'Balcones' after Tacos...

The story behind these photos started with a question a few days prior. You see, as I have been traveling around my town and to the City I have kept noticing houses that sit precariously on a ledge far far above the main roadway, and I wondered...where is that place? So, I asked Aris and after Tacos...we drove up to 'Balcones'...translated'...Balconies, because if you life there you need one. It is far above the towns below and as you climb your way up, you realize how small you are and how large the suburbs of Mexico City are. In the first photo, we were looking in the direction of Atizapan and points North, the second is Districo Federal and points south all the way to Mexico City.

It was breathtaking, as you could see entire towns laid out in the valley between mountaintops, like christmas lights twinkling in the distance. You think your life it big until you see something that makes you feel very small.

Taco night at King Kong

King Kong Tacos in Pirules, Mexico. It is 6 tables surrounded by an understated concrete facade with One waiter and two cooks. So good it makes you want to kiss Kong!

Taco night at King Kong

Photo 1...Tacos Campechano and Tripa...literally, Campechano is a mix of three different types of meat as best I can tell, sausage, beef and pork...the Tripa, well...Tripe, that terrible looking white meat that you see in the market that looks like one part sponge and one part alien washcloth. Yummy.

Photo 2...So many tacos, so little time...

Photo 3...Pepto, Alka-seltzer, Immodium...maybe, but so worth it!

Taco night at King Kong

Photo 1...The 'Pastor' being sliced off by the chef at King Kong. The meat cooks horizontally with a propane flame searing it as it spins. The chef cuts off the sweet, crunchy meat and with a knick of the knife he slaps a sweet piece of pineapple onto the corn tortilla. Top it with onion, cilantro and green salsa and a few drops of lime...it is Mana from heaven. Can you eat anything so simple yet so tasty, this gringo doesn't think so.

Photo 2...The fixings, green salsa...red salsa, and limes. No lemons here kids, they don't exist. These are the 'limons'...looking to make a nice tea? Too bad, yellow lemons are as foreign as Vietnamese soup.

Photo 3...The finished product. Its taste can only be described as sweet, sour, salty and can be devoured in two and a half bites. I could live on these things...

Photo 1...The Corona truck, and who doesn't love Corona here? Well, there are many other brands of beer, and Corona isn't the preferred. For me, it is Victoria Beer...
Photo 2...Mexico does not censor their news, or their newsstands...so, if you look hard enough, you see Michael Jackson's glove, a prono mag called '69', and a magazine with a police officer who was hung from a bridge in Nuevo Laredo with a message that reads...'learn to respect'.
Photo 3...The 'Tortilleria' in Villa de la Hacienda where the machine cranks out tortillas by the thousands. For .85 cents American you receive 40 steaming hot corn tortillas. Yummy!!!

Trip out to light a candle...

Photo 1...Tacos at the Wed/Sat 'mercado' here in Villas de la Hacienda. So incredibly good it makes you want to slap someone!
Photo 2...Yep, the Wal Mart...Siempre 'Always'

Trip out to light a candle...

Photo 1...The 'other' Cathedral in the City Center.
Photo 2...El Zocalo, looking toward the Defense Building...(Dumb white guy in the street talking the photo)
Photo 3...Foot bridge of 'Periferico' or the highway in Pirules Mexico...(where Zita's office is.)

Trip out to light a candle...

Photo 1...My 'Microbus' driver, steady on the wheel and always being watched by Christ on the cross.
Photo 2...'Pregnancy tests, only 8 dollars...'
Photo 3...Metro station 'El Rosario'...

Tepozotlan Mexico

Photo 1...The mountains, fresh air and tepozotlan in the distance.
Photo 2...Zita and I
Photo 3...Mass at the Cathedral
Photo 4...On the way, we were at a bus stop...the mountains in the distance and a graveyard below.

Tepozotlan Mexico

Photo 1...The Cathedral at Tepozotlan.
Photo 2...A Blue Corn Quesadilla filled with chicken and potato
Photo 3...Creepy Graffiti

Tepozotlan Mexico

Photo 1...The 'mercado' in Tepozotlan. Serving up Quesadillas and all sorts of goodies.
Photo 2...Traditional dancers
Photo 3...A white guy in front of a big door.

Photo one...The Zocalo
Photo two...Me, lost in translation outside of the mall, clueless as to which direction to go to get the bus.
Photo three...Zita and I on the Micro, heading to get lunch.

Mexico, Week 1

Photo one...Our church here in Atizapan. I have taken a lot of good photos of this church over the past two visits...and this one is of the rains as they moved in at the start of the evening.

Photo two...a 'Micro' bus, parked for the night. These are the main source of transportation here and by far, the hardest to get accustomed to. The drivers rattle down the streets without fear of anyone or thing in their way.

Photos Three...The bus lanes at the subway station 'Rosario' or 'The Rosary'. It can be confusing as each bus is headed to a different town. Finding yours can be difficult.

Mexico, Week 1

Moving around Mexico City can be overwhelming at times, as I am sure with any large city...you must contend with traffic, traffic and well...more traffic. Public transportation is wonderful here, with buses and 'Micros'(small buses) as well as Kombi's(small vans) and the Subway (Metro). To move from Atizapan de Zaragosa to another town is easy. To get to the city center takes a bit more work and about an hour and a half depending on the time of day.

In the first photo...Bellas Artes in the City Center
The second...Huevos Rancheros with Ham. Or, as some have put it to me...'Green eggs and ham'
The third...a vendor selling 'Elote' or...corn on the cob, roasted over coals and smothered in mayo and doused with chili powder.

Mexico, Week 1

I have been here in Mexico for over a week now. If I were counting on my fingers and toes...it would be more like 10 days, which would mean that I will be surpassing my previous record for days in Mexico on my first trip in November. I have shot some great photos, and really need to start to put it all down on paper so as not to forget the little details.

My intention is to keep up with this blog and to put the daily activities on here, but...I take a lot of photos and I would like to share them all. Since I am starting this a bit late...I won't be able to recount my trip completly thus far, but...the first photo is of the Cathedral in Central Mexico City, home to the Catholic church here in Mexico. The second, a small church outside of Ciudad Izcalli, where it is believed that the Virgin Mary came in an apparition and spoke. The third, me...on the roof of the house in Atizapan.

Moving to Mexico

So, tonight is my last night in the US for roughly no less than 34 days. I am heading to Mexico to visit my fiance and to enjoy some much needed rest and relaxation. Photos and stories to follow I hope, so stay tuned.