Cuetzalan

Ok pretend the date of this post is from 2 weeks ago, right when we got back from Cuetzalan, and not now, after weeks of sitting on my butt not writing blog posts.
So.
On Wednesday we left Puebla for the mountain town of Cuetzalan (pronounced kweh-tzah-lahn).  We ended up taking the longer route due to the other one being full.   It actually was pretty fun; the bus stopped in more towns, but we got to see more of the area and the people as they came in and off the bus.  As we went into the mountains we approached what looked like a cloud of smoke from a fire.  When we entered it we realized it was actually dense fog that abruptly ended once you left the valley.  Although I always find it cool to be in a cloud, it made the windy bus ride much more harrowing.  But, after about a 4 and a half hour bus ride, we made it, took a taxi to our hotel (La Casa de Piedra), and prepared to explore this little town.

We did not plan this.

Cuetzalan is beautiful, made up of windy, thin cobblestone streets with romantic little alleyways, spreading across the side of a STEEP hillside.  This town will work your calves like no other.  Walking from the bottom to the top is equivalent to 30 minutes on the Stairmaster.

The next day, we broke our fast on fresh mangos, coffee, avocados, and bread.  Yum!

We hired one of the dozens of young boys who wander around town with binders and pictures of the sights to take us on a tour of a cavern and the nearby waterfalls.  Armando was great, very knowledgeable and helpful.  First up: the cavern.  Mom was very adamant that she was NOT going to go to the caves (Cuetzalan has extensive cave systems) but was coaxed into this very large cavern by Rita and me.  It looked like part of the fire swamp in the Princess Bride.  I was ready for a ROUS to come attack me. It's name, Gruta del Chivostoc, or Cave of the Devil, didn't help with that image.  Luckily, no such things happened, and we made it out alive and proud.

Save me, Wesley!

Next up: waterfalls! We were very glad we had a guide because although there are signs at the entrances to the trails, there are no signs along the trails to the waterfalls.  With the help of Armando, we made it to all 3 waterfalls that day.  It was a pretty tough hike even taking the "long, easier way" rather than the "climb up a vertical mud cliff using tree roots way", but the views were worth it.  It was too cold for us to even think about swimming, but plenty of people were happily getting soaked.

Waterfall #1: Las Brisas

Waterfall #2 (top of Las Brisas): cool little pothole thing on the right side of the  photo.

15 minutes later, we arrived at waterfall #3: El Salto (the Jump)

 The landscapes were absolutely breathtaking: very luscious and green, so crazy that we were only a few hours from hot, dry Puebla!  Most of the forests we were in were mesophytic, which results in both pine trees, temperate trees, and tropical plants.  Very beautiful!

Another very steep downhill. Luckily it was paved, not mud.

When we got back to Cuetzalan we were ready for some food and rest.  We got lunch at Armando's sister and mother's cocinita for a yummy comida corrida: a fixed meal including juice, tortillas, soup, rice, a main dish, and sometimes dessert.  Mom and I both got chicken in a peanut sauce, which was probably the best thing we ate all week.  I've never had anything like it in Mexico, in fact, I haven't had anything peanut-y (except for peanut butter, which I bought after craving it for months.  My family laughs at me because I put it on "everything"--bananas, apples, crackers, toast, sandwiches...all the normal stuff for us!).  We walked over to the zocalo to catch a performance of the voladores, this time on an actual tree trunk pole, which swayed in the wind and made my butt tingle.

See how there's 2 guys on one of the ropes? Yeah, he wasn't tied in. And he was playing a pipe and drum at the same time.

According to Armando, they retain the original tradition of the dance of the flyers here in Cuetzalan.  Once a year, they go into the forest, chop down a tree, dig a hole (now with tractors and cranes, rather than by hand), put a live turkey, chiles, salt, tortillas, and seeds in the hole, and then squish it all with the new pole.  This is a sacrifice that will bring a good harvest and ensure the safety of the dancers.  I'm sorry for the turkey, but we were all happy to hear they change the pole once a year.

We wandered around the town a bit more, going through the market and some shops. Cuetzalan has a fairly large indigenous population, so there are lots of vendors of artisan crafts and such.  They are very forward and come up to you on the street or in restaurants, asking you to buy whatever they are selling.  They are persistent, and unfortunately will not be deterred with a simple, "no, gracias."  We wondered how they made any money from the little souvenirs that they were shoving in people's faces; as tourists, we automatically declined everything, but I guess Mexicans are accustomed to it, so they actually buy things.  

The next day, we decided to see the archaeological site nearby: Yohualichan.  It is a Totanaca site, similar to el Tajin in Veracruz, that is made up of several temples, pyramids, and includes a ball court.  

I remember hearing about this ball game before, but I never learned the more grisly details.  Apparently this game was played once a month, and consisted of two teams of two players, who tried to bump a 2-3 kilo stone ball through a hole in the wall only using their hips.  Ouch!  As if that doesn't sound painful enough, the losers were made into slaves, while the captain of the winning team was sacrificed to the gods.  Sooo pretty much only a 1 in 4 chance of getting out ok.  It was still early, so after I bought some of the much desired pepper (my host mom insisted I buy lots of it for her) we hiked to another waterfall, The Heart of the Forest, which Armando said was the most beautiful.

I've never been to England, but I feel like this is what it would look like, but with sheep.

Coffee! You can eat the red part, peel the membrane, and get coffee beans!

The forest was absolutely beautiful.

Armando was right, this is the most beautiful.

And you can walk behind it!! Like in all the movies!

We all agreed that it was by far the most beautiful waterfall we had seen, and we were glad to have made the extra trip.  Like the other days, we went back to the hotel, showered, walked around the town a bit, and got dinner.  If in Cuetzalan, I recommend you get mushroom things: soup, crepes, or quesadillas; they are the specialty.  Stuffed and sleepy, we went back to play some cards before going to bed.
The next day we parted ways; Mom and Rita took the bus to Mexico City, while Jake and I went back to Puebla.  We were sad to leave, but knowing that it would only be a month until we were back made it a bit easier.