Moving to Queretaro Part 11 - 8 Days in Vera Cruz

---

Marimba" music

Voladores in El Tajin

Voladores in El Tajin Week of June 11-18, 2007
Before departing Mexico, we decided we needed one final road trip. This trip was to be the best yet. We were hoping to keep it around 7 or 8 days. First we looked at the Oaxaca Coast on the Pacific side. Then I realized the climb over the mountains was a seven hour trip of hair pin curves with many bloggers warning that you must take motion sickness medicine. Then several of my Mexican friends strongly discouraged the trip indicating that it was not entirely safe right now. Apparently President Calderon has sent the military to the region in hopes of stopping the drug traffic. So, we turned our attention to the Gulf Coast. The State of Vera Cruz was, of course, the logical choice. We have decided to spend the majority of our time on the Emerald coast (a 28 mile stretch of beach).

Monday & Tuesday

Monday we left Queretaro at 6:10 a.m. Destination: Tecolutla, in the state of Veracruz. Our route would take us south on Highway 57 to the new cuota towards Texcoco which begins just south of Tepeji del Rio. Follow the sign to Teotihuacan “Pirámides.” Continue on 132 past Teotihuacan. Around Huauchinango, the road changes to 130. Just follow the signs to Tuxpan and then Papantla. It is a nice drive through the mountains. We arrived in Tecolutla at about 1:00 p.m. The town is small with a fun central area. June is a slow month and there are tons of hotels. We started looking for a place to stay when a young man on a bicycle rode up to the window. He had a shirt on that said “Guía turístico”. He offered to help. After he escorted us to 4 hotels, we selected the first one, Gran Hotel Plaza MarSol. A little negotiating brought the price down to $500 pesos ($46 US) for 4 people. Amazing for a nice hotel on the water with a large pool. Because it is low season, the beach is deserted and wonderful. We share the beach with a few Mexicans, the small crabs, fish, birds, and shells. We found several sand dollars. The water is warm. The town is really cool with all kinds of seafood and relaxed, smiling faces.

On Tuesday we spent the day at Papantla and El Tajin. Papantla is known for three things: its ancient ruins called El Tajín; for the traditional Totonac performers called Voladores, or fliers; and for vanilla. The heart of Papantla is its cathedral and the adjacent park. In the park, children play, venders sell food and people just hang-out. Vendors also sell a few arts and crafts made from vanilla beans. We walked around, bought vanilla ice cream, lots of vanilla beans, and some vanilla extract. Then we ran into this really nice Mexican that wanted to be our tour guide. He spoke English and had been to the States several times. Most of his time was in Atlanta. I asked him if he had any problems at the border. He said, “No, I can swim very well!”. The city was nice but we were all anxious to get back to the beach so we only stayed about an hour.

El Tajin is one of the most important archeological sites in Mexico and by far the most important site on the Gulf coast. It is believed that the structures date to the classic period (300-900AD). It was discovered by accident in 1785. No one is certain who built it. The pictures I have included show only a small part of the site. Most of the site has not been excavated. Just outside the entrance to El Tajin is a pole the voladores use as part of an ancient ritual on weekends. A group of voladores consists of five Totonac men in ceremonial dress who climb the 100-foot-tall pole. One man stands on a tiny platform at the top of the pole playing a flutelike instrument that has a tiny drum attached and he even dances on that tiny platform. The rest wind ropes around their waists, and together, drop upside-down from the top of the pole and spin gracefully to the ground. It was amazing to watch (check out our video clip in the top left corner of this story).

We returned to our hotel late in the afternoon and were enjoying the beach and the town so much we decided to stay an extra night.

