I’m not sure how or when I even first became aware of Puebla as a possible travel destination. It is both a state and city (think New York, New York) in central Mexico and I was vaguely aware of it as the region that most Mexican immigrants in New York City hail from. Then about a year ago, a friend went there as part of an extended trip to study revolutionary history in Mexico and Nicaragua. After talking to her about the city of Puebla, I filed it away in my mind as a place I would like to visit someday.
When I found myself with a week of vacation time this November, I started to think about potential trips for the time of year and length of time I had. Puebla (combined with Mexico City) proved to be ideal–there are many direct flights to Mexico City and then Puebla is reachable by a 2 hour bus ride directly from the airport. (Actually it would be 2 hours if you don’t hit horrendous traffic then have to wait in the bus on the side of a highway after your bus breaks down enroute. I’m fairly sure that the second occurrence doesn’t happen regularly. The traffic, on the other hand, is always pretty bad. So in my case, the 2 hour bus ride was actually 4.) I also happen to love colonial cities and the fact that Puebla has a street that is known as “Calle de los Dulces” (Street of Candy) pretty much sealed the deal.
I almost don’t want to write too much about Puebla because I feel like it is a well kept secret. It seems to be very untouched and unspoiled by tourism. Speaking Spanish is definitely a plus here (and something that I love to do when I travel) and quite a bit of their tourism consists of Mexicans from the capital (and other parts of the country, I suppose) on weekend getaways.
Puebla is one of the regions of Mexico that claims to be the birthplace of mole and the one mole dish that I had was delicious.
It is also known for street food and in addition to the aforementioned street of candy, has the most delicious ice creams and fruit juices.
Another famous dish in Puebla is chiles en nogada, which might be my favorite all time food. It is a sweet chile stuffed with ground beef, raisins and vegetables, covered with a walnut sauce with pomegranate seeds. I didn’t actually try it until we were back in Mexico City and my biggest regret of the trip is that I didn’t eat this every chance I got.
One result of Puebla being a less developed destination was that it can be hard to find what you are looking for. One day my friend and I set out to find a library that we had read about, the Biblioteca Palafoxiana, one of the oldest libraries in the Americas. We were fairly certain we were on the correct street and kept walking back and forth looking for a sign for the entrance, when I finally consulted my guide book and found that we had to enter the Casa de la Cultura and go up a flight of stairs at the back of the building. There was no sign! But this is what we were rewarded with for our perseverance:
The city is also filled with beautiful churches, architecture, and markets, making it a stroller’s paradise.
An easy day trip from Puebla is the city of Cholula, which boasts a mostly un-excavated pyramid with a church sitting on top of it and tunnels that you can explore below. A word of advice: if taking the public bus from Puebla to Cholula (a bargain at 7.5 pesos or less than 50 cents), don’t assume it will be obvious where you should get off. After the bus had just about emptied out, leaving just my friend Linda, me and one other tourist, Amanda, who we subsequently met, I decided to ask the driver when we would be arriving at or near the Zocalo (main plaza) in Cholula . He informed me that we had passed it 20 minutes earlier. So we had to take another bus back in the other direction (they didn’t even charge us again on the second bus!) and I asked that poor driver about 5 times if he could let us know where to get off. Here are some shots of Cholula:
So now the secret is out! I promise you won’t be disappointed in Puebla. I highly recommend the small, funky hotel that I stayed in, Casa Abolengo (http://www.hotelcasaabolengo.com),located far enough from the Zocalo for peace and quiet but near enough to be convenient. Estrella Roja (https://www.estrellaroja.com.mx) is the bus company from the airport.
Fierce Sunflower 