Friday, Jan. 10, 2014--Cordoba to Veracruz
My stuffy nose, irritated ear, and runny eye problem has progressed.. I'm not sure if it is the same thing that Wes had when we departed (We've been very careful trying not to spread his germs to me and I never had a sore throat or fever like he had), whether it is a bug I picked up along the way, whether it is allergies, or whether it is the beginning of the return of a sinus infection that I have gotten 3 times previously at about 7-year intervals. Anyway, it is good it began at the end of our trip. I am tolerating the symptoms well enough.
Because we were already familiar with Veracruz, we didn't schedule our bus to depart until 10:30. That gave us time to go back to the zocalo in Cordoba and enjoy the morning sunshine while watching people. Then we walked to the bus station with our luggage. It is a short 2-hour trip between the two cities, but there is some nice scenery in the mountains.
We had reserved a room at the Hotel Nu behind the bus station before leaving Veracruz, so we only had to walk around the block when we arrived. It is the best hotel (but not the most expensive) where we have stayed on this trip. It is modern, quiet, has excellent bedding, has a flat panel TV with lots of international channels, has a swimming pool, etc.
After checking in, we walked to Costco, and I bought two 1-liter bottles of tequila--one that is a Kirkland brand and one that is a Herradura brand. The Kirkland brand is probably the best, since is it an anejo tequila. But both bottles cost about $17 each including taxes. The bottles have a deposit, so each would be a little cheaper for those who live there and return the empties. We ate lunch while at Costco.
We rested a while after returning to the hotel. Then we walked to the center of town for a last night in Veracruz. We checked on the small square where there had been an orchestra and dancing before. The tables were set up as if it would happen, but there was no band. When we got to the zocalo, however, the bandstand in the center of the square had a large band on it, and people were arriving to sit in chairs that had been set up around a large dance area. They weren't ready yet, so we walked to the malacon, the seaside promenade and walked watching the people there.
Back at the zocalo, the band was playing and people were dancing. There were two couples who were especially good. The younger one had a woman in a short skirt, super-high heals, and wearing a fedora on her head dancing with her partner. Their moves were well-practiced and precise while also being a bit quicker than those of the older couples. The other good couple was an older one. The woman wore a floor-length, lacy, blue dress and the man wore a double-breasted suit. Their movements were slower and more graceful looking. With both couples, their feet were in perfect position between partners at all times.
Being hungry and knowing that we had to be up early tomorrow, we headed back toward the hotel looking for a place to eat. On the way, however, we came across another stage in the center of the wide median on our street where entertainment was about to start. There was a TV camera with projection onto a large screen. A couple of radio (or maybe TV) personalities were serving as masters of ceremony for it. The performers were all students (from very young children to quite old adults) of a dance studio there in town. They performed dances of various kinds--rumbas in Cuban-style costumes, tangos in black and red outfits, Mexican folk dances in fluffy ribboned dresses for the women and mariachi-style costumes for the men, Hawaiian dances in grass skirts, etc. We were hoping to see the Aztec dance. The men had body paintings and wore short, beaded skirts over white underwear (with one having a feathered headdress), and the women wore similar skimpy wear with black under the hanging beads. Unfortunately, by 21:00, they still were not performing, so we left.
We just stopped at a street stall and ate a quick torta for dinner. Wes got a chicken one, and my filling was called red enchilada. They were okay, but the quality wasn't the best.
Back at the room, we rushed to get packed and ready for bed. We had scheduled a taxi to pick us up at 4:30.
Saturday, Jan. 11, 2014--Veracruz to San Antonio
We had already bathed and shaved the night before. When the alarm went off at 4:00, we just rushed getting dressed and closing our suitcases. However, the phone rang at 4:05 saying the taxi was already there. We really went into overdrive at that point. It got us to the airport before the counter was open, and we were so tired from lack of sleep. Wes commented that it is too bad our best hotel had been on the last night when we couldn't sleep late and enjoy it. It had been quiet, and the beds had felt so good!
