Puebla and Cholula

Just an hour and a half southeast of Mexico City is Puebla… a charming city known for its culinary tradition, exquisite architecture and its signature Talavera tile.  But despite its proximity to Mexico City, many foreign visitors don’t make the trip.. and they are missing out.  Puebla offers a break from the day to day grind of its big city neighbor, but is still big enough on its own to have plenty to offer those who like to get off the beaten path.

The food is a reason in itself to make the trip as the city is known for its complex flavors and use of centuries-old heirloom recipes.  A combination of pre-Columbian and Spanish ingredients with a touch of French and Middle Eastern preparation, result in Puebla earning the reputation as a culinary capital in Mexico.  Sure, you can get the dishes native to Puebla elsewhere in the country, but good luck getting anything just as good!

Besides the food, Puebla’s history and culture are a drawl as well.  It’s one of the few Mexican cities that wasn’t built directly atop an existing native community.  The old colonial architecture gives the city an era of elegance, while the brightly colored buildings bring vibrance and modernity.  It’s a unique place with a lot of tradition and culture.

We were planning on booking a private guide/driver for the trip at the rate of USD $200 per person, but decided to scratch that when we realized we could take a bus for $20 each round trip.  And the adventure of having to navigate on our own is right up our alley, so with a few recommendations from a Puebla native who just happened to overhear us talking about our day trip in the hotel lobby, off we went.

A 45 minute subway ride and a two hour bus ride later, we arrived at the terminal in Puebla.  We hopped right in a cab to Cholula, a neighboring town famous for its pyramid that now appears to be a large hill with a beautiful orange church perched on top.  The Great Pyramid of Cholula was the largest pyramid by volume ever constructed in the world.

The town was bustling as people filled the narrow streets blocked off for pedestrians celebrating Mexico’s Dia da la Independencia.  Vendors lined the sidewalks selling everything from the region’s native delicacies to dolls, clothes, jewelry… the list goes on.  Brittany and I enjoyed people watching and taking in the ambience as we worked our way through the crowds.

We visited the Zona Arquelógica, which allows you to enter the excavation site at the base of the pyramid and weave your way through the underground tunnels.  Brittany would have been the Dirk Nowitzki of this tribe… the tunnels were so short her head was basically hitting the roof, lol.

For a stunning view of the volcano, Popocatépetl, and the countryside spread out below, we made the steep climb to the top, now home to Capilla de la Virgen de Los Remedios.  Even though the volcano’s peak was lost behind the clouds, the view was breathtaking.

We had some trouble finding a taxi on the street for the 15 minute trip back to Puebla, so we decided to jump on the public bus for the “local” experience… and that it was!

Back in Puebla we wondered around the Zócalo, a Mexican city’s central square adjoined by a Cathedral.  The area was packed with locals and red, green and white was proudly displayed in every possible fashion as the Independence Day celebrations continued.  Starving and eagerly anticipating the native Puebla cuisine, we headed to the recommended Fonda de Santa Clara for dinner.  We opted for the special, chiles en nogada, a popular dish traditionally prepared during the fall harvest and served as part of the Independence Day holidays… a large green poblano pepper stuffed with beef (or pork), almonds, fruit and spices, then covered in a creamy walnut sauce and sprinkled with pomegranate seeds.  We tried the Mole chicken, because the thick and spicy mole sauce is famous in this region and rumored to have been originally created by a group of nuns from Puebla in the 16th century.  And we also had the tinga poblana, a slow-cooked shredded pork stew with chipotle chiles and vegetables.  Everything was delicious… definitely living up to the hype and we were so full when we left that we barely had room to sample the region’s famous desserts.

But obviously we found enough room for a few small samples to help us decide what we wanted to purchase and bring home with us.  The camote is cooked sweet potato that’s sweetened and flavored, then rolled into cigar-shaped tubes and the tortitas de Santa Clara are small cookies topped with pumpkin-seed cream… just to name a few of Puebla’s famous candies.

After walking through Puebla’s streets and checking out their mercardo, we headed back to the Zócalo and went up to the rooftop of Hotel Royalty for a margarita.  We had two seats looking out over the main square facing the Cathedral and we watched as the sun went down and the city began to light up.  The scenery was spectacular and it was a relaxing way to end our adventure in Puebla… until we realized we needed to book it to the bus station if we wanted to catch the next bus and get back to Mexico City at a somewhat reasonable time.  It was a mad dash to the terminal and we made it with just three minutes to spare!  Adios Puebla!!