1. The music everywhere
2. Speaking Spanish
3. Mexican soup
4. How you always get a bowl of halved limes with everything
5. The beautiful colonial buildings
6. The bright colours. If the house next to you is painted orange, paint your house purple. If the upstairs is green, why not paint the outside of the bottom half pink?
7. The tropical plants and luscious vegetation
8. The smell of coffee
9. The cafes and bars of Xalapa
10. The hilly cobbled streets of Xalapa (impossible to walk in heels)
11. The friendliness of the people
12. Comida corrida
13. UV campus
14. Street food. I crave a torta de tamale con salsa roja
15. Having a maid clean for us everyday
16. Mexican long distance, first class buses
17. Chilaquiles
18. Our friends in Xalapa
19. The snow capped volcano that you could see from our apartment
20. Someone did my washing for me and I didn't iron at all
21. Cafe con leche at El Peroquia
22. Freshly squeezed orange juice
23. The pharmacies where you can buy everything - including beer!
24. The relaxedness (I know this isn't a real word but you know what I mean)
25. People really say the "mi casa / tu casa" thing and mean it!
26. Empanadas
27. Cowboy hats
28. Fields of edible cacti
29. People riding horses and donkeys in small towns
30. The incredible Totanaca ruins that are rarely visited. It's like they are a secret.
40. Beaches
41. Cheap cinemas
42. Chili seco sauce
43. The sound of corn tortillas being shaped (slap, slap, slap)
44. The smell of corn tortillas being cooked
45. Easy access to wireless Internet
Anything I wasn't so excited about? Not much. I loved Mexico, but here goes:
1. My usual tea complaint. I'm like a broken record. Not Mexico's fault.
2. Xalapa weather
3. Traffic
This concludes my Mexico blog. I might try and keep up with my Japan one this year.... http://jomynard.blogspot.com/
Saturday, March 20, 2010
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
Last day in Mexico - famous houses
There are so many ways we could have spent our last day, but we didn't fancy too much travelling as we have been on a lot of buses lately and we have a long long journey ahead of us back to Japan on Thursday.
We opted to do some city stuff and started by taking the metro to the neighbourhood of Coyoacan to visit some famous houses. The first thing we saw down in the metro station was a group of about 20 vulnerable-looking Japanese tourists with a guide. They are safer in a group I suppose. We jumped on Linea 2 bound for Universidad, changed at Higaldo and took Linea 3 straight to Coyoacan. I liked how each station had a picture - very easy to spot your stop! Many of the stations were names of generals and revolutionaries. I liked the picture of Zapata the best (because of the hat).
Have a read at another blogger's entry about the choice of metro stations - very interesting (and funny - you can also see the picture of Emilianio Zapata) http://dayeffay.blogspot.com/2007/11/metro-station-history-of-mexico.html
As we came out of the metro station, we spotted a Starbucks..... yeah, in we went.....I know, I know. I can't get over how friendly everyone is - people always ask where we are from and we have a bit of banter. It's refreshing as in Japan, people in shops and cafes never deviate from the script.
We took a taxi from there to Frida's house. You couldn't miss it as it is the brightest blue you can imagine. We enjoyed visiting where she lived with Diego Rivera for 25 years and where they both worked. Many of their paintings were there and a lovely collection of family photographs.
From there, we walked to Trotsky's house. It was also easy to spot - the windows had been walled up for his protection (so much for that). I'll let the pictures speak as I was allowed to take photos inside for a small fee. http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/MexicoCityPart2
Me at "La Casa Azul" (home of artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera)
We opted to do some city stuff and started by taking the metro to the neighbourhood of Coyoacan to visit some famous houses. The first thing we saw down in the metro station was a group of about 20 vulnerable-looking Japanese tourists with a guide. They are safer in a group I suppose. We jumped on Linea 2 bound for Universidad, changed at Higaldo and took Linea 3 straight to Coyoacan. I liked how each station had a picture - very easy to spot your stop! Many of the stations were names of generals and revolutionaries. I liked the picture of Zapata the best (because of the hat).
