Tlaxcala and Cacaxtla

Well...we found the one town that we don't like...this place reads good in the guide books but really has nothing to offer...San Miguel de Allende does if you want to hang out with your neighbors...2.5 hours looking for a hotel..did I mention that the town is made of hills and all of them seem to be uphill....all the vendors seem to sell in the plaza are hot dogs for petes sake! yep we're outta here. One cool thing...Greg went to bed while I blogged for you guys, but was speaking to a Cop on my way to get some beer...he had been to Canada more than a few times...Vancouver, Toronto, etc...but his most favorite place was a small town he couldn't remember the name of, but had mountains called the Three Sisters! Jeeze of all the places to run into somebody who has been to Canmore....I told him that I used to live there and that Greg still does..I don't think he believed me at first, but then when he saw how surprised I was...he thought it a bit odd as well to say the least, anyway.... On a more of a downer...it is clear that we are not going to be able to see and do everything we planned...oh well another trip...On to the ruins!


In 1993 a discovery was made and excavation began on Xochitecal or the Pyramid of flowers...also found were human remains ...from sacrifices no doubt and over 5,000 clay female figures. When we arrived at the site it was closed! The Government is putting a big chunk of cash into building and preserving the site especially the murals...apprantley the creators of said murals went to some lengths in preserving them for future generations by putting a layer of very fine sand overtop and then filling in the rest with soil rocks etc...again the site was closed...but after a bit of persueding and all in the interests of entertaining you dear readers...we were allowed to walk up to the Pyramid of flowers site...so I did { Greg was in a bit of pain today so he opted out} nice little 3.5 km jaunt up a friggin hill!! I really have to stop listening to that little voice in my head...I came down sunburnt, thirsty and tired...but I climbed the damn pyramid...

One of the really neat things is that Mt. Popocatepetl is smoking again...Greg was speaking to this young lady we met on the bus, the volcano has been smoking for 3 years now and in that time the valley citys...Tlaxcala, Cuenevaca, Puebla etc have been put on red alert more than a few times...now it's in the green but everybody is very wary of Popo and wondering when she'll blow her stack....hell hath no fury as that of a woman scorned. Sorry about the pic...hazy day, but that is a plume of smoke and not a cloud.

Vera Cruz

Left Papantla on the way to Vera Cruz, the Gulf of Mexico coast is quite beautiful and does require more research as there are ton of little villages all the way to Vera Cruz. Ahh Vera Cruz, what a city....tourist town for sure, but with enough of a work ethic to make it palatable, lots of Mexican touristas here...not so much North Americanos, guess this is because of the popularity of the Mayan Riveria and plcaes like Puerto Vallarta. Jan 29 sees the start of their Carnaval...it's supposed to make the one in Rio look like church...what a drag...we need to be in Mexico City so we can fly out the next day. On our way to Tlaxcala and then to the ruins of Cacaxtla...see ya soon.