My 3 Best Kept Travel Secrets

Fellow blogger A Canuck in Cancun added me to the list of those sharing three of their best travel secrets on their blogs according to the rules of Trip Base Blog tagging. The final list of travel secrets will be published at some point in a special blog post for everyone to share.
I'm actually curious and even eager to see what comes of this effort; just think, we will all have access to some pretty incredible places to see. Like having our own personal tourguide for many trips to come! I only hope we'll have time to do the traveling before we use up the oil reserves!

Okay, the first place that comes to mind is:
Apulco, near Cuetzalan, Puebla. I've never actually been to the Hostal Hacienda Apulco, but I have seen the waterfall called La Olla, which you can click on when you're in the main menu of this website. It was so impressive - I remember how we had to get a little boy from the town of Cuetzalan to lead us there... that was many years ago, but I never forgot that first glimpse of the waterfall. My son has camped out on the river near the waterfall, but I've heard from others that the Hacienda is extremely nice and not expensive. See for yourself as you explore the menu, and be sure to check out that video that's in the main menu!

Apulco is only minutes away from my second option:
Cuetzalan, Puebla - I love this town. It's the kind of place you can spend the whole day exploring. The huge marketplace, the picturesque restaurants with their delightful menus and wonderful views of the streets of the town. There is an impressive variety of handcrafts, easy on the purse, the people are so friendly and they really appreciate your visit. The best coffee I ever had was from Cuetzalan, and I'm planning to go there again soon to get some more, as well as an incredible liqueur known as Yolixpa, which is a mixture of alcohol and herbs native to the area, a truly exotic drink which gives you an incredible feeling of being peacefully at one with the universe, which might be the reason, it's nickname is El Todopoderoso (the all-powerful drink). Believe me, a little goes a long way! For a glimpse of Cuetzalan, watch the video in this link. And remember, Apulco is only a few miles away!

My third pick for this blog is another coffee region - in Veracruz this time. It's a place called Teocelo. The drive to get there (going south from Puebla on the autopista to Xalapa, Veracruz) in itself is breathtaking - you are going through the coffee belt and the landscape is so richly green and brown... deep forests and green meadows. Before you even get to Teocelo, there are places to stop and vist, but then, you'll know when and where! The town of Teocelo is very colonial. We stayed in a lusciously green, extremely inexpensive outdoor area called Rancho San Gabriel. Since our main objective for making the trip was to taste as many different coffees as needed in order to find the best ones, we didn't take the opportunity to experience a temazcal, which they offer there, and I always regretted that. A temazcal, by the way, is a traditional sauna - an ancient ritual that began with the Meshicas. The sauna is a ritual in reverence to Mother Earth, using the four elements of earth, water, air and fire to purify and harmonize body, mind, and spirit. I'm not sure of the particulars of it, but it leaves you feeling cured of all your ailments. Anyway, during our search for coffee, we found three that we considered exceptional and bought them right from the growers. We also went to see the incredible waterfall in Xico, which is near Teocelo. You can find your way around quite easily once you're there. Everyone knows what you're looking for and they are ready and willing to help you find it! Please do check out the video of the waterfall, but remember, it's only a video! When you actually get there and see it for yourself, it will astound you!

Okay, finally, I need to nominate other bloggers to carry on the effort! Am looking for ideal candidates for writing up their travel secrets, but if you read this blog and would like to be nominated, please leave a comment so I can get back to you!

gazing out the window

There must be some reason why I can't write, but I find it impossible to catch even a glimmer of it. A truly horrible plight! I haven't been able to sit down and write in so long that it's almost getting to the point where I don't even want to turn on the computer. And if I do, I just end up playing spider solitaire, reading others' blogs, googling zany ideas and reading some of the sites where they come up, all of this after doing the perfunctory e-mail check. But I did finish this painting the other night; when I look at it, I see the expression of my bewilderment... an open window with vast uncertainty beyond, longing, looking out into the night for an answer and being met by darkness, silence, and the unknown. Shivery, yes, but somehow exciting too. Such a beautiful window to be standing before. What's out there? If I keep looking, surely I'll see it! Let me capture it and express it in words! Soon, please!