Three landscapes

(Click on the pictures to enlarge)

Fields near the mountainous woods of Mazamitla

Islets in a semi-deserted beach in Michoacán

The quaint city of Guanajuato

Just exemplifying again the wildly different landscapes that can be found in the region. Sadly the ever increasing reports violence in the zone has steered travellers away from these lands, specially for the first two. Sadder is that it is probably perfectly safe for anyone to go there; all there is is fear.

Landlord's Gaze

Land tenure has ever been a problem in Mexico. Fewer than 11,000 haciendas controlled 57 percent of the national territory at the beginning of the 20th century, which became one of triggering situations for the 1910 Mexican Revolution. After the civil war, a mayor reform was introduced, and remained in force until 1992. However it has visibly failed to create a proper distribution of land, only succeeded in making it very complicated. Today, with greater demand an less availability for every natural resource you may think of, most of the usable land is employed in inefficient, medieval, extensive farming (if at all employed).

More on the subject:

• Structure and history of land tenure in Mexico;
  http://www.internal-displacement.org/idmc/website/countries.nsf/(httpEnvelopes)/EA3B6CB789BAE118C12573AD00534184?OpenDocument
• Mexico-Land Tenure Agriculture:
  http://www.mongabay.com/history/mexico/mexico-land_tenure_agriculture.html
• Land Tenure and the Ejido Program in Mexico:
  http://www.applet-magic.com/ejido.htm

Properly receiving springtime in Mexico

I believe Mexican hot and sunny beaches enjoy worldwide fame because of their "good" weather. Well, if you wander a couple hundred kilometres inland from this heavenly pacific ocean seashores in the south-west, you might actually be surprised by the landscape.

You could, for example, be surprised my a mild tropical spring frost:

Waking up at 7 in the morning surprised us with frosted grass...

and car.

Or you could find yourself ascending a snowy road to a snowy peak

The snowy peak of El Nevado de Colima

A closer look

You might as well get lost in a tropical coniferous forest.

Some millimetres of snow in the forest

Or you might fancy some tacos fur lunch (too bad I didn't got a photo of this) just before a 3 pm snow shower, and then make a small ridiculous snowman behind a three.

Do I really look that ridiculous?