Wednesday

Today we drove down the Emerald coast and looked for our next hotel. After looking at about 12 hotels we selected one that was about 10 minutes north of Casitas (near Monte Gordon) - Hotel De Alba. The hotel was ok, but the pool and ocean view were awesome! We spent the afternoon in the pool and on the ocean. Here the beach was completely deserted. It was us and the sea. In the evening we drove into Casitas and had dinner at El Pirata del Golfo. It was wonderful. I had a whole fresh fish steamed with spices, onions, peppers, and a tomato sauce. Madison ordered crab. She loved them. On the way back to our hotel we passed a small fair in Monte Gordo. It was in full swing so we stopped. For the most part it was like a county fair you would find in the US. One notable difference was the bar. They had a full bar with any mixed drink you could want, beers, and blended fruit drinks. Thursday morning we had breakfast at a little restaurant in front of the hotel. It was a one person show. She was our hostess, waitress and chef. In turn, we were her only customers. Eggs veracruzana looked good so three of us ordered them. Haley ordered a cheese, mushroom and onion omelet. The hotel owner said we could stay in the room until 2:00 p.m. so, back to the beach we went.

Thursday

We left our hotel at 1:55 p.m. Our destination for the day was Veracruz, a large city on the water. We arrived in the city 2 hours later. The traffic was not bad and we decided to park the car and look for a hotel. The first place we stopped was Hotel Colonial. It was a winner. They had a room on the 5th floor with a balcony overlooking the zócalo (the central city plaza). Around the zócalo’s edges sit the cathedral, the municipal palace (city hall), restaurants and shops, and in the center is a very large bandstand and dance floor. Every night of the week something is going on. On this night it was salsa dancing. Friday night a jazz concert is scheduled. The restaurants are open until 3 or 4 in the morning. And all night long it's safe. In the US we talk about the old downtown, and in many cities it’s characterized by decrepit buildings and dangers. This is just not so in Mexico. Mexicans love their old, traditional, and often historic downtowns, and wherever you go the zócal is alive and healthy. In Veracruz, the buildings are old and ornate. Many are in some disrepair but this almost adds to charm. The oldest of the old have heavy, over-sized, carved wood doors.

As we toured the city, two of the most striking things were:
1. The church of Santo Cristo del Buen Viaje, which stands on the Plaza Gutiérrez Zamora, dates from 1610 and is thus the oldest church in the city.
2. San Juan de Ulua - Long and low and with two towers and more gun ports than you can count, the old fort San Juan de Ulua sits on the far side of the harbor is something to see. On one side is a modern container dock with it huge cranes and on the other a shipyard. Tucked in between the two is the old fort, it almost looks lost. The fort has been used as a pier, fort, prison and presidential palace and even got caught up in battles of independence between Mexicans and Spaniards.

We decided to leave on Friday so we could go back to the beach in La Antigua which is just north of here and on our way to Xalapa. The city is too hot, the beach is just right.

Friday

At 3:00 p.m. we are heading north to La Antigua. La Antigua is regarded as the first real Spanish town in Mexico. In the town is the house of Hernán Cortés, a popular tourist attraction.

We ended up only eating in La Antigua and not staying, we were both mistaken and it wasn't on the beach only on an inlet/river that went out to the ocean. La Antigua is the first city that the Spaniard Cortez landed in 1519, his house was there and everything. Anyway we had a wonderful lunch on the river. There is a style of food here that is "Veracruzana" and it is mostly served over fish or seafood but sometimes other things. It is a sort of sauce that is made up of tomatoes, green peppers, onions, garlic, capers, green olives, and chilies that is so wonderful. We found this tiny restaurant in this tiny town down all these dirt roads and I think it was the best meal we’ve had all week! Teresa had hers over shrimp and it came with rice. I had mine with fish again like the other night. The waiter wasn't sure how I wanted my fish to be served so he went into the kitchen and brought out three raw fish on a platter all cut up different ways so I could pick which one I wanted. Or rather, two were just whole like it was just caught out of the ocean and put on the platter, one was missing the scales in the middle, and the last was actually filleted. There were three little old men that played the traditional "Marimba" music from this area for us. It is played all around here. They use a huge wooden xylophone and drums. It is a mix of Carribean, African, and Mexican music. It is really, really nice to listen to (check out the video clip in the top left corner of this story). We drove around the little town for a while and then headed out.