Getting on the plane, there were already two people in our assigned seats, and they had boarding passes with the same seat numbers. The plane was only about 1/2 full, so I called the attendant. She told us to take two other seats. Then people came on with one of those seats as their assignment. The attendant found out that it was a sold-out flight and went into overdrive at that point. Wes and I were surprised to hear that it was sold out, because we had commented as late as just before boarding how few people were at the gate and how they would probably lose money on the flight. Apparently, many people had arrived to check in with only 30-45 minutes left before the flight. The attendant handled the situation well. She started talking on the radio to the gate and told them to hold all passengers until she got a seat count. Then she only let them board the number of people that could fit in the empty seats. My guess is that they bumped the passengers who checked in late (which I think is the appropriate procedure considering that we were supposed to all be there to check in 1 1/2 hours ahead of departure). Wes and I were relieved that they were't following the alternative procedure of kicking us off because we got onto the plane after the others who had the same assigned seats. (That would have been especially inappropriate since United assigns numbers for when you can board based on inward to outward seating--window seats boarding first, middle seats boarding next, and aisle seats boarding last. Because I always choose an aisle seat, Wes had hung back to board with me.)
It was very cloudy most of the way to Houston as we followed the coast. I did see the Mansfield cut in a break of the clouds. And just for a few moments, I saw Corpus Christi (the university, Flour Bluff with the Naval Air Station, and Padre Island). There was a nice rainbow that formed on the top of the solid clouds for a while. It started as a hyperbola just at the edge of the clouds after a clearing. Then it became a complete circle for a few minutes before disappearing.
We had a long 5-hour wait at the airport in Houston, probably because that gave us the cheapest tickets when we made our reservations. Traveling to Mexico becomes much more expensive during the Christmas season. Three other planes left for San Antonio before ours. We ate lunch at Subway, explored the various terminals (Terminal D is now almost completely dead and Terminal A, which for many years has been for non-United (non-Continental) flights has very little traffic and now has some United flights. We found The Fruitaria, a new restaurant by a San Antonio chef which is located in Terminal B. And eventually, it was time to board our flight--another completely full one.
In San Antonio, our luggage had already arrived. They called our names and we picked the bags up and caught the shuttle to the Employee's Parking lot to drive back home.
It was a good trip. We liked where we went. We felt that the timing per place was just right. The food was delicious with plenty of variety. The outdoor activities and performances were very numerous and entertaining. The sun was out every day. The temperatures outside were in the 70s (lower 20s celsius) most days and in the upper 60s (upper teens celsius) on the rest. We only suffered in relation to hotel room temperatures; often they were cold day and night.
Spening Update: We spent a total of $702.10 over 10 days (not including our airfares). That's $70.21 per day for the both us and $35.11 per day each.
Sunday, January 12, 2014
Thursday, January 09, 2014
Cordoba
Thursday, Jan. 9, 2014—Puebla
to Cordoba
Neither Wes nor I slept well last
night. He had drainage which resulted in
coughing. I had a stuffy nose. I’m wondering if both problems are
related to allergies. I have been
sneezing a lot. I have not been taking
my allergy medicine that I normally take at home. I took a pill this morning and will take
another this evening. I hope that’s all
it is. I don’t want to get sick.
We got up earlier than expected because of
our problems sleeping, so we walked to the bus station getting there about 1
hr. 15 min. before our bus was scheduled to depart. I tried to change our tickets to the bus at
8:30 (rather than the scheduled one at 9:30), but they refused;
We arrived in Cordoba
From there, we walked to an ecological park
recommended by the guidebook and looked at it.
Then we headed downstown where we saw the Palacio Municipal which has a nice mural within its stairwell, the outside of the Cathedral which was not
open at the time, the people sitting in the zocalo, and the shops and buildings
surrounding the zocalo.
We were exhausted by then and returned to
the room to rest until evening. When we did return, it was exciting. There was a full band (30-35 members) playing Danzon music, and couples were dancing. We watched for a while. Then we headed to the cathedral and saw the inside of it. After watching a little more dancing, we wandered through the shopping area hearing street musicians. Wes bought some potato chips. Combing back through the zocalo, the band had quit playing, and there was a rock band and a pair of jugglers performing.
Wednesday, January 08, 2014
An Unexpected Surprise
Wednesday, Jan. 8, 2014--Puebla
As we readied to leave our room this morning, we went through the map of Puebla to mark the tourist sites we still wanted to see considering that this is our last day here. We circled about 6 places of interest and headed out for the day--another sunny one.
Our first stop was probably the most famous tourist site in Pueblo--the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, the first public library in the Americas. It is in a room that reflects the architecture of the oldest libraries in the world with ornate carved wooden shelves going to the ceiling. Reading tables are topped with slabs of onyx. It's a beautiful library with an important collection of books which is open to the public.
