Veracruz is a port city on the eastern coast of Mexico, about four and a half hours from Puebla by bus. Well, three and a half if you take the more expensive bus with bathrooms, but we are all about economizing, so we went with the cheap bus. It was the Mexican Independence Day weekend and we didn't have class on friday, so we left on friday morning. The bus ride was fine, and I even saw some really beautiful scenery. The picture to the right was taken from the bus.
However, when we got to the hotel, things stopped going so smoothly. Apparently, the rooms we had booked were still occupied, so the best they could do was offer us different rooms without air-conditioning. After being in the hot, humid, tropical weather for only a half hour or so, this was not an option, so we went to look for another spot. One of the hotels we looked into was El Colonial (below left), which my host
mother had actually recommend. We originally didn't take her up on the recommendation, because we were going for something a little cheaper, but as it turned out, it wasn't that expensive- it worked out to be about $20 per person per night. And it had a pool and a terrace where we could watch the independence day celebration from, so this turned out to be the winner. I'm so glad it worked out that way, because the hotel was pretty much perfect for us.After we had the hotel figured out, we went to get something to eat and explore the city a bit. It felt so good to just eat and drink and relax. Studying abroad is kind of like one big vacation, but it was a wonderful feeling to be on a real vacation.
Sarah and I on the terrace of our hotel
Six of us had come early, and later that evening, the other four in our group arrived. At that point, all we could think of was jumping in the pool. Puebla gets hot in the middle of the day, but even then, it's usually a dry heat. Veracruz was pure, hot humidity, so the luxury of a pool was really nice.
By the time the we got out of the pool, the zocalo (town center) was starting to fill up with people, so we decided to get some food and drinks and have our own party up on the terrace in our hotel. The view from the terrace was absolutely beautiful. There are some pictures below and above. The combination of the colonial architecture, the music, all the people and the warm night air was wonderful. It was perfect to be able to enjoy the independence day fiesta without being in the mob of people below. There was a stage set up with singers and dancers all night, and around 10:30, there is the independence day grito, where the mayor or someone of importance, gives a little speech and shouts things like "viva mexico" and the whole crowd responds "viva." Then there are fireworks and the national anthem. This happens in cities all over mexico on the eve of the independence day. 
I was really excited to witness all this from our terrace, but as it turned out, when we were returning from buying our food and drinks, we got caught in the crowd. I have never seen so many people in one place. The zocalo was packed so tight, that it eventually became impossible to move. Impossible. It was actually a pretty terrifying feeling- to be helplessly stuck in the middle of so many people. At one point, some people started shoving, and I kept thinking "this is how people get trampled and die in mobs." A little dramatic, I know, but I was mildly panicked at the time. So for me, the grito wasn't quite as magical as I had imagined, but I'm still glad I got to experience it in one way or another.
Saturday morning, we were off to the beach. We started the day of with breakfast at a cafe called "el cafe de la parrochia" which is pretty famous in veracruz. It was packed, but we were able to get a table for all 10 of us. I had "huevos veracruzana" which was fried eggs, rice, beans, and fried platanos. Delicious. We had a really nice time eating off each others plates and just enjoying each others company over good food and coffee.
The beach was amazing. Everyone had told us that the beaches in Veracruz aren't that pretty, and it was no white sand beach, but it was by far good enough for me. We spent a lot of the day in the water because it was so warm! This was the first time I ever was in ocean water 
that was warm and it was pretty strange at first, but really wonderful once I got used to it. Our big adventure on the beach was going on the banana boats. They are these giant inflated banana looking things that you straddle, that are pulled around by a boat. Kind of like water skiing, but on a giant banana. I put a picture to the left- I'm the one in the foreground who's waving so big it looks like my arm might come out of its socket. You can't see the motor boat in the picture, but it was ahead of us towing us around. It was sooo much fun. We all got salt water sprayed in our eyes and had to hold on for our lives, but being whipped around the Caribbean on a giant banana with a bunch of great friends, laughing and screaming like little girls was well worth a little salt in the eye.
Our time at the beach passed so quickly. I felt like we had just arrived and the sun was already setting. I don't even know what we did to make the time pass so quickly. I guess that's what happens when you’re truly having a good time. There are some more pictures from the beach bellow.