Have a read at another blogger's entry about the choice of metro stations - very interesting (and funny - you can also see the picture of Emilianio Zapata) http://dayeffay.blogspot.com/2007/11/metro-station-history-of-mexico.html
As we came out of the metro station, we spotted a Starbucks..... yeah, in we went.....I know, I know. I can't get over how friendly everyone is - people always ask where we are from and we have a bit of banter. It's refreshing as in Japan, people in shops and cafes never deviate from the script.
We took a taxi from there to Frida's house. You couldn't miss it as it is the brightest blue you can imagine. We enjoyed visiting where she lived with Diego Rivera for 25 years and where they both worked. Many of their paintings were there and a lovely collection of family photographs.
From there, we walked to Trotsky's house. It was also easy to spot - the windows had been walled up for his protection (so much for that). I'll let the pictures speak as I was allowed to take photos inside for a small fee. http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/MexicoCityPart2
Me at "La Casa Azul" (home of artists Frida Kahlo and Diego Rivera)
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Back to Mexico City
So here we are again over a month on. We took a first class pullman bus from Puebla to get here (no more 2nd class Mexican buses for us) and checked into this fine hotel. Loving the last bit of luxury before the loooooooooong long journey home tomorrow.
Puebla
We only had one day in Puebla, but we fitted loads in. The best thing to do is to wander randomly looking at the beautiful colonial buildings and tile work. Here are a few other things we did:
- visited the ruins of the church of San Francisco
- visited the massive cathedral (it reminded us of the ones in Granada in Spain and Cusco in Peru)
- listened to live music at cafes on the Zocalo (main square)
- tasted mole poblano (very rich, a bit sickly actually)
- visited the ex-convent of Santa Rosa. We had a fascinating guided tour of the museum and visited the kitchen where mole poblano was first made!
- visited the victorian arcade
- visited the artist's quarter and bought some ceramics
- walked along the street lined with shops catering for festivals and parties
- visited the amazing and beautiful old library in the cultural centre
- bought some famous "dulces" (sweets)
Here is a picture of one of the main shopping streets (5 de Mayo). More pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/Puebla
- visited the ruins of the church of San Francisco
- visited the massive cathedral (it reminded us of the ones in Granada in Spain and Cusco in Peru)
- listened to live music at cafes on the Zocalo (main square)
- tasted mole poblano (very rich, a bit sickly actually)
- visited the ex-convent of Santa Rosa. We had a fascinating guided tour of the museum and visited the kitchen where mole poblano was first made!
- visited the victorian arcade
- visited the artist's quarter and bought some ceramics
- walked along the street lined with shops catering for festivals and parties
- visited the amazing and beautiful old library in the cultural centre
- bought some famous "dulces" (sweets)
Here is a picture of one of the main shopping streets (5 de Mayo). More pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/Puebla
Monday, March 15, 2010
La Purificadora
We have stayed in hundreds of hotels over the years, but I don't think we have ever stayed in a "design hotel". The hotels in Puebla were quite reasonable, so we decided to stay somewhere really flash. We chose La Purificadora because it looked so different. It features in loads of design books and magazines and has apparently hosted televised events such as beauty padgents in Mexico. I couldn't wait to see it. (Hotel website: http://www.designhotels.com/lapurificadora)
It's basically a converted 19th century water bottling factory, tastefully restored/renovated using many of the original materials. It must have been really fun to design and it was a really fun place to stay. My favourite features were:
- the open air lobby with fire places (see picture below)
- the mixture of monochrome/neutral materials and bright purple fabric
- the glass floors
- the glass-sided swimming pool and roof bar
- the onyx shower room
More pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/LaPurificadora
It's basically a converted 19th century water bottling factory, tastefully restored/renovated using many of the original materials. It must have been really fun to design and it was a really fun place to stay. My favourite features were:
- the open air lobby with fire places (see picture below)
- the mixture of monochrome/neutral materials and bright purple fabric
- the glass floors
- the glass-sided swimming pool and roof bar
- the onyx shower room
More pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/LaPurificadora
Bus to Puebla
There are buses every 20 minutes or so to Puebla so we didn't bother making a reservation. We heard that it only took 2 hours to get there....
