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.

Semana Santa part 1: Puebla/Cholula

Last week was our spring break, also known as Semana Santa (Holy Week) because HOLY MOLY it feels good to have a week-long vacation.  Just kidding, it's because of Easter.  Luckily for me, Colorado high schools have spring break the same week, so my lovely sister Rita and my wonderful mommy came to Mexico to visit for the week.  Unfortunately, although it was 80 degrees and sunny here, it was blizzarding in Denver on the day they left.  But after a long delay and little sleep, they arrived safe and sound in Mexico City a day later than planned.  They took the bus to Puebla, got connected with Jake and a taxi, and made it to my house, only to be whisked off for a cookout at Arcelia's mom's house.

YAY!

We all stuffed ourselves with yummy food, relaxed, had a beer, and soaked up the wonderful Mexican sunshine.  We also ate birthday cake, which I must say, was one of my better creations.  Jake and I translated and we ended up being able to communicate pretty well.  After lingering over cake and coffee, we cleaned up and headed back.  We checked Mom and Rita into their hotel (Posada Senorial, good value and location) and then walked around the UDLAP campus so Mom and Rita could stretch out their airplane legs.       The next morning I met them at their hotel for their desperately needed run.  I suggested running up the pyramid then to the garden for breakfast, which, from my sister's sad puppy eyes, was not enough to compensate for not exercising in 2 whole days.  While I huffed and puffed and blew my lungs out, my chipper sister ran up and down the pyramid THREE TIMES. The only thing that kept me alive was knowing that food was coming soon.  The garden was beautiful as always and we reminisced about my great aunt Peg's magical gardens while chowing down on yummy food.

My host mom Arcelia met us and Jake at the hotel to take us on a tour of some things in Puebla and Cholula that I had never seen before.  First up: Tonantzintla, a beautiful church a few minutes away from downtown Cholula.  It's famous for the thousands of indigenous children's faces carved into the interior of the church, which is also beautifully decorated.

Exterior

Interior

From there we went to see the world's smallest volcano, located right here in Puebla! When Arcelia told me we were going to see the world's smallest volcano, I kind of pictured an ant hill with a sign next to it.  The real deal was equally funny.

According to the sign, the volcano is called Cuexcomate, which is Nahuatl for "crock pot."  I love bad translations.  Despite Arcelia's wheedling with a security guard, we couldn't go inside because it's under renovation. We headed into downtown Cholula where we walked around, tried chapulines for the first time (crickets roasted with chile and lemon...they taste like chile and lemon), and went out to lunch where Mom and Rita tried mole poblano for the first time.  Good thing I had Pepto Bismol...Mom's stomach is not used to changing her usual diet of coffee and peanut butter to something so foreign as mole poblano.

The next day we had a really great day in Puebla.  For my birthday, Jessie and Eric surprised me with a cooking class, which we got to all do together in a beautiful hotel/restaurant Mesones Sacristía.  We even had a translator.  We learned the art of salsa rojo and verde, mole poblano, chalupas, and habiscus juice, all in a beautiful kitchen decorated with talavera tiles.

It was definitely one of the highlights of the trip.  Our instructors were great and very patient, and the finished products were delicious! The mole recipe we used wasn't as complicated as I anticipated, although it did involve blending up burnt tortillas with the other ingredients (chiles, tomatoes, onion, plantain, and chocolate).  I think if I made it again, I would leave out the burnt tortillas; they made it a little bitter.

The restaurant used glasses that I have seen a few times before in Mexico: thick handblown glass with a colorful rim.  The factory ended up being just a few blocks away, in a really gorgeous area with lots of colorful colonial houses.  We continued our lap of the downtown by going through the Gardens of San Francisco, walking through El Parian (the artisan market), down the Calle de los Dulces, and into the zocalo.  When we went into the cathedral we got a wonderful surprise: a group of classical singers were practicing for a performance.  They were excellent and the acoustics were amazing, so we sat around and watched them for a while.
We met up with my host family at a Spanish restaurant Eric had recommended for a yummy meal and a nice chat.  Honestly, it's nice to have not Mexican food every once in a while.

