Mexico

Attending Amnesty International's International Council Meeting (ICM) 2005 as a member of the Swiss delegation brought me to Morelos, Mexico in the first place. Pretty exciting to see Amnesty International democracy at work and the truly international aspect of the organization! I seized the opportunity to extend with two weeks of travel in Mexico... Two years later the same story, this time travelling northwards (from Taxco).

Working Session at ICM

File size 92 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Following the "Use of Force" debate in the Human Rights Strategy Working Session, with Daniel Bolomey and Rahel Fischer to my right.

ICM venue Hotel Cocoyoc

File size 109 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. A very nice venue for an international meeting and - less obvious - a very inexpensive one for Amnesty International. Despite delegation meetings, plenary sessions, fringe & theme meetings as well as drafting parties throughout the week I managed to swim in this nice pool a couple of times.

ADO Bus Station, Villahermosa

File size 119 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. I arrived at Villahermosa bus station squeezed in a pick-up with three friendly Mexicans (originally on the trunk until it started raining - it rained cats and dogs every afternoon in late August Chiapas except for Tuxtla) which had given my a lift from the airport - where I had started my traveling proper. A good idea to take a pano - none of the following bus stations was either that atmospheric or close to its size.

Templo Olvidado, Palenque

File size 179 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Templo Olvidado means "Forgotten Temple", righteously, and gave me that Indiana Jones-feeling. Or the "Jurassic Park"-feeling ("When will I be devoured?") when we heard the haunting cry of howler monkeys. The small area around the well-known Temple of the Inscriptions or the Palace in Palenque is just a fraction of the ancient Mayan city, the whole area is littered with temples and buildings torn up by the roots of overgrowing jungle.

Grupo de las Cruces, Palenque

File size 106 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The beautiful view towards the Temple of the Inscriptions and the Palace on the lower grounds shows why Palenque was built here. It is on the edge where mountains start rising from the lowlands of Tabasco, which combined with ample jungle basically guaranteed sufficient rain.

Agua Azul

File size 131 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. A lookout just above the cascades of Agua Azul. Not really blue at this time of the year, but really nice. In retrospect I cherish this picture because a fellow from the ICM delegation was relieved of her camera at Machete point on the short road to Misol Ha, another waterfall off the Palenque - Ocosingo road. Needless to say that I had walked that road too, with my full gear and not the least hint of concern.

Mercado Municipal, San Cristóbal de las Casas

File size 122 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The open part of the Municipal Market which covers a whole neighborhood, with countless "collectivos" shuttling to/from the neighboring villages.

Mercado Municipal, San Cristóbal de las Casas

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Zócalo, San Cristóbal de las Casas

File size 102 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The northeast corner of the Zócalo in San Cristóbal. The comparably narrow, cobbled streets and gaily colors are typical, however, most buildings in San Cristóbal are modest one-storey houses lining the square-grid streets.

Cañon del Sumidero

File size 93 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Cañon del Sumidero made me miss my flight at Tuxtla Gutiérrez (at least it was well worth it!) with a combination of "we leave soon", PET bottle pollution (a 200 m-wide barrier of wood and rubbish half a kilometer down from the site of the pano, result of heavy rainfalls) and presumably private ferry business of our captain - in that order. It definitly wasn't for our rather few stops, here before actually entering the gorge with its sides towering up to 1000 m above us.

Monte Albán

File size 73 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The Zapotec settlement at Monte Albán close to Oaxaca is worth a visit just for its site...

Calle Alcalá, Oaxaca

File size 93 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The crossing of the pedestrianized Calle Alcalá with another street little travelled - Oaxaca at its poshest.

Claustro de Santo Domingo, Oaxaca

File size 192 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The monastery of Santo Domingo was clearly the favourite building of my whole trip in México. Beautifully restored, it is not just the cloister which obviously appealed to me (use the JavaViewer!), but the building as a whole with its landscaped gardens with local flora, closed courts and capped roofs. Parts of it could have been designed by a contemporary architect.

Alameda de Léon, Oaxaca

File size 109 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The Alameda in Oaxaca which adjoins the Zócalo and the cathedral. The previous day, my shoes had received here the shine of their life.

Zócalo, Puebla

File size 109 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. A crowd gathering at an election rally, or more precisely trying to obtain one of the giveaways at its end. Puebla around the Zócalo is very European for Mexican standards; it can also be very Andalusian or Mexican, depending on the direction you go.

Pirámide del Sol, Teotihuacán

File size 80 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The mighty Pirámide del Sol - world's third largest in size says Lonely Planet (the second being in Cholula, an hour from Mexico City) - is very impressive. In the distance you can spot its slightly smaller counterpart, the Pirámide de la Luna, along the 2 km-long (!) Calzada de los Muertos.

Rep de Uruguay & Bolívar, Ciudad de México

File size 97 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The Centro Histórico in Mexico City has many faces, this is just one of it. It can be charmingly colonial in bright colors like north or east of the Zócalo, littered with stalls in a run-down neighborhood reminiscent of China or very poshy - you choose.

Av Madero & Bolívar, Ciudad de México

File size 107 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. This is 4 blocks down the road from the previous pano, quite a change in atmosphere.

Zócalo, Ciudad de México

File size 101 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. The building lining Mexico City's main square are indeed "sinking", given their poor foundation on former Tenochitlán island as well as the sinking water table caused by excessive ground water consumption. Still, probably half of the effect is a pano assembly artefact...

Plaza Borda, Taxco

File size 132 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Taxco is not very big, and yet it is very easy to get lost. It bustles with life and indigenous culture - unlike the two other cities I was going to visit.

View from Christo, Taxco

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View from Posada San Javier, Taxco

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North of Plaza de Armas, Morelia

File size 91 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Morelia is a beautiful, spaciously laid out and orderly city; however, behind the scenes things are not always so peaceful.

Junction of Calle Hidalgo & Allenda, Morelia

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Jardin de la Union, Guanojuato

File size 90 kB. Choose JPEG or Java Viewer. Guanojuato is an European's delight: comparably small and safe, it boasts a very nice old town which is easy to navigate.

Plaza del Baratillo, Guanojuato

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Aussicht from El Pipila, Guanojuato

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View from Cerro Trozada, Guanojuato

File size 140 kB. Only JPEG.