Day 1188: Look what I found!

Julie, photo & digital collage

 This post may fall into the TMI category?

 I've always said this blog would be random, so ...

TMI #1: today, instead of my usual ...

spinach, kale, banana & OJ smoothie breakfast,

I scrambled 2 eggs and toasted an English muffin.

(fyi#1: I hide my bread in the freezer, so I have to thaw to indulge!)

TMI#2: feeling indulgent, I brought it into my office ...

to check the news online. 

(fyi#2: I am a paper person, but for budgetary reasons, 

I take the paper Thursday through Sunday.) 

 I know some of you get your news online all the time, 

but this is not my norm.

I started out with local news then branched out ...

and I decided to share what I found. 

To me, these are amazing, compelling photos.

all photos by David von Blohn

 The remains of a mid-16th century church known as ...

the Temple of Santiago, as well as the Temple of Quechula, 

is now visible from the surface of the Grijalva River. 

Located in Chiapas, Mexico, the city was of strategic importance because it laid on the El Camino Real, a road that connected many important settlements in central Mexico.

all photos by David von Blohn

 

  

The church in the Quechula locality was built by 

a group of monks headed by Friar Bartolome de la Casas, 

who arrived in the region inhabited by the Zoque people 

in the mid-16th century.

The church is 61 meters (183 feet) long and 14 meters 

(42 feet) wide, with walls rising 10 meters (30 feet). 

The bell tower reaches 16 meters (48 feet) above the ground.

all photos by David von Blohn

The remains of this 16th century church emerged 

from the surface of the Grijalva River as the current

water levels in the Nezahualcoyotl reservoir have dropped.

all photos by David von Blohn

A drought this year has hit the watershed of the 

Grijalva river, dropping the water level in the 

Nezahualcoyotl reservoir by 25 meters (82 feet). 

It is the second time a drop in the reservoir has 

revealed the church since  the dam was completed in 1966. 

In 2002, the water was so low visitors could walk inside the church.

all photos by David von Blohn

 

"The church was abandoned due the big plagues of 1773-1776," said architect Carlos Navarete, who worked with Mexican authorities on a report about the structure.

"It was a church built thinking that this could be a 

great population center, but it never achieved that," 

Navarrete said. "It probably never even had a dedicated priest, 

only receiving visits from those from Tecpatan."

all photos by David von Blohn

TMI? If so, I apologize, but I loved it!

You can read the entire article which I have used here.

Thanks for visiting.

92 degrees, Santa Ana, CA

A smile for Tuesday ...