The Big Catch-up Part 1

Days in México: 267

The past couple of week ends have been crazily busy with Rotary commitments and travel so this week I am in Veracruz and am having a catch-up week for my blog and paperwork for Rotary. This will be the first of two or three catch-up posts.

On Saturday the 11th of October all the exchange students in the city went to a conference for the Centeral American Games and Rotary. We were presented one by one with our country's flag. There were so many people taking photos that we didn't know where to look! After the conference we had a group photo with the mascots of the games and then we ate breakfast.

In the conference

Photos with the mascots

Sunday the 12th, all the exchange students were invited to a pool party hosted by the Rotary club Liberdad (Liberty.) We had a great time and it was good to meet some other people that were involved in Rotary in the city.

The weekend after I went to Puebla for a trip with Rotex. Ten exchange students from my city went by bus on Friday, stayed overnight in Puebla then traveled with 90 other exchange students to Cuetzalan (about 4 hours by bus) in the morning. I Puebla I stayed in a house with four other exchange students and one Rotex (an exchange student who went on exchange last year.) The weather in Veracruz (my host city) is warmer than the other states close because it is a sea level and lots of the other cities have a higher altitude. So it was nice to have some cooler weather for a change.

Cuetzalan is in the clouds. On the way up the mountain we could see a waterfall 

The first activity for the weekend was going to a waterfall. The water was freezing so not many people went in to the water but I did because I knew that I might not the get the chance to do it again. I even swam across and climbed on the rocks behind the waterfall. It was a really great experience.

Everyone at the waterfall

I made it to the other side of the waterfall! I'm at the top in the pink bikini

In the afternoon it was raining a lot so we had free time. When the rain eased a bit I went out exploring Cuetzalan with some of my friends. It then started to rain even heavier while we out and we returned to the hotel saturated!

The exchange students walking the streets of Cuetzalan with their suitcases

The church in the centre of the city

It started raining so heavily while we were out that rivers formed in the streets

The street that the hotel was on

At night we went to the Lienzo del Charro el Potrillo which is a restaurant that puts on a show while you are eating. The performers in the show did some dancers and some other bits in traditional clothing.

On the Sunday we woke up late then went to Yohualichan, an archaeological site that has pyramids. We spent about an hour taking photos and walking around before heading back to Puebla at night. We stayed in the same houses as Friday night which made me feel comfortable.

Rotex

Flags: USA, Australia, Ecuador, Brazil, Finland, Germany, France, Taiwan, Turkey, Denmark, India and Hungary

For dinner we went out and ate tacos árabes which is a food typically eaten in Puebla. The tacos were really delicious and reminded me of Turkish kebabs but unfortunately a couple of hours later mine didn't stay in my stomach. No one else had problems with the tacos, just me.

The exchange students in the house in Puebla

Tacos arabes

The next day I caught the bus back home with the other exchange students from my city and caught up on sleep.

On the bus back to Veracruz

Ruta Independencia Part 2

Days in Mexico: 254

In the afternoon of the 27th of September after the pyramids, we went to Tepotzotlán- a small city between Teotihuacan and Mexico City. We walked around the markets in search for a sombrero shop. We didn't find a sombrero shop but we did find a group of people who were performing a pre- Espanic ritual dance to warn away bad spirits. It included lots of chanting and dancing traditional costumes.

On the way home we stopped at Fun Central which is a plaza for kids that has an ice skating rink, bowling alley, arcade games and a cinema. We started with a game of bowling and I did surprisingly well! I got a lot of strikes and came first by over 25 points! We then went to the ice rink which I haven't had much practice at. I didn't fall over but I didn't go very fast or stray far from the railings. 

For dinner we are churros rellano which are thick churros with a hole in the middle to fill with a range of syrups. I ate one filled with white chocolate and another filled with cajeta which tastes like a combination of caramel and chocolate. 

Sunday morning we left at 6am and drove to Guanajuato. On the way we drove past a couple of churches which looked really different. On of them was on the top of a very big hill and another looked like a blue and white dome with a tower on top of it. 

