The Popo is Erupting!

Yes, I said it. The Popo is erupting! No no no (clutching my pearls) I am not speaking of Moctezuma's revenge or the intestinal distress often caused by travel in Mexico. A classy lady never speaks of such things. I mean the volcano! "El Popo" is the nickname for the Popocatépetl volcano which resides about 50 miles southeast of Mexico City. Popocatepetl means smoking mountain in the native aztec language. I'd say that is a pretty fitting name for him. I took this picture from the the car one day when we went to a Christmas tree farm at the foot of the volcano. Below that is a professional shot by Roy Salazer.

The last time this guy had catastrophic eruption was about 1,000 years ago and he was considered dormant for about 50 years until 1994 when he spewed back to life. The Popo is one of the world's most active volcanoes. Well recently he has not been on very good behavior and they have just raised the alert level from Phase 2 to Phase 3 (yellow alert). Great. I move here for like 3 years and suddenly, after 1,000 years, the volcano wants to live it up a little! The government has been circulating flyers about what to do should he blow. These are things I have NEVER thought about. I knew I was moving to earthquake country but being born and raised in San Francisco this did not bother me so much. Still, volcanos are like another level. This is a stratovolcano the likes of Krakatoa, known for its catastrophic eruption in 1883 and Vesuvius, whose eruption caused the destruction of Pompeii. I am willing him back to sleep.

In case you are wondering why I refer to him as a he, it has to do with aztec legend. Apparently he was an aztec warrior who died of sadness after returning from battle and finding his love had died of a broken heart when she received the false news he had been killed. She is the neighboring volcano Iztaccihuatl. The gods were touched by their story and transformed the humans into mountains so they could be together forever. Here is Artist Jesus Helguera's rendering of the volcanos and the legend's characters.

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Below you will find more shots taken in the last month by Roy Salazer of "El Popo" in action. YIKES!

In Love & Tacos