Puebla, Mexico

February 13 - March 20  [2022] 

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I discoverd Puebla serendipitously after realizing a previously planned visit to the State of Chiapas was not going to work. My original itinerary included a southern route through Mexico into Guatemala where I had targeted the city of Antiqua. Unfortunately, I could not identify a city of interest in Chiapas that justified an extended stay so I decided to pivot north. This change of plans would also give me the option of flying to Guatemala and avoid an arduous ten hour bus ride including all the hassles of most land based border crossings.

 

Puebla turned out to be the right choice. It reminds me of Arequipa, Peru - high elevation (7000 feet), snow covered volcanos within sight of the city and a cosmopolitan energy that’s been absent from many of my previous stops. This important Spanish Colonial city of three million is built around a classically designed central square which lies directly across from North and South America's tallest cathedral. Essentially, Puebla embodies a little piece of all my previous Mexican visits including a robust display of Cathedrals, unique urban textures, color, regionally specific foods and some of the finest wall art of my travels.

 

On a slightly negative note, I contracted Covid during my stay in Puebla so a third of the month was spend doing very little - the bug really drains your energy.  Obviously this had a detrimental affect on my photography and urban exploration so the content is not at my desired level. After reclaiming most of my strength, I decided to spend a week in Cholula about twenty minutes to the northwest of Puebla. Cholula is a university town showcasing the worlds largest pyramid (based on base width) and spectacular views of the volcanos.

 

Overall, Puebla represents one of the better discoveries of the past year and a city I would like to revisit for an extended period of time.