11 June Overnight by bus via VILLAHERMOSA
All but missed the connection at Villahermosa, a city the size of Cardiff, no-one of the evening passers-by seemed to know about buses.
12 June VERA CRUZ
Reached Vera Cruz at 05:30 and sat in a cafe near the bus station until it was light then took a bus to the Zocalo and then made an excellent choice of the Imperial Hotel with a stained glass ceiling
A very comfortable twin bedded room and shower Joan remarks on the unusual luxury of a plug for the basin - vital for those who wash their own clothes. Joan also notes the luxury of her 'wonderful' first bath since leaving Swansea.
The Hotel is on the inviting Zocala and very close to the harbour where a huge bulk carrier registered in Nassau was moored
together with fifteen or so large sailing, 40 to 50 metre, yachts, well guarded by the Marina Police, all belonging to various locations in the USA but mostly Huston, Texas. Vera Cruz was a little USA in Mexico, the same could be said of Oaxaca, with lots of small stalls under umbrellas selling gifts. Two very fine recent statues one of a line of people, men, children, a women with a baby on her shoulders mostly standing and crouching, the other a struggle. Unfortunately we do not know what they are portraying.
We initially passed by a fabulous looking fish restaurant when looking for breakfast, our noses telling us the Fish Market was nearby. On finding nothing much we headed rapidly back to the fish restaurant, Joan, 'what a fabulous breakfast', ordered an enormous salad of avocado and prawns (what else!) and I ordered sea bass but in fact we shared both meals. (In retrospect I hate to think this was the origin of the tummy troubles which spoiled the next few days for me). We noted they also serve Zarzuela the wonderful fish stew we used to have as a once per holiday treat on family holidays in Puerto de la Selva, Costa Brava Spain. Well content we went back to an afternoon rest in bed, remember this followed the second overnight coach trip in a few days.
In the evening the zocalo was full of activity, the crowd of people to listen to a concert, the restaurants and bars, the street musicians, Havano cigar sellers, the sweet sellers - especially the tiny eighty year old lady in red wearing a crown and carrying a basket with peppermints and chewing gum, she seemed very popular and lots stayed to chat.
There is a regular for the 'danzon' a little group have their own chairs, they are mostly our age or more fans and skirts are 'de rigeur' for the women and the men wear trilby hats.
The fans are held between the first and second fingers of the left hand the right resting over the man's shoulder, during a pause in the dance the music seems faster and the fan passes to the right hand. Those watching also have fans or small cloths to wipe their faces, for it's very hot even at 8pm (drips are falling from my nose and my glasses are steaming-up as I write.
Fascinating to watch with so much style and very formal - one couple are all in white and an attractive much younger couple stood out in black and white.
A man wearing yellow trousers danced non stop with a family group till his shirt was wringing with sweat. The tiny sweet lady had a dance with a very tall man - she must be a fixture as she was applauded at the end.
Our wonderful Hotel Imperial, once called Universal, dates back to the 18th century, actually 1794 - so my the embroidered insignia on my beautiful percale cotton sheets tell me. The original was built entirely of coral blocks dredged from the sea floor like many of the old buildings here but the modern one is built by modern building techniques using ground coral in the aggregates.
The ancient lift was one of two imported from Switzerland, the other is in Mexico city. It still has its original mechanism but you have to drive carefully or it stops a foot above or a foot below the intended floor. The wonderful metal cage has a stained glass surround, there are old photographs and the original plans for the construction hanging above a nickelodeon which still has a tune selection on the front. The marbled forecourt is polished every day with an electric polisher.
Sunday 13 June
Brian unusually has the trots and is not feeling so good so we decided to have breakfast at squeaky clean Sanbourn's and chose rather salty quiche before walking to the old fort all that remains of a fortified area once protecting Vera Cruz. It is entered by a forty five degree ramp made of stone and coral and then a wooden draw bridge. Inside the main interest was gold artifacts including parts from a beautiful collar piece. They were probably taken from Monte Alban by the Spaniards but originally lost in the bay until found by a fisherman in 1973. There were diaries written in Spanish recording the invasion and Italian style, impossibly hot, armour in the dungeons.
