Showing 1-11 of 11 results
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Soccer Sharks & Bands in the Stands – Veracruz, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 13 March 2011
As we pulled up to the Hotel Playa (one of the best budget accommodations in Veracruz because it’s right on the waterfront and rooms start at 300 pesos) we immediately bumped into Juan, the hotel’s owner. He very kindly gave us two tickets to see the local soccer team, the Tiburones Rojos (red sharks), take on the Cancun’s Atlante team that evening. Despite the fact that we had nothing red to wear, we took him up on his offer. Giant cups of beer and the non-stop playing of fans who form bands in the stands ensued.
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Pio Barran Bertelli, Legendary Guardian of Animals in Tlacotalpan, Mexico
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 15 June 2010
For most of his 86 years, Pio Barran Bertelli has been fascinated by animals. As a fisherman he became intimately familiar with the waters and estuaries of the Papaloapan River, where he cast his nets. Soon, however, he was paying attention to more than fish. He wrestled his first crocodile in 1959 and a second [...]
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Tlacotalpan, Mexico – Rainbow Colors, River Shrimp, Riveting Conversation
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 12 June 2010
On the spur of the moment I decided to hop on a bus to Tlacotalpan, a small fishing village about three hours south of Veracruz that is another UNESCO World heritage Site. Although the bus was not crowded I ended up sitting next to a young man named Miguel Angel Lopez who was returning to [...]
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Beyond Carnaval – Puerto Veracruz, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 12 June 2010
Sure, sure. Puerto Veracruz puts on what many consider to be the second largest Carnaval celebration in the world (right behind Rio). And we’d love to see it. We’ve tried twice to attend and failed both times. However, we did finally make it to Puerto Veracruz and even without parades and half naked women and copious drinking in the streets the city showed us a good time. Right off the bat, the city feels extremely Caribbean–the people are darker and even quicker to smile. The music makes you want to swing your hips, not just stomp your feet.
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Cortés the Settler (welcome to the first town in the New World) – Veracruz State, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 7 June 2010
One of our all-time favorite songs is Neil Young’s Cortez the Killer–especially when it’s performed by Warren Haynes and Scott Metzger (who also happens to have written the Official Trans-Americas Journey Road Trip Theme Song which you can listen to on our homepage). Anyway, in Veracruz State we got to see another side of legendarily brutal Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortés when we visited two of the first areas he settled in what was then called New Spain. First we drove through Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz where Cortés landed in 1519.
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Lecheros and Danzon at the Zocalo in Veracruz, Mexico
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 3 June 2010
Although I had been assured that it was not difficult to find last minute accommodations during Mexico’s Cinco de Mayo holiday, upon arriving in Veracruz I was informed that every single hotel room in and around the Zocalo was sold out. Initially, I was surprised, since Veracruz is hardly a prime tourist destination; as Mexico’s [...]
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Pico de Orizaba Volcano – View from a Bus
Blog: Hole In The Donut - 31 May 2010
Within moments of the bus leaving the Mexico City terminal bound for Veracruz I was fast asleep. I’d been traveling hard, seeing sights and meeting people by day, cataloging photos and writing by night. An eight hour bus ride meant a welcome opportunity to catch up on sleep. Some hours later I awoke and was [...]
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Rio Rafting – Jalcomulco, Veracruz State, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 10 May 2010
Poor Veracruz state. While other areas of Mexico inspire at least some recognition around the world, most people (us included) don’t know much about Veracruz except that it’s biggest city, Port of Veracruz, hosts what some claim to be the second largest Carnaval celebration in the world after Rio de Janiero (and we’ve met Mexicans who didn’t even know that much). Sadly, we didn’t make it to the city of Veracruz in time for Carnaval.
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Swirling Swifts from the Center of the Earth – Aquisimon, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 2 May 2010
At 1,220 feet from top to bottom, the Cave of Swallows (Sótano de las Golondrinas in Spanish) in San Luis Potosi state in Central Mexico is the largest cave shaft in the world, the second deepest pit in Mexico and the 11th deepest in the world. The karst cave is also home to tens of thousands of white-collared swifts (not swallows, despite the cave’s name) who emerge from their deep, dark home every morning in a spectacle we were not about to miss despite the fact that it required a 5:30 am journey in the dark up 13 miles of rough road.
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Crazytechture – Xilitla, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 26 April 2010
Many people say we’re crazy when they hear that we’re driving hundreds of thousands of miles through The Americas. However, our Trans-Americas Journey often takes us to places where crazy (in a good way) is truly defined. Like Las Pozas (the pools) outside a tiny town called Xilitla in the hills of the Huasteca region of San Luis Potosi state.
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Waterfalls of the Huasteca – San Luis Potosi State, Mexico
Blog: Trans-Americas Journey - 20 April 2010
It’s wet in the Huasteca region of central Mexico, a geographic area that creeps into parts of four states (Veracruz, Tamaulipas, San Luis Potosí, and Hidalgo). Even when the rest of the country is dry it rains here, which explains why the Huasteca is lousy with waterfalls. The first waterfall we visit is Cascada Tamasopo where the blue-green water and calcified pools instantly remind us of Havasu Falls in Arizona, minus the long, dusty, hot walk to get there.
Showing 1-11 of 11 results