Our new destination, Chachalacas, was 20 minutes up the coast. Lonely Planet describes this town as “a scruffy-looking seaside resort.” It sounds like the kind of place Teresa and I will love. As you roll into town, scruffy is a well deserved description. We were planning to stay at the Chachalacas Hotel-Club which L.P. described as the “luxurious” location. One quick look and I knew it was not worth the $75 price tag --we were out of there! We headed a little north of town and found a neat hotel (Hotel y Bungalows Monteverde) with a very nice pool and right across from the beach ($45). We had a great time that night swimming and exploring the beach a little bit. I think the pool was about 90 degrees! - on Saturday morning we went to the beach. It is interesting. The Mexicans are all out enjoying the water and waves early in the morning - some are swimming in their clothes and there are tons of little restaurants literally on the beach with plastic tables, chairs, and umbrellas right up to the water and they bring everything out to you in the sand. Their are little carts going up and down selling fresh cut up fruit, juices, seafood, pastries, you name it, they have it. Oh, yes, and of course, beer! Madison wanted fresh coconut juices so we bought one. It is fun to watch. He hauled out the coconut, cut the vine off, chopped until he had a small hole in the top and stuffed a straw through the hole ($1.00). She loved it. We just wanted to stay there for about another six months!

Saturday

We left Chachalacas at 1:00 p.m. Our destination today will take us away from the coast to the capital of the state, Xalapa (pronounced ha-La-pa) which is a two-hour easy drive from Veracruz. You climb through the mountains to an elevation of about 5000 ft (1427m) just as you reach the city. Xalapa is in coffee producing country and there are any number of comfortable coffee houses throughout El Centro. The city is built on the slopes of a large tiered hill half way between the ocean and the mountains. The reduction in temperature and humidity is a well appreciated gift!
.
We stayed at Meson Del Alferez a wonderful little hotel that is like a very nice old house in the center of town. The outside is deceiving as it goes back very far with several courtyards and garden areas in the center with the rooms surrounding them. We splurged and got two rooms - one for us and one for the girls. The girls were so happy, they acted like they were living in an apartment. We were just happy to have a night ALONE! This hotel is really neat we would give it 4 stars! At $36 a night, the rooms were a little on the pricey side. We could have found nice accommodations around $25, but this one included breakfast and it really was a delightful place. After we were settled, we went out and had dinner at Café Chiquito. This place was amazing. For about $3.25, you can enjoy a great buffet while sitting in a perfectly delicious courtyard. Our waiter was most attentive and the buffet was served by requesting the food. You just pointed and they dished out the food. After dinner we came back to the room because there was a huge thunderstorm going on. Rain gushing down the streets (the streets here are very hilly like in Guanajuato). After the storm ended we took a walk in the central area and bought some coffee and trinkets. I love being out after a rain, everything was clean and the air was fresh!

Sunday

On Sunday we took a long stroll around the city and just soaked up the architecture and the rich vegetation throughout the city (many areas are in continuous shade because of the large, lush, green trees. I was thinking, this is like walking on a street in New York City (Manhattan). I turned to tell Teresa my thoughts and she said, “I was just thinking the same thing.” Indeed the city is very cosmopolitan with several universities (most notably the University of Veracruz). Notably absent from the city were any Americans or tourists at all.

We were told that among the "must see” tourist attractions is the Museum of Anthropology, about a 10 minute drive from El Centro. So we bid our farewell to the city and loaded up the car, making our final stop in the city the Museum of Anthropology. The museum is dedicated to the archaeology of Veracruz state. The building and the park like setting were, to me, as attractive as the museum itself. It’s built on a slope and is open and light and airy, regardless of where you are in the building. The main pieces in the museum are seven massive Olmec heads. The largest one is over eight feet high. It is ranked as the best or second best, archeological museum in all of Mexico. It was a wonderful introduction to the various pre-historic cultures of the Gulf coast. The museum is organized from the oldest civilizations to the newer. You start with the Olmecs and their stone heads. Later cultures are mostly represented by thousands of pieces of pottery, lifelike human and animal figurines, and the first recorded writing used as communication. El Tajin, one of the sites we visited earlier in the week, had a large section in the museum with rooms of pottery and figures. You end with the Huasec culture and more giant stone statures (life size and bigger). As we were leaving the museum, we passed a Mexican lady and her young son (about 5 years old). She was carrying an interestingly large purse. Suddenly, we could hear a small dog barking. The lady looked down intoher purse and said, “shut-up!” (in Spanish of course) suddenly the very small head of a Chihuahua popped out. It was most entertaining to watch. Unfortunately for her, we were not the only one that heard the dog. The guard walk straight to her and escorted her out of the building. ) :

