1. The Voladores, a talented group of 4 men that perform a daily show in Cuetzalan where they climb to the top of this very tall pole in the town center and gracefully slowly fly down with their feet attached to the top of the tower while another man plays indigenous music from the top. It began in Cuetzalan with a native Indian tribe long ago and has now spread to become an important aspect of the cultural in other parts of Mexico.
2. The Feria of Cuetzalan. Very well known as the perfect example of Mexican culture it features a multitude of traditional dances, markets, costumes and clothing, and various other traditions. We had been told it typically lasts the first 2 weeks of October.
3. The scenic view. Cuetzalan is located high in the mountains and the surrounding views are supposed to be breathtaking and the drive up is regarded as one of the best in Mexico.
Friday afternoon we headed to the bus station and began our journey.
Unfortunately we left a little late and for the mountain part of the drive it was dark outside and we could see almost nothing. That didn't matter though since we would surely be able to see it all on the way back Saturday with a 5 PM departure.
Arriving in Cuetzalan we strolled about 4 blocks down a very steep but nice cobblestone street (as all the streets in Cuetzalan are) to the Zocalo wanting to find a hotel near the action.
Though a bit concerned with how unbelievably quiet it was in town (you could use words like ghost town, completely deserted, etc.), we didn't worry too much and assumed everyone was just getting some rest for the big upcoming day.
After securing a 3 bedroom hotel right next to the Zocalo for 350 pesos from a younger guy who never spoke above a whisper we headed out for dinner. Little did we know we would be receiving some very troubling news for the appetizer.
Walking in to the Zocalo we were impressed with how beautiful and quiet it was. After living in a college town and having visited Vera Cruz, Acapulco, and other high energy places, it was nice to see a little tranquility.
Looking around for a restaurant we decided to ask for a recommendation from a sandwich vendor. After getting his suggestion (he actually just named the only 3 restaurants in Cuetzalan), we as an afterthought asked what time the Feria would get started tomorrow.
He answered it won't be starting at all tomorrow since it was last weekend. Confident that I had misinterpreted his Spanish I asked him to repeat and guess what...the answer hadn't changed, whoops.
We decided to head to the closest restaurant (very nice overlooking the Zocalo and all of its bustling activities or something like that) and consider these implications.
At this point, we still were going to have spectacular views the next day, get to see the voladores, and experience a neat place in Mexico (where without the Feria we were undoubtedly the only foreigners) and morale was relatively high.
Regardless, I turned to the ultimate cure for any type of stress, food, and went with quantity over quality in ordering 4 entrees for my dinner for under 10 dollars (though this picture does not include the desert portion which was a steak, 5 tortillas, and beans and veggies for $3.50).
After chowing down we had a nice chat and then went for a walk. While eating some ice cream on the other side of the Zocalo and looking out into the darkness beyond the building imagining the views we would have the next day an elderly man with a fabulous sombrero approached us with a gait that would suggest he had just celebrated his 21st birthday.
After trying to decipher some absolutely incoherent sentences complete with an array of hand gestures, we decided he must be playing a game of charades and began guessing movies. After winning with a guess of The Bourne Supremacy we wished him a good night and continued our walk.
After passing two western saloon double doors, I doubled back to find a bar which we entered. I am going to take a stab and say there is a good chance we were their first table of 2 Australians and an American, but I can't be positive.
Regardless, they had a full stock of a traditional liquor of Cuetzalan which the owner claimed was healthy for your stomach. A bit skeptical of this part, I tried it out and found the green liquid to have an interesting but pretty good taste. Dan and Tom were equally as adventurous and decided to try out something called a beer which they served in a glass bottle and amazingly they also were pleased with their purchase.
As we were finishing a downpour started outside so we walked as far under the awning of the buildings as we could and then were stuck. Fortunately we just so happened to be in the highest population density area of Cuetzalan and found ourselves amongst a group of about 30 high school kids hanging out. Some were out in the rain sitting on the steps that go down to the Zocalo (lowest part of the town so rivers of water are flowing in from every street) getting absolutely soaked.
They were very generous and decided to share some water with us by splashing. After some chants to come sit with them I ran out there for this picture, then Tom took his turn and upped the ante with a full blown lay down in the flooded street.
After returning to our awning they all came over for photo after photo. After about 10 minutes of this, we decided it was about time to head back and left to cries of "We love you forever!" and "Let's get married!" in broken English.
On the way back being the chief resident of Mexican climatology that I am I assured Dan and Tom that it despite the downpour that night it would be clear the next day because I had never seen it rain in the morning in Mexico.
