It’s beginning to look a lot like…
Welcome to the colonial city of Puebla, Mexico’s fourth largest city and the capital of the state by the same name. We arrived here late afternoon yesterday, after a short van ride from Teotihuacan during which most of us dozed.
With only one night here, we wanted to make the most of it. So we dumped our bags and set out to explore a bit before dinner. Our hotel, a block from the main square, is surrounded by shops — most of which sell shoes. Lots and lots of shoes.
We navigated through the crush of people to the main square, ostensibly to see the cathedral. But we got a bit sidetracked by the giant — and I do mean giant — Christmas celebration going on. It made Mexico City’s Zocalo look low key in comparison. Lights and lit-up reindeer sculptures and stars hanging from trees everywhere. Fake plastic gingerbread house type market stalls surrounded the square. The winter festival is on here too — we saw tubing, skating and snowman making, all with fake snow of course. The square was packed with people, mostly families with kids taking in and enjoying the scene. Their enthusiasm was contagious, and we skipped around like little kids snapping cheesy photos and enjoying the atmosphere.
A quick peek in the impressively large cathedral followed. It’s the second biggest in Mexico, lavish and ornate, of course. No photos were allowed inside so I can’t post any. I can, however, tell you about the really really REALLY long line of people waiting for confession. It’s strange to see Catholic churches in places where people are still actively practicing Catholics, unlike Quebec where pretty much everyone is Catholic in name only.
Dessert for dinner
Back to the hotel for a much-needed shower, change of clothes and short nap. Then we all met up in the lobby, including our final arrival (and my new roommate) Vanessa, who made it a couple of days late though her luggage still hasn’t arrived.
We went to a traditional Mexican restaurant for dinner, and I got to have some authentic mole poblano: chicken covered in a delicious chocolate-based sauce with chili and spices. So rich. So delicious. So worth every bite.
The restaurant’s menu also had such delicacies as fried grasshopper with guacamole, and even brains. I didn’t try any of them, but many braver souls than I had a go.
Monday nightlife quest (part 2)
After dinner, those of us who didn’t go out last night (and a few who did) decided to head out for drinks and dancing. Unfortunately, Monday night isn’t the best time to try and do that. But, of course, when there’s a will, there’s a way: It’s as true in Puebla as it was in Helsinki.
Milton first led us to a rooftop terrasse with couches around fireplaces and a great view of the rooftops and churches of Puebla. We had a drink there and chilled out for a bit until it started to get chilly.
Next, we went looking for a place with a dance floor. A bit easier said than done, but we did find a downstairs dive bar type place that was half empty, but they had mini-kegs at the tables, and after a run of terrible music they switched to salsa and we all got out on the dance floor. I have two left feet at the best of times, especially when it comes to salsa which I have never, ever been able to get. But some of the others could really dance, and the rest of us just had fun anyway. The next table over full of Mexican guys seemed loudly appreciative, anyway.
Around 1:30, they turned the lights on and kicked us out. Not exactly an all-night bar hop. But we were all pretty tired, so we headed back to the hotel.
Crafts, arts and people-watching
We had a bit of a lie-in this morning. Jelle, Miryam, and I met up around 9, and, after a few futile knocks on doors of still-sleeping people, decided to head out to explore Puebla. We went back to the main square where we found Anders and the four of grabbed a table at one of the cafes on the square. After coffee and breakfast to the sound of music blaring from speakers in the square, we met up with Vanessa.and the five of us went to see the sights.
Puebla has a compact city centre and there aren’t too many must-see attractions, but there are some. We set out for the historical library, an old paneled beautiful room filled with Latin volumes that looked like something straight out of a Harry Potter film. Extremely cool place where I could imagine spells being cast, or ancient knowledge being passed down. It was housed in Puebla’s main cultural centre, which also had some modern art exhibits going on in some of the other rooms. One of the exhibits, ARTE Mizrahi, featured the , so some of the other rooms had modern art being exhibited.
After a snack of some street stand churros (yum!), we made our way slowly over to the Artists’ Square and the handicraft market. Filled with stall after stall of the same brightly-coloured stuff that you really see everywhere in Mexico, the market was overwhelming. Let’s face it: Most of what’s on offer is junk. Despite this, I could actually see myself buying a few things, since it’s pretty, brightly coloured junk that’s right up my alley, style-wise. But it’s only the third day of the trip; I didn’t want to have to lug around heavy or breakable items for the next week and a half. So I passed for now, though I’m sure I’ll have plenty more opportunities to souvenir shop.
Short but sweet
We stocked up on some bus snacks for the ride to Oaxaca and headed back to the hotel to meet the group at 1:30. Unfortunately, Pradeep and Tatiana misunderstood and thought we were meeting up at 2:30, so we ended up hanging around waiting for a whileThat’s the trouble with big tours; there’s a lot of rushing through stuff you want to see, and waiting around at times when you would rather be doing other stuff. Luckily, though, we didn’t miss our bus, since Milton arranged for a private van to drive us the entire way. So, hey, win.
Now I’m on my way to Oaxaca, updating my blog as we head out of the city. All in all, I quite liked Puebla. It’s nowhere near as large as Mexico City, of course, and has fewer big attractions. But it felt like an easier city to wrap my head around. It’s really been a transit stop on this tour, but it was a good one.