After the beach, we took the bus a little further south to a town called Boca del Rio which has amazing (and cheap) sea food. The only problem was that was really all there was- seafood. This is a problem when three of your friends are vegetarians. When we asked a waitress at one of the restaurants if there were any vegetarian options there, she said no, and not at any restaurant in Boca del Rio. On that note, the vegetarians got back on the bus, but the 
rest of us stayed and found the restaurant definitely lived up to its reputation for great seafood.
After our meal, we went to investigate a fountain we could see from the restaurant. It turned out to be this really cool water show complete with lights and music. It was dark by this point, so it was a really beautiful sight. Like so many things on the trip, it was something we just happened upon. This was one of the 
many moments where I felt like the travel gods were just smiling down on us. The picture to the upper right is the water show, and below is Rouwenna, Sarah and I in front of it.
Once we got back to Veracruz, we all met up again for ice cream. We went to a busy place called "guerro" which had something like sorbet, but not quite. I don't know quite how to describe it, but it was delicious. I got "tropicolda" which was banana, pineapple, and coconut, but the peanut flavor was also a favorite of mine. You wouldn't think peanut flavored ice would be that great, but it was.
At that point we were all pretty tired, so we headed back to the hotel. However, it wasn't time for bed yet. Charlotte has a cousin who apparently played in an orchestra of the americas with people from all over north and south america or something, and she made a good friend from Veracruz. When she heard Charlotte was going to be in veracruz, she put the two in contact. So just as we're ready to crash, the friend of Charlotte's cousin calls charlotte to see if we want to do something. While we were tired, this was one of those "wow this is a small world and we won't get a chance to meet again" type moments, so we agreed to meet up. The friend of the cousin brought two friends, and we all went down to the restaurant below the hotel for drinks. I think we were pretty awful company because we were also so tired, but the guys were fun and the night life in Veracruz is full of music and color, so it was nice to spend a little more time in it.
The next morning half of us got up to go visit the aquarium. I had been considering sleeping through it, but Sarah pointed out the night before, "We can sleep at home, we're only here once." It was a good point so I was up early to make it to the aquarium and back before we had to check out. Ever since our orchestra trip to the Boston Aquarium back in February, I have been a huge aquarium fan, so this was a real treat. I loved the sea turtles, the really huge fish, the manatees and the sharks, although I was glad we saw the sharks the day after the beach...
After we got everyone mobilized and out of the hotel, we made a stop at burger king and looked like we were planning on camping out there with all our stuff. While half the group was at burger king, some of us ran back to guerro to get one more cup of delicious ice cream. By the time we finally got to the bus station, we were able to get four tickets for 4:15 and the other six for 5:45. Those of us without pressing homework needs stuck it out to wait for the later bus. Since we had all our crap with us and were so tired and hot, we ended up just sitting in the bus station watching each other sweat to pass the time. But I slept pretty much the whole way home, which was very, very nice. Once we got back to the bus station, Rouwenna's host brother was nice enough to come pick all six of us up (fitting too many people in one car has become our specialty here) and drive us all home.
So now that I have detailed the entire three days, I have some reflections on the trip as a whole. Saturday night I was talking with someone about how comfortable we felt on this trip, and part of that, we decided, was the fact that we were filling a role that was familiar to us. In Puebla, we are trying to fill the role of Mexican students, but this can be pretty difficult sometimes since we don't look like, sound like, or act like mexican students. But in veracruz, we were filling the role of tourists, a role that comes much more easily. This isn't to say that I would want to always fill the role that comes easiest- where we are learning and growing is in the role that comes more difficultly- but it was very nice to take a break from that and just relax.
But it wasn't just being on vacation that made the weekend so wonderful, it was being on vacation with nine great friends. There was no petty drama or fighting, just a bunch of friends relaxing and enjoying each others company. I don't know how I got so lucky as to be able to spend a weekend at the beach with such fun, interesting, good-natured people. There were so many moments this weekend where I just paused and thought, how is it possible that life is so good to me?
The whole group at the beach: Me, Christina, Rouwenna, Max, Sarah, Courtney, Cassie, Naihomy, Jenna, and Charlotte
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