From the library, we went to the San Pedro Museo de Arte. We checked the banners outside and were unsure whether the shows would be worth seeing. We decided to go inside to see what the admission fee would be. That's when the surprise of the day occurred. I had read that the Puebla Symphony Orchestra sometimes plays concerts there. Well, they weren't playing a concert, but they were there rehearsing for an upcoming one. They were in the large, central courtyard of the building. We listened briefly just inside the area, then we went upstairs to the wrap-around balcony and sat on a bench for an hour listening as they rehearsed four pieces. It was a very enjoyable substitute for a concert, since no concerts are taking place during our visit.
From there, we headed towards an arts area known as the Barrio del Artista. The city has built small exhibit spaces (about 4 m x 4 m in dimension which would be about 150 sq. ft.) which are provided to artists to show their work. Tourists look through the doorways and enter if they see something that interests them. The city providing such spaces is a nice way to encourage arts, I think.
In that same area, we also saw the Mercado de Artesanias known as El Parian, which is a good place for buying souvenirs and has lots of colorful arts and crafts items for sale. Also in the same area, we saw the Teatro Principal which has burned and been rebuilt twice. The present building looks like the original on the outside, but it is completely modern on the inside.
Just outside the historical zone in that area is the Monastery de San Francisco whose grounds are now a park. We walked through it, saw an art exhibit there, saw the beautiful chapel inside the Iglesia Franciscano. Nearby, we tried to see an old market building that now houses small eating establishments, but what a problem it was. They had no business, so about 10 eating stall owners were chasing after us with menus trying to get us to have a seat and order in their restaurant.
It was getting late, so we headed back toward our part of town for a late lunch by going down "Sweets Street," a two-block length of a street that is lined with many stops selling all kinds of sweets. We stopped at a restaurant we had seen yesterday for the usual multi-course lunch--cream of potato soup; spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, and cheese; fried fish filet with salad and refried black beans; rice pudding, and guayaba juice.
In the late afternoon, we went out again for a final exploration of town. We saw an exhibit of old marionette theaters from the Czech Republic at a city cultural institute. We walked through the zocalo and along the area streets just watching people. We returned to the Rosario Chapel which we discovered last night, and it was lighted better because of a mass that was about to start. Eventually, we stopped at a small place near our hotel and ate two arabes--meat tacos with chile sauce and marinated onions and peppers.
As we readied to leave our room this morning, we went through the map of Puebla to mark the tourist sites we still wanted to see considering that this is our last day here. We circled about 6 places of interest and headed out for the day--another sunny one.
Our first stop was probably the most famous tourist site in Pueblo--the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, the first public library in the Americas. It is in a room that reflects the architecture of the oldest libraries in the world with ornate carved wooden shelves going to the ceiling. Reading tables are topped with slabs of onyx. It's a beautiful library with an important collection of books which is open to the public.
From the library, we went to the San Pedro Museo de Arte. We checked the banners outside and were unsure whether the shows would be worth seeing. We decided to go inside to see what the admission fee would be. That's when the surprise of the day occurred. I had read that the Puebla Symphony Orchestra sometimes plays concerts there. Well, they weren't playing a concert, but they were there rehearsing for an upcoming one. They were in the large, central courtyard of the building. We listened briefly just inside the area, then we went upstairs to the wrap-around balcony and sat on a bench for an hour listening as they rehearsed four pieces. It was a very enjoyable substitute for a concert, since no concerts are taking place during our visit.
From there, we headed towards an arts area known as the Barrio del Artista. The city has built small exhibit spaces (about 4 m x 4 m in dimension which would be about 150 sq. ft.) which are provided to artists to show their work. Tourists look through the doorways and enter if they see something that interests them. The city providing such spaces is a nice way to encourage arts, I think.
In that same area, we also saw the Mercado de Artesanias known as El Parian, which is a good place for buying souvenirs and has lots of colorful arts and crafts items for sale. Also in the same area, we saw the Teatro Principal which has burned and been rebuilt twice. The present building looks like the original on the outside, but it is completely modern on the inside.
Just outside the historical zone in that area is the Monastery de San Francisco whose grounds are now a park. We walked through it, saw an art exhibit there, saw the beautiful chapel inside the Iglesia Franciscano. Nearby, we tried to see an old market building that now houses small eating establishments, but what a problem it was. They had no business, so about 10 eating stall owners were chasing after us with menus trying to get us to have a seat and order in their restaurant.
