¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Veracruz and Mexico City Highlights

 Bonita tarde..... from the Wandering Berkmans!

Greetings from Mexico City!  As we finish up the holidays and look forward to visits from friends and family, here's a quick wrap up of our time here so far.  

Just a week after arriving, we took a weekend with Zach and Tavo to visit Veracruz, a beautiful seaport city.  

During a  boat tour in the lagoons of Catemaco the guide showed us how easy it was to gather oysters-- just put your hand in the shallow water and boom- it's a party.  The most amazing part-- the small island where the  frigatebirds roost and mate.  From a distance, I asked our guide what was the red fruit in these trees.  We were blown away when we got closer and saw that the red "fruit" was actually the puffed-up chest of the male, ready to get it on.  

Zach and Tavo contemplating all the high-jinx that took place back in the day on the appropriately named Faro Isla de Sacrificios.  

The imposing walls of San Juan de Ulua include coral and shell and are strong enough to act as fortress, prison and presidential palace at one time to Benito Juarez himself.  

Don't even think about swimming less than two hours after eating, says (apparently) every Veracruz mama, as seen on this list of beach rules.  

The imposing Foro Boca, home to the Boca del Rio  Philharmonic, sits just off the pier and offers a dramatic entry point into the city of Boca del Rio and the Playa Santa Ana.  

Testing the selfie-stick on the pier.  Camera shy-- the tremendous, prehistoric-looking storks swooping about everywhere.  

The main plaza of Boca del Rio.   

Veracruz breakfast eats included Huevos Tirados,  a shaped mound of eggs and refried black beans served with salsa and corn tortillas, of course.  Zach and I tucked into these while Tavo had enchiladas, another popular breakfast dish.  

La Parroquia de Veracruz is also home to the looooong pour of delicious Veracruz coffee and hot milk.  This particular pour started way up high-- we caught it in its waning moments.  Want more?  Just tap your spoon to your glass (like you're at an American wedding!) and the server bearing double pots (one each of coffee and milk) will head to your table for a refill.  I tapped my glass just to test it and the server's response was positively Pavlovian! 

When at the coast, seafood is the name of the game.  Zach and I, eager to try it all, ordered 2 dishes and split them.  On the left,  mojarra a la veracruzana, a whole fish covered in tomatoes, chile, etc.  On the right, pulpo al chipotle, octopus in chipotle sauce.  1,2,3 point to your favorite and we both pointed to the mojarra-- it was just too amazing.   In third place, the Michelada Cubana-- a beer with various savory sauces and rimmed with chile.  What does this have to do with Cuba, you ask?  Not a whole lot but the name comes from a futbolista named Michel Esper (not Cuban) from the 70's who would ask for his beer with lime and chile.  Other players began to order their beer "tipo Michel" , chela is another word used for beer, you get the picture.  Points to anyone who can find out the origins of the Michelada Cubana!

Unfortunately, we left Veracruz with more than just fond memories-- Covid came along for the ride.  Just like the flu (5x vaxed!) so nothing serious but it sliced a week from our Mex City itinerary.  On the other hand, we got to know our pillows very well.  

Back in the saddle again, and in no particular order--

This is the just one view we have on Sunday mornings when the city closes this main avenue and others around the city and we take to our bikes-- the quality of the city bike rentals is some of the highest we've encountered.    We look forward to it every Sunday.  

Looking for something unusual to do at your next destination? Atlas Obscura has something odd, strange and bizarre to fit every taste! Here, a former monastery  houses in the crypt 12 mummies of its former residents, each in various stages of  loveliness.  The poor thing looks a little chilly.

A must for any visit (and one we finally did in depth) is the Museo del Templo Mayor near el Zocalo.  This expansive museum shows the remains of a 60 meter temple that was destroyed when the Spanish came to town.  The museum also includes many rooms with artifacts.  The cathedral in the background of the photo was built on the ruins of some smaller temples in the "complex".  A fascinating visit.  

Christmas came and went but Three Kings Day on January 6 is a big deal here as well.  Here at the mall, Santa's seat was being prepared for the Three Kings visit. 

So many homes here are behind large walls and gates that open up to courtyards not unlike this one which was repurposed for a number of cafes and bars.  

Speaking of Christmas, we were so happy to be able to spend it with our kids and Tavo.  Jules treated us to tasty french toast in the AM and Zach cooked a Cuban Noche Buena feast  any abuela would be proud to call their own-- black beans (using my mom's amazing recipe-- a splash of wine is the key!), rice, maduros (plantains), roast chicken, avocado salad (camera shy-- yucca.  sadly, it's very hard to find it here).  It was a day of family fun (sentimental rewatch of Barbie Nutcracker, all finishing a jigsaw puzzle together, intro to White Lotus season 2) and great conversations as always. Will Mexico City be our new Xmas location? If it means we can get our two great kids together, always! 

