Veracruz to Xico to Puebla

I had a lazy Tuesday, 7/29/08, morning in Veracruz. Around 11:30 am I headed out to the beach. Veracruz is an old historic port town that has served Mexico City and much of the country for centuries. Boca del Rio just south of the city is the new strip mall, chain restaurant, high rise condo beach town that mirrors many of the other Mexican beach resorts, however without a lot of foreign tourists. I assume that Veracruz and Boca del Rio are truly Mexican vacation destinations.

I went to Playa Mocambo on the advice of the hotel. It was crowded but I believe I was the only gringo. There were large tents covering tables and chairs. If the families weren’t in the water, shopping with the roving vendors or running between the two, they were enjoying drinks or a meal under the tents. I was one of only a few that wanted a lounge chair to actually bake in the sun.

I had taken a bus out to the beach. I caught it literally steps from the hotel and it cost about 65 cents. It was very well air conditioned. I stayed at the beach a little longer that I had planned so I took a taxi back to the hotel to meet Darrylle whose flight arrived at 2:30 pm. The taxi ride was $7 and I arrived at the hotel just after Darrylle had checked in and was heading up to his room.

Darrylle and I walked out into the heavy humid air to find a bar and have a drink. We settled on an open air cafe on the Zocalo (the Mexican word for Plaza de Armas or Plaza Principal) only two blocks from the hotel. Later we ate dinner at a local cafe. We both had sea bass veracruzano, a famous dish from the area. The food in Mexico has been excellent.

Darrylle and I planned to take a double decker tour bus around Veracruz on Wednesday before heading out of town. We had a little trouble finding the bus and when we finally did we were surprised when the tour only lasted half an hour. Somehow we had found the free tour bus not the full service. That explained the confusion when I asked where to pay when I climbed aboard the bus.

A little before noon we left Veracruz for Xico to meet up with John, Diane and Laura, friends of my parents from their mini (the car) club. From the coastal city of Veracruz we climbed into the hills. First we drove to Xalapa where we stopped for lunch. Then we drove through Coatepec, San Marcos and finally at the end of the road found Xico. The city dates from the 17th century and is a small agricultural community. The city itself has about 8,000 inhabitants and it supports another 20,000 in the surrounding countryside. It is that mythical authentic Mexican town you only hear or read about and if you do find it is generally overrun by tourists.

Xico definitely has a tourist side, one that is geared to the Mexicans. After we arrived and found the very comfortable and cozy house that they had rented we all walked a few blocks to the main street in town for some leisurely mole tasting. This area is known for its coffee and coco. Dozens of little stores are set up selling their own brands of mole paste, chile salsas and liquors. The town is picturesque and apparently has been used in a few films. Because it is at the end of the road it doesn’t attract a lot of foreign travelers. Diane and Jim will be using their little house as their base for exploring the region and in deciding where they all want to settle in the coming year. Laura is heading back to the states to get back to teaching. I expect her thoughts will never be far from her future somewhere south of the border.

We all had a great time exploring the town on foot, visiting some fantastic falls only a couple kilometers away and discussing every subject possible. Our time together was a fortuitous convergence of five people at crossroads sharing experiences and advice.

Xico was the perfect place to start our drive across Mexico. Previously I had only experienced Mexican beach towns and Xico is the complete opposite. The town had had a major celebration a week before Darrylle and I arrived and was still decorated with plastic flowers strung across the streets. The cathedral was amazingly adorned with white cloth and fresh flowers like I’ve never seen before. We even caught a glimpse of their holy statue of Mary Magdelena being marched through town as some of the festivities still continued. Horses carrying bamboo, fruit or loads of wood are not uncommon on the streets. No one seems rushed even early in the morning as the women are setting up their sidewalk tables to sell chicken parts.

As usual our breakfast conversation was engaging and Darrylle and I got on the road to Puebla later than we had expected. We had to drive back through Xalapa and then find the road to Mexico City, Puebla being on the way. At the western end of Xalapa Darrylle remembered I wanted to stop and have the wheels aligned (on John’s very good advice) and the muffler reattached as it had again become disconnected. Darrylle reminded me just as we approached a Firedstone/Bridgestone shop. The alignment and the reconnection of the muffler (at a “taller” just around the corner from the tire center) took about an hour.

I could definitely feel the difference from the alignment and we were moving along at a great speed on the toll road to Puebla. The toll road must be under repair because we were soon routed off the toll road to the side roads which added a little time to our travels. We arrived in Puebla around 5 pm making a much longer drive than the expect two to three hours.

Puebla has been an important city in Mexico for centuries. It is situated between Mexico City and Veracruz and was always home to many wealthy Mexicans of European decent. It has a reputation of aristocratic arrogance by those of European descent. We found the exact opposite, many very friendly and welcoming people. It is also home to a large Volkswagen factory. We had seen Volkswagens being loaded onto an auto ship in Veracruz undoubtedly from Puebla.

We took a walking tour from the municipal tourism office on the Zocalo and learned many tidbits of Mexican and Poblano history. Puebla, we were told, is not a colonial city but a city of the viceroyalty era. I’m not sure I understand the distinction, but I think it has to do with the idea it was a power center of the rich aristocrats.

We stayed at The Hotel Royal on the Zocalo. It is an 18th century building facing the cathedral across the square. The south side of the square is dominated by the cathedral dating from the 16th century and with the tallest bell towers in Latin America. The other three sides of the square are occupied by exquisite 18th century three story arcade buildings with grand colonnades along the sidewalks. The wide arcades are occupied by numerous sidewalk cafes. The buildings are brightly colored and very well maintained.

Friday night we ate at the Hotel Purificadora, a restaurant that Darrylle had read about in Food and Wine. The food was passable but the architecture and design of the space were what were truly amazing. From the open air entrance of the hotel there was a picture perfect vista of the neighboring church. The centuries old bell towers were aglow, framed by the austere lines of the clean white contemporary construction thrust upward from the ruins of an old brick building. The juxtaposition of the majestic old church, white linear simplicity, ancient ruins of distressed brick, faded paint and the raw warmth of reclaimed wood were jaw dropping.

Saturday we ate at La Fonda de Santa Clara the antithesis of hip and now. This old mainstay of traditional Poblano food was a perfect complement to the meal the night before.

The old center of Puebla was crowded with pedestrians and we were surprised at the inordinate number of police. Our tour guide explained the police were there to keep unlicensed street vendors off the streets, however we couldn’t help notice a number were in riot gear. Walking the streets on Saturday we were struck by the strong feeling of community. Young and old including tons of young families were shopping, enjoying the street food and being amused by clowns or entertained by musicians (from mariachi bands to traveling minstrels dressed in period clothes). There was a street cleaning project underway with volunteers in identifying t-shirts (including a large number of Mormons) as well as political demonstrations in the square. Of course there was the ever present blaring of competing music from every direction.

Sunday we leave for Mexico City. We have a hotel reserved near the Zocalo and expect the drive to be about two hours.