Aka: el Nevado de Toluca…
On Tuesday January 2nd we finally hiked the local volcano! I’ve been to Toluca a million times now and yet we had never done this. The weather looked great and we had the time, so we did it!
Just Ivan, the boys and I went; his parents stayed home.
You can literally see the volcano from their house, but it still took us almost an hour to drive to the base and then up to the parking lot. It’s a national park, but nothing like our national parks in the States. Not nearly as well organized etc, but still an extremely popular site.
The drive was pleasant- first through some sort of rural areas on the edge of town, and then more wooded as we started ascending.
We paid 50 pesos to park in a lot, and then all piled into a van to go the rest of the way up with a driver. They were old conversion vans and they charged 50 pesos a person each way (currently 50 pesos = $2.93 USD).
It was busy! The vans heading up were all full- at least 15 people in each load.
The ride was up a very winding dirt road (with cliff drop offs on the side that made me slightly nervous, but the road was wide and it was fine). The trip took a while- I’d say at least like 25- 30 minutes?
I could tell the air was thinner up there! I am not used to any elevation and could feel myself breathing harder. (Or, I REALLY need to prioritize cardio in the new year….).
We hiked up and up… maybe another 35-40 minutes total? (We didn’t climb to the ultimate summit as we did not have appropriate gear for that.)
The views were gorgeous! Almost looked like we were in the desert, actually.
I saw some people taking pictures on this big boulder, so we did too. 😃
Selfie with Ethan! ❤️
Finally we came over a summit and were greeted with this beautiful view of the crater of the volcano:
There are two lagoons- one to the left and one to the right. It was stunning!!! I love mountainous views and the snow on top was perfect. (Especially since it actually wasn’t that cold- I was perfectly comfortable or almost borderline warm in what I had on.)
There were a lot of people at the main overview area, so we hiked up just a bit higher where there were no people. We sat on a rock and had water and ate some snacks that we had packed. I’d say we sat there for a good 30 minutes at least. I really enjoyed this! The view was so pretty and it was nice to just enjoy the sunshine and take it all in. Majestic!!!
Here’s a panoramic shot I took- not sure if it will work well on the blog or not…
I know, I take SO many pictures. I just love the memories.
But I also am pretty good at eventually putting my phone away and then just really sitting and looking at everything through my own eyes versus the camera or video. It’s an art I have mastered. 😜
This shot I call “The North Face ad”. Hahaha. I should send it to them and see if they’ll buy it. lol. (He is wearing a North Face jacket, after all. Doesn’t it look like one of their ads??)
Then we headed back down! Much easier on the way down, though the gravel was a bit slippery and we all lost our footing a time or two.
We reversed the trip back down in the vans, paying another 50 pesos each to get back down. (Why not just charge round trip?? I mean, obviously we need a ride back down, too?)
Then back to get the car, drove back into town and made a stop for some more tacos de cecina.
We showered and cleaned up, and then we went over to Ivan’s sister’s apartment for the evening.
We got pizza for dinner, and little did we know that exactly 12 hours later, my sister-in-law would be at the hospital in labor! She said that evening she felt totally normal with no signs of baby coming.
Got home I think around 10:30/11 pm and called it a night.
I loved the volcano adventure! This was a nicely balanced day.
I do really, really miss being active when I’m here in Mexico since I can’t very easily just go out walking alone in their neighborhood here (SO many random dogs!) and I don’t have a great way to do home workouts really, either. My watch informed me that “there has been a decrease in my average steps trend” in the last 6 days. Ha. So the hike felt good to move after some lazier days, and it was just really beautiful and a fun adventure! 😊😊
GRATEFUL KAE 
Wow so pretty! And that does look like a north face ad! I am sure it was nice to get out and about and go on an adventure. That panoramic pic in particular is gorgeous!
Your SIL looks so good for being on the cusp of having a baby! Will you get to meet the baby? How much younger than Ivan is this sibling? Ivan is the oldest I want to say? Are your boys the oldest cousins? My boys were the youngest until my sister had kids in the last 3 years. I’m glad she had kids when she did so my kids will have cousins they will grow up with. They are so much younger than my other nieces and nephews. Like I have 2 nephews that are in college!
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We met the baby yesterday!! So tiny and sweet! Ivan is the oldest of 6. They are a bit spread out- Ivan is 42, then his brother is almost 39, sister (who had the baby) is 35, then another girl who is 32, then another girl 29, and finally the baby boy is 21.
The boys have one cousin who is older- Ivan’s brother (39) has an 18 year old son! (Had young obviously). Then the sister who just had the baby also has a 14 year old girl just couple months older than Asher and a 10 year old. Then the 32 year old sister has 2 kids but they are younger- 5 and 7!
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Oh my goodness – those pictures are STUNNING (and I know pictures never fully capture the experience so I can only imagine how impressive and beautiful it was in person). I’m so glad you got to do this active and super interesting activity as a family.
And congrats to your SIL. She really does look AMAZING to be so close to labour.
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It was a perfect activity! A nice nature break in the midst of a more city based trip. 🙂
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Thanks for the hike.
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Those photos are so beautiful. The blue skies for DAYS. I don’t really want to climb a mountain, but I do want to see the views! (Also, I was wondering about the roundtrip fare when you mentioned it the first time. Are there people who would walk down? If it’s 25-30 minutes in a van, that would be a LONG time on foot!!)
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I think it may only be like 3-4 miles up, so in theory people could walk. But it’s very steep and seems like for a few bucks it’s worth it to take the ride!! I suppose some people might like the extra exercise?! But in that case, they should just climb to the very top of the summit 😉
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Beautiful pictures and scenery. It looks like a great hike up, not too, too terrible. I would definitely need to work on my cardio before I attempted it though. Thank you for sharing your wonderful trip to Mexico!
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Yes, it was a great hike for our ability and current desire! (We weren’t looking for a super intense, all day hike or anything.) Have you ever traveled to Mexico??
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No I haven’t, I would love to visit some time, and not the usual resorts
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This is RIGHT up my alley – I would love to do this hike! Fun!
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Exactly! I know you would have loved it too! So pretty!!
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This does sound like a fun adventure, and I LOVE your photos! You really got some great ones. And, it’s not that you’re out of shape- it really is harder to breathe at altitude. I would have struggled with that, big time- it’s always hard for me, coming from sea level.
I’m curious- is the pizza different in Mexico?
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I am so glad you got to take that hike – that would have been totally up my alley. I would have love to hike up to the crater. Beautiful views!
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Amazing views! Hope Ivan’s sister had an easy labor and is recovering well! She looked great in the photo. And you got to meet the baby! Happy for your family to have that time with your in-laws and cousins!
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