Together we watched the French beat England in the European cup with the winning goal in the very last minute. Then leaving a still poorly Brian to sleep I walked to Plaza Zamora to see their very different version of Danzon from 6-8pm. A woman was pinning red and white bows on men's shirt presumably to show they had paid for the dance, the women went free. Some have come with partners but most men ask the women for a dance. A very old man his body bent an twisted nearly fell over as he stood up, his lady partner holding him up in the rest period. Away of keeping going I expect that some have been dancing here for 40, 50 or even 60 years. As I walked through the back streets I saw an old house with the coral construction and passed a square showing notices asking for preservation of the old city.
The late evening we spent together again watching the dancing in the zocalo and noted an extremely accomplished young boy dancer.
Monday 14 June
Breakfast at Sanbourns obviously the place to be between 10 and 11. Brian had just toast for breakfast and so to a chemist for an antibiotic, Niacin. We decided to spend the day at Boca de Rio a pleasant 7km bus ride along the coast past built up beaches and huge shopping centres, one with a C&A and a World Trade Centre Boca de Rio is where the river Jalapa (Xapala) reaches the sea, red from the soil washed downstream by recent rainfalls. We walked down the river and saw men white washing tree trunks, as in Peru, alongside the river and the streets right up to the main plaza.
A man we passed offered us a boat ride and got his boat out of its garage alongside the shore.
He and his nephew struggled with the anchor, along the muddy river banks edged with mangrove trees seeing purple fiddler crabs and winkles, but no birds it being the wrong time of the day though there were some cormorants, pelicans and vultures on a pile of logs in the middle of the river, and a single weaver bird's nest.
On return we took lunch opposite the boathouse a fair prawn soup and wonderfully fresh perch with salad, then fried bananas and guess what a large jug of fresh lemonade. Some local musicians noting the chance for a tip appeared from nowhere, probably from nearby houses. We walked down the river to the sea seeing more vultures to catch a bus back to Vera Cruz for more footy this time Denmark and Italy.
Then a for a walk in search of excellent cakes and back for the evening in the zocalo.
This time drinking at tables on the street outside our hotel listening above all to freshly appeared marimbas - marvelous acoustic tones of tunes from the Great American Songbook. Brian could not get enough and contributed after they finished their long free performance as agreed with the hotels at 11pm. A musician who played a gourd used it as a collecting box as he went round the tables offering to play the tune of your choice for a fixed price. Joan records they played Siboney and Brazil for us though funding had dried up by 12:30.
Meanwhile Joan was watching the gleaners sift through the waste bins. The watch sellers were still at it, the guitar groups were still playing for tips and a couple opposite us were having their portraits painted when we went to bed thinking of next days journey to Jalapa.
All but missed the connection at Villahermosa, a city the size of Cardiff, no-one of the evening passers-by seemed to know about buses.
12 June VERA CRUZ
Reached Vera Cruz at 05:30 and sat in a cafe near the bus station until it was light then took a bus to the Zocalo and then made an excellent choice of the Imperial Hotel with a stained glass ceiling
 |
| A lift from a bye-gone era seen reflected in a mirror |
The Hotel is on the inviting Zocala and very close to the harbour where a huge bulk carrier registered in Nassau was moored
We initially passed by a fabulous looking fish restaurant when looking for breakfast, our noses telling us the Fish Market was nearby. On finding nothing much we headed rapidly back to the fish restaurant, Joan, 'what a fabulous breakfast', ordered an enormous salad of avocado and prawns (what else!) and I ordered sea bass but in fact we shared both meals. (In retrospect I hate to think this was the origin of the tummy troubles which spoiled the next few days for me). We noted they also serve Zarzuela the wonderful fish stew we used to have as a once per holiday treat on family holidays in Puerto de la Selva, Costa Brava Spain. Well content we went back to an afternoon rest in bed, remember this followed the second overnight coach trip in a few days.
In the evening the zocalo was full of activity, the crowd of people to listen to a concert, the restaurants and bars, the street musicians, Havano cigar sellers, the sweet sellers - especially the tiny eighty year old lady in red wearing a crown and carrying a basket with peppermints and chewing gum, she seemed very popular and lots stayed to chat.
There is a regular for the 'danzon' a little group have their own chairs, they are mostly our age or more fans and skirts are 'de rigeur' for the women and the men wear trilby hats.
