VERRACRUZ STATE - MEXICO

A late night departure from Campeche was followed by another sleepless night in the bus and an early morning arrival to the city Villahermosa in the state of Tabasco. Despite contemplating staying here for a few hours to check out 33 Olmec heads which had been placed in a park not far from the bus station (the only attraction in the city) I eventually decided to continue my travels and spent another 6 hours on buses before I finally arrived in Catemaco, a small town on the edge of a large lake in Verracruz state.

I found every place I visited in Verracruz state to be very hot, Catemaco being no exception. Despite a quite positive review of the town in my travel guide, the town didn`t offer a great deal and after having a quick walk around parts of the city and the lake, I found a nice spot to relax and read a little of my book. Whilst being a nice spot to just chill out for 1 day I decided to move on the following morning as there really was very little to see and do.

My next destination was the capital of Verracuz state, ´Verracuz´. As Pedro, a spanish traveller I met in Jalapa so aptly put it, if Catemaco is hot then Verracruz is like a ........... oven. (You fill in the blank!). Thankfully I managed to score an air-conditioned room and escaped much of the heat by arriving to the city in the late afternoon. That evening I wandered around parts of the city centre and along the coastline and whilst there were some nice areas and plenty of people to observe, there was once again a limited range of things to see and do. As such, I decided once again to stay only a single night and didn´t even bother to check out the citys nightlife, despite it being a Friday...

Thankfully the small town of Jalapa (my next destination after Verracruz) provided somewhat of a break from the monotony of locations I visited in Verracruz state. Apart from being a little cooler than the rest of the state (because of its elevation) there were a number of interesting places to visit, both in and around the city including a very impressive museum of anthropology (apparently the second best in Mexico) and also a nice waterfall about 30 minutes outside the city. Unfortunately, the lack of recent rainfal meant the waterfall was not nearly as impressive as it appeared in many photos taken a little later in the year but still it was worth the trip.

Jalapa also provided my first opportunity in some weeks to get out and enjoy some `Mexican nightlife` as most of the locations I had visited in the Yucutan Peninsula and Chiapas had been quite dull on this front. On my first night in the city, I ventured out with a few other travellers staying at the hostel and after grabbing a few beers at a quiet but trendy bar closeby, we walked to a club and spent a few hours there making some new local aquaintences and enjoying a few more beers. It was quite an enjoyable night and we met some friendly and crazy students who were studying in Jalapa. The music... well it was the normal rubbish, but I wasn`t expecting anything different.

Unfortunately, in an attempt to enjoy some more of the student nightlife, Pedro and myself ventured out on the following (Sunday) night and undertook a fair hike to get to a supposedly excellent club only open on Thursdays and Sundays. What people neglected to explain was that the club was dedicated completely to Salsa and as such we were both thoroughly dissapointed and decided to leave after only an hour despite forking out quite a hefty entrance fee.

Following the weekend I decided to stay in Jalapa a few days longer than I had originally intended, mainly because I was in no real hurry to be anywhere else and because I enjoyed hanging out with a few people (Marcella, Mario, Paula) I had met during my first night out. During the remainder of my time in the city I had more of a look around but basically just relaxed. Whilst definately not the most interesting of destinations, Jalapa provided a pleasant change in scenery and climate and was definately worth the visit.

Photos 1&2: Lakeside shots in Catemaco.
Photo 3: Verracruz harbour by night.
Photos 4&5: Olmec heads exhibited at the museum of anthropology in Jalapa.
Photos 6&7: Xico waterfall, not far from Jalapa.
Photo 8: Salsa lessons with Marcella.
Photos 9-12: Night out with Marcella, Mario and their friends.