Puebla y Cholula.

Mexico is a gigantic country. Too big, to travel it in just two months. Especially when you have to work from Monday to Friday. Originally I wanted to sunbathe in Playa del Carmen, to dive in Tulum and to escalate in Cancun. But the beaches of this popular places are way too far away from my place in Veracruz. Domestic flights in Mexico are more expensive than flights from Germany to other European cities. I remember one trip to Stockholm for one day and just 12€. One further option is to travel by bus. This one is cheaper, but as Mexico is an enormous country in comparison to Germany, a trip to the beaches of Cancun would take 24 hours.

Nevertheless, I wanted to travel into a touristic city. Therefor I have chosen to spend one weekend in Puebla. Puebla meant for me Volkswagen and the place of construction of the last "Vocho"aka "Käfer". And yes, like in any other city in this Mexico you can see plenty of Vochos. However what has surprised me was that all the signs were translated in German at the main bus station.

The view out of my room. The hostel was located in the centre of Puebla. To "Zócalo", the place of the cathedral, it was just a five minutes walk.

(Puebla/ México/ 20.04.2012)

Cholula is the city of churches. It is said that there is one church for every day in the calendar. 365 churches? Impossible to see all in one day. This cross is located in front of "Santuario de la Virgen de los Remedios", a church which was built on top of the pyramid "Gran Pirámide", the biggest pyramid of Mesoamerica.

(Cholula/ México/ 21.04.2012)

The "Ardillas" reached everyone's attention. Mine as well. Yeah, squirrel!

(Cholula/  México/ 21.04.2012)

 "Convento de San Gabriel" is located downtown in Cholula.

(Cholula/ México/ 21.04.2012)

I have met Davide (left) and his wife Paola on the night before in the hostel. Despite the early wake up I joined their expedition, with Simon (centre), to Cholula. Unwilling to pay the high prices of the touristic bars close to the sights, we decided to look for a local cantina. One big "Michelada" for the boys from Italy, Austria and Germany.

(Cholula/ México/ 21.04.2012)

After the Michelada I felt kind of tipsy. But seen a boy on a skateboard on the streets in Cholula I asked him if I could do one trick. Fortunately I landed my Kickflip first try. Because right afterwards I reminded myself of this commercial of a pharmacy close to the spot.

(Cholula/ México/ 21.04.2012)

The cathedral of Puebla is a really impressing. Stunned by the architecture I spent almost an hour in front of it, just starring at it's façade.

(Puebla/ México/ 21.04.2012)

Preparation of my "Torta de Chorizo" in a small and very economic cantina downtown.

(Puebla/ México/ 21.04.2012)

The outcome. I think I am in love with Chorizo. And chipotles. But chipotles cause problems, always.

(Puebla/ México/ 21.04.2012)

Simon with a little hangover from the night before. With no beers left in the hostel, Simon and I decided to check out Pueblas nightlife.

After enjoying lots of "Caguamas" some locals asked us, if we want to go to another location. We said yes, on the condition that we wanted to stay in the centre. Heading to their car Simon asked: "Should we take the risk?", I replied: "Well, it is kind of rude if we say no now". After twenty minutes in the car we realized that we are not in the city centre, anymore. "What are we doing in Cholula?".

The locals were heading for a Salsa club. "Hey Christian, the entrance is really expensive, should we go?", "Well, it seems like we don't have any option". Neither the German nor the Austrian could dance Salsa. At least, we arrived in the hostel. Alive.

(Puebla/ México/ 22.04.2012)

No, it is not a Kebab. This is the meat for the "Tacos Arabe". Kind of Kebab, but no Kebab. I really miss my Kebabs in Germany. In the meantime tacos will do a great job! I had tacos almost every day in Mexico, and I still adore them.

(Puebla/ México/ 22.04.2012)

A glimpse on Popocatépetl. On this picture it can be seen clearly that this is an active vulcano. At the weekend of my trip to Puebla some villages were evacuated due to some warnings. Hopefully "Popo" will not explode on the next week. I am going to be in Mexico-City, which is right on the other side of it.

(Puebla/ México/ 22.04.2012)

Puebla and Cholula was interesting and I had a fun time with the backpackers. Cuidado!

Cantina.

I have to confess: I love beer. I really love beer. Prison, landing on railways of metro stations, the loss of cameras, undressing in public, a wounded head, regrettable love affairs, vomiting, inappropriate lectures in the auditorium, being a bigmouth. The list can be continued, but I will not stop drinking beer.

