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Published: February 21st 2014
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Here is a fact: Veracruz is a 3,000-year-old culture that originated with the Olmecs, the Totonacs and the Huastecs.
The Olmecs, Mesoamerica’s earliest known civilization, built its most important centre at El Tajin in the year 100 AD. This ancient city lay engulfed by the jungles until it was accidentally “rediscovered” in 1785.
El Piramide de los Nichos is El Tajin’s most emblematic structure. It was named for its 365 deeply recessed niches, one for each day of the solar calendar.
No matter how hard you try, you probably won’t find the niche for your birthday.
Vanilla, coffee beans and cigars are the souvenirs most tourists take home from the state of Veracruz.
The town of Papantla lies in the centre of the world’s best vanilla-growing region.
Vanilla pods are harvested from an orchid-type plant called
tlixochitl. When the Spanish
conquistadors arrived there in 1524, they discovered that
tlixochitl had been cultivated by the Totonaco Indians for centuries. They named the spice
vainilla, meaning little pod.
Along with other plunder, Cortez took vanilla pods back to Spain. The rest is history.
The air in Papantla is so warm and fragrant
El Piramide de los Nichos
No matter how hard you try, you probably won’t find the niche for your birthday you feel like you’re being stewed in vanilla custard.
Veracruz is the rainiest area of Mexico. The weather is perfect for coffee and mildew.
Xlapa, Veracruz’s hilly capital, has a bizarre climate of rain, sun and fog.
The term
chipichipi evokes the sound of the light but persistent drizzle that occurs between November and March. This sound is caused by the condensation of the morning fog on the tin rooftops and the palms. Generally considered to be the most grizzly type of weather, this area may hold a certain appeal to anyone visiting from Seattle or Vancouver.
A coastal area, Veracruz is known for its abundant seafood and a rich culinary history, heavily influenced by Spain.
Huachinango a la veracruzana (red snapper Veracruz-style) is found on restaurant menus all across Mexico. Veracruzana sauce is a richly-flavoured blend of onions, garlic, tomatoes, olives, capers and spices.
The Italians put it on noodles and call it
Pasta Puttanesca.
Cradled in the Sierra Madre foothills, coffee production has long been Coatepec’s
raison d'etre. The smell of coffee will hit you instantly as you step out of your minivan and inhale.
Coffee beans thrive in the
The Texolo Falls at Xico
Clothing that boasts a simple colour palette provides a classic backdrop for your travel wear shade of banana trees.
A walk through the steamy jungle will reveal an abundance of tall waterfalls, one of the true delights of this region.
Clothing that boasts a simple colour palette provides a classic backdrop for your travel wear. Greys and beiges work really well in Paris because they harmonize with the beige stone buildings, the grey zinc rooftops and the tarmac.
Few tourists venture into Veracruz. The state has been the scene of a bloody battle for control over
narcotrafico routes involving two of Mexico's most powerful gangs, the Zetas and the Gulf Cartel.
If you read the news, Veracruz may bring to mind a turf war waged by drug cartels, and a heap of mutilated bodies. Mexico would not be the centre of cartel activity it is, or be experiencing the same level of violence, were the United States not the largest consumers of recreational drugs and the main supplier of weapons to the cartels.
There should be a poster of a headless Mexican soldier hanging from a bridge on every dorm wall in America. It could read: Your Drug Money at Work.
The port of Veracruz, the pretty
El Gran Café de la Parroquia
The highlight of any visit to Veracruz City place close to where Hernan Cortez established the first Spanish colony nearly 500 years ago, is lined with cafes and a band that gamely plays to mostly empty chairs.
The highlight of any visit to Veracruz City is
El Gran Café de la Parroquia, where elderly gentlemen and refined couples sip cups of
lechero, a frothy mix of hot coffee and steamed milk.