It was a bank holiday so the bus station in Xalapa was busier than usual. The next first class bus with free seats wasn't for another 2 hours so we thought we'd take a second class bus. Puebla was only a short distance away and the 2nd class bus was leaving right away. It was a bit cramped, but fine until it broke down 10 minutes into the journey and for a while we contributed massively to the horrendous Xalapa traffic. The driver asked for all the "caballeros" to get off and push it off the road. David jumped up to help and I stayed behind with all the other weak women. We stood at the side of the road for a while and listened to everyone's stories. "Ive got to be in work tomorrow", "This is the last time I'm travelling AU", "Last time this happened, the replacement bus was even worse".....our replacement bus was even worse and took AGES to arrange and get going. We stopped in a place called Perote for AGES and the journey ended up taking around 5 hours. Ugh!
The journey was interesting however. Lots to look at - fields, mountains and fun things for sale along the way. More pictures here http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/BusToPuebla
It was a bank holiday so the bus station in Xalapa was busier than usual. The next first class bus with free seats wasn't for another 2 hours so we thought we'd take a second class bus. Puebla was only a short distance away and the 2nd class bus was leaving right away. It was a bit cramped, but fine until it broke down 10 minutes into the journey and for a while we contributed massively to the horrendous Xalapa traffic. The driver asked for all the "caballeros" to get off and push it off the road. David jumped up to help and I stayed behind with all the other weak women. We stood at the side of the road for a while and listened to everyone's stories. "Ive got to be in work tomorrow", "This is the last time I'm travelling AU", "Last time this happened, the replacement bus was even worse".....our replacement bus was even worse and took AGES to arrange and get going. We stopped in a place called Perote for AGES and the journey ended up taking around 5 hours. Ugh!
The journey was interesting however. Lots to look at - fields, mountains and fun things for sale along the way. More pictures here http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/BusToPuebla
The salchicha woman
This is the last little vignette from Xalapa! This is a picture of the main building of our hotel. Can you see where the crowd has gathered? This is street food that will make David salivate any time you mention it. The lady sells longaniza sausages topped with spicy sauces which are incredibly popular. She calls David "joven" (young-un) ha ha ha.
The bars and cafes of Xalapa
I think we tried almost all of the bars and cafes in central Xalapa. This street was our favourite evening spot. It's called Callejon Gonzales and our favourite places were Santa Ana for drinks and Cubanias for food and music.
Grilled cactus
Breakfast at our hotel on our last morning in Xalapa - grilled cactus stuffed with cheese and refried beans. Yum.
Saying goodbye to Manuel
Another friend we made at USBI popped round on our last night to bring us presents!
Our home for the last month
Here is the room that we rented for 5000 pesos for the whole month. Great value. Balcones Alferez http://www.aventuradelcafe.com/xalapa/hospedaje/xalhbaalf.htm
http://www.pradodelrio.com/e_mda.htm
http://www.pradodelrio.com/e_mda.htm
Coffee in Veracruz
The hot strong coffee goes in first and then you bang your spoon against the glass and someone comes round with a kettle of hot milk poured as high as possible to make the coffee nice and frothy. We visited El Paroquia cafe loads of times in Xalapa, and also in Veracruz.
Sunday, March 14, 2010
Hot hike to Coyoles
Today we went back to Villa Nueva with Luis, Rosario and Roberto to meet Don Jesus for another hike in the countryside. We were half thinking of cancelling for a few reasons: (1) It was absolutely boiling and we are winter hikers (2) Luis' schedule throws us. We aren't used to hiking all day with no food and then eating a big meal after 4pm (3) We had a horrible experience with ticks last time.... Nevertheless, we had arranged this weeks ago and it is a great way to see the real Mexico - when will we next get the chance?
