Veracruz

I arrived in Coatzacoalcos, a city in the state of Veracruz, on February 14th, to visit my good friend Veronica, whom I met during my stay in Monterrey, Mexico, in 2006.  It was a week of deliciously free fresh-squeezed orange juice (yes, every morning), homemade corn tortillas, tamales, and other yummies. The family was great; more than accomodating. I had my own room, slept in late, took naps, and occassionally took a jog down to the beach. The beach wasn´t all that great, but I found a beautifully intact sand dollar, which I gave to Veronica. I liked the symbol of the sand dollar more than the sand dollar itself; that even amidst apparent ugliness beauty can be found... You just have to look for it.

It was a week of delicious laziness. Vero recently had a baby boy (little Edgar) so we spent a lot of time tending to him and hanging out in the house. We did, however, have a small night on the town (a live band playing at a bar on the beach strip), and a trip to the "escolleras", which I learned means "jetties." There I drank fresh coconut juice from the coconut and soaked up the sun (the very intense sun, mind you).

Night out in Coatzacoalcos, Veracruz

Escolleras (Jetties)

Vero´s family

Baby Edgar

Then, on February 22nd, my trip was to continue 4 hours North up to Veracruz, Veracruz-- interestingly, not the capital of Veracruz, but the largest (and most well-known) city. There I met up with Maria, a girl I met through Couchsurfing.  Turns out we were a great match. I´ve spent the past week with Maria coming up with random inside jokes, watching scary movies, and sight seeing. The first couple of days we stayed here in Veracruz, where there really isn´t too much to see other than normal city stuff (plaza, stores, beach, etc.) The beach here isn´t all that great either. But I´m patient; in a couple of weeks I´ll be traveling South along the Pacific Coast. I can´t wait.

We took a bus over to Xalapa (pronounced as if the X were an H), the capital of Veracruz. There the city was slightly different and more tranquil, with sloping streets, hills, and cooler air. We stayed on the 3rd floor of her aunt´s house, which, to be honest, was slightly uncomfortable. Not only because of the cockroaches, but also because Maria awoke in the middle of the night because the hammock she was sleeping in was swinging considerably... could it have been a ghost? "Most probably," as Kasey would put it. ;)

Anyways, we went out that night (Friday) to a couple different local places, both of which were pretty nice (other than the unspeakably awful service we received). I´ve come to realize that the need for good customer service is something unique to American culture.

Veracruz, Veracruz (central plaza)

Xalapa, Veracruz

Maria´s Cousin, Maria, and myself in Xalapa

From Xalapa Maria and I took a bus for 30 minutes to a quaint little town called Coatepec. It was another small town with not much to see, really, other than the little stores, the people, the central plaza and (of course) the church.  I must admit that my favorite things to see are the things that are uniquely Mexican; words, actions, sights, or occurrences that demonstrate, albeit subtly, the culture of Mexico. The following picture I took in Coatepec, for example, is something along these lines:

Long line for tortillas in Coatepec

That evening, which just so happened to be a Saturday, Maria and I returned to her home in Veracruz and decided to go to a bar, which just so happened to be a karaoke bar.  Now, those of you who know me know that karaoke is one of my favorite pasttimes. However, I must admit that I was pretty nervous about singing Pat Benatar´s "Heartbreaker," one of the few songs I found in the karaoke book that I actually know. Let´s face it:  before singing the song, I was already sticking out like a sore thumb. How much more would I stick out if I actually sang this 80´s rock and roll song, when everyone else that sang were singing slow-flowing romance, salsa, or, as Maria put it, "old people songs"? Not to mention, all the other women singing did so in pairs. So I´m 1) clearly a foreigner-- tall, blonde, pale-- basically different-looking than everyone else, and therefore apparently the equivelant of an alien from outer space, based on the way people look at me, and 2) Singing a fast-paced, upbeat rock and roll song, and 3) Going up on stage all by lonesome. If before I stuck out like a sore thumb, I most surely was sticking out like a broken leg at this point. But, alas, it went well; the people cheered and rocked their heads to the music. We´re all rockers at heart.

The following day, Maria and her family took me to Quiahuiztlan (don´t even ask me how to pronounce that one), a site of ancient Totonac ruins. Totonacs, although not as widely known, were a culture similar to that of the Mayans and the Aztecs; they lived widely in the State of Veracruz until approximately 900 AD. The site we saw was amazing, and unique in all of Mesoamerica, namely for the tombs that are scattered about the site. Apparently, the bodies of the elite were burried beneath these tumbs and then later dug-up and placed in urns, which were then placed in the nitch (hole) in each tomb.

Maria and her parents

And that´s that. Tomorrow I´m off to Mexico City. I won´t lie, I´m a bit nervous. But I´m sure everything will be fine. I already have a couch secured and numerous people have offered to show me around the city. I´ll update the blog at some point in the near future.

From there, I´ll head over to the Pacific Coast, to Zihuatanejo, the place mentioned in the Shawshank Redemption, where I also already have a place secured. From there I´ll travel South along the Pacific Coast until I reach Tuxtla Gutierrez, the capital of Chiapas, where I´ll finally meet up with my love. Just a little over a month until I get to see him!  :-D

I hope everyone is doing well! Cheers!