On the streets of Malinalco and CDMX

On May 4, 2018May 10, 2018 By MelIn Mexico8 Comments

My time in Malinalco sadly has come to an end and I am back in La ciudad de México (CDMX). I still have several unfinished drawings that I am working on, so you will still get to see some more of my impressions of that little Pueblo Mágico.

I feel so much better this time around in CDMX than 3 weeks ago, as I am now able to converse somewhat in Spanish after studying every day, and I am also better used to the altitude and air pollution. So I spend my days walking around enjoying the sun, eating a lot of street food, and I have been visiting one art museum per day.

I have already planned a whole series of drawings inspired by the capital, but those have to wait until I am back in Iceland next week . Unfortunately I’ll be leaving Mexico earlier than planned as a job opportunity came up, so it will be back to grown up life for now. But I will most certainly be back in this fascinating and inspiring country. Until then I am looking forward to my 4 day stopover in NYC next week. Never been, don´t know what to expect.

Meanwhile on the streets of Malinalco during one of my late afternoon walks.

1804 Malinalco street by Melanie Franz

At the market in Malinalco, Mexico II

On May 2, 2018May 20, 2018 By MelIn Mexico8 Comments

I really love strolling through the market and eat tacos, sweats and whatnot. We bought some really delicious fish from this lady, fresh from the local river. She gutted them right there.

1804 Malinalco Market 2

On the streets of Malinalco, Mexico V

On May 1, 2018 By MelIn Mexico5 Comments

Formerly green house revisited in Malinalco

On April 30, 2018 By MelIn Mexico3 Comments

The formerly green house… This is what happened since last week. They are still in the process of painting it.

1804 Malinalco green house

Friday night in Malinalco, Mexico II

On April 29, 2018 By MelIn Mexico2 Comments

I went for a walk with my friend, the poet.

He showed me his favourite street, which is this one, overhung with trees that are in bloom right now. The street lights illuminated the colours beautifully in the dusk.

I tried to do a more watercoloury drawing style, but I think the paper is not really suitable for it. I still like how it turned out though.

1804 Malinalco the poet 1

On the streets of Malinalco, Mexico IV

On April 28, 2018 By MelIn Mexico2 Comments

There is this absolutely lovely tiny old lady in my street. She must be 75+ and is half my size. She is there every day all day, sitting in the sun with her two dogs, selling whatever they have straight from the garden. Sometimes her friend, man about the same age, joins her for a chat.

I go almost daily to buy mangos, avocados or granadillas which I had never tasted before but now love.

1804 Malinalco street seller by Melanie Franz

Friday night in Malinalco, Mexico

On April 28, 2018April 28, 2018 By MelIn MexicoLeave a comment

I heard some commotion outside of the gate and after a while I got curious and looked outside. This is what I saw. White horse in the car lights that were passing by. He seemed rather bored and unhappy being parked on the sidewalk.

Means of transportation for the cool kids at the weekend.

1804 Malinalco white horse 2

On the streets of Malinalco, Mexico III

On April 27, 2018July 1, 2018 By MelIn Mexico13 Comments

This guy, parked on the sidewalk. Second donkey I have seen so far.

1804 Malinalco donkey_Melanie Franz

At the market in Malinalco, Mexico

On April 26, 2018May 20, 2018 By MelIn Mexico7 Comments

Every Wednesday is market day. There are plenty of street dogs around, either patiently waiting for leftovers or simply using the shade to take a nap.

Nice to see that the people and dogs at the market are very polite to each other.

Colour confusion in Malinalco, Mexico

On April 26, 2018 By MelIn MexicoLeave a comment

Surprisingly no beetle in sight on this street. Also the green house is a bit too bright for my taste. But it certainly caught my attention. I prefer the other one. Well, or I should rather say, the formerly green house.

I went for a walk this morning when I passed the house again and first I didn´t realize that it is it, and then I thought wtf am I colour blind or is my memory failing me completely!?

They have started to paint it dark red and in order to paint over the green they have smeared some yellow over it in the front… so it looks rather wild right now. I will try to capture the process maybe tomorrow.

1804 Malinalco street 2 by Melanie Franz

Same thing happened just yesterday. There is this gift shop here in my street. I took this picture last weekend.

Donkey in Malinalco

And this was when I passed the place yesterday and I thought my eyes are playing tricks on me…. wow, I felt confused.

Gift shop Malinalco

Streets of Malinalco, Mexico

On April 25, 2018 By MelIn Mexico8 Comments

Green house is my favourite so far.

1804 Malincalco street by Mel Franz

On the streets of Malinalco, Mexico

On April 22, 2018April 22, 2018 By MelIn Mexico10 Comments

These guys napping in the shadow during the afternoon heat. There are plenty of street dogs around here but most of them look well fed and they are very friendly towards people and vice versa.

They didn´t even blink once when I passed and watched them.

1804 Malinalco Siesta by MelFranz

In Malinalco, State of Mexico

On April 21, 2018April 21, 2018 By MelIn Mexico1 Comment

Moving on from Tulum.

After a week in La Ciudad de México (CDMX) I got to Malinalco. I had no idea what this place was about before I arrived here. 115 km south west of CDMX in the State of Mexico. Elevation 1740m, population 8000, very rural and it is considered a Pueblo Mágico…

And most importantly it has way less air pollution than CDMX which I highly appreciate and approve of.

1804 Malinalco by Melanie Franz

It is certainly very colourful. During my first walk around town.

On the streets of Tulum, Mexico XIII

On April 18, 2018May 10, 2018 By MelIn Mexico4 Comments

This is the last one from my bike tour around Tulum. These guys are selling tepache de piña, a fermented pineapple drink. Unfortunately I did not get to try it yet.

1803 Tulum Tricycle by Mel

Otherwise you can find a lot of really cool street art around Tulum.

And then there was this place who probably got rid of the guy who did the spelling… No, the name of the place is not Restaun. I checked.

1803 Restaurant Tulum

On the streets of Tulum, Mexico XI

On April 16, 2018May 10, 2018 By MelIn MexicoLeave a comment

What can I say, I took a lot of photos of dogs. This one just stood there for a while not sure what to do next. Then he started to wander off.

1803 Tulum dog 2 by Mel Franz

On the streets of Tulum, Mexico IX

On April 15, 2018May 10, 2018 By MelIn Mexico2 Comments

One thing that struck me while wandering around was, how clean the streets are. Saw this guy doing his business on the palm tree with a can dedicated to chicle – chewing gum. On the tree beside it was a can for cigarette butts.

1803 Tulum dog by mel

On the streets of Tulum, Mexico VII

On April 14, 2018April 23, 2018 By MelIn Mexico1 Comment

I haven’t seen this many VW beetles since… I can´t remember. They got rather rare in Germany and if you see them, then you never see them in anything else than perfect condition. Here, they just are. I saw several of them and they are just lovely. What do you think about them?

I´m still trying to figure out where and how much white space to leave when colouring with these watercolours…

Observation: Lots of beetles around here.

1803 Tulum beetle