Vamos a la playa! A mí me gusta bailar...y nadar... y comer

This weekend's itinerary featured the port city of Veracruz (not to be confused with the general state of Veracruz. Just like the city México is not to be confused with the state. Or the country. And you probably should try to keep Puebla and Puebla straight too.) 
I had a bit of an internal struggle over this trip because it was going to cost about 1/4 of this month's stipend and it´s apparently hurricane season on the Gulf Coast. I finally managed to repress my thriftythrifty self and decided to go. I cannot express how glad I am that I went. And in reality, we all stayed in a nice hotel right on the beach with a pool, private beach and free breakfast for the equivalent of about $25/night. Have I mentioned that I love Mexico?

We didn't arrive until after dark on Friday night but that definitely didn´t stop us from searching out the grocery store for some necessary beach items, stealing/borrowing a shopping cart (don't worry Mom, we returned it) and hitting up the ocean. Keep in mind that Veracruz has been consistently in the upper 90s or low 100s for weeks, that the humidity is approximately 200% and the wind is non-existent. As you might be able to guess, the ocean temperature resembled that of a bathtub and while Veracruz isn´t exactly known for its beautiful beaches, a Gulf Coast beach is a beach.

We spent the larger part of Saturday lounging around in the sunshine, splashing in the slightly murky waves, exploring some tide pools, and paying $50MX (less than $5) for a ride on a 10-passenger banana float boat thing. Totally worth it. Later in the evening we cleaned up and headed towards the Veracruz zócalo, which is the town square area that every city and village has, featuring restaurants, live music and vendor booths. I decided to branch out and defy our Shark Week-inspired fears by ordering baby shark enchiladas. I don't know that they were ACTUALLY made out of baby shark, but they were damn good.

We also discovered the most magical dessert there will ever be: peanut nieve. Nieve is an ice cream & snow cone hybrid (the name literally means snow) that comes in all sorts of exotic fruit flavors in addition to the typical chocolate, vanilla and strawberry lineup. Everything is made with the real deal ingredients and the fruit flavors usually will still have the seeds included. One word: NOMZ.

Today we had a lazy morning, mostly inside due to a baby tormenta storm, packed up (it´s amazing how much mess 8 people can make in 48 hours) and headed to the Veracruz aquarium. Supposedly, it´s the largest in Latin America but only costs $90MX.
**Note: the current exchange rate is $1US=$12.40MX**
It definitely wasn't as good as the Chicago or Portland aquariums but we had a good time and indulged our inner children for a few hours with plenty of ooohs and aaahs and failed attempts at no-flash photography in dark rooms.
One thing that I didn't like about Veracruz was how forward everyone was about trying to get our business. In the other cities we've visited, vendors will pester you a little if you show interest in their goods or make eye contact but will generally let up if you stop showing signs of interest. Not in Veracruz. We we accosted (this may not be a real word) constantly by people chasing us down the street trying to get us into their restaurant or to sell us sunglasses or to talk up their touristy t-shirts. I don't know if it's just because Veracruz is so tourist oriented or what the deal was, but i did not like it. But I guess that's just part of the whole experience and what I get for being a blonde gringa wandering wide-eyed around Mexico.

We had a bit of an interesting viaje back to UDLAP because we had decided at some point that we should save a few pesos by taking a 14-passenger vehicle for 16 people. FAIL. My sunburned self ended up smooshed against window and semi-spooning three other people on a bench seat for 4 hours. The trip was slightly improved by the fact that we had a pirated copy of the 6th Harry Potter movie to watch. And you know what, a little discomfort never hurt anyone. And if we weren't all comfortable with each other before, we are now. Plus, I definitely got all 7 intimate touches for the day. And I didn't get carsick. And it was a beautiful drive. And did I mention that I love Mexico?

The whole country is gearing up to celebrate the Bicentennial anniversary of the country's independence from the dirty Spaniards (kidding. kinda.) on Wednesday/Thursday. We don't have classes and we're going to spend some quality time with our hostish families with the highlight definitely being a Mexican Dinner. Yeah, sometimes food is important to me.