Veracruz and Mexican food

Last weekend I went to Veracruz, which was absolutely beautiful and relaxing. Since there is apparently only one hostel in the city and because it has the absolute worst reviews of any hostel that I’ve ever read, I couldn’t bring myself to stay there. So I looked for deals on Expedia, and found a 3-star hotel for $67/night. I decided what the hell, so I booked it. Friday afternoon (the archives closed at 1pm so I didn’t feel at all guilty), I went to the bus station and bought a ticket for the next bus to Veracruz. Unfortunately, it didn’t leave until 4:30. It was only 1:30, so I spent 2 hours putzing around, drinking café, reading my novel. Then I went to the sala de espera. It turns out, though, that I was in the wrong waiting room – despite the fact that there was a sign for the bus company that I was traveling with there. After I was informed this by a driver of another company, I hauled ass across the bus station, only to just miss my bus. A lengthy exchange with a bus company manager resulted in my getting booked on the next bus (6:30 ugh!) for 50% of the ticket price. Due to these circumstances and bad weather and bad traffic, I didn’t get to my hotel in Veracruz until around 11pm. I decided to call it a night and start fresh the next day.

My friend Amber, who I met in Puebla at the hostel, and I had pre-arranged to meet the next morning for breakfast at a café called Samborcito (this is apparently a name that mocks the Mexican department store Sanborn’s). We both arrived at the scheduled time and had an absolutely delicious brunch of omelettes, muffins, papaya, a gorda negra (which is a type of Indian bread with black bean paste), coffee, glorious coffee, and veggies. Since I hadn’t had dinner the night before, I was ready to tuck in. After brunch, we went to the Aquarium, and then hopped on a bus to one of the “real” beaches further up the coast. We spent a fair amount of the day just walking on the beach, alternating that with sitting on the beach and drinking Mexican beer. We also had the experience of the Michelada, which is essentially beer mixed with lemonade and hot spices – refreshing upon first contact with the tongue but will burn the hell out of you on the way down. If you’re really thirsty, this is not what I recommend to quench your thirst. We ended the day at the Zocalo, had dinner there, and sat outside drinking, people watching, and chatting. The next day was more of the same, minus ending up at the Zocalo. I took a luxury bus back to Puebla in the afternoon, and got back feeling relaxed and refreshed – if a bit sunburnt.

This week has been good, if pretty quiet. The hostel is currently filled with annoying French couples. Even so, I have to admit that I really don’t want to go back to Mexico City tomorrow. I’ve really enjoyed being in Puebla with its paradoxical bustling tranquility. Research has gone well. I’ve met some great people here. I don’t get harassed too many times a day just because I’m a gringa and I’m traveling more or less on my own. I’ve eaten so well – so much cheese and mole poblano and salsa verde.