Mexico City to Veracruz

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The wake-up call came at 5:30 this morning for a drive to Veracruz. We caught a local bus to go to one of the beaches - which was scarey because we didn´t know where to get off, and nobody speaks English here. My Spanish is not enough to understand their answers - even if they understand my questions. We finally find a beach. Not the one we were looking for, but close enough. The wind and surf is high, and the red flags are out - no swimming! Oh well, we buy some fresh shrimp out of a bucket from a guy on the beach - we misunderstood the amount and didn´t have enough money. We had about one tenth of what he wanted. He took what we had and gave us some anyway. A couple of handfuls in a paper napkin with hot sauce and lime. We had to work really hard to get the heads and shells off, but they were good. Tonight we saw some fantastic dancing at the main square that takes place every weekend, and is free for everyone. The vendors get really agressive though.

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Photos

Stukes of hay
Most farm work is done by hand

Hovels
Living condiitons are awful for many poor

Abandoned hacienda
The spanish haciendas with their lands (ranches) were taken away from the spanish and given to the workers. This is one of the abandoned buildings

Crumbling buildings in Veracruz
This is the real face of Mexico - common in all the cities we have seen here