It was getting late, so we headed back toward our part of town for a late lunch by going down "Sweets Street," a two-block length of a street that is lined with many stops selling all kinds of sweets. We stopped at a restaurant we had seen yesterday for the usual multi-course lunch--cream of potato soup; spaghetti with olive oil, garlic, and cheese; fried fish filet with salad and refried black beans; rice pudding, and guayaba juice.
In the late afternoon, we went out again for a final exploration of town. We saw an exhibit of old marionette theaters from the Czech Republic at a city cultural institute. We walked through the zocalo and along the area streets just watching people. We returned to the Rosario Chapel which we discovered last night, and it was lighted better because of a mass that was about to start. Eventually, we stopped at a small place near our hotel and ate two arabes--meat tacos with chile sauce and marinated onions and peppers.
Tuesday, January 07, 2014
World's Largest Pyramid (by Volume)
Tuesday, Jan. 7, 2014--Puebla (with Side Trip to Cholula)
Cholula was a separate city at one time, but now it is a part of the Puebla metropolitan area and there is no undeveloped gap between the two. We caught a bus there this morning and spent about 5 hours visiting the town which also has an old colonial center and an archaeological site that includes the world's largest pyramid when measured by volume.
There was a very nice, enthusiastic man at the tourist office who spoke no English. That didn't stop him from telling us about the major sites to see, and we followed his advice. We started with their zocalo which is HUGE and has two sections, a paved section and a landscaped section. Booths were set up on part of the paved section selling 3 Kings Cakes from various bakeries in the area. All bakeries in the area are still selling them, and we see people who are buying them. We have not seen any indications of price discounts on them, though.
The Cathedral was having mass when we entered, so we just looked inside and left. On an adjacent side of the zocalo, there is an even larger and more elaborate church which was part of an old convent (Convento de San Gabriel) that no longer operates as a convent. We stopped first in its museum and library. The guard working there was very happy to have visitors and spoke some English. He made sure that we saw everything. The library was quite impressive with many volumes from the 1600s and 1700s. One display he showed us was a book inside a fishbowl which was meant to show the damage that bugs can do. He fanned the pages to a particular spot and had us look inside. It was filled with live worms (that looked like grub worms) eating away. The church was large and impressive. We've seen so many churches on this trip, however, that it is hard to recall specifics about any one. Unfortunately, the Royal Chapel within the convent is closed on Tuesdays, so we were unable to see it.
From there, we headed to the archaeological ruins of Tlachihualtepetl about 3 blocks away. The centerpiece is a giant mound which is the largest pyramid by volume that has been found in the world. The Spaniards destroyed it and built a church on top, so the first thing we did was climb to there. The church was nice, but the views of the town and the area were the most interesting. After climbing back down, we bought a ticket to admit us to the ruins. The giant pyramid, when explored in recent times, was found to have 8 km (about 5 miles) of tunnels within it. The visit to the site begins with entering the tunnels and wandering until coming out the other side. These tunnels were built for native people around 100 A.D. They are small! I could stand in them, but there was very little space above my head or beyond my shoulders on either side. At one point, I began to feel claustrophobic. The only way out, once in them, is to go back or to go forward. I was approximately in the middle. There are off-shoot tunnels which are blocked by grilled gates. Fortunately, there was a long, lighted tunnel heading upstairs at about the point I started feeling closed in. I stood there a moment looking up that long passage and started feeling a bit better. I was glad when we exited. Outside the tunnel system, we walked around ruins of outer buildings. Then we went to a small museum which had a nice mural from the ruins and lots of examples of sculptures and pottery.
We explored the streets of the old town looking for a place for a late lunch. Eventually, we entered the market. A young man at Rosita's encouraged us to stop at his stall. We saw the great looking sandwiches he was serving to a family, so we ordered the same. He toasted a bun while making pork milanesa (a thin piece of pork which is battered and deep-fried). On the bun, he spread fresh avocado and then put the milanesa on it. He picked the leaves off a fresh bunch of cilantro that still had its roots with dirt on them (which would have impressed Arne), washed them, and placed them on the meat. Then he put a layer of pickled peppers and onion. Next, he cut slices of a local white cheese and covered the sandwich with a thick layer. Finally, he put more avocado on top of that before placing the top of the bun on it. It was a very big, tasty sandwich, and it was fun seeing how proud he was that we were eating there.
