After our amazing time in Bacalar, we hopped on our flight back to freezing cold Mexico City where Wini immediately got sick (again!), and we didn’t leave our hotel room for two days. Oop! Not all traveling is glitz & glam hahah.
Our next stop was the town of Puebla, a two-hour bus ride from Mexico City. We arrived in the charming town in the afternoon, and checked into Choco Hostel — and we were the only ones there! We settled into our 16-person dorm room, with our choice of bed, and then went out to explore.
Immediately, we loved the vibe of Puebla! The streets are filled with beautiful churches, colourful paintings and murals, and decor.
Wini was still feeling under the weather so we didn’t stay out too long, instead deciding to have a cozy night in, eating pizza and cuddling together in one bunk to fend off the arctic conditions of the room. Who knew Mexico could get so chilly?!
We woke up freezing in our room. The lack of heating and the indoor/outdoor elements included in the architecture here don’t make for a very warm environment in the winter. Hurriedly, we got dressed and ready for another day of exploration.
As it was only a week until Christmas so there were tons of cute decorations throughout the town, making the already colourful streets even more festive. We love it here!
Realizing that the town probably looks even cuter in the evening with all the fairy lights turned on, we decided to go home and rest for a bit before going out again later.
Around sunset, we left our hostel again to experience Puebla in the evening and enjoyed the bustling city centre as the Christmas lights went on.
Wini found a delicious spot for dinner, Chuletitos, and we enjoyed our incredible meal, as well as the experience of being laughed at by the workers for our terrible Spanish skills haha.
On the way home, I forced Wini to take some pictures with me in a very embarrassing setting, absolutely swarmed by onlookers, only to get home and realize that they were CURSED! Hahah. Apparently, if there’s a lot of artificial light around it can cause your pictures to end up like this, with dark stripes across the photo. RIP.
We ended the night by watching our favourite Christmas movie (Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone) to get us into the holiday spirit! It’s difficult for it to ‘feel’ like Christmastime when you’re not in your usual setting, this is my 4th year in a row not being with my family holidays, but it’s Wini’s first!
The next day, we decided to go to the nearby town of Cholula for a little day trip. We attempted to take the train (Wini’s all-time favourite mode of transport), but sadly it was closed! Luckily, Puebla has Uber so we were able to grab a ride there.
The drive was beautiful, with views of the most volcano-looking volcano looming closer and closer.
We were dropped off at what is called “the Great Pyramid of Cholula” which we heard was the largest pyramid by volume in the world. However, I was looking up and just saw a church on a hill… I was mystified. “How is this a pyramid? You can’t just plop a church on a mound of dirt and call it a pyramid, can you??”
We later found out that the church (Iglesia de Nuestra Señora de los Remedios), merely sits on top of the pyramid ruins, and is thanks to the Spanish, who had a habit of building their own religious sites on top of existing indigenous temples and pyramids as a way to assert their dominance and Christianize the local populations. Tale as old as time…
We walked around the adorable town of Cholula, loving the colourful streets, and festive decorations.
Hungry, we ducked in for some food at a local restaurant. This region of Mexico is known for its invention of a traditional sauce called mole, which is made with ingredients such as chocolate, chilies, nuts, seeds, and various spices. I wanted to give it a try, so I ordered a mole enchilada.
It was a totally new flavour and sensation! The first taste feels like you’re biting into something sweet when the chocolate meets your tongue, but then the spices hit and turn it savoury.
After lunch, we walked as if in a trance towards the giant volcano, Popocatépetl. It took up the skyline, and we couldn’t stop ourselves from getting a better look.
Popocatépetl is a very active volcano, with the most recent activity in November 2023! When it spews ash the locals have to monitor alerts and potentially evacuate, or take measures like staying inside and using damp clothes to seal gaps in windows and doors to keep the ash out.
Walking back towards the town, we got a new view of the Great Pyramid, and I finally believed that we were looking at a real pyramid. There were bleachers on one side of the site that gave us a nice view of the ruins. Finally, I believed this was actually a pyramid and not a big fat lie!
We called an Uber back to our hostel, and as we were winding down and looking through the photos from the day we heard a commotion outside.
We poked our heads out and realized there was a piñata party happening! We went out to take a picture, and they invited us down to join in. We thought it might be for a birthday, but it was a Christmas celebration. It was so cute and fun to participate! We’re realizing we need to incorporate more piñatas into our everyday life.
The next day, we woke up in our freezing cold room, packed our bags, and made our way to the bus station. We were sad to be saying goodbye to this sweet town, but excited for our next stop: Oaxaca City!
Click here to view our Puebla gallery!
Click here to view our Cholula gallery!