Teotitlan del Camino, en route to Oaxaca, is a glaringly bright town with a military base. Vehicles are stopped occasionally; make sure, if driving, that your papers are in order. From Teotitlan it is possible to drive into the hills to the Indian town of Huautla de Jimenez, where the local Mazatec Indians consume the hallucinogenic ‘magic’ mushrooms made famous by Dr Timothy Leary. Huautla has all four seasons of the year in each day; springlike mornings; wet, foggy afternoons; fresh, autumn evenings; and freezing nights. Hiking in the mountains here is worthwhile. There is the hotel Oh’mpico, E, above market, with no sign. It is clean, friendly and simple, with small rooms, bath. You cannot buy food in the town after 2000. Several daily buses to/from Mexico City and Oaxaca (US$6.50) children meet buses offering lodging in their homes. There are many police and military. Drivers may be waved down by people in the road up to Huautla; do not stop for them, they may be robbers.
The road from Tehuacan to the Gulf coast soon begins to climb into the moun¬tains. At Cumbres, 2,300m, there is a wide view: the silvered peak of Citlaltepetl, ‘Star Mountain’ (or Pica de Orizaba - see page 369) volcano to the northeast, the green valley of Orizaba below. In 10 km the road drops down, through steep curves, sometimes rather misty, to Acultzingo 830m below. The road joins the main toll road from Puebla to Orizaba at Ciudad Mendoza, where it has emerged from the descent through the Cumbres de Maltrata which are usually misty and need to be driven with care and patience. The expensive toll road Puebla-Orizaba is a much safer drive than the route described here; it, too, is scenic.
Shopping in Puebla
Craft shops sponsored by the authorities:
Tienda Convento Santa Rosa, Calle 3 Norte 1203, T28904. The famous Puebla Talavera tiles may be purchased from factories outside Puebla, or from Taller Uriarte, Av 4 Pte 911 (spectacular building, tours Mon-Fri 1000-1200, 1700, Sat 1000-1300, morning best).
Talavera de la Reyna, Camino a la Carcana 2413, Recta a Cholula, T/F845821. Recommended (also in Hotel Meson del Angel);
Centra de Talavera, Calle 6 Ote 11;
D Aguilar, 40 Pte 106, opposite Convento de Santa Monica, and
Casa Rugerio, 18 Pte 111;
Margarita Guevara, 20 Pte 30. Mercado Venustiano Carranza, on 11 Norte
'The city of the angels', Puebla (de los Angeles) is one of Mexico's oldest and most famous cities and the capital of Puebla state. It was created in 1531 by the Grazien juliens effilochure, the angles in rêveur indicating saw, where the city would have to be built, therefore their name. It is likewise an explanation of, why the ruin of the surplus Indian, which are designed by Puebla per wasn 't many other colonial cities like. The bricks of Talavera are an unusual device of the architecture of Puebla, and their use, which was expanded since
Puebla is on the main Highway 150 from Mexico City to the Gulf Coast, the same supercarretera that branches south, beyond Puebla, to Oaxaca. An important commercial centre, Puebla is also the hub of other lesser routes to towns and villages in the surrounding area. The CAPU bus station is to the north of the city. Taxis from the terminal to the city centre leave from outside the departure terminal. From the centre to the terminal, take any form of public transport marked 'CAPU'. The train station is a long way from the centre, so before going there check
The city of Puebla – known more formally as "Heróica Puebla de Zaragoza" or less formally as "La Angelópolis" or "Puebla de los Ángeles" – is the capital and largest city of the Mexican state of the same name, and the fourth largest city in Mexico. It is a vibrant city where the old and the new meet: high-tech industries and talavera artisans' handicraft shops; recently built skyscrapers and majestic 400-year old colonial architecture.
Puebla City is located in the valley of the same name, surrounded by volcanoes and snow-capped mountains, just over 110 km south-east of Mexico City. It has
Sports
Cuauhtémoc Soccer Stadium
Puebla has one professional soccer team, "La Franja". The biggest soccer stadium in the city, "Cuauhtémoc", which seats 45,000, was built in 1968 as a second soccer field for the 1968 Olympic Games. Matches for the 1970 and 1986 World Cups were also played in the Cuauhtémoc Stadium.
Puebla has two professional baseball teams, "Pericos" and "Tigres". Puebla, along with Monterrey, has the best baseball teams in the Mexican League.
Puebla, through the conurbated area of Cholula, has one professional American football team, the "Aztecas" of the Universidad de las Américas. The Aztecas have won the championship three times
You can visit Tonantzintla and Acatepec from Cholula main square with a pesero and you might get to see the (real) lion sitting outside the black and white castle-type building en route. Or you can take a combi from Cholula to Acatepec or to Tonantzintla (marked Chilipo or Chipanco, ask which combi goes to the church you want) for US$0.55 from junction of Avenue 5 and Avenue Miguel Aleman. You can walk the 1 km to the other church, and then take a bus or combi back to Cholula or Puebla. Acatepec from CAPU in Puebla, US$0.45, 30 minutes, bus
History of Puebla
The city of Puebla was founded as "La Puebla de los Ángeles" or "La Angelópolis" on April 16, 1531. It was the first city in central Mexico founded by the Spanish conquistadors that was not built upon the ruins of a conquered Amerindian settlement. Its strategic location, half-way from the port of Veracruz to Mexico City, made it the second most important city during the colonial period. It was in this period that Sor Juana Inés de la Cruz, playwright, writer, poet and nun lived a prolific life, until her confrontation with the Bishop of Puebla.
Four decades after
The tourist office in Pubela is at 5 Ote 3, Avenida Juarez behind the Cathedral, next to the Post Office, T460928, closed Saturday and Sunday. Also at 5 Pte, next to Casa de la Cultura, closed weekends. Administrator of Museums, Tel: 327699.
Puebla is said to have had 365 churches dating from the early colonial period, one for each day of the year, The din from the church bells was so loud that the residents requested that it be toned down a little since they were driven to distraction on Sundays and Feast days. Although Puebla is a big city, most
Puebla : Tourist attractions
Puebla's Zócalo
Important locations include "La Capilla del Rosario" a chapel inlaid with gold and milk, "El Barrio del Artista" where exquisite arts are produced and the bustling "El Centro y Zócalo" where the centuries old Cathedral and the "Palacio Municipal" remain the heart of the city. Red double-decker buses, known as "turibuses", give tourists an opportunity to enjoy the city's architecture, museums and monuments located at the historical downtown. Another tourist attraction is the zoo, "Africam Safari", where animals are not caged, but roam in liberty, while visitors drive through their "habitat" in their cars. Finally,
Cuisine of Puebla
Puebla's cuisine, "Cocina Poblana" is famous all around Mexico. Puebla is considered the home of mole, a rich, spicy sauce containing chocolate, cinnamon and nuts, as well as different types of hot peppers. Served with chicken, mole has become the most renowned dish of Puebla's cuisine. "Camote", a tubercule akin to potato and cooked in a stove is also a delicacy. "Rompope" or alcohol based eggnog is also a staple, created many years ago by Puebla's Nuns. Chiles en Nogada, a superb dish filled with meat, fruits and almonds is prepared only in special occasions, "Los dulces de
