Chilaquilles

Since the last time Ive been on here, we have done quite a bit. We had another host in DF, sergio, who was very fun, super inviting.. he let us sleep in his bed and we had a blast going out with him... one time to the city´s oldest saloon. We saw a couple more sets of ruins in the city, one of which was at the plaza of tres culturas, where in 1968 on october 2nd, many student were protesting and fired upon by mexican military... the next day bodies were taken away in garbaege trucks.. needless to say there are signs everywhere that say no olvide... or never forget.
After being completely exhausted of Mexico City, we headed straight for Xalapa, the capitol of Veracruz. A very small town vibe for a city, with a ton of cafes (with delicious locally grown coffee from Coatepec). Xalapas weather has a tough time figuring out what its going to do.. its microclimate will pour down rain and show sunshine or fog in the same day. It was a blessing to have rain, which i dont think ive seen since our last trip to Washington. We ate great food while we were there, hosted by some couchsurfers with great travel spirits themselves.
On a day trip, we took it upon ourselves to see a couple of town... first Xico, then Coatepec, both very rich in coffee and lots of jungle-forest. In Xico there are the Cascaras de Texolo (or waterfalls) which are gargantuan!! There was a very high up restaurant which we hiked to, where they had suprisingly low prices. (Maybe you pay with the long hike) They had super great service, always calling me ´´caballero´´ (like a cowboy) and there food was delicious. Sonya´s fried cheese was grilled in a savory leaf that we saw our waiter pick. In Coatemaco we got coffee, which isnt gone yet, surprisingly, and walked around the little plaza and quaint town.

From Xalapa, we traveled to Veracruz, a port city, on the gulf of Mexico. A drastic weather change with warm winds, and humid nights, we are absolutely loving this region. The second we arrived at our couchsurfing hosts house, we went out to her friends birthday party at a karaoke bar. We were pretty exhausted so we didnt enjoy so much, i gave a couple of tries, one with Hotel California, but after all its karaoke, and with most songs in spanish, we were pretty bored.
The next day we toured a little bit of Veracruz, going to the forts they built to protect themselves from attack on pirates a couple centuries ago. We also drank coffee in a 200 year old cafe with overpriced Americanos.
So on monday (yesterday) we took off for Catemaco, where the lake is, and where we are now. It is a very clean lake (unlike Patzcuaro) and a small little town. We are camping behind a restauraunt right now until Friday. Today we went out on a boat tour where we saw a family of monkeys which we got within just a couple of feet from. We saw many islands on the lake and went tothis reserve called Nanciyaga, where theyu have a pretty good business going with Temescals, cabañas, and shamns, where you can tour or stay for a night. Sonya and I got these mineral mud masks, good for the skin... I havent showered in a week so it really cleansed me... and we saw some monkeys out there as well. On Friday we will go to a town for a night that has a bus to Tehuantepec, on the opposite coast. We will cross the country at its skinniest point to go check out the West coast of Oaxaca for a while, and then make our way back through Chiapas to the Yucatan at the Belizian border until we cross into Belize.
On a non travel note, we have been eating delicious Mexican food, from Cheese stuffed empanadas, toTacos in Veracruz, and especially Chilaquiles, whenever we can find them. Chilaquiles are usually best super spicy, and weve found that the cheaper they are, usually the better. In Morelia, there were these 20 peso ones that had chunks of chile and came with rice AND beans, and an egg if you wanted it. The worst have been triple that price, not spicy at all, and no beans or anything.... we had to ask for cheese!!! Generally, though, they come out delicious and they serve them almost everywhere (sometimes at all times of the day). Until we find better Chilaquiles, which Im sure some will compare, Morelia's still hold the title of best Chilaquiles (at that one location). I hope your hungry now.