Super Lujo in La Costa Esmeralda

We usually stay in budget accommodations here in Mexico, but we couldn't pass up staying at Azúcar on La Costa Esmeralda (the 19 km strip of the Gulf from Tecolutla in the north to Nautla in the South). Azúcar is one in a series of Design Hotels around the world and one of ten in Mexico, and it's also the most affordable. So when smart design meets affordability, I say, "Vamos!" It might slightly be the whole reason we went to Veracruz. ;)

This is a take-your-breath-away view

outdoor library with an ocean breeze

Lost in Veracruz

There are basically three kinds of travelers -- the planners, the non-planners, and the ones who sit in the middle somewhere, sometimes with a plan and sometimes with nothing at all. Personally, I like not having an agenda. All I really need is a good map. Get to a new place, ask around, and go by local recommendation.

There's just something I really enjoy about dipping into the unknown, being completely awed by who I meet and what I discover, and the sense of accomplishment I derive from it. If you've traveled with me before, you are aware that getting lost is an unexpected, yet an essential, part of the itinerary. However, having grown out of the backpacker 20's lifestyle, but mostly being married to a planner, I do a little planning so as not to toy with hubby's blood pressure.

This weekend, we took a road trip east to Veracruz state. Not a well-touristed region for several reasons, the main one being that Veracruz state is the wealthiest in natural resources -- oil and produce -- so there's no reason to tout it as a region of tourism despite it being one of the most amazing states, in my opinion. There's lush vegetation of bananas, citrus, coffee, and vanilla, biodiversity, a coastline, a seafood cuisine, and Mexico's tallest volcano. Can you believe that's all in one state?? It's like the Hawaii of Mexico (okay, a HUGE leap of the imagination, and change the color of the water from blue to brown)

Before leaving, I reserved the hotels and compiled a list of things to see, but I was really leaving this trip open to whatever Veracruz had to offer. One thing I forgot to do was take a good look at our geography. I knew we had to cross through the Sierra Madre Oriental mountain range to reach our destination, the Emerald Coast, but who expects the shaded parts of the map to be so rigorous? Let's just say a topographical map of Veracruz would have been nice (this is probably true for many a place in Mexico). Fortunately, we borrowed a friend's GPS to navigate the mountains and warn us of 180 degree curves in the road, but GPS only goes so far in unfamiliar terrain. For example, GPS misled us into this rocky road and, literally, up a creek. :) I definitely thought this was more funny, being the passenger and not the driver. Did I mention that we got here after I convinced Nick to take a local road instead of the big highway?

One of the things we went looking for in Veracruz state were the French bread and cheese shops still remaining from the time when the French colonized the area. We stopped in San Rafael, inquired with the nice man who ran the bar El Casino off the plaza, but he seemed to know more about the local drunks than the pan frances we were in search of.

While we didn't find the shops we were looking for, we did get our hands on a dusty bottle of wine from our new friend at El Casino, who, by the way, really enjoys posting pictures of naked women on his walls.

Another exciting, though very difficult place to find, was Parque Xanath, a family-run, ecological park outside of Papantla, Veracruz and recommended to me by John Todd Jr. (who keeps the best English language website on Veracruz). It took us over an hour to find and at least five misdirections, but the owner, José Luis Hernandez, keeps an immaculate museum of old photos and provides a guided tour on the history of vanilla, other indigenous plants, and information on the Totonac culture.

Señor Ignacio, a Totonac, lives on-site and gives tourists a glimpse of indigenous life.

I don't travel on a shoestring or by pure whim anymore, and I plan a little more than I used to i.e. to drive in the daytime to avoid driving off a cliff, but I found that I still LOVE getting lost. It's the most thrilling part of traveling! I get to meet the unexpected, discover new things, learn new routes, and exercise my new language abilities. Traveling lost is not for everybody, especially if you like to check off the sites, but if it's your goal to be absorbed by your surroundings, I think it's the only way to go.

Sitting in the Dark

With the Luz y Fuerza shut-down still going on, we've found ourselves in the most random places without light. It's becoming so common that it's normal. Several times we've been in restaurants where the lights suddenly go out, and no one even looks up from their food. The best was walking by Contramar, one of Mexico City's finest seafood restaurants, and seeing everyone eating in the dark.

Nick's lost power several times at work -- in one of the main financial sections of the city, no less. Dark rides down the elevator and people finding another reason to vacate the office early. Seriously, in the past two weeks, he said people have left work early 4-5 times, mostly to avoid the Luz y Fuerza demonstrations (because, of course, how can you work when there are people protesting out your window?). Yesterday, the power in his building went out around 2 pm, and everyone -- minus his team -- left. According to Nick, they were "strategizing" in the office until it became too dark to see. Ha!

I always thought my brother was a little loony for liking to sit in the dark. He shuts off the light in his room and sits there in the dark. As he says, "Why do you need a light to think?" Deep... but I like sitting in the dark for a different reason. I really like the way candles make a room glow.

Spanish Blunders

Has anyone else noticed how commercial and prevalent Breast Cancer Awareness Month is now? I first noticed it from watching NFL -- the big boys looking tough in their pink jerseys. Then I noticed Mexico had turned pink, too. They turned the Ángel de la Independencia pink this week, and when I was shopping at one of the big grocery stores last weekend, I noticed I could even buy a pink fry pan in support of breast cancer research.

