Day 2: Veracruz - Donde Estamos?

Mandy, Carol and I made plans to meet in the lobby of our hotel at 9:00 a.m. I got up and got a shower. It takes a little while of running the water in the hotel to get the water hot. While I was getting ready I had the tv on in my hotel room. I found the old tv show ALF and a hysterical infomercial with Mr. T. It was all in Spanish but the funny thing is that they don't seem to have any intonation in their voice the way we do, it just sounds so odd.

We went outside and walked around the zocalo. The vendors were starting to set up for another day. Shop keepers were sweeping the area in-front of their shops. I noticed that nowhere we passed had rugs inside. The Mexican seem to use water to clean their floors and then sweep everything outside onto the street. I guess it must be too hot there for rugs and it seems to be an efficient way to clean.

You can tell when you're no longer in the tourist area because no one tries to sell you anything!

We took pictures in the zocalo and walked up to the port area near the Gulf of Mexico. We stopped in the Gran Cafe De La Parroquia for breakfast. The menu was entirely in Spanish. We each took awhile to decide what to get. I opted for pancakes since I understood what it was and didn't want to upset my stomach with anything too spicy. This restaurant is known for its Lecheros, a espresso type of coffee that is mixed with steaming milk. The waiters come to your table and pour the steaming milk from metal jugs and they pour it from very high up and it doesn't spill. Its very popular around Veracruz and almost all the cafes claim they invented it but it seems most people agree that either La Parroquia invented it or they do it best.

All the while more and more and more vendors kept coming up to us selling the same junk. It does get annoying after awhile. Musicians playing some type of xylophone type of instrument set up near us and started playing music. It was difficult to even hear what the other person was saying. An old woman came up to Carol and as best as we can tell she asked to read her hand. If we would have understood a word she would have said we would have tried it but we didn't.

After eating we went across the street from the malecon and checked out the stores there. The sign said it was supposed to be an artists' market but it was the same typical tourist junk you see anywhere and the same thing all the vendors were walking around selling. I was disappointed because I like to get local art whenever I go somewhere.

We stopped in a local convenience store to buy water. We found some decent prices so we bought a few bottles figuring we would need them. We went back to our hotel and dropped off the water we bought.

We walked across the zocalo because we saw more shops open. We went inside Libros y Arte right in the zocalo. They had a large selection of books in Spanish, art and jewelry from local artists and postcards. We all bought a Jalcomulco postcard and I bought a little sculpture of a Dia de Los Mujertes Dog.

We ran into Anna and Katie at our hotel, they were picking people up from the airport. They asked us where we had been and even recommend some places for us to go. Anna suggested we check out a local art shop if we were looking for more authentic art to buy.

We found the Tienda de Artesanias Veracruzanas near the malecon above a Burger King restaurant. I was so happy when we went inside. There was pottery, jewelry, clothing, local made furniture. It was great. I bought a small hand made photo frame, it was a piece of pottery. I always like to get local art and photo frames when I am on vacation.

After shopping we walked to the Baluarte de Santiago, which is an old fort. We took pictures outside but did not go inside because there was an entrance charge and all the signs were in Spanish and we weren't going to understand it anyway.

We walked along the malecon and gulf coast for awhile before an enticing smell drew us across the street to a local restaurant. We walked over to El Torito and found a man cutting slices of meat from a large pile of meat on a spit. He was then frying the meat on a grill. The smell was wonderful. There was no menu only a chalkboard advertising Tortas, Tacos and something else we weren't familiar with.

We went inside and ordered sodas as well as tacos. We sat at a table outside since it was such a nice day. The man came back outside and continued to cut meat off the spit and fry it. I was curious what type of meat it was so I asked him "què es la carne?" and he answered something I couldn't quite understand. I could tell that the meat was not chicken or turkey. I suspected beef or pork. Carol got out her Spanish dictionary and we were able to figure out that he said pork....another mystery solved.