Spoon-tapping, a
Parroquia tradition dating back to the 1890s, summons an ultra-professional waiter to your table. Simply clink a spoon against your glass and a white-jacketed server will weave his way through the tables, bearing two large kettles, one of hot coffee and the other of steaming milk. First, a measure of espresso is poured into your glass. Next, a long stream of milk is poured from on high.
Sweet buns, called
bambas, go well with
lechero.
Catemaco is a wonderfully untidy town on the shores of Lake Catemaco.
Witchcraft traditions in Catemaco go back centuries, mixing ancient indigenous beliefs, Spanish medicinal traditions and voodoo practices from West Africa. On the first Friday of every March, the local
brujos (witches) of Catemaco believe that their powers increase, cleansing their spirits
The Witching Hour
Catemaco is a wonderfully untidy town on the shores of Lake Catemaco. of the evil they are surrounded by all year. This day has become a popular fiesta day, attended by locals and tourists.
Shamanism is big business, everyday, in Catemaco. Many brujos have websites and toll-free numbers over which they sell long-distance spells.
In a darkened section of the marketplace, you can find herbs, bark and roots for medicinal purposes. There are dead bats used for love charms, and ground-up rattlesnakes, for curing illnesses. The dried tongues of certain fish are highly-prized.
The restaurants that line the shore of Lake Catemaco serve mouth-watering seafood.
Arroz a la tumbada (tumbled-up rice) was originally a fisherman’s dish, prepared by the cook who tossed the rice with the catch of the day. Nowadays, it comes to your table in a
cazuela, your own gaily-painted clay pot.
Another of the attractions of the area is
La Isla de los Changos, Monkey Island. It is populated by stump-tailed macaque monkeys that were imported for research purposes in the 70s and abandoned. More than 100 small boats compete to take tourists across the lake to view them.
The mangroves of Catemaco are home to alligators, iguanas and colourful waterfowl.
Jacana Spinosa
In Jamaica, it is called the Jesus Bird because it appears to walk on water The
Jacana Spinosa is a wader. In Jamaica, it is called the Jesus Bird because it appears to walk on water. The Jacana feeds on insects and on ovules of water lilies. The male broods the chicks, which are called
downies.
Cormorants appear to be airing out their armpits because they are the only water birds whose wings are not waterproof.
Tegogolo, a subspecies of the apple snail, is found in Lake Catemaco, and is very unique. It is the only snail that has gills and lungs like a fish. Be careful how you prepare it. Never eat the lungs or the intestines, since these will be poisonous. Eat only the foot.
Santiago de Tuxtla lies cradled in a beautiful region of rolling green hills. This part of Veracruz has been called Mexico’s Switzerland. Obviously, the people who call it that have never seen Switzerland.
In the centre of Santiago de Tuxtla, a giant Olmec head is proudly displayed. These colossal stone heads, carved from basalt, are one of the hallmarks of the Olmec culture. The others are the legendary Mesoamerican ballgame, and the macabre practices of bloodletting and human sacrifice.
As a cheerful
non-sequitor,
Salto de Eyipantla Waterfall
An abundance of tall waterfalls is one of the true delights of this region.
thirteen passengers in a minivan is way more than enough.
Fact: Wherever you go, your baggage comes with you.
Fact: A change of aggravation is like a holiday.
Fact: The most ignored item among hotel bathroom freebies is the little shoe buffer. There may be an alternate use for it, but no one seems to know what it is.
There is an inscription at the Museum of Anthropology that reads, “The Olmecs converted rain into crops, the sun into a calendar, stone into sculpture, cotton into fabrics, pilgrimage into trade, mounds into thrones, jaguars into religion, men into gods.”
There ought to be an app for that.
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Lesley "Woodenwaist" Wood
non-member comment
Adventure
How wonderful to see you are on another exciting adventure. The sun and heat must be most welcome. While you were enjoying exotic sights, sounds and food today, I was skiing in brilliant sunshine and wonderful snow. So, maybe we are all lucky. Continue to enjoy and I will think of you.