Continued from My Mexico Trip, Part 3, The Archeology Museum.

After a busy day in Mexico City visiting Teotihuacán, Zócalo and the Archeological Museum, we headed east towards Puebla and Veracruz. En route, at a rest stop we saw a unique sight—a rock formation in the form of a sleeping woman and Popocatépetl, an active volcano.

Look at the picture. On the right is a rock formation known as The Sleeping Woman. From right to left you can see her head, her breasts and her feet. It was winter. She was covered with a light dusting of snow. To her left is Popocatépetl, an active volcano, with a plume of smoke from the crater rising into the still air, clearly visible from afar against the light blue sky. The name means “Smoking Mountain” in Aztec. It’s sometimes referred to or abbreviated as “El Popo” in Spanish. I thought I detected a faint, sulfurous redolence in the air. An inevitable comparison to Pompeii came to mind, but I pushed that thought aside. No point in thinking about that eventuality on such a pleasant, beautiful day.

We continued on toward Puebla with its long history, multi-culture and famous cathedral. Founded in 1531 by the Spaniards with the goal of outshining the neighboring indigenous city of Cholula, it soon became known as Puebla de los Angeles and an important catholic center. It has several well preserved colonial era buildings with colorful ceramic tiles (Talavera) enhancing the exterior. Many had Moorish patterns and colors (blues and whites). Later additions from Mexico, China and other places enhanced the color palette. Oranges, yellows and greens were added.

We walked toward the famous Cathedral, the second largest in Mexico, dating from 1649. The bright orange dome could be seen from a great distance. Inside, it was cool, well lit and magnificent. We sat on the wooden pews as Pepe, in a low voice, told us the history of Puebla and the cathedral. I looked around admiring the artwork on the walls, the elaborately carved wooden panels, the hanging chandeliers and stained glass windows.

The nave was spectacular with its statues of angels, almost Romanesque in grandeur.

I then looked at the tiles paving the floor. They showed wear and tear as you might expect from the scraping of thousands of feet of the faithful over the centuries. I had noticed similar wearing of the black and white marble tiles at the Taj Mahal. I guess that is the price famous, much-loved monuments have to pay to have so many visitors.

We stepped outside onto the Plaza admiring the outer facade as we waited for the whole group to gather.

Pepe then led us through a shady park with statues of historic figures to a restaurant, the China Poblana, for lunch.

Through the centuries, people from all over the world had settled in Puebla. Many were from China, the result of a brisk trade with the orient. One such entrepreneurial Chinese woman had designed a unique dress with Chinese and Mexican motifs for the wife of a high ranking Spanish official. It was eye-catching and became renowned as the China Poblana (pronounced Chee-na. Poblana—a female resident of Puebla, in Spanish). There was a statue of a young woman in that resplendent attire prominently displayed in the restaurant. We stood around it admiring the colorful design. It was apparent why the restaurant was named “The China Poblana”.

We had a satisfying lunch in the inner courtyard of the restaurant. Then we walked to El Papian, an open air market nearby. It had clothes, ceramics, trinkets and sweets from the locality, much prized by tourists as souvenirs.

Soon it was time to head back to the Plaza, get on our bus and start the long drive to Veracruz where, we were told, a welcome surprise waited for us.

#PueblaCathedral, #Popocatépetl, #ChinaPoblana

To be continued. Next: Veracruz and Palenque.