Tourism is the main source of income for the people who live in Guanajuato. It is a very beautiful city that I really love because you can explore and get lost but if you keep walking you easily find your way back. The city is built in between two mountains and some of the roads are tunnels. We arrived, by coincidence on a day with one of the largest celebrations of the year! It was the final day of the celebration of Mexican Independence Day so there was a massive parade through the city centre for about 4 hours! We arrived just before it started so as we explored the city we were also able to watch parts of the parade.

We went to the markets and I used my Spanish bartering skills to buy a sombrero at a very good price! There were lots of stalls with lots of beautiful colourful things. I bought a couple of souvenirs and presents while I was there.

We visited a some beautiful building like the Universidad de Guanajuato (the university) which has an amazing view at the top! We also walked past a church, gardens and more of the parade.

View from the top

Military in the parade

We worked our way to the teleférico which is a lift that goes up the hill. At the top of the hill was the Museo de leyendas (museum of legends) which was a visual explanation of some of the legends in the city.

In the teleférico

A legend in Guadajuato about the 'Callejón del Beso' 

At the top of the hill is the Pípila as well as an amazing view of the city below. The Pípila is a statue of Juan José de los Reyes Martínez Amaro, who was a significant figure in the Mexican War of Independence at the beginning of the 19th century.

El Pípila

We took the teleférico back down and on our way we walked past the theatre and outside there was a mime who gained a large crowd including a lot of tourists and kept them entertained for over half an hour. We sat down and watch and that's when I realised that he was acting in a way that everyone found funny even though not everyone spoke the same language. He did a really great job.  

We then continued walking and came to the Callejón de Beso. The alley has two balconies that almost touch and a legend that goes with it. The legend is that the daughter of a rich man lived in the house on the left. When he discovered his daughter with the man she loved (who was from a different class in society) he locked he in her room. The young man spent almost all he earned to rent the house with the balcony that nearly touched hers so they could spend time together. One day the father discovered them kissing so he went up to the girl's room and stabbed her to death in front of her lover. He then gave her a final kiss and later on committed suicide.

It is now a major tourist attraction and lovers kiss under the balcony on the third step for good luck. I was just with my family so a couple of people volunteered to kiss me when they saw that I wasn't with a guy. I declined.

The balconies 

After, we visited the Museo de las Momias de Guadajuato (museum of mummies.) The mummies were dead for at least 50 years before being uncovered in the mid 19th century. The bodies were in overground graves so they decayed naturally but the skin stayed and mummified the bodies. They are displayed almost exactly as they were found, some even with clothes and hair. The exhibition also has the smallest mummy in the world which was only 6 months when it was born prematurely. It is displayed next to it's mother who died at the same time.  

A mummy with the hair and clothes that she died with

The skin of the mummies has shriveled up around their bones with Roberto impersonating them

The world's smallest mummy  

We arrived back at the hotel and had a quick rest before dinner. The hotel was really interesting so I took photos. 

While we were eating dinner, a man came up and told us about a performance and talking tour that was happening later on at night. It sounded good so we went and had a good time. They were a group from the university and started off by playing some music. They had some really good tambourine playing skills! We then walked around the city as they said told us some of the legends about love and we ended in the Callerjón del Beso (alley of the kiss.)

On the Monday we left the city and traveled to San Miguel. It was raining lightly but we ate ice cream regardless. The buildings in the streets are coloured in different warm shades of red, oragnge and yellow which was nice to walk down on a slightly cold day. The main church in the city is very beautiful but it was hard to get a good photo because there were a lot of people trying to do the same thing as me.

After some shopping, we hit the road again and the next stop was Pechuca. There isn't much in Pechuca but there was one an 'El Globo' which makes the best bread in Mexico. Pechuca is known for making pasties and there are a lot of pastie shops in the city! So while we were there we ate some pasties.


We returned to Veracruz late at night after an amazing trip. The weekend after though, I went to a swimming pool on Saturday morning and I think I might have accidentally swallowed some water because by Saturday afternoon I was really sick. I had bad stomach pains and hardly ate anything for 4 days. I went to the doctor and got treated for a stomach infection so I rested and was fine by the Thursday.