If only that title was also a palindrome, that would be like infinity in word-nerd points. However, even without a perfect nerd score, it was wonderful to get back to the mountains with a little light mountaineering and an intense hiking day. We started a little after 9am and made it to the top in a bit under 4 hours. The steep , sandy part (in Spanish, the “arena”) was the hardest part as I was warned it would be, but then there was some fun rock hopping/scrambling to the top which made me forget about my tired calves. Skipping and sliding down the sandy slope on the way down was a lot of fun too, but my legs could feel the downhill the next day more than the uphill.

I also spent a day in Tlaxcala, which is perhaps the best small town I’ve seen in Mexico. What a great site, and the Volunteers there are really lucky. I’m totally jealous. I will just have to go back. After this experience, I would love to head up Iztaccíhuatl (or Ixtaccíhuatl) next. My friend said the view of Popo behind you all along that trek was amazing. That’s why I made the “Mountains” plural in the title. It would be great if this could be a short series of posts. We shall see.

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