The fans are held between the first and second fingers of the left hand the right resting over the man's shoulder, during a pause in the dance the music seems faster and the fan passes to the right hand. Those watching also have fans or small cloths to wipe their faces, for it's very hot even at 8pm (drips are falling from my nose and my glasses are steaming-up as I write.
Fascinating to watch with so much style and very formal - one couple are all in white and an attractive much younger couple stood out in black and white.
A man wearing yellow trousers danced non stop with a family group till his shirt was wringing with sweat. The tiny sweet lady had a dance with a very tall man - she must be a fixture as she was applauded at the end.
Our wonderful Hotel Imperial, once called Universal, dates back to the 18th century, actually 1794 - so my the embroidered insignia on my beautiful percale cotton sheets tell me. The original was built entirely of coral blocks dredged from the sea floor like many of the old buildings here but the modern one is built by modern building techniques using ground coral in the aggregates.
 |
| Largish coral blocks used for building a wall |
Sunday 13 June
Brian unusually has the trots and is not feeling so good so we decided to have breakfast at squeaky clean Sanbourn's and chose rather salty quiche before walking to the old fort all that remains of a fortified area once protecting Vera Cruz. It is entered by a forty five degree ramp made of stone and coral and then a wooden draw bridge. Inside the main interest was gold artifacts including parts from a beautiful collar piece. They were probably taken from Monte Alban by the Spaniards but originally lost in the bay until found by a fisherman in 1973. There were diaries written in Spanish recording the invasion and Italian style, impossibly hot, armour in the dungeons.
Together we watched the French beat England in the European cup with the winning goal in the very last minute. Then leaving a still poorly Brian to sleep I walked to Plaza Zamora to see their very different version of Danzon from 6-8pm. A woman was pinning red and white bows on men's shirt presumably to show they had paid for the dance, the women went free. Some have come with partners but most men ask the women for a dance. A very old man his body bent an twisted nearly fell over as he stood up, his lady partner holding him up in the rest period. Away of keeping going I expect that some have been dancing here for 40, 50 or even 60 years. As I walked through the back streets I saw an old house with the coral construction and passed a square showing notices asking for preservation of the old city.
The late evening we spent together again watching the dancing in the zocalo and noted an extremely accomplished young boy dancer.
Monday 14 June
Breakfast at Sanbourns obviously the place to be between 10 and 11. Brian had just toast for breakfast and so to a chemist for an antibiotic, Niacin. We decided to spend the day at Boca de Rio a pleasant 7km bus ride along the coast past built up beaches and huge shopping centres, one with a C&A and a World Trade Centre Boca de Rio is where the river Jalapa (Xapala) reaches the sea, red from the soil washed downstream by recent rainfalls. We walked down the river and saw men white washing tree trunks, as in Peru, alongside the river and the streets right up to the main plaza.
A man we passed offered us a boat ride and got his boat out of its garage alongside the shore.
He and his nephew struggled with the anchor, along the muddy river banks edged with mangrove trees seeing purple fiddler crabs and winkles, but no birds it being the wrong time of the day though there were some cormorants, pelicans and vultures on a pile of logs in the middle of the river, and a single weaver bird's nest.
On return we took lunch opposite the boathouse a fair prawn soup and wonderfully fresh perch with salad, then fried bananas and guess what a large jug of fresh lemonade. Some local musicians noting the chance for a tip appeared from nowhere, probably from nearby houses. We walked down the river to the sea seeing more vultures to catch a bus back to Vera Cruz for more footy this time Denmark and Italy.
Then a for a walk in search of excellent cakes and back for the evening in the zocalo.
This time drinking at tables on the street outside our hotel listening above all to freshly appeared marimbas - marvelous acoustic tones of tunes from the Great American Songbook. Brian could not get enough and contributed after they finished their long free performance as agreed with the hotels at 11pm. A musician who played a gourd used it as a collecting box as he went round the tables offering to play the tune of your choice for a fixed price. Joan records they played Siboney and Brazil for us though funding had dried up by 12:30.
Meanwhile Joan was watching the gleaners sift through the waste bins. The watch sellers were still at it, the guitar groups were still playing for tips and a couple opposite us were having their portraits painted when we went to bed thinking of next days journey to Jalapa.
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