The locals must think we are pretty comical. We get kitted out in hardcore Swiss hiking boots, Montbell hats, Craghoppers wicking shirts, Gelert waterproof backpacks, factor 40 sunblock, insect repellent, water, snacks and so on. Don Jesus sticks on a cowboy hat and grabs his machete and he's ready. What a difference! We were dying from the heat and downing loads of water. Don Jesus claimed he wasn't thirsty. We stopped a couple of times to chat to people we passed (who thought we were mad "city folk out for a walk") and to admire cactus and these little green balls which the town of Coyoles is named after. They are like mini hard coconuts but nowhere near as refreshing.
We reached the village after a 3 hour slog. The first job is for Don Jesus to make contact with the townspeople. It wasn't hard to find them as the town only had one dusty street and all the men (wearing cowboy hats) were congregated on someone's veranda. It was like something out of "The good, the bad and the ugly". Next stop was the church which was painted a beautiful blue and was nice and cool inside. The final stop was to the shop for a round of ice cool cokes. I don't think we would have made it back without the caffeine and sugar kick.
The return trip was quicker, but harder as it was even hotter. We cut some nopales (prickly pear cactus) to grill for lunch. Don Jesus' daughter had also cooked a couple of soups, a pile of tortillas and a huge batch of picadas. I don't think I have ever tasted better home cooking in my life. She is an amazing cook (and has given us an open invitation to return whenever we like!). One of the soups was made with cruceta - the long cactus that Rogrigo had taken home the other night. Before this trip, I didn't even know cactus was food and now I'm becoming an expert!
Here is a picture of the church at Coyoles. Hore pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/HikeToCoyoles
The locals must think we are pretty comical. We get kitted out in hardcore Swiss hiking boots, Montbell hats, Craghoppers wicking shirts, Gelert waterproof backpacks, factor 40 sunblock, insect repellent, water, snacks and so on. Don Jesus sticks on a cowboy hat and grabs his machete and he's ready. What a difference! We were dying from the heat and downing loads of water. Don Jesus claimed he wasn't thirsty. We stopped a couple of times to chat to people we passed (who thought we were mad "city folk out for a walk") and to admire cactus and these little green balls which the town of Coyoles is named after. They are like mini hard coconuts but nowhere near as refreshing.
We reached the village after a 3 hour slog. The first job is for Don Jesus to make contact with the townspeople. It wasn't hard to find them as the town only had one dusty street and all the men (wearing cowboy hats) were congregated on someone's veranda. It was like something out of "The good, the bad and the ugly". Next stop was the church which was painted a beautiful blue and was nice and cool inside. The final stop was to the shop for a round of ice cool cokes. I don't think we would have made it back without the caffeine and sugar kick.
The return trip was quicker, but harder as it was even hotter. We cut some nopales (prickly pear cactus) to grill for lunch. Don Jesus' daughter had also cooked a couple of soups, a pile of tortillas and a huge batch of picadas. I don't think I have ever tasted better home cooking in my life. She is an amazing cook (and has given us an open invitation to return whenever we like!). One of the soups was made with cruceta - the long cactus that Rogrigo had taken home the other night. Before this trip, I didn't even know cactus was food and now I'm becoming an expert!
Here is a picture of the church at Coyoles. Hore pictures here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/HikeToCoyoles
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Supper with Sergio and Lolis
Sergio and Lolis invited us for supper with the family tonight. We were treated to some lovely tostadas, some Arctic Monkeys and nice conversations. We are really going to miss our Xalapa friends.
Day out with Manuel and David
We had such a fun day out today. David and Manuel are great company and we had such a good time. Laughing, singing, chatting.... and even fitting in a couple of amazing (and really unknown) historical sites. The first one was Quiahuiztlan which is a pre-Hispanic Totanac cemetry. Who are the Totanacs? They were were the guys who allied with the Spanish in the 1500s. The site we visited had a couple of temples and 70 tombs all overlooking the sea. Very nice.
The second place we visited was the beach at Villa Rica - the site of Cortes' landing. We had a few drinks and some spicy fishy stuff while looking at the sea.
The third place we visited was Zempoala which is a Totonac site featuring some great pyramids.