It was great to show Mom and Rita where I've been living these past three months and get to explore more of the area.  Up next, a real exploration: in Cuetzalan!

Vacation from our Vacation: Weekend in Puerto Escondido!

Thank you Benito Juárez.
Thanks for being born on March 21st, thus giving us a Monday day off the same weekend as my birthday.
We made good use of our long weekend.

For those that don't know, he was the president of Mexico during and after the French occupation .

So, I really can't take any credit for this weekend. I did absolutely none of the planning. And it was awesome.  Thanks Noah and Louis!  So a few weeks before our long weekend, our friend Noah brought up the idea of going to a beach in Oaxaca for a few days.  The beaches there are known to be the best in Mexico and less touristy than places like Puerto Vallarta, Cancún, and south of Veracruz.  Jake and I were up for it, and continued to just tag along as plans evolved.  Bus tickets were pretty expensive, so we ended up renting a car.  Jake and I were a bit nervous about driving in Mexico, especially a looong drive through the mountains on crappy roads at night in Mexico.  Luckily, we had no problems whatsoever.  We left late on Thursday night, drove through the night, and arrived in Puerto Escondido in the early afternoon.  We ended up going on the route the government website suggests (for anyone considering driving in Mexico, this site is very helpful: http://aplicaciones4.sct.gob.mx/sibuac_internet/ControllerUI?action=cmdEscogeRuta) which takes you on a toll highway towards Acapulco, then cuts down a free highway to Puerto Escondido.  This picture sums up our experience on the free highway:

See that barely visible line across the road? Yeah, that's a tope.  Speed bump. On a highway.  With very little in the way of warning.  So, for the 8 hours we were on this road, we would be driving through beautiful little towns, winding our way up mountains, cruising through fruit farms, and all of a sudden, screeeechhhh "Tope!!" THUNK. "Sorry, guys." That, plus being a bit sleep deprived, made our drive even more of an adventure.  But, after 13 hours of driving, we made it. And it was gorgeous.

We found lodging (I recommend Hotel Las Olas on Playa Zicatela, 300 pesos a night for a room with a double bed, single, sink, fridge, and bathroom), ate some food right on the beach, had a beer, went to the supermarket for some fruit, and walked around the town.  We planned on going out again at night, but Jake and I accidentally fell asleep at 7 and didn't wake up until the next morning.  Ah well.  We ate breakfast of my homemade bagels and fruit, then decided to take a short trip to Mazunte, a beach 40 minutes away that was better for swimming.  It was also very gorgeous.

Happy birthday to me!

  We swam and sunbathed (sunburned), then Noah once again handled the planning and found a guy to take us on a boat tour to see sea turtles, dolphins, and snorkel.  We saw tortugas! And more whales! And we snorkeled.  I don't have many pictures because the boat was small and I was scared of my camera getting wet.  But we have proof of the turtles!

No turtles were harmed in the making of this picture.  She was pretty annoyed though.

We drove back to Puerto Escondido, had some fish tacos and wine, and walked around the beach.  Gotta say, pretty awesome birthday.
The next morning I was ready to just do absolutely nothing and just sit on my butt at the beach all day, but Noah pulled out all the stops and planned yet another trip.  I'm glad we did it.  We drove about an hour up the highway, then pulled off and drove for another 20 minutes, arrived at Chacahua National Park, took a boat across a mangrove lagoon, and arrived at one of the most beautiful places in the world.

Driving through the mangrove tunnels.

Chacahua!