When I looked up information about it, the papers were calling it "cáncer de mama", which I took to mean "mother's cancer". I thought that was a little misleading since men and non-mothers get breast cancer, too. When Nick came home from work, I told him about it, and we laughed over its seemingly ridiculous name.

The next day, he went to work and was talking it over with a co-worker and told Nick that, "No, it's not cáncer de mamá (mother's cancer), it's cáncer de mama (breast cancer)!"

Mamá, mama, papá, papa... who knows how long I've been calling mothers "breasts" and fathers "potatoes". I'm super lazy about accents in writing and in speaking, but I think I'll start being more diligent in the future. And if I've ever called you a mama, I'm sorry. :)

All is well at 4:55 am

I've never been so overjoyed to see 4:55 am glowing brightly on the alarm clock. Being the light sleeper that I am, I woke up in the middle of the night, habitually rolled over to check the time, and saw the clock lit up. It took a second to slip out of my fuzzy state to realize that -- voila! -- our power had been restored.

Not sure the exact time the electricity came back on, but I had a sudden burst of 4:55 am joy and went to the kitchen to check on the fridge. Yes, of all things, I was worried about all that precious food going bad. Some of it I took to Lesley's, and the rest we kept in the fridge with two bags of ice we bought at Oxxo.

Despite there being no electricity, Oxxo was in full service, albeit through the little window in the door. (Now I'm seeing the good value in that tiny window cut out in the door -- not just for late-night transactions but for power outages, after-fútbol game hooligans, and the likes. Whenever you feel threatened, just close the door and open up the window. No pasa nada.) There was one guy manning the calculator and one guy fetching the goodies.

When I asked for two bags of ice, the fetcher sort of paused like I was making some ridiculous request. It wasn't that there wasn't any ice left; I could see plenty through the window. That made me wonder why no one else was heading to their nearby Oxxo to buy ice to salvage their food. What were people doing about their un-refrigerated food? Not eating it, I hoped.

While we did have to throw some food out, it was more like a much-needed spring cleaning for the fridge. There was food in there with serious freezer bite 'fro, and, honestly, taking showers by candlelight, not being able to watch TV, surf the internet, or read made for extra free time and a few extra hours of sleep. Aren't these things we're always craving for anyway?

Showers of Pickled Pork Skins & Beer

The government just seized control of Mexico's energy firm, Luz y Fuerza del Centro, so before we go dark (something tells me to keep the candles near), I wanted to post some interesting sights from the Mexico/El Salvador game on Saturday.

I didn't see this on any fútbol highlights, but thirty seconds into the first half, men with fire extinguishers started spraying the goal to expel the swarm of bees that had attacked the field. That was quick, genius thinking until the bees just moved to another side of the field. After a wild five-minute chase, I think the bees just gave in and flew off on their own.

Then, later, goal after freakin' goal, the law of gravity was beginning to wear my patience thin. Beer was flying all over -- mostly down on our heads and faces -- from the balcony above. I mean, people came prepared with ponchos for protection against the aforementioned barbaric activity. After the game, my hair felt like I had styled it with Elmer's glue. And, oh the smell...

I suppose throwing beer is better than throwing punches

And, finally, one of the strangest foods I've ever encountered in Mexico -- pickled pork skin called cueritos. If you like salty, gummy substances, you might like this, but if you don't, you're stuck with an entire cupful. So what does a naughty foreigner do with a cupful of pickled pork skins? He throws it up in the air at the next goal. Someone got a beer and cuerito facial that day.

That portion of cuerito is about 200% too big

I prefer my pork skin deep fried

It's a Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood...

We have a lot of new neighbors since moving to Roma Norte last year. The entire colonia has transitioned to being one of Mexico City's hippest neighborhoods. New salad bars, an American Apparel store, Polanco-ish restaurants (and prices), and even a kuru-kuru (conveyor belt) sushi bar.

It's been about a year since we walked the entire neighborhood, so we brought out the camera and spent a Saturday rediscovering Roma Norte. One of the places we went looking for was a hidden plaza and church, Nuestra Señora de la Navtividad, known as La Romita. Before Colonia Roma was what it is today, it was a tiny Aztec pueblo now known as La Romita, and for some reason, locals don't like to disclose its location. So, we never found it, but we did meet someone later that day who works at the sustainable gardening center in La Romita called Sembradores Urbanos, and he told us exactly how to get there. Some of the directions included, "Walk down the alley that looks like a dead end." Intriguing -- I'll have to venture out there soon.

Some photos from our neighborhood stroll...

Around the corner for some tacos de guisado, tlacoyos, hamburgers, or suadero.

Art Bazar every Saturday and Sunday along Alvaro Obregón

Avenida Insurgentes (Mexico City's longest street) cuts through Roma. This picture perfectly depicts the chaotic traffic patterns. Can't even tell whose turn it is to go.

The amazing Metrobus line that runs the length of Insurgentes. One day when I have 3 hours to burn, I'm going to ride that bus from north to south because I can for just 5 pesos.

My favorite torta stand circa 1950s

Roma is starting to look a lot like Paris, dog crap and all.

I have no architectural knowledge, but I do know pretty when I see it.

A souvenir from the 1985 earthquake?

It may not have all the latest foreign foods, but I *heart* my humble grocery store, Sumesa.

Is that decimal in the right place? That's $2 for a medical consultation.