Scenic Mountains, Flash Floods and Rivers of Raptors

“Sky island” in Puebla as seen from Veracruz, probably Volcán La Malinche, 4 October 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) 8 October 2026 The mountains in Veracruz are very beautiful. On the morning of 4 October, fog shrouded the valley so that Volcán la Malinche(*) was literally a sky island. (*I am not sure of the name of this peak.) Also from our elevated vantage point, we saw snow-covered Pico de Orizaba above the crest of the intervening hill. Click here for a marked-up photo showing where to look. Snow on Pico de Orizaba as seen at the crest of the near hill, 4 October 2026 (photo by Kate St. John) On sunny days, the air heated quickly, rose from the valleys, and flowed over the mountains to generate afternoon thunderstorms on the eastward side. Even if it didn’t rain in Xalapa loads of water came barrelling down the steep watersheds and flooded roads in and near Xalapa. No one waited for the floods to end. They drove right through it. Flash flood on 2 October, Xalapa, Ver, MX (photo by…