In January (I'm a little behind!), I was invited by my wonderful Mexican friends A&B to visit Cocoyoc Mexico for A's birthday over a long weekend. Another girl from work (nicknamed Rosita) came with us, so we were a party of 2 Gringas and 2 Mexicanos.
After leaving work on Friday afternoon (flex time!), we headed to DFW for our flight to Mexico City. I was a little nervous. There has been a lot of turmoil in Mexico, and I was hoping that the trip would be an adventure, but not too adventurous! We landed in Mexico City, got through customs and took a taxi to the bus station. We then took a 2 hour bus ride through the mountains to Cocoyoc. By the time we got to B's parent's house, it was close to 9pm. What a long commute! The house was absolutely gorgeous, and we settled in and then took off for some tacos. We went to B's favorite taco place in town. We had lingua, bistek, chorizo, queso, and many other tacos. I'm not sure how we ate so much, but the food was fantastic. B performed her microbiology check on the salsa and declared that the green was OK, but the red had bubbles and should be avoided.
The next morning, we woke up and B's parents and sister and A's sister were there. We had first breakfast (there's an eating theme here!) and then took off for Tepoztlan, a little town nearby. We walked through the market and had second breakfast.
Here are some tortillas and quesadillas. We had cheese, squash blossom, cactus leaves, chorizo, and cricket quesadillas. Everything was good except the crickets. Rosita and I tried them, but they were very bitter and acrid flavored. I also had some fresh squeezed orange/carrot juice. B was concerned about drinking juice from the market, but I had to try it anyway!
The town had this gate near the Cathedral. It is made from beans and legumes and is commemorating 2 different wars that occurred 100 years apart. War is a definite theme in Mexican history. They have been invaded many times throughout history.
Cathedral in Tepoztlan
After eating, we decided to climb up to the El Tepozteco Pyramid. It is a small pyramid, but it is about 600m (1800ft) about the town of Tepoztlan. This was a tough climb. There are lots of rocks, and the elevation is already nearly 2000m (6000ft) above sea level. Yes, that is a mile high. Oxygen is at a premium!
The bottom of the hill
After 45 min of climbing (and sweating and heavy breathing!), we are almost there!
Chilling at the top with a monkey-like creature. We started in the valley below.
Welcome to Mexico!
We relaxed at the top for a while, and then carefully climbed back down. Before heading back to Cocoyoc, we stopped off for some ice cream. I got a flavor with some nuts and fruit, but B got tamarind and put chile sauce and lime on it. Mexicans put chile and lime on EVERYTHING!
We stopped off at the market in Cocoyoc (first dinner) to buy some supplies for A's birthday dinner party that night. We were given a free quesadilla and some beef to sample. B's sister got some horchata (a rice drink) and gave me some. B slapped the straw out of my mouth and said "Maria! You can't drink water from the market!". I did, and luckily did not suffer later for it.
Back at the house, some of A's friend's from Mexico City arrived. Everyone was preparing the food for dinner (second dinner!), and we chatted. There was a language barrier, but, as I found during my other travels, people are people and we didn't have too much trouble communicating. Dinner that night was on the patio by the pool. We had barbecued beef, cactus leaves, quesadillas, chicharrones, and plenty of cold Mexican beer. It was delicious and I was stuffed (though everyone tried to get us Gringas to eat MORE). After dinner, we played volleyball and B and her sister attempted to teach me to dance. It was a really fun evening.
On Sunday, B and I woke up early to run a 7km loop in her neighborhood. There are a few big hills, the temperature was close to 80F, and the elevation was about 5000ft. However, there was a great view of the Popocatepetl and Ixtaccihuatl volcanoes. Popo was smoking, and it was pretty amazing to be running near these giants.
This is the Ixtaccihuatl volcano. She looks like a woman lying down.
This is the Popocatepetl volcano.He is the male volcano. There was some smoke coming out of the top.
Here are both volcanoes together
After our run, we had breakfast (leftovers + some cake from A's birthday). A, his sister, and B's sister headed back to Mexico City to visit family and B's parents drove us to Taxco, which is about 2 hours away. It is a mountainous city known for it's silver. The drive (including parking) was an adventure, but B's dad did a great job. We had first lunch at a restaurant that overlooked the city. I had soup and a quesadilla. It was good. B, Rosita, and I walked around the city. The city center is very compact, and has colonial roots. The town square is anchored by a very ornate Cathedral.
Cathedral in Taxco with full moon. I love the full moon!
Jesus overlooking Taxco
Another church in Taxco
Taxco cathedral
Once we were done sightseeing and buying some cheap silver jewelry (which is beautiful!), we met up with B's parents for a snack. We got some ice cream that was served in it's fruit. B had coconut, I had orange, and Rosita had mango. It was delicious!
Sunday night we drove back (somewhat harrowingly!) to Cocoyoc. We stopped and had tacos, which were again delicious. I was hooked on Morelos' (Cocoyoc's state) tacos!
Al Pastor - pork that is used for tacos. Notice the diced onions and cilantro next to it. YUM!
Monday was a tough day. Vacation was about to end, but first, my Drill Sergeant friend B wanted to do TWO loops of running for a total of 14km in the elevation/heat/hills! It was quite pleasant to do one loop on Sunday, but TWO loops? That might hurt. We did the first loop and stopped at the house for some water. We went back out and did a second loop and I felt great. The views, the fresh air, the sunshine all combined for an incredible run. We had some gorditas (little fattys = literal translation) for breakfast and played with her dog Muffin for a little while before heading back to Mexico City for more tacos and the flight home.
"What? I'm just a dog? Play with me!"
Heading back to dull, wintry Dallas (with it's multitude of yuppies, chain restaurants, and cultural ubiquity) was a bit of a shock. A and B (and B's family) were so generous to open up their home to us and Rosita and I both had a fantastic weekend. Seeing Cocoyoc was a very new experience. Mexico is such a beautiful and interesting country. I hope to be able to explore it more, especially the food!
