A few days in Puebla

We made it to Puebla early Sunday evening and met up with Jerry, a local, who agreed to host us through the hospitalityclub website. It is a beautiful city with a rich history in cookery and craftsmanship. Puebla is one of the larger cities in Mexico and has an enormous Volkswagen plant, which we saw from the road on our way in.

Jerry took us to his house where he lives with his parents and siblings who were all sweet and welcoming. During the evening, he showed us around the downtown, where we enjoyed looking at the beautiful tile sided buildings, and snacked on tacos árabes - a local favorite which is a little like a Mexican burrito (which is completely different from those in the states!) with a bigger, thicker tortilla and sliced roasted meat. The city center was glimmering in the streetlights as people walked around and children played. I was excited with the prospect of spending time here the next afternoon in the daylight. With a renewed feeling of excitement we went back to the house to get some rest. We sat at the kitchen table talking to the family members before climbing up the little spiral staircase to the guest room two flights up where all three of us shared a double bed.

Monday morning we headed to see the nearby town of Cholula (see post). We came back to Puebla for the afternoon and walked around the strangely quiet streets. We walked had a lunch of Pueblan mole and chiles enogadas at a one of the few restaurants that we found open near the artisan market. We stopped in to see the beautiful Biblioteca Palafoxiana, a famous library, with walls filled with books! We toured around galleries of ceramics and enjoyed seeing the elaborately painted dishes and tiles all around town.

We stopped into the local tourism office and got information on things to do, but everything was closed due to swine flu. I had been looking forward to a visit to the Santa Clara convent, where many distinct recipes were created, but that will have to be saved for another trip. We were all disheartened to see that it was going to be difficult to do any of the things we were interested in. Schools, museums, and even outdoor pyramid sites were closing on account of a virus we didn't know much about. There was a sense of unease around us, and we didn't know what to do to make our trip work. Pablo was going to fly to the northern city of Chihuahua on Wednesday for a wedding and medical school exam, and Silvia and I were to spend some time exploring on our own, but both of Pablo's engagements were canceled and he found himself with useless plane tickets, only transferable in dates, not in location or person. We spent a lot of time working out travel details at an internet spot and getting increasingly frustrated. Silvia was nervous and kept debating leaving for home in Barcelona right away. This made me and Pablo a bit uneasy and it became aggravating. All of us were having some trouble acclimating to traveling in the middle of a potentially dangerous epidemic and it put everyone in a bad mood, but we calmed down.

In the evening, Jerry showed us a newer industrial complex that was a hip place to hang out. We had a drink at chic, modern hotel, deemed a bit too "fresa" a term used to describe the young fashionable elite who are often snobish and preppy, sitting outside on sofas near a fire and chatted. We went to dinner at a restaurant I had heard of that was supposed to have a great selection of local food, including some dishes featuring insects. I tried a variety of moles, all of them distinct and delicious, but was disappointed that so many of the dishes on the menu were "out" for the evening. In reality, the restaurant seemed to want to close early and wanted to push us through our meal quickly, which is very uncommon here in Mexico. What a shock! I'll forgive it because of the concern about the flu - this seems to be affecting everyone's attitudes these days.

I've been a little bit sick for a while, mostly lethargic with a little fever on and off. Perhaps I've just been exhausted from a busy schedule. It's definitely not the flu! I was too tired to go and see a bar with Mexican specialty beers and stayed home while Pablo and Jerry went out. Later that night they came home and shared some more of our home brewed beers that Pablo brought along.

Jerry's family was so welcoming and hospitable. Even though they were coping with some difficult medical problems in the family, everyone had a warm and lively attitude that served to me as a reminder of how fun, caring, and loving family is. One of the most incredible assets Mexico has is the tight sense of family and community. It was my pleasure and privilege to be a part of it, and a wonderful education for my life.

We decided to cut our trip here to Puebla short since there's not a lot we can do with everything closing around us. On Tuesday morning we packed up and left for Vera Cruz.

---

Part of trip: Guanajuato México and beyond

---