Once again, found very good lodging for 300 pesos a night, right on the beach.  Jake and I played in the surf for the afternoon while Noah and Louis went to go snorkeling again.  The waves are beautiful: the beach is in a little cove with a breakwall on the side, but the current and surf is still pretty strong, with large waves that break out by the breakwall, and smaller waves that break close to shore and are safe to play in.  I must say, Jake and I are pretty awesome body surfers.  The real surfers were also very good, and made it look soooo easy.  After a few hours of fun, we were ready to EAT! I know, it's amazing, I've barely mentioned food in this post.  There's a bunch of little restaurants all along the beach under palapas (the palm roofs), which serve fresh seafood, cocos, and traditional Mexican fare.  We all took advantage of the fresh seafood: ceviche, shellfish stuffed fish, shrimp pasta, and roasted fish, plus cocos. Yum.

As we were digesting, our waiter came up to us and asked us if we wanted to see the phosphorescence in the lagoon that night.  That one was an obvious yes, so we waited around until dark playing cards and snacking on candy.  Around 11 we ventured out in our waiter Manuel's canoe, and sure enough, when you disturbed the water you could see the little phosphorescent plankton floating around!  He took us to a dark place to swim so we could see them better, which was really an amazing experience.  The next day I was determined to try surfing; I made it about half an hour and then got too frustrated and worried because I couldn't see Jake: he was worrying the same thing.  We decided to ditch the boards and just swim, which was more fun anyway.  Unfortunately, we had to leave, and by 3 we were back on the road.  We'll be back, Oaxaca!
Now we're ready for our next vacation :)

Futbol, Pulque, and Baking

I really don't understand how I get so far behind in my blogging duties.  I tell myself I'll do it tomorrow, and apparently this goes on for two weeks, until finally I have no choice but to sit down and write some blog posts.  Sooo, two weeks ago I had a busy weekend.  On Friday, Jake, Arcelia, Dany, and I went to see the semi-finals of the under 20 tournament in the very fancy big stadium in Puebla.  The tickets for the whole tournament were free, so I actually got to see two games! A few days earlier, my friend Katelyn and I went to see the U.S. play Canada, in which the U.S. politely kicked Canada's bum.  Unfortunately, the first time I went was very spontaneous so I did not have my camera on me, and on Friday I remembered my camera, but was told it was not allowed.  So, sadly, I have no pictures, except the ones on my phone which are trapped there until I get back to the States.  

Futbol (soccer) in Mexico is quite different from any other sporting events in the U.S that I have witnessed.  Mexicans are crazy.  They joyfully scream PUTO (I won't translate that one) whenever the goalie of the not Mexican team kicks the ball, constantly yell and blow the zuzusuela thingies, and barely notice the hundreds of people walking around selling potato chips from giant baskets they carry on their heads.  There are also hundreds of people selling cemitas, the famous sandwich of Puebla, which are delicious.  And people with pastries. And beer.  As you can see, I went less for the soccer, and more for the food.  Well, the U.S. won against Cuba, and Mexico won against El Salvador, although we didn't see the goals they scored because after half time we left.  It was COLD (like 50s), and it started raining soon after we left.  Overall, good life choices.

On Saturday my family and I went to a family friend's birthday party.  Mexicans are much more creative in regards to their birthday song.  I counted, and our Birthday Song has 6 words.  Their's is an actual song called Mananitas. It's a bit long, so I feel like I would get a bit antsy as the birthday girl.

This, but times 12.

On Sunday, Jake, a few friends, and I went to Ozolco for the Pulque Fair! Pulque is an alcohol made from distilling juice from the maguey plant, which is a type of agave.  I think it's delicious despite its weird smell, but Jake maintains that it tastes like rotten melon.  Ah well, to each his own.

It's really good when mixed with fresh mango pulp.

Probably my favorite story to tell from this adventure is how we got there.  We found a "combi" aka a gutted 12 person van in Cholula that goes to Ozolco.  When we got there, we wondered if we should wait because there were only a few spots left on the benches.  We decided to just go for it, and Katelyn had to sit on our laps.  During the 1 hour ride through Cholula and into the mountains, more and more people kept getting on the bus.  Every time I thought, "no way, they're not going to fit."  Every time, they somehow did.  At one point, there were at least 37 people on this one tiny bus.  It was insane.  Getting out was like something out of Cirque de Soleil.  

