Puebla, I can’t feel my face…

We rolled out of Teotihuacán early in the morning, so early that we decided to take the free road to Puebla.  It was only about 137 Km or 70ish miles so it should have taken us about 2 or 3 hours, that was even factoring in getting lost, which we try not to do.  Almost 5 hours later we rolled into Puebla, we hadn’t taken into account the Topes.  It was still an easy enough drive and Gretta Garmin got us right to our Hostel, a cute enough little place with parking for our truck about a block away, a first floor room with a courtyardish place right out front. 

 

We settled in and took a walk around 3:30, up to a huge park two blocks away.  At around 6 we decided to get something to eat, they have two different types of tacos from a spit there, the first our favorite Al Pastor and the second wasn’t pink but is now my new favorite.  The problem was by the time we were done with the first taco the second was cold, not just chilly, cold and not just cold, ice cold.  Puebla was cold, and not just chilly, but I can’t feel my face cold, or finger’s or toes cold.  We quickly retreated to the hotel room and planned out our next day.

Usually when getting to a place I get on line, figure out what we want to see and then in the morning we head out, here we ran into the first problem with the hotel, their wifi was out.  We switched to the backup plan of finding a map and figuring it out as we go and hit the hay fairly early.  Around 6 AM (our usually early riser get out the door time) we were getting ready to take the doggies back up to the park, find some coffee and get going when we ran into problem number 2 with our hotel.  They had turned off the water!  Because the temperature dropped down below freezing the night before, they completely shut down the water to the whole place.  This wasn’t much of an issue as there was no way I was showering that early in the morning, but toilets need water too.  We woke up the Senora of the hotel and she said the water would be on in a little while and off went to take care of the dogs and get coffee, but the gate was locked, which meant waking the Senora again and then again a ½ hour later (it took us that long to find the coffee) by which time we really couldn’t feel our face, fingers, toes or ears.  Man when I say Puebla is cold I mean it.  By 10 am we decided we were done with Puebla (the temperate didn’t get much about 45 there that day according to weather.com) and we decided to take off for warmer Oaxaca. 

We carried everything out to the sidewalk where I sat with the stuff and two dogs while Fritz walked the short block to get the car.  About 20 minutes later he came strolling back, without the car.  The Garage was closed and no one had any idea when it would be opened.  I really wish that I had a picture to share of “homeless Trisha” sitting on the street, shivering, with two dogs on her lap, or better yet a picture of the various strange looks I got from the people who made rather large circles around me as they walked by.  About an hour later, someone opened the garage, not the company that ran it, but a man with a key who had his car parked there.  We jumped on that opportunity and rescued our vehicle and escaped from Puebla.

The drive from Puebla to Oaxaca was great, there are quite a few funky little towns in between and a huge market where trucks sell their wares right on the side of the road.  It made up for the lack of cultural experience we had in Puebla, though one day we might go back, but not until summer!

 

The place where man met the Gods…

The clock said 5:22 when I woke up in the morning.  I got out of bed and Fritz asked “so what’s the plan?” “Well why don’t you hop in the shower and I will clean up a bit and then let’s get going.” I responded.  By 6:30 we were in the truck driving the truck, first stop coffee then to find a place to run Kona so he would be ok in the car with Haole for a few hours. 

The car thermometer read 45 degrees quite a change from the day before, but not surprising as we were at 7,800 feet.  We pulled into the hotel at about 1:30 and it felt like it was about 90.  I had picked the hotel on line from two that said they accepted dogs, but when I walked in the lobby I had my doubts that they would be ok with our monsters.  I politely asked the woman at the front desk if they had a room, and explained that I had read on the internet that they took dogs.  She checked with the manager who wasn’t quite convinced, I explained that our dogs were quite comfortable in hotels after traveling for three plus weeks, and that they had their own beds and that they would always be with us.  He finally said ok, but then when I walked through the lobby with the dogs in hand the expressions on their faces told me immediately that they were regretting their decision.  The situation came to a bit of a head when the manager came to our room to make sure that the dogs wouldn’t bark.  I explained that they were very sweet and we even took Haole down to meet everyone where he did his best to charm them all, and that was all it took, a couple minutes with our vicious pit bull snuggles and they were ok with the dogs staying.

By 7:00 in the morning we were there, waiting with the other early cars and buses.  A few minutes later I pointed at the distance and asked Fritz what he thought? “Wow” was all he could say.  We were at Teotihuacán, the ancient pyramids outside of Mexico City.  If you have visited Egypt or Peru or even Atitlan, then these pyramids may not be too impressive, but the first time you see a pyramid built before the birth of Christ it is a special experience.

The city was built sometime between 650 and 100 BC, by people now unknown.  There are three main pyramids or temples, Quetzalcoatl, the temple to the Sun and the temple to the moon.  They are separated by the Avenue of the Dead.  The site is over 3 km long and it is impressive to say the least.  First we climbed the smallest temple, Quetzalcoatl, and then we walked the 3 KM to the Temple of the Moon, passing by the 217 foot Temple to the Sun on the way.   We climbed the Temple of the Moon but weren’t sure we would do the Temple of the Sun.   After a discussion about how it would be a waste to come all the way to Teotihuacán and not make the climb we decided to do it.  All I can say is that the views were amazing and I wish they sold shirts that said “I climbed the Temple of the Sun and survived” because both Fritz and I would have bought one. In the 20 years since I last visited the temples there have been quite a few changes, one of the best is that they now have hand rails, so it wasn’t nearly as scary.

