Mexico: Past and Present
The Copper Canyon
The sky is filled with fluorescent pinks and orange. It's dawn, and the wide street is contrasted by palm trees along its borders and cars and people that are increasing in number by the minute, moving about with what feels like mid-day energy. A few feet ahead a woman with a kind smile stands behind a wooden table. It is filled with thermoses of hot coffee and a large pot of tamales wrapped in banana leaves. People stand around the table, pouring a spoonful of hot sauce made from chiles and garlic crushed just hours before, onto their tamales before each bite. Long ago the advice was given to me to choose the food stands where I see lots of locals eating. They're always the best. I take a seat next to others on a small wooden stool as she hands me a small cup of coffee. It's not my first time here, and I tell her I'd like to wait a few minutes before eating a tamale. I watch the morning sky as it continues to change colors and the coffee cup provides a comforting warmth in my hands. I can't help but admire this expansive country, its past and its present. Not too far from where I sit this morning, are the ancient Mayan Ruins of Calakmul. Now abandoned for more than one thousand years, the city had once been the largest and most powerful in the region for more than 12 centuries. Like us today, they too were advanced in mathematics, astronomy, and calendrics, and created technological solutions for water management for agriculture and flood control. What would sunrise have been like within the city 1,000 years ago? My mind wonders. Today, the ruins are protected within a giant forest reserve where howler monkeys roam freely with their loud voices, and from the vantage point provided at the top of many of the pyramids still accessible, guests can view toucans soaring above the treeline.
A traditional tamale wrapped in a banana leaf.
How much do you already know about Mexico? Have you been? Here are just a few intriguing facts about the country that only begin to scrape the surface of this magnificent part of the world.
1) Mexico City has the largest number of museums in the Americas and the second largest number in the world, second only to London.
2) The Chapultepec Forest in Mexico City is the largest urban park in Latin America, and it's twice as big as New York's Central Park.
3) Mexico City is the 8th richest city in the world.
4) Color TV was invented in Mexico
5) Mexico is home to more than 6,000 cenotes (sinkholes created from the collapse of limestone bedrock that expose groundwater underneath)
6) There are 59 endemic varieties of corn in Mexico
7) It's home to a picturesque cobblestone street, colonial town built along a mountain range. Known as San Miguel de Allende, it was significant in the country's movement for independence from Spain.
8) Striking cliffs and green jungle complement many of the country's Pacific beaches while the Caribbean side boasts mesmerizing turquoise waters and soft, white sand.
9) Mexican literature is one of the most prolific and influential of Spanish-language literatures.
10) Mexico has its own grand canyon. Known as Copper Canyon, it is actually a series of six separate canyons which have a combined length that's four times bigger than its neighbor up north.
One of thousands of cenotes in Mexico.
Calakmul Ruins: Part of an ancient Mayan civilization
We at Venture Road take people on journeys to different countries to explore, learn, teach, and serve. We are a group of people who have…
Ambitions to change the world for the better
Voices lifted to share stories
Hearts wild enough to understand the hearts of others
Souls eager to find new trails to blaze
We exist to open eyes to see and ears to listen. We encourage a desire to bridge cultural gaps and join tables of global communication. And, we invite you to come along with us.