It has been a year since I first traveled to Mexico – with 11 days spent in Mexico City and then seven more in the state of Quintana Roo. I don’t know if it’s my craving for Mexico’s world-famous food, the colorful culture and architecture, or the classic backpacker experience this country offers – but my return felt long overdue. On 22 November, 2021 I flew on standby from Houston to the Puebla airport to begin a 12-day journey primarily in the state of Oaxaca (pronounced “Wuh-haca”). Puebla is located not too far from Mexico City, and a little ways north-west of Oaxaca.
My hostel in Puebla, Posada Vee Yuu, was a nice re-introduction to hostel life after a two month hiatus from travel. In the recent years I have become disinterested in large party hostels, which are overwhelming for an introvert like myself. ‘Vee Yuu’ was the perfect size to facilitate a sense of community between its guests, and I enjoyed a near instant social circle over beers on my first night.
That night I met a guy from Montreal and another from France. We decided to team up the next day for a hike to the summit of La Malinche, a dormant volcano and Mexico’s sixth highest peak. That morning at 7:00 AM we took an hour-long Uber to the national park at the base of the volcano (Uber is fairly inexpensive in developing nations, so split three ways it was quite affordable). There, we found a small cafe where we ordered quesadillas and some very sweet cinnamon flavored coffee while a number of friendly dogs and a strange duck meandered around the property.
I had slept horribly the prior two nights (which included a 12-hour overnight layover in Houston, having come in late from Chicago) – so to skip a period of altitude adjustment and go straight for the volcano on my first day was probably not the smartest thing, but YOLO! I also didn’t pack much food except for some chocolate I had left in my bag from home, oops! Cloud cover ruined any chance that we would be able to take in the views of the city below and of another, more well known volcano – Popocatépetl (or, “Popo” for short).
On the descent we completely missed the path and soon enough we were literally rock-boarding down a pretty steep patch of sand, dirt, pebbles, and stones ranging in size from fruit to small boulders. This was both terrifying and exciting, as we slipped all over the place, carving our own path through the steep mountainside. Somehow we avoided any kind of injury while gradually meandering in the direction of the original trail.
By 4:30 we had made our way back to the base of the volcano. Soon enough we were offered a ride in the back of a local’s pickup truck to return to Puebla. At this point I felt like a wreck – I had a headache from the altitude, my shoes were full of sand and dirt, and the curving roads that followed gave me a slight feeling of car-sickness. Even yet, this felt like an authentically Mexican experience as we passed through small villages with a rear view perspective.
That night after the long hike I went out for a bowl of one of my favorite Mexican dishes – Poloze. This is a soup-like concoction of meat (chicken in my case), chickpeas, and some veggies on the side to mix in. I like to add extra powdered red pepper to up the spiciness! Before my bus the next afternoon I spent the morning wandering the historic district, the main square (referred to as the Zocalo in Mexican cities), visiting ceramics shops, and getting some steps in before the next days seven hour bus to Oaxaca city.
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