Field Trip to the East Side

Very early last Saturday, we met a friend on the east side of town -- the Neza municipality, if you know these parts. There aren't any high-rise, shiny glass buildings or anything of brand name. What you'll mostly find are simple cement homes housing the family business: snack shops, comida corrida restaurants, and car shops. Brilliant, I think, to live and work in the same place! The original work-from-home scheme. It's the way many Mexicans live but a world in which we know so little about living in our foreigner-friendly neighborhood. So, when the opportunity arises to see a different face of Mexico, I welcome it. Plus, you never know what fantastic food finds you might encounter.

We needed our car checked, and if there's one really good thing about the east side, it's the abundance of men who know how to fix cars. Even at 8 am on a Saturday morning, when there wasn't much going on in a usually crowded and vibrant area such as Neza, there were men everywhere fixing their cars. Oh, and if you ever wondered where the microbuses/peseros (small, green buses that terrorize the city) are maintained (they're maintained, you ask?!?), just go to Neza and take a look. Unfortunately, besides car guys and carts selling tamales and atole, I didn't get to see much. I think the real shenanigans start in the evening when the sun goes down.

This photo I took in Neza is something of a cultural curiosity to me. I've seen it many times before in various parts of the city -- the lack of attention to spelling. On you-can't-take-it-back permanent signage, no less. As a teacher, it makes me wonder how much schools here stress spelling?? We are sticklers for it in the US. I recognize the difficulty in distinguishing between v and b, but seriously, c'mon people, fabor?

By golly, these things do get repaired sometimes. Photo taken from the blog El Analfabeta, where the caption reads, "Pesero - Pequeño autobús que no cumple con ninguna regla de seguridad." ("Pesero - Small bus that doesn't comply with any security measures.") I love the thrill, but it's a miraculous feat to step off these alive.

Earth Day Mexico City

In honor or Earth Day, Mother Nature takes revenge on DFeños by creating a massive traffic jam

Driving in DF

At last, I've done something here that I promised I'd never do: DRIVE!! There might be worse places to drive than Mexico City, but driving here seemed like my personal hell. There are serious safety laws not being followed, lane markers not being used, random cars stopped in the middle of traffic, red light runners, and drivers criss-crossing through traffic like Super Mario Kart. In fact, in the worst case of road rage I've ever witnessed came straight from some Demolition Derby competition with two cars engaged in a deliberate ramming of their vehicles. That scene pretty much squashed any desire I had to drive.

But, after one too many no-show and "you look foreign, I shall rip you off" taxistas, I decided to drive myself to work. Since the typical rules of defensive driving don't apply -- following a safe distance, using your signal, stopping at red lights -- I first had to relearn how to drive. Over the weekend, I got in the car, practiced the route, cut a few people off, swerved between lanes, and stopped using my signal (actually, I'm still in the process of unlearning that good habit :)) It was basically a route overview to work and figuring out which lanes were safe, i.e. which lanes wouldn't suddenly end. FYI, you can never go wrong with the middle lane.

So, here I am, having completed two roundtrips to work and back, and I feel so empowered! I still love the convenience of public transportation, but I am loving even more this new and reliable way to get to work. And, I conquered a dreaded fear, and it just wasn't as bad as my mind had made it out to be.

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.

Huasca de Ocampo

I'm always ready to hop in the car on the weekends and see what's outside Mexico City, but Nick usually wants to chill in DF. You see, there's a mountain of difference between being the passenger (me) and being the driver in Mexico (always Nick because I'm too chicken). As a passenger, I can gaze lovingly at the mountains or gawk at what everyone's selling on the side of the road. Nick, on the other hand, focuses his attention on avoiding an accident while trying to feign interest in my "Ooh, we should stop and buy some of those mangoes they're selling" or "You don't want to stop and grab something to eat here?" comments. So, on the rare occasion that Nick suggests we go somewhere, I know it's a much needed vacation.

On my mental list of places to visit I put Huasca de Ocampo in Hidalgo state as a lovely day trip destination. I read about it once in some obscure publication, and the pictures of waterfalls enchanted me. AND, per my obsession with Pueblo Mágicos, I was very excited to visit Huasca, Mexico's first designated Pueblo Mágico and also close to Real del Monte, another Pueblo Mágico. Since Huasca is a one-with-nature kind of place, we booked a cabin, packed our bug spray and were off.

Amazingly, Huasca is still so undeveloped that we had to take an unpaved road for approximately 5 kilometers before reaching our cabin. Upon rolling into our cozy weekend home, El Huariche, we got giddy about having the chance to fish, sit on green grass, see the stars, and not hear a single unnatural sound.

The road to Huasca de Ocampo

The first thing we did was fish, but after two hours, we lost our patience. Nick did catch some things but nothing edible. Just a plastic cup and two branches. :) My brother -- the most prolific fisherman I know -- would have been embarrassed by my technique and our use of Serrano ham as bait. For the rest of the day, we picnicked on a patch of green grass and relaxed with our books. Grass is one thing I miss A LOT living in a land of concrete.

