Prismas, puentes y pastes

Huasca de Ocampo

If my most recent Insta (which has crushed my personal record for likes, but who's counting?!) left you with questions such as, "What exactly was Malissa up to last weekend?" "Is she sporty/outdoorsy now??" "Does she actually have friends???" then you're in the right place. Continue reading for all the respuestas you could possibly want and more.

On Friday morning I "moved" (read: stuffed my two gigantic and now-falling-apart suitcases into a taxi and hauled them up several flights of stairs to my new apartment in all of 45 minutes), before setting off for a weekend of travels in the state of Hidalgo with a few other Fulbrighters (yes, actual amigos!).

We started off in the capital of Pachuca, where another ETA lives, for a few hours of wandering around markets and non-stop eating. And, as my Facebook album shows, we also took advantage of a probably way too many group photo ops.

Some highlights of the weekend:

• Our airbnb was a family home (cabin? lodge?) on the outskirts of the pueblo mágico Huasca de Ocampo. Pleasant surprises during our stay included the bonfire/s'mores the señora set up for us in the backyard, ideal water pressure in a spacious shower, and the fact that everyone in town knew our hosts so one night a random guy (who turned out to be a childhood friend of the guy we were staying with) gave us a ride back in his pickup truck because there were no taxis!

I'm sure no one knew we were tourists!!

• Barbacoa for breakfast. Yep. Plus several debates about what animal barbacoa comes from (I have since verified-- thanks, Google-- that Chipotle does NOT serve goat meat). 
• My first michelada. Though I'm not generally a fan of cerveza, I did enjoy this beer with lime juice and chile! I think my burning lips distracted me from the taste of the beer itself, which is a definite win in my book.

• Marveling at the prismas basálticos but remaining completely baffled by the science behind their formation. They're the best sort of natural landmark in that visitors don't have to venture too far beyond the park gates to get up close and personal with the scenery (read: Malissa is not in fact outdoorsy/sporty).

• A spontaneous motorboat ride across the lake. It was all fun and games until we rapidly approached a low bridge-- all of us certain our guide would make a quick turn at the last minute-- and, with only seconds to spare, he shouted at us to get down. We all hit the floor of the boat in shock, and thankfully no one was decapitated. But what if we hadn't understood his Spanish instructions or didn't have time to duck?! Just sayin.

Pre-bridge incident, as you can tell from our not-yet-traumatized expressions

• Leaving the prismas we commissioned a sweet combi driver to transport us to our next destination, but there was a traffic jam and we ended up being completely stopped on a mountainous road for several hours before we finally gave in and turned around. (Not sure this counts as a "highlight" of the weekend, but it did involve much group bonding over a rousing game of Two Truths & a Lie...)
• PASTES. Oh man. They're like my beloved empanadas but a little bigger and oh so flaky and amazing. Between the spicy beef and potato, Hawaiian, blueberry with cheese, and apple varieties I'd say I got a pretty good sampling of this local delicacy. 

Street dog coming for my paste, aw heck no

• Lucking out *sarcasmo* with a free preview of the recorrido nocturno (a sort of haunted night tour they were heavily promoting all day)!! On our way back to our lodging the second night, I noticed a masked figure lurking behind a tree. Before I could fully compute this demon's presence I was already mid-bloodcurdling scream and had ruined the scary surprise for all those voluntarily participating in the event...
• Meeting up with a Peace Corps volunteer who's working at a trout hatchery in the nearby community of El Zembo. It's literally in the middle of nowhere and home to just 27 families (I've never felt so grateful for my little-but-not-too-little Atlixco), so everyone gets around by hitching rides from each other. This means some very generous locals had the pleasure of hauling around a bunch of gringos and our embarrassing excess of luggage.

Katie's photo really sums it up

• An afternoon in Disney-World-esque Real de Monte: artisanal markets where cheap silver jewelry abounds and incr(edible) treats are sold on every corner. 

• After such a busy weekend, a little bus napping was just what I needed. Plus, they showed (a strangely dubbed over version of) McFarland USA on the overhead screens! I grabbed some surprisingly delicious tostadas at the bus terminal in Puebla before the last leg of the journey home. Yes, home! There's nothing like going away on a trip and having somewhere you're excited to return to at the end. Coming soon: more on my humble abode.