We returned to the xocalo to sit on a bench in the sunshine and watch people while drinking large fruit drinks we had bought in the market--pineapple for Wes and horchata for me. Then we decided we were tired and were ready to head back into town.
As we have been doing every day, we went back out in the evening to watch people and to explore more of the colonial center of Puebla. We discovered an old market that has been transformed into a shopping/eating area with a department store, small shops, and lots of small restaurants. And we also found a very elaborate baroque-style church named Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzman with a super ornate chapel (Capila de Rosario). Eventually, we bought another specialty here--freshly made potato chips being sold in a clear plastic bag. I bought the spicy ones and had chile sauce and lime juice sprinkled over them. Wes got a bag of plain chips. He wanted to buy a large cola to keep in the room, so we ate the chips while walking toward the supermarket that is near our hotel. We headed back to the room very tired.
Cholula was a separate city at one time, but now it is a part of the Puebla metropolitan area and there is no undeveloped gap between the two. We caught a bus there this morning and spent about 5 hours visiting the town which also has an old colonial center and an archaeological site that includes the world's largest pyramid when measured by volume.
There was a very nice, enthusiastic man at the tourist office who spoke no English. That didn't stop him from telling us about the major sites to see, and we followed his advice. We started with their zocalo which is HUGE and has two sections, a paved section and a landscaped section. Booths were set up on part of the paved section selling 3 Kings Cakes from various bakeries in the area. All bakeries in the area are still selling them, and we see people who are buying them. We have not seen any indications of price discounts on them, though.
The Cathedral was having mass when we entered, so we just looked inside and left. On an adjacent side of the zocalo, there is an even larger and more elaborate church which was part of an old convent (Convento de San Gabriel) that no longer operates as a convent. We stopped first in its museum and library. The guard working there was very happy to have visitors and spoke some English. He made sure that we saw everything. The library was quite impressive with many volumes from the 1600s and 1700s. One display he showed us was a book inside a fishbowl which was meant to show the damage that bugs can do. He fanned the pages to a particular spot and had us look inside. It was filled with live worms (that looked like grub worms) eating away. The church was large and impressive. We've seen so many churches on this trip, however, that it is hard to recall specifics about any one. Unfortunately, the Royal Chapel within the convent is closed on Tuesdays, so we were unable to see it.
From there, we headed to the archaeological ruins of Tlachihualtepetl about 3 blocks away. The centerpiece is a giant mound which is the largest pyramid by volume that has been found in the world. The Spaniards destroyed it and built a church on top, so the first thing we did was climb to there. The church was nice, but the views of the town and the area were the most interesting. After climbing back down, we bought a ticket to admit us to the ruins. The giant pyramid, when explored in recent times, was found to have 8 km (about 5 miles) of tunnels within it. The visit to the site begins with entering the tunnels and wandering until coming out the other side. These tunnels were built for native people around 100 A.D. They are small! I could stand in them, but there was very little space above my head or beyond my shoulders on either side. At one point, I began to feel claustrophobic. The only way out, once in them, is to go back or to go forward. I was approximately in the middle. There are off-shoot tunnels which are blocked by grilled gates. Fortunately, there was a long, lighted tunnel heading upstairs at about the point I started feeling closed in. I stood there a moment looking up that long passage and started feeling a bit better. I was glad when we exited. Outside the tunnel system, we walked around ruins of outer buildings. Then we went to a small museum which had a nice mural from the ruins and lots of examples of sculptures and pottery.
We explored the streets of the old town looking for a place for a late lunch. Eventually, we entered the market. A young man at Rosita's encouraged us to stop at his stall. We saw the great looking sandwiches he was serving to a family, so we ordered the same. He toasted a bun while making pork milanesa (a thin piece of pork which is battered and deep-fried). On the bun, he spread fresh avocado and then put the milanesa on it. He picked the leaves off a fresh bunch of cilantro that still had its roots with dirt on them (which would have impressed Arne), washed them, and placed them on the meat. Then he put a layer of pickled peppers and onion. Next, he cut slices of a local white cheese and covered the sandwich with a thick layer. Finally, he put more avocado on top of that before placing the top of the bun on it. It was a very big, tasty sandwich, and it was fun seeing how proud he was that we were eating there.