Our 'lil cabaña Mariposa

We're renting this tree house next time. 'Cuz how many times in your life do you get the chance?

Fishing made me realize I have the patience of a 10-year-old.

If it's there, why not light it?

The next day, we went to the Primas de Basálticos to see the famed waterfalls and unique rock formations. It was one of the most amazing geological phenomena I have ever seen! Cut down into a canyon are columns of polygon-shaped basalt flows that look like they were chiseled by hand and then placed side-by-side. Thanks to Wiki, I learned that this is a very rare geological phenomenon called Columnar Jointed Basalt.

I looked down and almost didn't make it across.

Photography tip #1: Slowing your camera's shutter speed can make you look like a pro. :)

And, on the way out, we swung by Real del Monte to preview our next road trip. Remnants of old mining equipment still dot the town, and the colorful town square reminded me of what Guanajuato might have looked like before the tourist/expat invasion. Pastes were everywhere, so we stuffed ourselves with these butter bombs, and happily made our way back to our crazy city lives.

Our next road trip -- Real del Monte, Hidalgo

Tequisquiapan, Querétaro

Last weekend we went puebleando-ing (pueblo-hopping) to Tequisquiapan, a small town located in Querétaro state and about 2.5 from Mexico City. Tequis is well-known for its wine and cheese production, and every year, they host the national wine and cheese festival. So, of course, we had to check this out! 

At the turn-off for Tequis is a small town called San Juan Del Rio. San Juan Del Rio doesn't seem to have that much to offer a puebloando-er like myself, but one thing that might be of interest to a tourist, and maybe a Mexican, too, is the slice of America you get while traveling through to get to Tequis. It is so blatantly unnatural that I'm sure it makes everyone kind of go, "Whoa, where are we?!?!" So what is this bit of America in San Juan Del Rio?

I give San Juan Del Rio the distinction of having THE nicest road I've ever seen in Mexico. It's paved beautifully, not a single pothole, fashionable street lamps, modern traffic signals, green grass medians, and flat sidewalks. Even just one of these amenities might draw a notice, so you can imagine how the sight of ALL of these might alter your sensibilities. There are an unusual number of multi-national factories along this stretch of road, so who bribed who to have this road installed is anybody's guess. 

Right about where the nice road ends, Tequis welcomes you with its own nice windy, cobblestone streets. The Zócalo has a magnificent church, and there are cheese shops or artisan stalls on nearly every street. If woven baskets are your thing, this is the place to enhance your collection. Unlike other pueblos, Tequis' Zócalo is blocked off the car traffic, which means the young 'uns aren't driving by at a snail's pace and blasting their reggatón while you're trying to have a peaceful lunch or coffee on the plaza. I like that. A lot.

So we came here for the wine and cheese festival, but I wouldn't recommend it to those actually interested in trying new wines and cheeses. It was so disappointing that I actually don't have that much to write about it except that this festival was an ode to the infamous, low-budget Riunite Lambrusco. It was kind of fun, or more like funny, watching everyone drink Riunite. If you're really interested in trying the area's wine and cheese, there are some wineries and cheese producers that open their facilities to tours. 

The festival was a bust, but the town's a gem, and you're always guaranteed an adventure when you go puebloando-ing. AND, driving conditions/skills are looking brighter, and we managed to only get in like 5 near-death accidents on the highway! 

Driving and Tolls

Before setting out on a drive in Mexico, we perform several rituals to ensure we get to our destination. Google maps and GPS devices are first-rate resources in the US, but here, hard copy maps are essential if you own a car. First, we pull out two varieties of the Guia Roji, must-have maps for this country. The first one we consult is the Mexico City Guia Roji to guide us out of our metropolis. It seems a little ridiculous to consult a map to get around in your own city, but I swear we'd be dead if we left home without consulting it first. Not only does this city love one way streets, the streets go by several names. (I think the only street that doesn't change names is the longest one, Insurgentes. Ironic.) The second Guia Roji we then consult is the country guide that then gives us a sketchy idea of how to reach our destination. It's more of a rough guide that we're going in the right direction (as in, "Oh good, we're going east!"), not necessarily a detailed play-by-play. 

Another equally important ritual we endure is thinking about how much cash we should bring just to pay the toll fees. It's a pricey luxury here to use a paved road without potholes or speed bumps (for example, round trip from Mexico City to Acapulco is 1008 pesos ($72)!). Everytime we approach a toll booth, I worry that we don't have enough cash with us, and then my imagination wanders into bad places like Mexican prisons. It's ridiculously expensive, and if you plan to use the toll roads, be ready to hand over your life savings.

All this to say that I've found a lovely website created by the Secretary of Transportation that will not only give you a detailed route of how to get from point A to point B, it also gives you the exact toll fees. This site is the equivalent to Google Maps for Mexico. So no more sweaty, desperate searches in your wallet for cash--you can prepare all your tolls in advance and surprise everyone with your god-like knowledge. Although you can't enter in the exact address of where you want to go, it gives you enough information and then you can ask around for the rest. 

And the final ritual is to pray to Montezuma that he won't have his revenge on us as we indulge on edible delights that await us.