461 - 31st - La Malinche

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 31st Mar'09

This one is from one of my treks to the Volcanic mountain in Tlaxcala - La Malinche. This place is actually the base of the main peak which you reach almost after three hours of climbing. The peak which you see at the top of the image is still three hours away from this point. This place onwards, the surface becomes more difficult to manage as it contains loose soil and small stones. When I first saw an image of this place, I thought it would be a child's play to reach the top; but believe me it is an exhausting thing to do.

It took me five hours to climb and another three to come back to the base of the mountain. But the effort was really worth putting in.

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449 - 19th - Brave old trekkers

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 19th Mar'09

I had just started climbing down the peak of the volcano Malinche at around 15ooo feet when I met this old couple. Given the fact that I had seen many a young hearts loose their breath on their way up, it was really surprising to see this couple almost at the peak with a grin on their face. They were supporting each other through a common rope tied to their waists and were slowly but steadily heading towards the summit.

I stopped and talked to them. Both were in their late 70s and the guy was a doctor in Puebla. It was their love for nature and mountain climbing which brought them all the way up defying all the age related logic.

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442 - 12th - The dry pine

Originally clicked and uploaded by - Pratosh Dwivedi - 12th Mar'09

The volcanic mountain of Malinche is covered with pine trees. As you start climbing towards the top you cannot see anything but pine all around. The homogeneity provides a really beautiful scene. At many places the ground is covered with dry pine fruits; big and small.

I remember my school days in Mussoorie, India (one more place abundant in pines) when our teacher used to ask us to look for big dry pine fruits and then paint them with different colors. It used be a really interesting assignment.

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