Us posing infront of the impressive peak behind Quiahuiztlan
More photos of the day here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/DayOutWithDavidAndManuel
The second place we visited was the beach at Villa Rica - the site of Cortes' landing. We had a few drinks and some spicy fishy stuff while looking at the sea.
The third place we visited was Zempoala which is a Totonac site featuring some great pyramids.
Us posing infront of the impressive peak behind Quiahuiztlan
More photos of the day here: http://picasaweb.google.com/jomynard/DayOutWithDavidAndManuel
Friday, March 12, 2010
Coffee tour with Ivett
I met Ivett in the self-access centre and we became friends during the time we have been in Xalapa. Today she picked us up in her SUV and drove us through the Xalapa rain to the neighbouring town of Coatepec.
Coatepec is one of the main coffee centres in Mexico and the town and surrounding plantations actually smell of coffee! First we had a fabulous seafood lunch in one of the colonial buildings converted into a restaurant. Next (of course!) we went for coffee. Freshly picked, roasted, ground and brewed all on the premises. Amazing. Ivett told us that many families have their own coffee plants here. We bought some coffee-related souvenirs in the little shops. You can actually get coffee bean jewellery such as earrings and rosary beads! After our coffee, we drove to a town where Ivett's boyfriend Rodgrigo is from called something like Estanzuelo. He caught us up in his VW beetle and joined us in Ivett's car as we took a tour at dusk through the coffee plantations. Very atmospheric and very fragrant! As night fell, we arrived at this tiny semi-abandoned village nestled within the plantations. It was very spooky as there were hardly any lights. Ivett and Rodrigo wanted to show us actually coffee beans so we stopped at one of the houses which we thought was in the trade to see if they would show us some. A little old lady opened the door and looked at us as if we were mad. No, she wasn’t in the coffee trade. The sacks we had seen outside were bags of sand! We all laughed. She told us that she did have some coffee beans to show us nevertheless so brought some out for us. Sweet.
On the way back, we passed some wild cactus (nopales). Rodrigo jumped out and cut some because apparently it’s delicious (more about that later). We saw another kind of cactus (cruzetas) which was more difficult to cut, so Rodrigo knocked on the door of a random stranger and asked if he had a knife. The guy came out with a machete and kindly obliged. Only in Mexico!
The last stop was back in Estanzuelo and a trip to Rodrigo’s godfather who gave us a huge bag 0f freshly roasted and ground coffee from his own plantations. Wow. What a fun and interesting afternoon! I hope we see Ivett and Rodgrigo again one day.
Last day at USBI
David presenting the cake :)
Today was our last day at the university and it was sad to say goodbye to our new friends. I hope we'll see them again either on a return trip to Mexico one day. Hopefully some of them can visit Japan - you never know. The Coordinator of the self-access centre, Juan Manuel, made a really sweet speech and the staff had arranged a little party for us with some yummy cakes. So kind! We have enjoyed our time at the Universidad Veracruzana - I hope we have been somewhat useful too.
Thursday, March 11, 2010
Pasta soup and tortillas
My lunch at the hot springs resort yesterday - sopa de pasta con tortillas.
Carrizal thermal springs
Our guidebook has one sentence about nearby natural hot springs. It doesn’t tell you how to get there or what the facilities are like. We did a bit of searching online and found a website for the hot springs resort. It looked nice – natural hot springs, swimming pools, restaurant and gardens. It didn’t say how to get there via public transport. I didn’t feel like renting a car or going on a tour, so I did some further searching. There was an exchange in Spanish where someone was asking how to get there and someone else advised them to take any bus along the Xalapa-Veracruz highway and ask the driver to let you off at the road to the resort. From there, take a taxi or local bus. OK then, we’d give that a go. We took supplies and a cell phone in case we ended up in the middle of nowhere. We did something similar last year in the Philippines. Take a bus, ask the driver to let you off and walk to the springs (read about our adventures here).