Parque Hundido is not just a pretty face-- this beautiful urban park with replicas of Mayan, Olmec and Aztec sculptures also takes the time to teach the public about gender equality.  

Another beautiful park is Parque Espana with everything you could want in a park-  foliage, fountains, a quiet meditative area and dogs galore!! 

Never one to let a good volleyball opportunity pass them by, Jules wows the locals with mad skills at Parque Bicentenario, a former refinery now fantastic ecological park.  It was worth getting sand in every crevice of their body.  

One of my favorite houses in our neighborhood of Del Valle.  

This Christmas market was a block away from us -- we bought so much crap they got to know us oh too well.  

A chance afternoon at Chapultepec Park where  BTS ARMY was celebrating Jin's birthday-- games, music, cake-- and they invited me to join in!  I'm the one right next to the Jin cut out on the far right-- I don't mess around. 

¡Comida para todos!

 Most restaurants offer "el agua del dia" which is essentially a drink of blended fruit with water and sugar.  The options vary day to day but these tasty and refreshing drinks usually include a Frutos Rojos (berries basically-- Don's fav) and in this case for me, a lemon y jenjibre (lime and ginger) concoction.  Have blender, have agua del dia-- it's that simple.  It's that good.  

Our first night in our apartment we were drawn to the activity, bright lights and outdoor tables of our now fav local taco place Tacoyotl.  In taco or torta (sandwich) form,  the pork seasoned al pastor and Yucatan pastor negro (seasoned with cha'wa or ancho chiles) are comfort food.  Yes, my plate is the one almost entirely covered in cilantro.    

In the days before the Three Kings Day celebration on January 6, people can be seen on the street carrying large boxes emblazoned with "Rosca de Reyes".  Inside is a delicious circular sweet bread decorated with sugar and dried fruit, served with rich hot chocolate-- not too shabby.  The tradition is that the bread is cut into pieces for those present and the person who finds the baby Jesus in their piece has to buy tamales for everyone on Feb 2.  Read about the tradition here.   I need to start saving my pesos-- I got the baby!

Just the other day, Don discovered that alambre is the closest he can get to his beloved fajitas.  Since then, he's had them twice and I guarantee he won't stop there  until we leave.  

A quesadilla de huitlacoche (corn smut/fungus!) is the ultimate in "looks bad, tastes good".  If you can find it where you are, do yourself a favor and give it a try.  

As another nod to all the vegetarians/vegans in the group, we tried these vegan/seitan tacos.  I would have seasoned the seitan first but when you can add at the table all the chiles, lime, cilantro and onions seen here, you can forgive a lack of seasoning now and again.  

I got in one delicious plate of ceviche at a nearby restaurant before it closed.  I will dream of this dish.  

Because you're all wondering, Don had pescado empanizado (top)- he's becoming quite the fish eater! The empanada de atun below was a great idea but the bun was overdone.  I will dream of how to make this dish better.  

And finally, mojarra when it's not covered in delicious salsa a la Veracruzana (as seen earlier in this post).  We had this in a Colombian restaurant and when I say they were generous with the garlic, our breath afterward would kid you not.  Fantastic.  The green agua del dia (remember that?) is of a fruit not usually found here but worth looking for in your local Caribbean market.  This fruit called lulo makes for a tasty drink, not overly sweet, but overly delicious.  

                                      

And for our SOL of this post, it's only fitting that after writing of all this good eating, we share a tradition here we just love.  When you've finished eating in a restaurant and you're leaving, it's traditional to say to the diners still there "Provecho!" to wish them a pleasant and tasty meal. When we heard about this, we kneeeeeewwwww we had to make this part of our repertoire.  Locals are especially surprised to see Don sounding so local with his well-practiced "Provecho!" but they always appreciate it.  Try it next time you're at Starbucks!  This blogpost is dedicated to all those who have been wished and have wished us "Provecho!" -- such a lovely custom.  

Our good friend, honorary sibling and prior travel buddy Page (Austin 2020) is arriving tomorrow and the itinerary is packed so we bid you hasta la proxima, where we'll dish about Page and a visit from brother Budd and his partner, the wonderful Kris, later this month.   

Your friendship this new year and every year is treasured-- thanks for following along!!

 Don and Monica