Manzanillo

Manzanillo is one of those beach resorts that Mexicans recommend, after they’ve already recommended all the other ones. I can’t think why. It’s actually the closest to Guadalajara, a bare four hours in one of the luxury buses. The restaurant strip is a bit crappy, judging by the beyond vile, [...]

Mexican Monsters

Recently Albs, Shona and I went to Mexico City. This was my third time there, (the past two times were last year), and since I’d already done a lot of the usual things, I for once did a bit of research. This led to us going on the Saturday to a less [...]

Tequila Sunshine

That would be Tequila the place, everyone, and not the beverage, although one thing does often lead to another…
While my sister was visiting we decided to do an easy day trip from Guadalajara, and Tequila is one of the best-known destinations within an hour or so of the city. We looked into the [...]

Buffff, Mexico

Well, it’s been a good few weeks of silence, not because nothing was happening here, but because too much was. The university marking wrapped up in a flurry of marking and distressed students; at the same time I found myself sinking in the very dark and murky waters of Mexican bureaucracy as my work [...]

Flower Carpets in Huamantla

I’m dying to write about the Day of the Dead festivities in Oaxaca (posts coming in a week or so) but first I think it’s important to mention this wonderful festival close to Puebla. It was almost two months ago, which shows how up-to-date my blog is! I’ll try and let [...]

Pulque

The trip to Tlaxcala contained elements that were both touristy and debauched, and while the tourism was impressive, I have to say I remember the debauched end of the trip with even more fondness.
On the way back from Tlaxcala, I watched the countyside of cacti, dilapidated houses and ever-present dogs while trying not to feel [...]

Tlaxcala: A Cloudy Art Day

About 45 minutes-ish by car from Puebla is the city of Tlaxcala, capital of the state of the same name, where I headed with some friends. I can’t say we did an exhaustive tourism of Tlaxcala, but we did see inside the town hall, some beautiful murals, typical in Mexico, depicting the history of [...]

La Profética

After a trip to La Verdad for some delicious Mexican pastries, there’s really no better place to enjoy them than in the Café-Bar of La Profética, a thirty second walk away. Profética is a café, a good bookstore, and a free private library, all located in a classic tiled building in downtown Puebla. [...]

Chiles en Nogada

¡Exquisitos Chiles en Nogada! ¡Ricos Chiles en Nogada! ¡Autenticos Chiles en Nogada! !Una temporada: Chiles en Nogada!

Apart from the omnipresent chocolate and chile sauce known as Mole Poblano, the Poblanos seem to be most proud of their Chiles en Nogada, a specialty in Puebla available during for the summer, although with globalization, I [...]

Independence Day in Mexico

When I told my students at the posh university that my plans for my first Independence Day in Mexico were to “hang around in downtown Puebla and see what happens,” they were universally horrified.
“The people in Puebla get very aggressive.”
“It’s better to go to a nightclub.”
“Downtown Cholula (a half hour drive from where I live, [...]