A couple of weeks ago, another Fulbrighter (Mariah, an ETA placed in another town in Estado de Mexico) and I decided to take on Nevado de Toluca (called Xinantécatl in Nahuatl), the famed volcano on the outskirts of town. It's dormant now and one of the only well-known hiking spots in this part of Mexico. It's a must-see if you're in Toluca.
We took a bus to the base of the volcano and then planned to hitchhike from there (all the hiking/tourism websites I consulted assured me that's a normal thing at the Nevado.) Our first ride came from two guys in a fruit truck who were extremely friendly:
They dropped us off when they headed in another direction but luckily, we got picked up again quickly, this time by a man who was sight-seeing with his coworker's daughter. They drove us to the end of the road, which was a huge help since walking from the base would have taken a few hours.
Then we started the hike, which pretty tough - the trail was easy, but the altitude (over 15,000 ft) made just breathing quite tricky. Seriously, I've never found walking so difficult. Mariah and I ended up stopping almost every minute. Also, because the oxygen level is so low, there's almost no vegetation besides some crazy-cool cactus-y flower things, and the whole area kind of feels like a different planet. Super weird and really beautiful.
Finally, we made it to the top of the crater and were rewarded with a view of the first lagoon!
We also caught up with our new friends (who had given us a ride) and hiked around both of the lagoons and chatted.
After an hour or two, we head back to the car and began the descent.
Our luck just kept going when our new friends offered to drive us back to my neighborhood; they ended up driving us for over an hour (it was on their way, but still!) which saved us a lot of time and hassle and was more than a little appreciated : )
(to see more photos from my adventures around Estado de Mexico, click here.)
We took a bus to the base of the volcano and then planned to hitchhike from there (all the hiking/tourism websites I consulted assured me that's a normal thing at the Nevado.) Our first ride came from two guys in a fruit truck who were extremely friendly:
They dropped us off when they headed in another direction but luckily, we got picked up again quickly, this time by a man who was sight-seeing with his coworker's daughter. They drove us to the end of the road, which was a huge help since walking from the base would have taken a few hours.
Then we started the hike, which pretty tough - the trail was easy, but the altitude (over 15,000 ft) made just breathing quite tricky. Seriously, I've never found walking so difficult. Mariah and I ended up stopping almost every minute. Also, because the oxygen level is so low, there's almost no vegetation besides some crazy-cool cactus-y flower things, and the whole area kind of feels like a different planet. Super weird and really beautiful.
Finally, we made it to the top of the crater and were rewarded with a view of the first lagoon!
We also caught up with our new friends (who had given us a ride) and hiked around both of the lagoons and chatted.
After an hour or two, we head back to the car and began the descent.
Our luck just kept going when our new friends offered to drive us back to my neighborhood; they ended up driving us for over an hour (it was on their way, but still!) which saved us a lot of time and hassle and was more than a little appreciated : )
(to see more photos from my adventures around Estado de Mexico, click here.)
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