About that time one of the women came out with our sodas and also a plate of limes and a dish containing onions, cilantro, salsa verde and salsa roja and another dish with a sauce that she told us was "pica, pica". A few minutes later our order came out. Our plates were covered in six small tacos. Mexicans use tortillas that are much smaller than what you find in the States. When we ordered we weren't given a choice of meat but it looked like pork. We began by putting various salsas and toppings on our tacos. They were delicious. The salsa verde was hotter than the salsa roja but the "pica, pica" sauce was by far the spiciest. I really liked the way the lime juice added to the flavor of the pork on the tacos.

After eating we walked back over the coast and took a walk on a long segway. There were locals out swimming and fishing. The Gulf of Mexico is very beautiful, the water is a really pretty deep blue color. We saw pelicans diving for food. All the while we talked about kayaking, rolling and what we hoped to get out of this trip.

I noticed that all around Veracruz there were crumbling buildings beside newer hotels and shops. Veracruz was once a very active port (to some degree it still is) but it had a very lucrative past. Times got tougher and many buildings fell into disrepair. It seems that increased tourism has brought a sense of revival to the city. We saw many buildings getting a fresh coat of paint or renovation.

We started walking back to the hotel and we must have taken a different street because nothing looked at all familiar. Most of the stores and restaurants disappeared and the whole area looked very residential. You can tell when you're no longer in the tourist area because no one tries to sell you anything! We walked for quite a while and we were starting to become concerened that we were lost when finally we started to see some architecture in the distance that looked familiar. We went to the zocalo and took some pictures of the square, our hotel and the beautiful church there. I went and found the pool in our hotel and took some pictures of the zocalo from the balcony at the hotel. Afterwards I went back to my room for nap.

Later I got up and showered and met everyone in the lobby of our hotel at 7 p.m. Almost all of the other women on our trip had arrived. Katie was taking us down the street to the Gran Cafe de Portal, a small diner near our hotel. We opted to eat inside the cafe so we could hear each other speak. We sat down and introduced ourselves. The women were from Pennsylvania, Ohio, Idaho, Florida, Canada, England and Australia. Everyone was very nice. As we were starting to talk a group of mariachis came inside the restaurant and starting playing. They had a dancer with them and she performed a dance with a candle on her head. There was no hearing conversation so we watched them perform for awhile.

Katie went through the menu and explained things to us and helped us order. I got tostadas and a Diet Coke. Once again the food was very good, fresh and light. After we finshed dinner Anna came in with Helen, another participant on the trip that just arrived. Anna talked to us about how the trip was going to be run. She also inquired about our experience level. We found out that all the women had different levels of kayaking. Some, like me, had some experience and some of the other women had never kayaked before.

After dinner we went to the zocalo. Some of the ladies bought scarves from the vendors. We went to La Revelocion Cafe and ordered Margaritas, Tequila and cervezas. The Mariachi, Ranchera, Marimba and Jorcoho musicians are very competitive with one another. The bands stroll around the zocalo playing snippets of songs until someone buys a song from them. Once one band has a patron on the line all the other bands move into that area and start to play. It turns into this loud crazy mixture of latin music, native costumes and dancers. We ordered a song from some mariachis and they serenaded us. We sat talking and drinking in the zocalao for awhile. Anna gave us our meeting time for the next morning and we all returned to our rooms for the night.

Things Learned on Day 2 in Mexico:

1. You'll find some of the American tv shows you're used to in Mexico...in all Spanish. Watch it for awhile its pretty amusing.

2. If you're not getting hot water in your shower in Veracruz run the water for a bit, it takes awhile to heat up.

3. Diet Coke is called Coca Light in Mexico. Diet Pepsi is almost impossible to find.

4. Buy bottled water in a grocery store, you'll find prices much lower than at other places.

5. You can't even use Mexican tap water to brush your teeth or you'll get sick.

6. Seek out the Tienda de Artesanias Veracruzanas if you want authentic art.

7. Mexican tortilla shells are much smaller than what you find in the States.

8. Mexicans often use lime as a garnish for different dishes. Its really good on tacos.

9. You can tell when you're no longer in the tourist area because no one tries to sell you anything.

10. A Lechero is a popular espresso type of coffee that is mixed with steaming milk.

11. Veracruz is an interesting study in contrast, you'll find crumbling buildings next to newer shops and hotels.