Puebla
When I arrived in Puebla by bus I was embarking on the first frontier of my trip. At the bus station, I went to go book a cab — I didn’t know that they had Uber. This turned out to be a very fortuitous occasion because I gave two Australians a ride in my cab - Lucas and Leisa. (Turned out we would be fast friends and travel together for the next few cities).
Puebla is a colonial town. The old style Spanish buildings provide a nice. colorful backdrop from which to explore. However, there is not much to explore other than the buildings themselves. With my new friends, we explored the main cathedral in the Zocalo. The zocalo is reminiscent of European plazas where slightly more upscale people eating and sipping drinks while facing the plaza. There are some touristy looking booths but it’s hard to guess if they are locals or tourists, since most people seemed hispanic.
Day one we got a few beers to get to know each other and also snagged a few food items to try; a semi-street torta out of a whole in the wall, it was fine. Tacos; better, as they always are. Lastly, a churro - which was a little old and nothing special (to be honest, I haven’t been blown away by any yet).
The second day we went to an amazing museum that would take up a few hours — Museo Amparo. There were several cool exhibits but my personal favorite was the punk culture that sprung from the midst of some revolutions (in the 70s?). There was another artist who was Mexican/Polish who did weird physical exhibits in public and did live demonstrations, that wasn’t my style.
Also, in the northern part of the city, there is a large park and old fort from colonial times. Just south of the park there is a historically shady neighborhood that has been painted by several artists in order to draw tourist attention and clean it up. It’s called Barrio de Xanenetla. It’s a few blocks of mediocre housing that has turned into an artist’s playground/mural sketchbook.
Don’t forget about Mt. Popo either, a staggering Volcano on the horizon that stands, snow capped, overlooking the whole valley (if you can call it that).
Cholula
Not too far to the west of Puebla is Cholula, best known for its Great Pyramid. There is a church on top of where the pyramid used to be, Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios. After walking around, we were able to watch a demonstration of a Mesoamerican dance where they swing from a tall pole while sitting a top the pyramid. (Danza de los Voladores)
The highlight for me was walking the city after. It’s a bit more quiet and still colonial, just like Puebla. However, we reached this market and when we found a little restaurant inside we were beckoned by a group of four guys telling us this was the right spot. They kind of ordered for us and we just sat and waited. We ended up with about a kilo of meat, and then various fresh goodies that the waiter procured from around the market; avocado, salsas, tortillas, and cheese). Then we just made taco upon endless taco until we were too full, great time.
