Cuexcomate-the World’s Smallest Volcano?

This morning Chris and I and our apartment neighbours, Martha and Richard from Kalamazoo, took Didi (like Uber) to an interesting park in the Zaragoza neighbourhood in Puebla - Parque Cuexcomate. A school borders the park on one side and a community market is on the other side.

Cuexcomate comes from Nahuatl, meaning "a large clay pot to store grain".

In the park, there is a mound of volcanic rock with a crater that is in the shape of a small volcano. But it is not a volcano crater, it is an empty cone of an extinct geyser. The cone is 13 meters high and 23 meters in diameter. The central crater inside the cone is up to 8 meters wide and 17 meters deep (4 meters below ground level).

Geologists speculate that Cuexcomate was created after an eruption of Popocatepetl, causing the circulation of magma in the area, around the year 1064. However, several investigations affirm that the formation could be more than six thousand years old.

Cuexcomate Geyser is a unique natural wonder located in the city of Puebla, Mexico and we were able to go down a spiral metal staircase to the bottom of it. Below it was cool and there was a little waterfall and an underground stream. It is our first time in a geyser!

We heard stories that the natives used this cave as a cool storage area for grains. And that the bodies of captives or people that committed suicide were disposed of in the crater. Who knows? I recently read that a quartet will be performing there with candles all around. Not sure where the audience will sit…

After this visit, we walked around the neighbourhood and into the market where we ate tasty quesadillas on homemade blue tortillas filled with Oaxaca cheese, onions,mushrooms, squash flowers and jalapeños. Martha especially loved every bite of her quesadilla.

A tiny parade of preschoolers in costumes and their mothers and teachers marched by us in celebration of Spring. It was very cute to see them.

As Martha said, “It was a very nice day with a great site to visit, great food, great weather and great friends. What else can we ask for…”Read more