Sunday morning I took a bus to the capital of Veracruz, alternately spelled Xalapa or Jalapa. Something from this city would be called a xalapeño, or jalapeño, and so it should be no surprise that the famous peppers have their origins here. I had some SPICY foods all over Veracruz, giving a whole new meaning to enchiladas verdes, with a green sauce that teaches your mouth a lesson!
After the heat and humidity of Veracruz, Xalapa was a huge change. It was only a 2 hour bus trip, but when I got out I was in the mountains, and it was cool and rainy. After making a rapid wardrobe change (shorts and sandals were totally out of place here!), I went to check out the main plaza. I had an immediate sense of déjà vu; it reminded me of a very specific plaza that I had been in before... After about 10 minutes wandering around like an idiot, I realized that the layout of the plaza is strikingly similar to Perugia, in Italy. The city center is on a hillside, and the central park overlooks a valley. The big difference is that in Perugia the view consists of wooded hills with tiny churches and villages nestled in the trees, but in Xalapa you look out on a sprawling city. In one of the fotos, you can see (if you look really carefully) a snowcapped mountain peaking through the middle of the clouds...
I met up with 2 of my co-workers, who are from Xalapa, and had a traditional dinner of pozole at their family's home.
No comments:
Post a Comment