Mexicans love beer as well. You can see bars all over the place. For this reason I was really looking forward to drink a beer in a typical cantina in a village in Mexico. This cantina is in Ignacio de la Llave a small town in Veracruz. One hot place on this planet. Really hot. With no water close to it, the heat is almost unbearable. But refreshment can be found in cantinas. 

Pipo is the owner of this place and he is a great supporter of Club América, one of the big football teams in Mexico. When I entered the bar with my friend Mario and his brother in law, the crowd was watching a match of Club América. I did not watch the entire game but I remember that América lost 0-1. Some of the guys were not quite happy about the result.

As a real beer lover I was shocked when Pipo offered me a beer with lemon and salt on top of it. But unexpectedly it tasted really good! To top that new flavor in my mouth my second beer was a "Sol con Clamate". Clamate is kind of a tomato juice with lots of spices in it. Beer and tomato juice? Well, I have seen beer mixed with coffee or energy drinks. So, why not with tomato juice? And it tasted damn good! A really great refreshment on a hot summer day. To me it seemed like a little snack as well. With no salads in the last few weeks I grabbed some "Sol con Clamate" to refill my vitamins. At least it is good for the health. So that is why:

Salud!

(Ignacio de la Llave/ México/ 01.04.2012)

One strong man in the bar. And quite drunken, too. Pipo said to me: "Cuidado, el es un maricón!" Machismo is written in capital letters in this land. Therefore I am always aware of not using ambiguous gestures. Otherwise I might get smacked in the face.

(Ignacio de la Llave/ México/ 01.04.2012)

Casa Hogar Impressions.

Since three weeks I live together with more than 30 children and juveniles in Casa Hogar. I have not got used to being woken up by an escalating crowd of boys in the morning yet. I have not got used to being surrounded by cockroaches and mosquitos in the night. But I found solutions: Locking up the door and spraying insecticide. One thing I had to get used to was frijoles. Frijoles every day. As breakfast, as lunch, as dinner. Frijoles, frijoles, frijoles! Reminds me of the movie "Nacho Libre". Sometimes I even feel like Nacho. I am trying hard to be in shape for the Lucha Libre on the 28th of April in Córdoba.

The life in Casa Hogar is different to the one I know. On the first sight it seemed to me that the children are living a kind of boring life, trapped in the walls of an orphanage. Clearly, the circle of friends is small due to the lack of options. But I have noticed a very intimate relationship of the inhabitants here. Moreover, the children have acquaintances in school and work. Some go to work besides school, some have full time jobs. For this reason my first opinion was disproved.

In Casa Hogar everyone participates in the daily work. This includes cooking, cleaning up the facilities, doing the gardening, and more. Cloths are washed by hand and dormitory time is 7.30 in the evening. At least I can avoid the latter.

Maribél hanging around in the garden.

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 19.03.2012) 

Breakfast time, not only for the baby.

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 23.03.2012)

Usually Ángel is not as calm as on this picture. Due to the circumstance that he can hardly pronounce my name he always screams and hugs my afterwards: "Amigo? Amigo!"

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 23.03.2012)

One lovely little brat is Uriel. One more "Amigo!". In the morning Uriel stays on the side of my bed. Until I am willing to get up.

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 24.03.2012)

The girls on the way to their concert in the city hall of Córdoba. Each ride in this Volkswagen bus is an adventure. The doors open themselves in every curve. Displays? Seats? Safety belts? Not available. After this trip the council of Casa Hogar decided not to use the bus anymore. At official occasions.

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 24.03.2012)

Once or twice in a week vegetables and fruits are donated to the orphanage. This food is by far not fresh and needs to be checked and sorted out before preparation. The variety is very little. Mostly potatoes, onions, zucchinis, chilies, carrots, radish and bananas. Meals with meat are very hard to find, and salads are even more rare. Good luck that frijoles are all around!

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 25.03.2012)

A few of the girls have children. Mainly because of certain incidents which includes sexual abuse. Not all of them were allowed to keep their babies along with them. Mostly the babies were giving out for adoption. On this picture I have Yazmin in my hands, the youngest inhabitant of Casa Hogar.

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 25.03.2012)

Sunday is washday. Rosa combines work and pleasure with an refreshment for everyone.

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 25.03.2012)

 "Christian, estas sucio! Necesitas bañar!"

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 25.03.2012)

Visits of schools are combined with donations by those. Not every of the children of Casa Hogar enjoyed the suggested games of the visitors and kept hidden in the kitchen. 

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 29.03.2012)

Ultimate photo bomb by Luis while the girls fail to pose seriously for the camera.

(Córdoba, Veracruz/ México/ 29.03.2012)