Northern Mexico

We have had three previous visits to Mexico, "Mexico City", "Guadalajara And Mexico's West Coast" and, "Southeastern Mexico". Today's visit is to Northern Mexico.

The major city of northern Mexico is Monterrey. It has been a city since the Sixteenth Century, and is today the location of the headquarters of many international corporations in Mexico. It is known as an industrial center, particularly the manufacture of steel. The following scenes of Monterrey begin at the altar of Monterrey Cathedral. The mountain with the two peaks close together is Saddle Mountain.

There are multiple scenes following. To see the scenes, after the first one, you must first click the up arrow, ^, before you can move on to the next scene by clicking the right or forward arrow, >. After clicking the up arrow, you can then hide the previews of successive scenes, if you wish. 

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.6656475,-100.3094315,3a,75y,122.63h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipMUA74YFVygiMJENyYbh8CyoOkSJ50NJt2gEAoK!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipMUA74YFVygiMJENyYbh8CyoOkSJ50NJt2gEAoK%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya21.421217-ro-0-fo100!7i6000!8i3000

Here are some more views of central Monterrey.

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.6724777,-100.3092041,3a,75y,337.2h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipP9VTQpoGBAwSEaJKys3nSXBCpOupEXUZF5CkNE!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipP9VTQpoGBAwSEaJKys3nSXBCpOupEXUZF5CkNE%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi0-ya339.2492-ro-0-fo100!7i3584!8i1792

The city of Tampico is on the Gulf of Mexico coast of northern Mexico. Tampico is sometimes thought of as Mexico's version of New Orleans, with canals through the city and similar architecture. In the early days of cars, there was an oil boom in this area. The following scenes begin in the Cathedral of Tampico. We see the familiar pattern in Mexico of the main church in a town facing the main square. There may be government buildings on the square as well.

https://www.google.com/maps/@22.2161683,-97.8575652,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sAb0QtfstmnZFt2Mtfp_XrQ!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fpanoid%3DAb0QtfstmnZFt2Mtfp_XrQ%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D102.76455%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i16384!8i8192

Nuevo Laredo is the Mexican city across the Rio Grande River from the Texas city of Laredo. It is a central hub of goods that are manufactured in Mexico being shipped across the border. You may notice variations in the Spanish language from one place to another. In our visit to Colombia a stop sign was "PARE", but in Mexico a stop sign is "ALTO".

https://www.google.com/maps/@27.4911343,-99.5026582,3a,75y,46.5h,93t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sBEpw4EgyiAzKzzNbZopjCA!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo2.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DBEpw4EgyiAzKzzNbZopjCA%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D46.500008%26pitch%3D-3%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Further west, we come to the city of Torreon. The following views of Torreon begin under the Plaza Mayor, the main square of the city.

https://www.google.com/maps/@25.5412997,-103.4531338,3a,75y,236.95h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1slLwvCLnJucVSGXyODAZWgQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo0.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DlLwvCLnJucVSGXyODAZWgQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D234.20222%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is the city of Chihuahua beginning in the Plaza Mayor. Notice that Chihuahua is an Aztec, and not a Spanish, name. Indian languages have had a great influence on the names and the language of Mexico. Millions of people, particularly away from urban areas, still speak Indian languages as their daily language. Colombia, in contrast, speaks almost purely European Spanish. Of the three great native Indian civilizations before the arrival of European two were in Mexico, the Aztec and the Maya. The third is the Inca. In case you have never been told, the Indians in the western hemisphere are so-called because Christopher Columbus mistakenly believed that he had landed in India.

The government buildings in major cities, which usually face the main square, resemble the National Palace, in Mexico City, that we saw on our visit there.

https://www.google.com/maps/@28.640045,-106.073416,3a,75y,91.86h,90t/data=!3m8!1e1!3m6!1sAF1QipNN0Y156sX6Z8whEKW-ewup-rj9AjH9bLKaANE!2e10!3e11!6shttps:%2F%2Flh5.googleusercontent.com%2Fp%2FAF1QipNN0Y156sX6Z8whEKW-ewup-rj9AjH9bLKaANE%3Dw203-h100-k-no-pi-0-ya92.11651-ro-0-fo100!7i5660!8i2830

The westernmost city in northern Mexico is Tijuana. Here is the area of Tijuana that is immediately across the border from San Diego. This is where Tijuana's metal arch is located. The following scenes begin at the same point as this photo was taken, on Avenida Revolucion. The arch was not there in 1996.

http://photos1.blogger.com/blogger/5492/3756/1600/dc_250998.jpg


https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5343921,-117.0369251,3a,75y,26.5h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1snK3hTrt4ER82V2qJ0JtFcQ!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo1.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DnK3hTrt4ER82V2qJ0JtFcQ%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D22.798174%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

We have already seen the area of Tijuana that is just across the border in the photo blog of North America. Each of the following photos can be expanded by clicking on it.

http://markmeektravel.blogspot.com/2006/09/tijuana-mexico.html

This is Tijuana's central area, known as Zona Rio. There is a spherical theater that is shaped like a planet, just as we saw in our visit to "Upstate New York" that there is a theater in Albany that is shaped like an egg.

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.529536,-117.0240889,3a,75y,75.02h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sfW0kjVLYz9-ZuKWcprzj_Q!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DfW0kjVLYz9-ZuKWcprzj_Q%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D72.39427%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Here is the part of Tijuana that is along the Pacific Coast.

https://www.google.com/maps/@32.5251095,-117.1230976,3a,75y,270.62h,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sbJl0qMvJ2SHbnRiPl8XAMg!2e0!6s%2F%2Fgeo3.ggpht.com%2Fcbk%3Fpanoid%3DbJl0qMvJ2SHbnRiPl8XAMg%26output%3Dthumbnail%26cb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile.gps%26thumb%3D2%26w%3D203%26h%3D100%26yaw%3D270.6245%26pitch%3D0%26thumbfov%3D100!7i13312!8i6656

Can you believe that one of the conquistadors, Francisco Coronado, led a Sixteenth-Century expedition all across what is now northern Mexico and the southwestern U.S. looking for rumored "cities of gold"? But no gold was to be found. What it did accomplish was European exploration of the area.

Could they have imagined that there was a vast amount of gold below the ground. In what is now southern Mexico, the Aztecs and the Maya had tons of gold. But the Indians where Coronado was searching, such as the Apache and Navajo, were semi-nomadic and had nowhere near the level of advanced civilization as the Aztec and Maya. The gold had never been found, and wouldn't be found until the gold rushes of the Nineteenth Century.