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wyhaines

Apr 9, 2005, 7:40 AM

Post #1 of 5 (1667 views)

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From above, the colors are different?

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Okay, coming up with a clear subject for this is escaping me. However, while using Google maps to look around the Xalapa/Veracruz areas, I noticed something intriguing. Looking down on Veracruz from above, it's very white. However, while looking down on Xalapa and surrounding areas, it's more mixed, with some areas reflecting as whitely as Veracruz, but a lot of it being more stone colored light reddish brown

Is there a marked difference in construction & roofing styles between the two areas?

Thanks!

Kirk Haines

sfmacaws

Apr 9, 2005, 11:28 AM

Post #2 of 5 (1654 views)

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Re: [wyhaines] From above, the colors are different?

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I don't know the answer to your question but I've just been playing with the sat maps on Google too. They are really cool! I've been able to zoom in pretty far in some areas of MX - mainly in the east - and less so in others along the west coast and in the GDL area.

Go to http://maps.google.com/ and click on Satellite at the top right. You can then use the zoom and move tools to zero in.

Jonna - Mérida, Yucatán

Ed and Fran

Apr 9, 2005, 11:33 AM

Post #3 of 5 (1653 views)

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Re: [wyhaines] From above, the colors are different?

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I think you may have something there with your idea of differences in roofing styles. Here on the coast in northern Veracruz it´s very seldom that you see tile roofs (except on some real old buildings). The most common material for house roofs here seems to be concrete. Sometimes this can be painted/covered with a waterproofing, usually whitish. So I´d guess that roofs in this area would be predominantly whitish or greyish. I´d hazard a guess that it´s much the same in Veracruz (the port).

Regards

Ed

"El Gringo Jalapeño"

Apr 10, 2005, 8:24 AM

Post #4 of 5 (1631 views)

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Re: [wyhaines] From above, the colors are different?

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Kirk:
You are right about the differences in the rooftops for the reasons Ed and Fran mentioned. I have been fortunate enough to fly by helicopter over this area because of my photography work, and the use of "teja"(roofing tiles) is much more predominate in the cooler, mountainous areas of Xalapa, Xico, Naolinco, etc. Also the buildings tend to be much older in this area. Did you fly over this area recently? If not, come down soon and we can check it out. Maybe we can convince a friend of mine who has a Cessna to take us for a ride.
¡Hasta pronto!
Roy B. Dudley "El Gringo Jalapeño" See more about Xalapa at www.xalaparoy.com

wyhaines

Apr 10, 2005, 8:53 AM

Post #5 of 5 (1628 views)

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Re: ["El Gringo Jalapeño"] From above, the colors are different?

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I only flew over it in the virtual sense. maps.google.com. It's very fascinating. Neat how one can spot even little tiny villages once one figures out what they look like from a satellite picture. It's fascinating to just scroll around looking at different parts of Mexico. Gets the imagination going. For example, there is a little town maybe a tiny bit smaller than Xico that lies southeast from it, directly south of Coatepec. If one goes almost directly southwest of there for what looks like about 30 km, there is a nicely sized lake. If one follows the river that leads into the lake upland for maybe 15km (estimates, here), one finds a valley that must have a very small farming village in it. The entire valley floor is cut into a very precise grid pattern, with some buildings near the center of the valley, mostly on the north side. I can only imagine A) how gorgeous the area around that lake and river and up into that village must be, and B) how utterly remote and isolated it must seem in that village, even though they live, in absolute distances, a fairly short distance from a substantial city. Really fascinating.

I didn't give Xalapa a lot of consideration in my research at first, and that seems to have been a mistake. I am _loving_ everything I have seen and read about it so far. I've all but decided that is the area I'd like to go to.

If I can work the logistics out and my wife feels up to it, maybe a week or two trip this summer might be feasible, depending on how my wife feels (she's due to give birth in mid-late September), and I can do some firsthand exploration and get a better feel for the housing market and such.

Is broadband available in Coatepec, or only Xalapa? Is it ADSL only, or is there wireless service available, too?
BTW, I emailed you directly. I found the website for the newspaper, but would love any other links to info or photos of the area that you might have.

Thanks,

Kirk Haines