We went to the main bus station and asked the man at the AU desk how we could get to the springs. He sent us to another counter and told us to ask for tickets to La Cumbre. We did at a cost of 23 pesos each. So cheap! The bus was good and the driver friendly. He gave us a shout after about 30 minutes, but we had already spotted signs for La Cumbre and for the hot springs. At the bus stop, there were taxis waiting so we got there really easily. No drama at all.
We spent 4 or 5 hours at the lovely springs. So relaxing! We went from hot water to cool water and even got used to the sulphurous pong. We did get bitten to death however. I have so many layers of insect bites now. I am constantly itchy and resisting the urge to scratch. I hope that wears off before I get home.
We wondered how easy it would be to get a taxi and bus back, but it was no hassle at all. We were home within the hour.
We went to the main bus station and asked the man at the AU desk how we could get to the springs. He sent us to another counter and told us to ask for tickets to La Cumbre. We did at a cost of 23 pesos each. So cheap! The bus was good and the driver friendly. He gave us a shout after about 30 minutes, but we had already spotted signs for La Cumbre and for the hot springs. At the bus stop, there were taxis waiting so we got there really easily. No drama at all.
We spent 4 or 5 hours at the lovely springs. So relaxing! We went from hot water to cool water and even got used to the sulphurous pong. We did get bitten to death however. I have so many layers of insect bites now. I am constantly itchy and resisting the urge to scratch. I hope that wears off before I get home.
We wondered how easy it would be to get a taxi and bus back, but it was no hassle at all. We were home within the hour.
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Botanical Gardens, Xalapa
We decided to go to the botanical gardens. A shady bench in a garden was just what we needed. We flagged a taxi and told him where we were going. 2 minutes later he apologized and said that he didn’t have time to go there and dropped us off somewhere awkward to get another taxi. Nice. We walked back into the center and got in another taxi who was happy to take us. Which part of the park did we want “arriba” or “abajo”? No idea. We went for “arriba” as it was hot and we could walk downhill instead of uphill. This turned out to be a bad idea as the driver had taken a “short cut” cross country and eventually reached a huge muddy pool. He was going to try to cross it! We would definitely have got stuck. We told him we’d walk the rest of the way as he seemed reluctant to back up and take the proper road. Annoying.
When we reached the gate, it was clear that this wasn’t the public entrance, but the entrance to a research centre: “authorized personnel only.” There was a cop at the security post. He told us to continue along the road a couple of kilometers to the other entrance. We told him we didn’t have a car and he looked at us like we were mad – how had we got there then? We left out the bit about getting stuck in mud, but we told him that the taxi driver had gone. The cop was very sweet and let us cut through the research centre and take the steps through the cloud forest to the main entrance. Finally! We spent a nice few hours there and I think we were the only visitors not there as researchers or on business. It was very quiet and really beautiful.
When we reached the gate, it was clear that this wasn’t the public entrance, but the entrance to a research centre: “authorized personnel only.” There was a cop at the security post. He told us to continue along the road a couple of kilometers to the other entrance. We told him we didn’t have a car and he looked at us like we were mad – how had we got there then? We left out the bit about getting stuck in mud, but we told him that the taxi driver had gone. The cop was very sweet and let us cut through the research centre and take the steps through the cloud forest to the main entrance. Finally! We spent a nice few hours there and I think we were the only visitors not there as researchers or on business. It was very quiet and really beautiful.
Skiving off work
Since coming back from Yucatan, I can’t seem to focus on work. I was in the university this morning going through a few things when I realized that I had finished all the major projects that I had hoped to do while I was here. Why was I making work for myself? I’m supposed to be on holiday! David took no persuading to leave early. We sneaked out into the hot sunny day. First stop was the tamale stand we pass everyday. This little stand is really popular with students and tamales are one of my favourite foods. It’s run by a young guy on a bike with a steaming pot of freshly cooked tamales and rancheros, all neatly packed in leaves. I ordered one with “salsa roja” and David had one with mole (that yummy paste made with chilies and chocolate). They came in a “torta” (crispy bread bun) and were heavenly. Next stop, fresh juice stand located in the central reservation of the road we walk along to get to the university. Lovely freshly squeezed orange juice is one of the things I will miss.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