 

When we got back to the hotel it was time for a nap and shower.  As I was getting out of the shower my head still wrapped in a towel Fritz came in and said “Quick get the camera and check this out”.  I went to our balcony and there below us were Aztec dancer’s putting on a show for us.  The youngest one couldn’t be more than 4 and was absolutely precious. 

 

Morelia a City with a Hidden Charm

 

When we drove into Morelia we were slightly under impressed.  The buildings were one and two story with a classic colonial style, but nothing compared to the charm of Guanajuato or Guadalajara. 

Our Hostal, the Casa Castillo (Serapio Rendón 170, Colonia Centro between Aquiles Serdán & 20 de Noviembre) was great, a cute colonial, that had a terrific roof top terrace and had been completely decorated inside with a great sense of style.

 

 

Our room even had a Juliet Balcony overlooking the street below.

 

After settling in and walking the 6 blocks to our car (secure parking that fit us) to get the items we forgot to take out when double parked, we decided to go find some grub.  Alberto a grad student we met in Guadalajara, had told us that there was a great place to eat in the Mercado so we headed off searching for the food.  Again the area was not overly impressive, though the Mercado was charming.  It was late in the day (around 4) and the vendor’s were closing up so our mission remained unaccomplished.  Instead we grabbed some delicious Cocina Economica to go and went back to the Hostel to enjoy our room and rest.

At 6 PM we were ready for sleep, but we knew that if we hit the hay that early we would be up at 3 so we decided to go for a walk, and what a good walk it was, as it completely changed our impression of the town.  The other three times we left the Hostel we had gone toward the North East, this time we headed South West, toward the Cathedral, the Government Palace and the Main town plaza.  At night spot lights from the side walk shine on all of the buildings in a way that is more than charming, it is beautiful.  The city comes to life in a way that Guanajuato and Guadalajara do not.  There are cafes and street performers and vendors selling cotton candy and balloons. 

 

 

The next morning we awoke with a plan, walk as much of the city as possible, then hit the Mercado for lunch around 1.  We retraced our path from the previous night, this time with the camera, and also went through the “Bosque” a huge park built in the mid 1800’s and then used by the rich for summer homes.  According to the signs there are still 4 homes in the park that were taken back by the people during the revolution and are now used as public buildings.

After our long walk, with the doggies appropriately tired, we headed straight to the Mercado, when we got there, there was no sign of stall 127 and even when I went up-stairs all I could find was clothing stalls, that’s when it dawned on me, we were in the wrong Mercado.  We quickly confirmed this with a local police man who took the time not only to explain where the Mercado was but to help us get on a Combi (public transportation in the form of a large VW Bus) to save us the taxi fare. The Combi ride was classic “tourist in motion”, we didn’t know how to pay, or even where to get off and we were packed in like sardines.  Seeing our confusion, the other people on the bus helped us out and showed us who to pay and where to get off (though they were about 3 blocks early).

After a fairly long walk we found the recommended stall 127 owned by Feli and Jose and were treated to one of the best meals we have had in Mexico to date.  I would recommend Morelia to foodies, every meal we had was delicious and there were numerous restaurants that we saw with different foods then we had seen before.  I wish we had had more money and time to spend eating our way through the city.

That evening we rested on the roof top terrace and visited with the Hostel owner Ari learning more about his life and life in Morelia.

Unfortunately we didn’t get to see the inside of the Cathedral (mass every time we showed up), to which Fritz responded he was fine with that as he was getting tired of Churches, I guess that is an ok thing as our next stop is Teotihuacán and even though it is surrounded by religious buildings, I don’t think any qualify as a Church!

Guanajato… you may never find the way out, but why would you want to leave?

The road turns like a bobby pin, the brightly colored houses painted pink, turquois and orange disappear, there is a tunnel.  Suddenly Greta Garmin protests, “Return to the Highlighted Route” but then the satellite signal is lost, as you are.  Underground in a tunnel made with carved stone big drops of water fall on the windshield, the road splits, left or right?  Who knows?  Suddenly the sun is shining on the car and we sit in a traffic jam surrounded by Sunday shoppers and tourists at the Mercado assaulted by the colors after being in the dark.  As Greta starts to yell to turn right then left on some unknown street, a tourist guide steps in front of the car waving frantically, did we do something wrong?  No he just wants to sell us a tour to the mines, or show us to a fancy hotel.  We continue on… where too?  We don’t know.

Guanajato is more than a city on a hill like San Francisco.  It is a Medieval city in a ravine.  The streets are so steep they use stair cases to get from one level to another and the drainage tunnels are now used by cars that can’t fit through the walking paths above.  And at the same time it is so colorful and full of life, the open air stalls selling tacos, fruit, juices and all sorts of knick knacks, pedestrians crossing in front of buses that sit in traffic too dense to move.  I wonder how the buses navigate these streets that a VW bug seems too big to fit in.  Around a corner appears a castle or an old wall and in the distance where the city has grown is a modern building.  The Hodge-podge design works, buildings stacked one on the other, older at the bottom and modern at the top.

Our Hotel (Las Estrellas de Valenciana) sits high above the beautiful chaos, the view alone is worth the $700 pesos a night, which is good because the beds are made out of wood and the shower is only hot for a few hours a day, but they took our dogs and we have the view.

It is hard to believe that the cities keep getting better and better, someday I would like to spend enough time here to know the city, it’s turns and secret short cuts.  But that time will have to wait, today we leave for Morelia… The adventure continues!