Boy was I wrong.
I woke up at 7 with plans to go for a run to the Cuetzalan hospital which is well known for its traditional medicine department. Unfortunately it was absolutely pouring and a nice fog had rolled in to boot.
Figuring I wouldn't melt I headed out anyways and literally was almost run over by a Cumby transport van which I decided to hop in that took me right to the hospital.
Called the Hospital Integral de Cuetzalan it was an awesome place. Very small and certainly not new, the guards were nice and allowed me to go back to the traditional medicine wing to talk with a doctor.
In a 30 minute chat with Elroy (not sure what part of Mexico that is from) I learned among other things that the traditional center was opened in 2002 along with 5 others in Mexico, that all its services are free and patients are able to make a donation afterwards, that each patient comes in and can choose whether they want a natural treatment or to go to the regular part of the hospital, and I even got a tour to see the 3 rooms (sauna, doctor's office, and 4 bed infirmary), and the laboratory where they take the herbs and other treatments and process them for the patients. The doctors for this part all work as volunteer and are trained through a different procedure than the regular med school track.
After this I went back outside to find that the rain had lightened but the fog had gotten much worse.
Getting back to the Zocalo I found Dan and Tom and we decided we would go to see a local waterfall since the vistas and feria had been crossed off the list. Fortunately, we still had the pride and joy of Cuetzalan, the Voladores to look forward to that afternoon.
After being told it was a 15 minute walk to the water falls and receiving some very vague directions we headed off but ended up hopping in the back of a truck converted to limo (kind of) at a little station where the people told us we would be taken to the water fall.
After 20 minutes in the truck driving over some very interesting terrain we were told to get out here and pointed in a direction. Interestingly enough, here was this church and looked nothing like a waterfall.
We started walking up the street and after some more directions and streets which we were positive would be the last we would ever see we reached a small gate, a pathway into the forest, and the sound of a lot of water falling a long way.
After about 20 minutes we finally reached the cascade and boy was she a beauty!
Just kidding, the weekend was not that jinxed.
After 20 minutes of walking, we actually came to this water fall. Unfortunately it was really commercialized and we could hardly find a spot to put our stuff with all the other people there, but hey it was still pretty cool.
We were able to swim all the way around the shower of water and though being nearly crushed by the water pressure, tried to get as close as we could to the center of it.
After a long swim in the chilly water we got a self timer photo (Dad you would have been proud) and headed back.
Upon arrival in Cuetzalan the fog was nothing if not thicker. We found a small tourism office and were told that if the weather cleared the voladores would be going at five, right when our bus (and the last of the day was supposed to leave). Incredibly the lady was unwilling to have them move the show up for us (though she made a great point that there was no chance the weather would clear anyway) so we walked out a bit dejected have batted a big 0 for 3 on the Cuetzalan attractions but still pumped about the waterfall.
We decided to try out another natural attraction with the rest of our afternoon and jumped back in another transport vehicle for the Cuetzalan Grutas (caves) where fortunately I was able to make some new friends to account for my shut out on Friday's bus ride.
After purchasing a mandatory guide who like the majority of the Cuetzalan population seemed a bit eccentric, we headed in to the cave. It was an absolutely enormous underground cavern with huge stalactites and stalagmites.
Fortunately someone on some type of wild substance (maybe traditional medicine, maybe lots of my green drink from the night before) had gone through and chosen an animal or thing that every rock structure in there resembled including dinosaurs, whales, sombreros, and much more.
This was described as an ancient samurai warrior (or equally likely just a bad translation).
After an hour long tour through underground rivers, lots of steps, and some really dark areas we headed out and hopped back on a truck for Cuetzalan.
After picking up our bags we unsuccessfully attempted to change our 5 o'clock bus to the 4 o'clock with one of the rudest women in all of Mexico but after coming up with every reason for why we had to be back in Puebla an hour earlier except the truth we grabbed a bite to eat and waited.
After a 4 hour ride home (with the view, though light outside, completely obscured by the blanket of fog) where an epic draft with at least 20 rounds of selections of the most eligible bachelorettes of Cholula took place, we made it back in time for a very different type of night in Mexico than the one before.
Though our trip didn't quite go as planned, it still worked out quite well. We had a lot of fun and got to experience the small town Mexican life as well as some cool natural wonders.
This week will involve a lot of rest, trombone practice, and studying...that is until the Thursday departure for Cabo San Lucas with Dan and his parents rolls around.
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