We returned to the xocalo to sit on a bench in the sunshine and watch people while drinking large fruit drinks we had bought in the market--pineapple for Wes and horchata for me. Then we decided we were tired and were ready to head back into town.
As we have been doing every day, we went back out in the evening to watch people and to explore more of the colonial center of Puebla. We discovered an old market that has been transformed into a shopping/eating area with a department store, small shops, and lots of small restaurants. And we also found a very elaborate baroque-style church named Iglesia de Santo Domingo de Guzman with a super ornate chapel (Capila de Rosario). Eventually, we bought another specialty here--freshly made potato chips being sold in a clear plastic bag. I bought the spicy ones and had chile sauce and lime juice sprinkled over them. Wes got a bag of plain chips. He wanted to buy a large cola to keep in the room, so we ate the chips while walking toward the supermarket that is near our hotel. We headed back to the room very tired.
Monday, January 06, 2014
Wonderful Puebla
Monday, Jan. 6, 2014--Puebla
It's still a holiday for some, so not all businesses are open and only a few of the tourist sites are open. It's a sunny day, though, so out we went.
On the zocalo, there were trucks set up and a huge crowd. It was a gift give-away. Lines of families approached people with large plastic trash bags full of gifts. For each family, a volunteer would pull out 2-3 gifts, then they would leave and the next family would step forward. I was talking to Wes yesterday as we would see poor families on the streets telling him that it is sad to realize that not all children would be getting gifts for 3 Kings Day. Yet this morning I had a different question: Are the families and children getting these gifts the truly needy ones? There is never an easy solution to a problem.
The cathedral was open, so we went inside. What an impressive structure. It was built in the 1500s and is massive. It is also quite unusual. As we entered, there was what seemed to be a large room built into the back third of the massive interior and taking up lots of space where there would normally be pews. As we walked further into the building, we could see that it housed probably the most massive pipe organ I have ever seen and a large seating area for the choir. The alter was massive, too, and reminded me of the one in St. Peter's Cathedral at the Vatican. There has obviously been a lot of wealth in Puebla over time.
After just wandering a few of the streets of the large colonial center of the town, we went into the tourist office. A lady there gave us suggestions for what to see and do, and she pointed out that the main museum in the city, Museo Amparo, would be free today. We made that our next stop. What a surprise it was. The exterior was a beautiful colonial building covered with tiles. Yet as we entered, the interior was a completely modern, mostly glass structure constructed in 1991. The museum was much bigger than we expected, and it took us quite a while to explore all of the galleries. There is a massive collection of Mexican-designed jewelry which was all high-quality and reminded me of the types of items sold by Marti's, the store that used to be in Nuevo Laredo and is now in San Antonio and which specializes in jewelry, clothing, gifts, and furnishings that are all made by hand by craftsmen. Several of the halls housed a special photographic exhibit by the Mexican Kati Horna who was in Spain during the Civil War, in Paris also in the 1930s, and did lots of photography for Mexican publications. Special pieces from the treasury of The Cathedral were also on display, as well as a small exhibit of art from ancient ruins in the area. The rooftop of the museum provides nice views of the city and a wonderful place to sit in the sun and relax.
We were tired and hungry after leaving the museum, so we went to a restaurant near our hotel and had another multi-course lunch--noodle soup, rice, charcoal-broiled chicken, beans, guacamole, fresh papaya, and a red-colored juice drink. Back at the hotel afterward, we relaxed before going out again.
Apparently the front which has brought cold weather to the U.S. has reached this far. It's not super cold, but when we went back out around 17:30, we could have used jackets instead of pullovers. About 1 1/2 times as high in altitude as Denver, Puebla is high enough in the mountains that most evenings are cool or cold.
People were out, but there were no more celebrations tonight. The lady in the tourist office told us that things will remain quiet for a while when I asked her if there were any concerts that we might attend. Therefore, we just walked the streets, looked in the courtyards of old buildings and in the shops that were open, stepped inside at least 8 churches, and enjoyed the nice Christmas lights that are everywhere.
Before returning to the room, we stopped nearby to try two of the specialties of the city--an arabe taco and a cemita sandwich. Both are made with meat cut from a rotating spit like they use in the Middle East. The meat is then cooked on a griddle with a picante sauce. For the tacos, it was placed in a flour tortilla and rolled. For a cemita, it is served on a firm bun with chopped cilantro and onions on top of the meat.
