Ruminations of an Expatriate

I’ve been here in Xalapa for fourteen months and had not yet visited the Cerro de Macuiltepec park. This morning the shame of this fact overcame me, so I headed uphill. The park has a website.

The park constitutes the very top of the hill upon the slopes and at the base of which resides Xalapa. And it is indeed entirely uphill from my apartment, which I suppose sets about half way up the hill. Here is a shot of Pico de Orizaba, Mexico’s highest peak, I took during the hike up.

The park comprises 310,908 square meters (about 77 acres for those who, like me, don’t speak metric); the highest point exists at 1586 meters (5,203 feet) above sea level, and an average of 1514 milimeters (59 inches, for those keeping score) of rain falls upon the park in a year.

I was a bit surprised to learn that Xalapa gets about the same amount of rainfall over the course of a year as does the area of Coastal Washington where I spent most of my life. It just doesn’t seem like it rains that much here.

One traverses the park along a labyrinth of switch back lanes paved with cobbles, of the volcanic rock ubiquitous here, which wend their ways through the dense vegetation to the top. Additionally, there are very steep stairways that climb between the switched back roadway. Did I mention it was uphill all the way?

There is also in the park a narrow, fairly deep ravine flanked by shear volcanic rock faces rising perhaps 120 feet above the floor. A soccer field, with concrete bleachers, and a children’s playground have been constructed upon the floor of the ravine. The nice stone kiosk shown above sets at the entrance to the park one takes to visit the ravine.

At the top of the park is a tower structure, of mortared stone and concrete, with a spiral staircase which climbs perhaps 30 or 40 feet up, above the tree tops, affording grand vistas.

There is also located upon the very top of the hill the Museo de Fuana with a nice collection of fuana, including a variety of snakes, toads, iguanas, and lizards; and a nice butterfly/moth display. The museum contains a nice photo display of the nine ecosystem regions comprising the state of Veracruz, from the Mangrove dominated coastal areas, through the tropical forest and the high desert above, to the alpine forests flanking Pico de Orizaba.

The park offers a refuge from the noise and action of the city and a visit there provides a real work out. Did I mention it was uphill all the way?

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