Tonight we had planned to stay in Puebla, Mexico. But as we were walking to the car I started to have a change of heart. To return to Queretaro, you really have no option but to drive through Mexico City. Something I have avoided like the plague for 6 months. Driving through Mexico City on a Sunday, versus Monday morning seemed like a much better idea. It was 3:00 p.m. and I was fairly certain I could hit Mexico City by 6:00 or 7:00 p.m., meaning I would hit Queretaro around 8:00 or 9:00 p.m. After a brief discussion we decided to go home. We headed out of town with our sites set on Queretaro.

One quick story and then back to the drive home. Since arriving in Mexico, I have wanted to try pulque. Pulque is a milky, slightly foamy and somewhat thick beverage made by fermenting (not distilling) the fresh sap of Maguey. Pulque is produced by cutting out the center of a maguey cactus and collecting the liquid which rises from it. Fermenting naturally in one day, the resulting drink is alcoholic and sweet. You can not find it in bars or stores. In fact, mostly you cannot find it at all. You have to find it in the country where ranchers, or the poor, brew the stuff. I have been on a pulque search for six months -- mission accomplished today! Near the small town of San Jose Alchichica on Highway 140 between Xalapa and Acatzingo, Teresa spied it first. A true Pulque stand. With a hand written sign warning you, strike that, notifying you that it was 500m ahead! In one second my foot was on the brakes. Without a thought to the safety of my digestive track (making pulque involves the use of the hands and cups to collect the stuff and containers to hold the stuff and more hands and I had been warned that it is a good way to become sick) I slide the car up to the small stand. The place seemed very clean to me……….well, ok look at the pictures and decide for yourself. All I was thinking was “finally, I have found pulque!!” I approach the stand and say “¿tienes pulque?” (do you have pulque). They respond, “Sí” (yes), “¿le gusta pulque?”(you like pulque?). I respond it is my first time. The erupt in laughter, and seem perfectly delighted to be part of my first experience. The lady leaves to get me a glass of pulque and one of the men (who I suspect has been drinking pulque all day long) gets so excited he offers me a sip from his own glass. Now that is just too much. I politely decline and say I can wait a few moments for my own glass. Then he offers me some kind of nut or seeds he is eating. I again decline, he does not seem to be offended, but I now want my pulque. They are all smiling very much and laughing a lot as they consider the fact that I have never had pulque. They are looking at Teresa in the car and smiling and giggling towards her as well. I don’t think they’ve ever encountered a virgin pulque drinker before. Around from the corner comes the lady that moments before had disappeared behind a very rough cinder block wall. In her hand is a glass of pulque. I take my first gulp. It is…………..well………um……it has the taste of a fermented wine and beer concoction blended together. It is slightly sweet, with a yeasty finish. It leaves me thinking, why would anyone drink this stuff? Bottom line: yuck! Teresa also braves a sip and makes a funny face (pretty sure she does not like it). I finish the glass and ask how much do I owe. They say, 2 pesos ($0.18), ok now I know why people drink this stuff. I give them 5 pesos and a strong thank-you and we are back on the road again.