Interesting observations today:
1. Texting while praying--Wes pointed out a man in the cathedral who was texting on his cell phone while kneeling to pray.
2. Confiscating license plates--We watched a lady traffic cop as she removed the license plates from a car that had been parked too long (or maybe already had an outstanding ticket). That should be a simple way to get the attention of the owner.
3. Face painting--Face painting is popular here during the holidays. Tonight I saw the best one so far--a young boy with his entire face painted as if he were wearing a Mexican wrestling mask.
It's still a holiday for some, so not all businesses are open and only a few of the tourist sites are open. It's a sunny day, though, so out we went.
On the zocalo, there were trucks set up and a huge crowd. It was a gift give-away. Lines of families approached people with large plastic trash bags full of gifts. For each family, a volunteer would pull out 2-3 gifts, then they would leave and the next family would step forward. I was talking to Wes yesterday as we would see poor families on the streets telling him that it is sad to realize that not all children would be getting gifts for 3 Kings Day. Yet this morning I had a different question: Are the families and children getting these gifts the truly needy ones? There is never an easy solution to a problem.
The cathedral was open, so we went inside. What an impressive structure. It was built in the 1500s and is massive. It is also quite unusual. As we entered, there was what seemed to be a large room built into the back third of the massive interior and taking up lots of space where there would normally be pews. As we walked further into the building, we could see that it housed probably the most massive pipe organ I have ever seen and a large seating area for the choir. The alter was massive, too, and reminded me of the one in St. Peter's Cathedral at the Vatican. There has obviously been a lot of wealth in Puebla over time.
After just wandering a few of the streets of the large colonial center of the town, we went into the tourist office. A lady there gave us suggestions for what to see and do, and she pointed out that the main museum in the city, Museo Amparo, would be free today. We made that our next stop. What a surprise it was. The exterior was a beautiful colonial building covered with tiles. Yet as we entered, the interior was a completely modern, mostly glass structure constructed in 1991. The museum was much bigger than we expected, and it took us quite a while to explore all of the galleries. There is a massive collection of Mexican-designed jewelry which was all high-quality and reminded me of the types of items sold by Marti's, the store that used to be in Nuevo Laredo and is now in San Antonio and which specializes in jewelry, clothing, gifts, and furnishings that are all made by hand by craftsmen. Several of the halls housed a special photographic exhibit by the Mexican Kati Horna who was in Spain during the Civil War, in Paris also in the 1930s, and did lots of photography for Mexican publications. Special pieces from the treasury of The Cathedral were also on display, as well as a small exhibit of art from ancient ruins in the area. The rooftop of the museum provides nice views of the city and a wonderful place to sit in the sun and relax.
We were tired and hungry after leaving the museum, so we went to a restaurant near our hotel and had another multi-course lunch--noodle soup, rice, charcoal-broiled chicken, beans, guacamole, fresh papaya, and a red-colored juice drink. Back at the hotel afterward, we relaxed before going out again.
Apparently the front which has brought cold weather to the U.S. has reached this far. It's not super cold, but when we went back out around 17:30, we could have used jackets instead of pullovers. About 1 1/2 times as high in altitude as Denver, Puebla is high enough in the mountains that most evenings are cool or cold.
People were out, but there were no more celebrations tonight. The lady in the tourist office told us that things will remain quiet for a while when I asked her if there were any concerts that we might attend. Therefore, we just walked the streets, looked in the courtyards of old buildings and in the shops that were open, stepped inside at least 8 churches, and enjoyed the nice Christmas lights that are everywhere.
Before returning to the room, we stopped nearby to try two of the specialties of the city--an arabe taco and a cemita sandwich. Both are made with meat cut from a rotating spit like they use in the Middle East. The meat is then cooked on a griddle with a picante sauce. For the tacos, it was placed in a flour tortilla and rolled. For a cemita, it is served on a firm bun with chopped cilantro and onions on top of the meat.
Interesting observations today:
1. Texting while praying--Wes pointed out a man in the cathedral who was texting on his cell phone while kneeling to pray.
2. Confiscating license plates--We watched a lady traffic cop as she removed the license plates from a car that had been parked too long (or maybe already had an outstanding ticket). That should be a simple way to get the attention of the owner.
3. Face painting--Face painting is popular here during the holidays. Tonight I saw the best one so far--a young boy with his entire face painted as if he were wearing a Mexican wrestling mask.
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