Rainy weekend in Xalapa, Coatepec, and Xico

Early Saturday morning I got on a bus and went to Xalapa, the capital of the neighboring state of Veracruz. I’ve been to Xalapa numerous for work, but never had a chance to see most of the sites. After dropping my stuff at the hostel, I first headed to the botanic garden. Xalapa is at a lower elevation than Puebla and has a much more tropical climate.

I’ve never seen anything like this before and I’m not sure that it shows up in the picture, but all the thin, black things are spider legs. There was a huge mass of spiders on this tree, more than I have ever seen together at any one time in my life.

After the garden, I went to a town called Xico that is famous for its mole and its July running of the bulls. Before heading into town, I decided to walk out to a nearby waterfall (Cascada de Texolo). The 2ish km walk was on a cute cobble stone road that meandered through banana trees and coffee plants.

Coffee

Cascada Texolo

I got stuck in a full on down pour walking back from the waterfall and ended up having to hide out under a small roof for an hour until it passed. Then it was into the town of Xico to buy some mole before heading to Coatepec.

Coatepec is another small town (and a Pueblo Magico) that is known for its coffee. The whole town pretty much smells like coffee and there is a roaster or a coffee store on every block.

I spent a cold Sunday morning wandering around Xalapa and visiting the anthropology museum that features sculptures, jewelry, and skulls from the various ruins throughout Veracruz.