Dancers at the fair.  It was packed!

The other highlight of the day was running into the director of Slow Food Cholula, who Katelyn knows, and who invited us to come to a food workshop and tasting.  We naturally accepted.  During the 7 course tasting, we got to try many different traditional foods of the area, including trout, nopales, some mushroom I forget the name of, roasted squash with sugar, and the best mole poblano I have ever had.  

Aubri, Katelyn, and Jeheily. Popo is in the background, smoking away

We also got to see some guys doing some cool indigenous dance thingy. That's the official name of it.

We hung around for a bit more and then headed back to Cholula, this time on a much more comfortable bus.  

This weekend I didn't do much of anything, although Jake and I did do some baking.  I have been spending way too much time reading food blogs and drooling quietly to myself in my room, so after spying some over ripe bananas on the counter, I decided to make banana bread.  At the grocery store, I noticed some herb bread that looked delicious, so I decided to make that too.  A few hours later, I had made delicious (if I do say so myself) garlic herb bread and chocolate chip banana bread.  My family loved them, especially the banana bread.  It was gone by the next morning.  I made a half a loaf last night just for fun, and somehow it all got eaten between 8 pm and 8am the next morning, even though only one person ate dinner after 8, and only my parents were up before me.  Well, I now know how to woo Mexicans. I don't think they understand how delicious butter is.  Their baked goods are just not as good as ours.

Maybe in two weeks you'll find out what I did this week! Just kidding, I will try to post more often.

Week With My Parents, Part 3: Sayulita!

Last Wednesday, we rose early to catch a bus to Mexico city.  By 11:30 am, we were on a flight to Puerto Vallarta to begin our half-week of relaxation.  When we arrived in Puerto Vallarta, a taxi was waiting to bring us to the resort.  The drive from Puerto Vallarta to Sayulita was reminiscent of driving across Costa Rica; it was terrifying.  Fortunately, we made it to Playa Escondida without any mishaps.  The resort is absolutely beautiful. My parents insisted on letting us have the room directly on the beach which was awesome.

The front porch/view from our room.

We could wake up looking out on the beach and the ocean and fall asleep listening to the waves crash. To be honest, the waves were a bit too loud to be a peaceful lullaby, but it was nice nonetheless. The first afternoon and night, we just relaxed at the hotel since we'd already spent some 8 hours of traveling. The people at the hotel are extremely outgoing and friendly, especially Jorge the bartender who helped us organize a whale watching trip to the Marieta Islands.  On Thursday we took a trip into town to check out the beach there and see all the little shops and restaurants.  Sam, my mom, and I walked to town on the beach and through some jungley trails but my dad took a taxi as his ankle would not allow him to scramble over the rocky parts of the beach.

Sayulita from afar.

We met up in the zocalo of Sayulita. Sayulita is very small and very touristy, but very pretty.  It is even smaller than we imagined as there are only three main streets with restaurants and shops.  So, we managed to see the entire town and spend a little while on the beach all within 3 or so hours of arriving in Sayulita. Our plan had originally been to stay in town for dinner, but it was only 4 when we had run out of things to see, so we headed back to the resort for dinner and swimming.  Don't get me wrong, there is plenty to do in Sayulita, just not for free. There is the beach which could occupy most for at least a couple days, surfing lessons, paddle board rentals, whale watching tours, fishing charters, restaurants, shops, etc. On Friday we were set to go on our whale watching tour when we witnessed a showdown between the owner of the tour company and the local taxi company which monopolizes transport in and out of Sayulita. The owner wanted to transport all of the people on the tour in a big truck/bus he owns, but the taxi drivers refused to let him in mafiaesque style.

He eventually conceded and got us all taxis down to the marina in Puerto Vallarta.  The tour itself was a blast.  We were on the boat from about 11am to 6 or 7pm and it was everything Jorge had promised: open bar, breakfast, snacks, lunch, whales breaching, Marieta Island, and very amiable staff.

Yes, this actually happened several times.