It takes us longer to get to Puebla then I had estimated. No time for dinner. The kids are both mad, “Dad, you have to feed us, this is child abuse.” I pull into a Pemex (Mexico’s only gas station), fill the tank and Teresa buys instant soup and chips for the kids and very good chicken sandwiches for us. We are back on the road in 10 minutes. I am now getting a little nervous because we don’t have good directions through Mexico City and dark clouds are rolling in from the west. It begins to rain, it is almost 7:00 p.m. and I am still not through Puebla. I REALLY do not want to drive into Mexico City after dark. We hit the outskirts of Mexico at about 7:30 p.m. and traffic slows to a crawl - there are dark clouds and it is raining. Our directions make no sense and we promptly get lost. I stop to ask for help and I am told to turn around - I am almost certain the person is wrong so I ignore the advice. I stop again and get good directions. But this time I am warned that the turn off is difficult. So I drive only a few more minutes and stop for the third time --same directions and same warning. I see the sign, but where is the turn off?? As we pass it, you can see a small almost hidden street. We missed our turn-off. There is no viable way to turn around. So, I glance at the map, make my best guess where we are and chart a new course through the city. It works, 40 minutes later we are leaving the city. As we leave it begins raining really hard, and by now it is very dark. While not a great idea to drive after dark, it is not normally a problem on the cuotas (toll roads). The cuotas are like the interstates in the US. But on this stretch on this night, it was not such a great idea. It is raining very hard, and major portions of the road are under construction reducing you to 1 or 2 lanes in both directions. Short version, I was very happy when we arrived home at about 11:00 p.m.

---

Photos

State of Veracruz
This map show all of the locations we visited during our trip

Tecolutla
Our hotel - Gran Hotel Plaza MarSol. Very nice place at a great price (two beds/4 people = $46.00 US)

Tecolutla
Our hotel - Gran Hotel Plaza MarSol. Very nice place at a great price (two beds/4 people = $46.00 US)

Tecolutla
Our hotel - Gran Hotel Plaza MarSol.

Tecolutla
Our hotel - Gran Hotel Plaza MarSol.

Tecolutla
View of the ocean from our hotel - Gran Hotel Plaza MarSol.

Tecolutla
Here the beach is like a carnival setting. Venders ride up and down the beach selling candies, food and drinks. Very different from the US. The Mexican people don't lay in the sun. They stay under an umbrella and just enjoy the Ocean! You can rent a table, chairs & umbrella or just buy some food and drinks from the owner.

Tecolutla
Here the beach is like a carnival setting. Venders ride up and down the beach selling candies, food and drinks. Very different from the US. The Mexican people don't lay in the sun. They stay under an umbrella and just enjoy the Ocean! You can rent a table, chairs & umbrella or just buy some food and drinks from the owner.

Tecolutla
Here the beach is like a carnival setting. Venders ride up and down the beach selling candies, food and drinks. Very different from the US. The Mexican people don't lay in the sun. They stay under an umbrella and just enjoy the Ocean! You can rent a table, chairs & umbrella or just buy some food and drinks from the owner.

Tecolutla
Our new Mexican friends! We bought Pina Coladas and Margaritas from them and they let us use their table, chairs and umbrella for free!

Tecolutla
The beach!

Tecolutla
The beach!

Tecolutla
The Beach!

Tecolutla
The Beach!

Tecolutla
The Beach!

Tecolutla
A river enters the ocean at Tecolutla and you can take a boat ride up the river. Kids ride around on bicycles all day trying to get you to sign up!

Tecolutla - Turtle Farm
Tortugario (www.vidamilenaria.org.mx) a small sanctuary for green turtles was located right next to hotel. The turtles are protected and then later released.

Tecolutla - Turtle Farm
Tortugario (www.vidamilenaria.org.mx) a small sanctuary for green turtles was located right next to hotel. The turtles are protected and then later released. THE TURTLE ON THE LEFT IS MISSING A FLIPPER.

Tecolutla - Turtle Farm
Tortugario (www.vidamilenaria.org.mx) a small sanctuary for green turtles was located right next to hotel. The turtles are protected and then later released.

Tecolutla - Bus Station
The bus station is modern and nice. If you don't have a car, there are regular buses from Poza Rica & Papantla. From the bus station it is a 5 - 10 minute walk to most of the Hotels (several for $10-20 US per night). It is about a 3 minute walk to Gran Hotel Plaza MarSol.