic is crazy.
thats Anna's friend, whose Riccardo's cousin.
I really enjoyed Mexico, ALot. Everything was so different, there was always something new to look at. Plus the people were very nice, alot of culture, colour, history and so much going on. So far it has been a stand out destination, well as i said before, because it was so different.
Also Toluca is one of the wettest places in Mexico, because of its altitude. I was not prepared for this weather.