Was I not so prone to motion sickness it would have been a perfect day.  Regardless of my seasickness everyone in the family had a great experience with the ChiccaLocca tour.  Leaving Sayulita on Saturday morning was a bit depressing, but we had an easy flight back to Mexico City.  We said goodbye to my parents in the airport and hopped on a bus back to Puebla.  I had a great time showing my parents the beauty of Mexico and I'm sure they did too.

Tour of the Talavera Factory

On Tuesday of last week, I had run out of ideas for things to show my parents in the Puebla-Cholula area.  Luckily, my mother is a resourceful and independent woman and had come prepared for just such an incident. Upon arriving at their hotel room, she announced that they were interested in touring a talavera factory in Puebla.  Talavera is the most traditional of the Poblano artisanal crafts - an extremely durable (or so they say) type of pottery that is traditionally painted blue and white, though it may come in any variety of colors.  The specific shop that she found online is called Uriarte Talavera.  For anyone in the Puebla area, I would strongly recommend taking a tour as it is very interesting, cheap, and only takes about thirty minutes.  On the other hand, I would strongly recommend against purchasing talavera from this story. While it appeared to be extremely high quality, the prices were literally about 5 to 10 times what they are in other places.  The woman working at the desk told me that the cost of a tour is 50 pesos, but that noone there speaks english, so they wouldn't be able to help my parents.  I offered to translate, so she admitted me for free.  The tour is spontaneous and informal which, for me, made it even better -no group, no prepared speech.

The process of creating talavera is extremely intricate and takes about 1 to 2 months for each peace from start to finish. I don't think it would take that long if you were only making one piece at a time.  Every part of the process is completed by hand.  They start out by mixing the clay with water until they get the consistency they like; this usually takes a couple weeks.

Then the pieces are either hand formed, spun on a pottery wheel, or, if they are massive, pressed into molds.  After the piece has been allowed to dry for one to two days, they put it in an oven for 12 hours at 800 degrees Celsius (1,472 F).

Next, some other workers work on mixing the traditional plant based chemicals until they get the color they want.  Then some workers use stencils to draw on the designs with charcoal. This way, the ladies who paint the pieces will have guidelines to work with.  Every piece is painted by hand by a few ladies sitting in a back room of the factory.  After the glaze has dried for another day of two, it goes into top secret super ovens that we weren't allowed to photograph. This oven burns at 1200 C (2192 F) for another 24 hours.... I think.  After our tour of the factory we just walked around Puebla for a while and returned to the hotel to prepare for our trip. To be continued....

Week With My Parents, Day 2: Cholula

As you know, last week my parents arrived in Puebla for a week long visit in Mexico. Day 1 was Puebla.  On day two I decided to have my parents come to Cholula to see the university and our little pueblo mágico.  In the morning we had a nice time touring the school which I think they thought was beautiful (I can't imagine they didn't).

 After that the four of us walked all the way up to the pyramid which is about a thirty minute walk from campus.  Sam and I had never actually gone inside the pyramid so we thought that would be a fun thing for all of us to do together. The tunnels beneath the pyramid were cool, but the architecture inside isn't all that elaborate so I was happy it's only about a ten or fifteen minute activity.

After that Sam and I showed my mom up to the top of the pyramid and the Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios.  The walk is extremely steep and, at that altitude, Dad decided to skip it. While atop the pyramid, Sam and I spied a cultural center nearby that we wanted to check out.

Unfortunately, when we got there they wouldn't let us in even though there were lots of people inside already (No Gringos Allowed!). Since we were dismissed from the culture center, we headed over to the quesadilla ladies to grab some lunch.  I think my parents may have been a bit afraid of the street fair, but Sam and I have eaten there before and it is nothing but clean and delicious.  Following lunch, we trekked even farther away from campus to see the zocalo in San Andres Cholula.  Up there we took a look at the traditional market place and stopped in the center to relax for a bit.  At the end of the day, we returned to Puebla for some more tacos and called it a night.