Thursday, August 28, 2008

Veracruz, Mexico

From Puebla I took a bus to Veracruz and enjoyed the landscape winding down from the central highlands to the coastal plane wrapping around the Gulf of Mexico. Once in Veracruz what wasn't so pleasant was the oppressive heat and humidity that soaked the city. Coming from Tucson, Arizona, and generally preferring the heat to the cold, it was something else. My first night I stayed with a nice family just south of Veracruz and by the time I reached their house I was a soaking mess. The next night I stayed in the heart of Veracruz and gladly paid extra for a room with air conditioning.















A lot of my time in Veracruz was spent walking the streets seeing the city as well as taking care of some errands. Mexico is preparing for their independence day so there were plenty of Patriotic kiosks and reminders of the coming holiday. By the time I took care of everything I wanted to do I had gotten a good and sweaty feel for the city.





















Veracruz has a storied history as a port city and still shows off it maritime roots. While a couple other cities around the Gulf of Mexico have surpassed Veracruz in shipping volume Veracruz still has it share of transient cargo and sailors. I had the unique experience of getting to know that part of Veracruz on my last night.




















The heartbeat of Veracruz emanates from its central park or “Zocalo” as most central parks are called in Mexico. As the day winds down and the city cools off the Zocalo comes alive. On one side of the park in front of the government offices there was a large temporary stage and seating area set up both of my nights in Veracruz, the quietest nights of the week Monday and Tuesday. On another side of the park, as it is in most central parks in Mexico, was the Cathedral. On the opposite side of the Zocalo from the cathedral was an open walkway of arches occupied by various restaurants with seating below the arches and out into the street. Along the table lined street there were Marimba bands set up, cigar and jewelry vendors, and even a tightrope-walking clown. I spent the first part of one night having a couple of beers and enjoying a cigar and the Marimba bands in front of me with the rest of the park activity going on in the background.















One night the public event set up in front of the government offices was some sort of dance competition/exhibition with a live Marimba band helping the dancers to keep in step. I didn't ask about the details, but it was such a great site. There were plenty of people out and enjoying the free show, the dancers were great, and the park was buzzing with energy.
















The last night I stayed in Veracruz was quite an experience. I don't have any photos that represent it, but it's worth describing in words. Veracruz is a large port city that attracts a mixed group of visitors. There are plenty of, mostly Mexican, tourists and beach goers, then there are the other transient visitors – sailors and deck hands of cargo ships that come to port, an unrefined but lively bunch.

Greater than seeing any impressive cathedral or ancient ruin, the best part of my trip is stepping into peoples unique lives for moments at a time. I have no intentions of ever being a sailor, but it was great fun having a glimpse into their lives. I stumbled upon this experience by staying at the cheapest hotel I could find near the Zocolo and water front that had an air conditioner – which I praised and plastered myself against every time I walked in the room. I paid $20 for the sparse room and apparently many of the sailors coming to port did the same. Next to the hotel was a hole-in-the-wall bar where I was invited in by the bar manager early in the night. I asked for a rain check and came back after spending some time on the Zocolo.

I was a little suspect of the place after I stepped inside but it was already late and I didn't have anything better to do so I went along with it. Soon I was being given shots by both the bar manager and an older Japanese sailor at the bar who transported cars from Germany to the Americas. He couldn't speak an intelligible sentence in English or Spanish but through a few words, hand gestures, pictures, and several flaming shots of tequila I got the idea. He was happy to have another foreigner at the bar, and the bar staff was happy to talk with a foreigner that could speak Spanish. The Japanese guy was hammered and accompanied by a prostitute who made sure he could stumble out of the bar. They couldn't communicate a word and he was about to pass out, but soon they made it out of the bar together.

As I was at the bar a tall Russian sailor started to talk to me in broken English. He kept putting his hand on my shoulder and leaning in to me. It was a strange, rambling conversation but there wasn't a whole lot going on at the bar so I sat down with him and his shipmates. He was the Captain, another guy from Ukraine was second in command and there were two other deck hands that were Mexican. The guys from Russia and Ukraine could speak to each other in Russian and the two guys from Mexico of course communicated in Spanish, but the two groups couldn't really speak to each other. The Ukranian guy ended up speaking to me in decent English, then I translated what he wanted to say in Spanish to the Mexican sailors. It was entertaining.

I hung out with them for a while and it was interesting to see so many of the typical stereotypes of sailors ring true. Alcohol was was flowing and they were determined to find female company for he night one way or the other. They even began to to arm wrestle at the table. My triumph of the night was was arm wrestling the two best at the table, and apparently of their ship, and winning. I won a lot of points with them for that one. Later in the night they left to do what sailors do and I went back to the hotel. It was a fun night.

The other great surprise that I encountered while in Veracruz was yet another branch of the Herbalife mafia/ comedy routine. I was wondering around looking for a place to get something to drink and use the bathroom street and as I was stopped, contemplating which direction to walk, fate intervened. I was standing directly in front of an Herbalife scam center which had both a bathroom and a free glass of herbal tee with my name on it. For those of you don't know the story behind Herbalife it is a continuing part of my journey in Mexico and starts back in early August. For those of you who know the story you will enjoy the fact that I infiltrated yet another Herbalife center and this time got a great photo with an Herbalife sales woman. I actually spent about 10 minutes chatting with them, sipping on my free herbal remedy tea, and doing my best to avoid the sales pitch.













Of course I continued to have fun with the photography while I was walking around Veracruz. There were a number of shots that don't have much of a connection to Veracruz, but just looked great.
















Stacked bricks

Wednesday, August 27, 2008

Cholula and the churches

From Puebla I took a small trip to a near by town called Cholula. There the main sight is the largest pyramid in the world, by volume, with a catholic church on top. The pyramid looks more like a grassy hill these days than a pyramid, but it still is an impressive sight. A couple parts of the pyramid have been exposed and rebuilt and there is a whole series of tunnels that run under the pyramid. The Catholic church at the top was nice, but the irony of a it being placed at top of one of the largest religious icons of the prehispanic Americas is the most interesting. Either way the views were excellent.




















Several kilometers outside of Cholula are a couple of very small towns with truly amazing churches. From Cholula I took a day trip to go visit these beautiful churches. The towns were very simple and rundown in comparison to the grandeur of the churches. My first sight arriving to Atintec was a pair of horses pulling a wagon of lumber and a guy laying on top. To the right of that spectacle was the beautifully tiled church.































The next town with the next church wasn't that far away so I walked and found a few interesting things along the way.















When I arrive to the other town I walked up seeing the back of the church. Once I made it to the front I realized that there was a wedding ceremony just finishing up. I crashed it as gently as I could.

















Once the ceremony was over I made it into the church to gawk at the incredible plaster work. The church was a amazing.






















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