The Magic of the Cities.

Zen promotes the rediscovery of the obvious, which is so often lost in its familiarity and simplicity. It sees the miraculous in the common and magic in our everyday surroundings. When we are not rushed, and our minds are unclouded by conceptualizations, a veil will sometimes drop, introducing the viewer to a world unseen since childhood. ~ John Greer

Thursday, October 21, 2010

Beautiful Danger


Popocatepetl is an active volcano and, at 5,426 m (17,802 ft), the second highest peak in Mexico after the Pico de Orizaba (5,636 m/18,491 ft). Popocatepetl is linked to the Iztaccihuatl volcano to the north by the high saddle known as the Paso de Cortés, and lies in the eastern half of the Trans-Mexican volcanic belt.
The name Popocatepetl comes from the Nahuatl words popōca 'it smokes' and tepētl 'mountain', thus Smoking Mountain; the name Don Goyo comes from the mountain's association in the lore of the region with San Gregorio (St. Gregory), "Goyo" being a nickname-like short form of Gregorio.
Popocatepetl is 70 km (43 mi) southeast of Mexico City, from where it can be seen regularly, depending on atmospheric conditions. The residents of Puebla, a mere 40 km (25 mi) east of the volcano, enjoy the views of the snowy and glacier-clad mountain almost all year long. The volcano is also one of the three tall peaks in Mexico to contain glaciers, the others being Iztaccihuatl and Pico de Orizaba.

Popocatepetl is one of the most violent volcanoes in Mexico, having had more than 20 major eruptions since the arrival of the Spanish in 1519. A major eruption occurred in 1947 to begin this cycle of activity. Then, on December 21, 1994, the volcano spewed gas and ash which was carried as far as 25 km (16 mi) away by prevailing winds. The activity prompted the evacuation of nearby towns and scientists to begin monitoring for an eruption. In December 2000, tens of thousands of people were evacuated by the government based on the warnings of scientists. The volcano then made its largest display in 1200 years. [Wiki]

Iztaccíhuatl
A legend tells the tale that many years before Cortés came to Mexico, the Aztecs lived in Tenochtitlán, today's Mexico City. The chief of the Aztecs had a beautiful daughter named Iztaccíhuatl.  The people were enchanted with Izta and her parents prepared her to someday be the Empress of the Aztecs. Izta grew up and fell in love with a captain of a tribe named Popocatépetl or Popoca. Popoca asked for the Emperor's permission to marry his daughter and he agreed to the arrangement under one condition: in order to marry his Izta, Popoca had to bring the head of an enemy chief back from the war.
Popoca went off to fulfill his destiny. Several months passed and an adversary of Popoca sent a false message back to Izta that her loved one had died in battle. When Izta heard her lover's fate she was overcome by the news, refused to eat and died of grief.
Popoca returned victorious, but upon hearing of Izta's passing he could not be consoled. He carried his beloved to the mountains and put her down to rest, then plunged a dagger in his broken heart. The gods covered them with snow and changed them into famous peaks in Mexico. Together in eternity are Iztaccíhuatl's mountain "La Mujer Dormida" (Sleeping Woman), and Popocatépetl's volcano, still active today raining fire on Earth in blind rage at the loss of his beloved. [Wiki]


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Thanks for visiting, please be sure that I read each and every one of your kind comments and I appreciate them all / Gracias por su visita.

12 comments:

Luis Gomez said...

Una hermosura! Bellisimas imagenes.

joo said...

They are perfect photos!

Sciarada said...

Ciao Carraol, I love these two photos I find it extraordinarily beautiful!

Carolyn Ford said...

Amazing images and such a sad legend but, extraordinary!

Pat said...

What a beautiful volcano and bittersweet legend.

Anonymous said...

Interesting and sad reading. Your images are very beautiful.
Lovely weekend :)

Abrazos

Cris said...

Impressive! Thanks for sharing!
Have a nice weekend.

Anonymous said...

What a drama and sad lovestory! I understand why the volcano still is active ;-)
Great shots!

irinapictures said...

Looks like the Aztec had a really spicy life back then..
So beautiful images and thank you for the intro into the unknown.
Pink Floyd today. Great.

Anonymous said...

Striking images. Before people could scientifically explain volcanoes, they made up stories which are now legends. And some of these stories are true. Thanks for sharing the legend.

Anonymous said...

just gorgeous and that leaves me speechless !
I like the colors of these pictures, and the tip of the wing of the plane !
Congratulations very beautiful !
:) Bye**

T. Becque said...

Was the first taken out of the plane window?! I'm dumbstruck - so beautiful.