Chile en Nogado in Puebla

---

An early walk took me to the bus station before my five hour bus journey to Puebla. I had a window seat fortunately so had a great view of Oaxaca as we climbed the surrounding hills towards Puebla. For the remainder of the trip I was fortunate to be able to take in the mountain views and see the desert nature, birds, eagles and cacti. There were valleys full with forests of cacti as far as you could see, with the road running through the mountains. I was happy that the roads were good, as it meant the journey to Puebla would be fairly quick. We arrived in Puebla around 2pm. There was a large volcano acting as a backdrop to the city, although it wasn’t clearly visible due to smog and pollution, which was unfortunate.
I took a taxi to my hostel and met a very nice son and his mother who were running the hostel/hotel.
I had agreed to meet Martha and Ivan in the evening for dinner, so in the afternoon I went for a short walk around Puebla and the shopping areas. I visited a local cake shop and ate small ham croissant and cake as an afternoon snack, as I hadn’t eaten since breakfast. The centre of Puebla had beautiful colourful architecture and had older style street lamps for the evening light.
At 7.30pm I waited outside the cathedral in Puebla’s zocalo to meet Martha. She greeted me with Ivan waiting in his car with their friend who they were taking to the suburbs of Puebla. Ivan explained that his mum had been cooking a traditional Puebla dish and so invited me back to his parents house for dinner instead of going out. We arrived in a really nice area of Puebla and entered a huge house with a marble staircase and tall ceilings. Ivan’s mum cooked chile en nogado which was like a filled chili pepper with fruit and a sweet creamy sauce. It was delicious, and the whole family sat down to eat. We stayed there talking until around 9.30pm with Ivan’s parents offering many recommendations about things to do and see for when I would visit Mexico City. They offered many great suggestions for things to do and see, including a traditional dance performance which was something I really wanted to see while in Mexico. Ivan and Martha drove back to the zocalo and before dropping me off we visited one of the Government buildings in the centre of the city with a tour guide offering a tour of the building. Shortly afterwards I returned to the hostel to sleep before another full day in Puebla.

---

Photos

0EE99B30-8EF7-4478-8111-67EBA7E151C2.
Puebla, the city of progress

E903F304-7084-4D8D-AB15-8FDE88F9F3FD.
Cathedral in Puebla

E3946ABF-07C0-4737-96E5-926ACB737AAA.
Inside the Government building