While in Mexico in 1853, Henri de Büren along with two travel companions scaled Popocatépetl, the 17,802 foot volcano near Puebla. The following translated excerpts describe some of his impressions.
“After a four hour hike we arrived at the summit, if you could call it that. The summit drops straight down into a immense crater that is roughly 750 feet deep.”
“The rock formations, the smoke, and the deep blue sky are all so beautiful, it makes one forget his fatigue. After the initial admiration we all took out our sketch books, we are artists after all, but how could our pencils accurately represent the grandeur before us.”
“After our artistic pursuit we took refuge in the Hotel of Popocatépetl which is about about 100 feet from the crater and similar to those found on the glaciers of the Aar. The hotel, or should I say hut, is about 50 feet square. This hut along with another in the crater itself is the shelter for the 12 or so men who are here for the extraction of sulfur. One of the men knew how to make coffee which we gladly shared along with some liqueur.”
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