Day 22
Another Day Off!!
Today I took a short cab ride from Puebla to Cholula knowing nothing about what awaited. The Uber drove for 20 minutes through suburban sprawl and I was regretting my time wasting decision.
I arrived at the foot of the most beautiful, bright yellow colonial church perched upon the top of a beautiful desert hill. Somehow I still wasn’t convinced. I hopped out of my Uber and walked around to the entrance. And as I walked past a slew of sweet little shops, I began to appreciate that I was in a new, beautiful town! I got distracted from the church and began to wander. Down colourful streets of beautiful Mexican architecture; perfect square houses in shades of bright blues, greens and yellows.
I peered into the little shops and got a surge of excitement when I found a lady pressing fresh, blue corn tortillas in the back of a tropical looking restaurant. Without thinking I sat down. A friendly little man came up to me and I finally settled on a fish mole and a pulque (it was 11.30am). The waiter gave me a smile. This mole had a vague smell of peanuts and a million ingredients that I couldn’t name. I picked around the very fishy tasting and I wiped up the delicious sauce with the three tortillas I was given – and was so delighted to find that each of the tortillas was a different colour being made from a different corn and each had a different delicious smell. I sipped on my pulque which was somehow delicious while tasting slightly off.
I ate quickly, eager to carry on with my little adventure.
I walked out and stumbled through a series of smells: the local tortillaria and the smell of slightly burned masa, and then the local patisserie where the smell of amazing creme patisserie sat heavy in the air. I. The back, I spotted mother and son kneading dough on a giant country table with the brick oven being heated by a giant flamethrower.
Eventually I felt like I’d walked all of Cholula and returned to Puebla for some more mole: mole poblano! Specifically enchiladas soaked in mole poblano, pipián verde and pipián rojo. With a much needed (although fairly sub par!) glass of Chardonnay.
I then headed back to my favourite Rosewood hotel for some sunbathing (quite sure I’ve got burned today!) and a delicious mint cocktail with an almond finish. Yum! The waitress remembered my name from yesterday and I was thoroughly impressed! What a view!
What a lovely little weekend escape!