One of the suggested day trips in and around Puebla should be checking out Cholula, Mexico. Honestly I went into it somewhat blindly. Rey (our Couchsurfing host) was heading out there and suggested we tag along. I wasn’t about to turn down the suggestion. Surfing with a CS host is kinda like going to a fancy restaurants. When the chef (local) tells you it is good, by God, you better order it.
If you do happen to find yourself there, I highly suggest checking out the Catholic church of Nuestra Señora de los Remedios. It is not hard to find – it is the highest point in the city and sits on top of some Mayan ruins and you can see it from the other side of town. This obscene and slightly gaudy church built itself on top of a temple – very PC. You can walk around the ruins before heading up to the top. Also, make sure to clap in the courtyard near the altars. The Mayans built their stairs at a certain angle so that when loud noises are made, the sound of the quetzal bird is bounced back at you. It will blow your mind. I promise. There. I saved you like $10 to avoid having a tour guide. Cheap ass bastard I know.
Even though this was not our first rodeo in the ruins department, I am still blown away by the ingenuity of the Mayans.
Also, on your way up the steep ramp to the top of the church, you can find ladies selling roasted crickets. I swore I would NEVER eat a bug but just record Shaun doing it all for us. I would participate vicariously. Rey, Alfredo, Rene and Shaun popped the crickets into their mouth anticlimactically and stared at me.
Your turn.
They all said.
Peer pressure. Something I apparently fail at. Hell, I ended up jumping off a freaking bridge in Ecuador by the end of the trip. I’m seriously doomed if my group started jumping off cliffs.
Hilarity ensued including Shaun commandeering my camera to get my grossed out faces.
But to be honest, it tasted like chile oil covered peanut shells. Oh, and remember to remove the legs before eating. They are known to get caught in your throat.
When you reach the top of the church, make sure to pay homage to one of the patron saints, San Homobono. He has a pair of scissors in his right hand. Did I mention that he is the saint for fashion design?
I think all of us need a patron saint like that. Hell, I’m still searching for the mystical saint of blogging and online income? Right?! Right?! HAR HAR. (Now I’m thinking there can actually be one).
Homobono is freaking fabulous. So fabulous I really wanted to find a buy one of those mini replicas you see everywhere just so I can bring one home to my friend/hairdresser supreme. I’ll rub his belly or something before she starts chopping at my hair.
The church is beautiful and totally worth the trip out. Make sure when you are in Puebla, catch one of the cream buses and ask if they are heading to the colonias to get to Cholula. The entire transportation system is privatized in Puebla so no maps, no routes, and well… good luck with that one.
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“It’s your turn.”
I love your expression! Good tip on the legs.
Oh no! The thought of legs getting stuck in my throat is already making me feel like choking:/
I think you look great even while eating the cricket. I would easily loose my dignity. 🙂
Cool San Homobono with the scissors!!!
Hehe, those don’t look like grossed out faces — are you sure you didn’t enjoy that cricket? 😉 At least it didn’t taste as horrible as you may imagine. Glad they got you to give one a go O:-)
I didn’t even know there was a city named Cholula! Loved the sequence of you eating the legless bug 🙂 If I have to take the legs off anything before eating, I won’t eat.
Ha I agree with Heather – you don’t look toooo grossed out! I really don’t think I could eat one…when I was in Cambodia I travelled with a girl who carried some kind of insect she’d bought at a stall around with her for a few days, trying to get up the courage to eat it. When she finally did I had to convince her to buy a new one – it had started to smell and look even more disgusting. 😀
Gross! Can’t believe you bowed in to peer pressure 🙂 !
Woo, saint for fashion design. Best saint ever.
Your posts taunt me so much, you have gone to so many places in Mexico I want to see! How much longer before you head South to Guatemala?
@Juno: It killed me. Crunchy as all hell.
@Giulia: It was making me gag thinking about it.
@Heather: EW NO. They smell so earthy I gag thinking about it.
@Debbie: I didn’t know about it until we got there. All I thought about was how I put Cholula hot sauce on my tacos.
@Megan: EW – again NO. I had to have a Coca Cola chaser.
@Jill: I can’t help it – I’ve gotten into so much trouble in the past like that.
@Steph: Seriously! I didn’t believe Rey at first!
@Ayngelina: We are actually in Belize and made a stop through Tikal on the way – we are heading up to Cancun next week-ish to head over to Cuba and then over to Guatemala.
EWW! Not the church, the crickets. 😉 Do they catch them from the wild or have cricket farms?
@Christy: It is Mexico – better to not ask.
i guess mexico is a nice place to visit ,,my self still wishing that one day i been there and experience there culture,,,
You’re brave for trying the cricket! I like the second-by-second shots of your face as the insect goes down. Priceless 🙂
@Patricia: I can’t believe it took me this long to get to Mexico when it was our neighbor to the south. I think I’ll continue to come more than I care to admit.
@Leslie: I wouldn’t have tried it if I wasn’t with people. Good lord. The guilty faces they were giving me…
Saint Homobono would make a great band name!
@Evan: OH HELL YEAH.
oh nasty! Can’t believe you did it! Good for you though – I mean where else can you chalk up eating crickets to a full days work?! hahaha….
@Bethany: Yeah… it was gross. Really. Wouldn’t do it again.