An afternoon in Tecali

We visited the abandoned ruin of the ex-convent of Tecali and enjoyed a picnic! A magical and peaceful place that felt almost like the ruins of rome.

volcano at sunset!

We arrived at the top of a hill overlooking el "popo" the volcano near puebla just in time to see the sun set directly behind it! amazing!!! don't worry its not supposed to explode anytime soon!

Museo Robert Brady

Carnival de Tepotzlan

the city of eternal spring

Last weekend, I was once again on the road traveling to another gorgeous place, but this time everything was organized by program so I didn't have to worry about what buses to take! We stayed in Cuernavaca, a old city with cobblestone streets and that is known as the city of eternal spring because the flowers are always blooming and the climate is great! We stayed in beautiful colonial hotel that had a garden and pool- I went swimming for the first time in forever. The first day we visited the house of Robert Brady, an american artist and art collector who lived in Cuernavaca for most of his life and is now a museum. He lived in a huge old colonial mansion and filled it with fascinating artifacts from all over the world and arranged them in a very unusal and aesthetically pleasing way. He collected traditional textiles and made pillows out of them and even displayed artwork in the bathroom! It is definitely a dream house and if I had the chance I would move in in a second! We later explored to city, went to the very old house/ palace where Cortez lived (not a very cozy place, to say the least) but it does have some spectacular murals by Diego Rivera. The next day, we headed out to Taxco, which is a magical city in the mountains that used to be a huge silver mining town, and is still famous for it many, many silver shops. I was a bit overwhelmed by the amount of cheap silver, but i did by a ring that i really like and elephant earnings for my host mother because she loves them and has a collection. The city as absolutely gorgeous because all the buildings are white and the streets are cobblestones, very steep and winding. It was so lovely to just wander down the streets and window shop; we also visited the main church of course, the zocalo (where there were lots of adorable children which made me happy) and I ate mango ice cream. That night we sat up on the roof patio of our hotel in cuernavaca and swung on the swing and looked out on the garden and city below- it was beautiful!
The next day traveled to Tepotzlan, a pueblo that is famous for its carnival and a pyramid that is on top of a mountain. We spent most of the morning hiking up the very steep mountain- it was stairs and rocks the whole way up. But I made it to the top and there was a mesoamerican pyramid believe it or not, as well as a beautiful view. It was interesting to see all the people hiking up- families with babies and dogs and women in very unpractical shoes! After we climbed back down, we had a feast in a beautiful restaurant- they had artichokes which was very exciting and i had a delicious chile stuffed with cheese. The day wasn't over, because we still had to cross the pueblo and the carnival to get to our bus. The streets were packed with people drinking, eating and dancing and selling all kinds of wares. We wound our way to the zocalo, where people dressed in tall hats, masks and robes were performing the traditional dance of the pueblo which was very exciting. By the end of the day were were exhausted, but it was a very memorable trip!

Pueblos Mágicos

the magical town of Taxco where all the buildings are white and the streets are steep and cobblestoned.

Millions of Mariposas!

This past weekend, 5 of my friends from my program and I adventured to Zitacuaro, a small city about 5 hours from Puebla to see the spectacular monarch butterflies congregating in the forest and preparing for their migration back to the US and Canada. We read about this specific reserve dedicated to the monarchs in the guide book, but set off not sure exactly what we were getting into. In turned out to be a huge success and we were all blown away by the immense quantity of butteflies and the absolute beauty of seeing an entire forest filled with the flapping of orange and black wings. In order to get there, we had to take 2 busses and the metro, and I was in charge of figuring out our route so I was very proud that we didn't get lost and everything worked out fine! We didn't know much about Zitacuaro, but it proved to be a cute city with very few tourists and super nice people. We certainly stood out in the weekend market where we went to buy fresh bread and eggs with beans and tortillas for breakfast but we were heartily welcomed! In order to reach the reserve, we took a taxi for 40 minutes to the countryside and from there, a tiny little pueblo, we paid a guide to take us to the top of the mountain. The hike was very steep and hard with tons of dust, so I rented a horse for part of the time, but the journey was worth it because when we arrived at our destination we could hardly believe our eyes! The sky was filled with butterflies and so were the trees, bushes, ground, everything! When you closed your eyes, you could hear the sound of their wings and feel them brush against you. As soon as we sat down, they started landing on us and one even landed on my hand! Our friends who have very blond hair butterflies on their heads! We were all taking pictures like crazy and I took a video which really helps to capture what it was like. We all didn't want to leave; it was like being in a dream! But we knew our guide was waiting, so after a picnic of pan dulce (sweet bread) we began the decent down the mountain and arrived completely covered in dirt from head to toe! After long showers, we wandering to the zocalo to eat delicious tortas (mexican grinders, kind of) and ice cream! Our trip was short, but very sweet and I enjoyed spending time in nature- I miss it since I have been living in the city for 2 months!