Adventures in Mexico, cont'd.

It took a little while for everyone to get up, breakfasted, showered, and dressed, but we crammed back into the Corolla by 11 and were in Coatepec for lunch before noon. We admired Adrian's driving skills and the luxury of being let out at the door while he dealt with finding a place to park.

The restaurant is called Tio Yeyo and it specializes in trout. The word for trout, we now know, is trucha. There were probably 20 dishes with it on the menu, plus many other things. Ray had steak with almond sauce (really tasty) and a big side salad--oh and potatoes, maybe oven fried. Molli had grilled trout with a little salad-y garnish. We had a pitcher of naranjada and lots of water. My Dad had rice with shrimp followed by barbecued seafood. Really. shrimp, octopus, snails, fish in Mexican barbecue sauce, less sweet than what you usually find in the US. Adrian had the same appetizer followed by octopus (pulpo), with garlic, onions, peppers. I had trucha yeyo, which approximates stroganoff, only with trout. By the way, both trouts, mine and Molli's, came with the head, of course. A cream sauce with mushrooms and onions...and chipotle. Delicious, if slightly out of my preferred hotness range. We also ate tons of chips with two kinds of salsa, while we were wating, and tortillas with the meal. We took home some steak and some barbecued seafood.

Back in the car, we saw a little of Coatepec and then headed to Xico, famous for its waterfalls and its toritos (might have that word wrong). As we crawled along a fairly rough road in our overladed vehicle, admiring the views of mountains and banana trees and coffee plants, with an occasional orange tree, we drove through a gathering of houses lining the street. People, mostly women, approached our car, effectively stopping it, and offered us little plastic cups full of various homemade flavored liquors. Our first few tastes, including the peanut Molli prefers, were not as good. At the second stop, we bought peanut and two other flavors. A third place, we decided on coffee and coconut and maybe pine nut. A couple of bottles will go to friends and relatives. At one point, we were passed by someone on horseback. I began to laugh uncontrollably. The idea of being "forced" to drink these homemade liquors while we were driving in this strange landscape, struck me as completely hysterical. We trust Adrian to guide us and let us know what is safe and what is not. They always buy some.

Eventually we arrived at the approach to the waterfalls. We walked slowly down a paved road, passing small shops selling junk of various kinds, and arrived at a flat paved area with some buildings. If you dare approach the railing, you can see down into a very fast rushing waterfall. If you walk over the swinging bridge, you can see it from a different angle. There were many other groups doing this, including some who had clearly been swimming, although there was a sign that indicated no swimming. We also met a man who asked for money because he was picking up the trash. Molli explained that in a society where the government doesn't provide services, and the people are very poor, they find the gaps and try to get paid voluntarily to do the work. We didn't see many beggars, but a lot of people tried to sell us products and "services," including juggling, road repair, and the above-mentioned blood pressure checks.

My Dad did not cross the swinging bridge and Adrian soon turned back. For Molli and me, it is a challenge to face our fears and we were pleased with ourselves. Also, somewhat intriguing as to why it should be easier for me this time. Five years ago, I turned back when trying to cross and stayed alone while the rest of the group went on without me. Although it was not easy this time, it was much less terrifying. After an adventure with paying to use the toilet, we all climbed back up the road to the car and drove back past the assertive liquor vendors.

Our next adventure involved buying sarsaparilla, home made root beer. There is a town whose name I don't know, where Adrian likes to buy it. If we had remembered, we would have brought bottles to fill. The challenge is in finding the town and the particular shop that he likes, called Flores. He got really lost last time, but this time we found it. It is someone's home and we had to wait while they found and filled some old soda bottles for us. (I don't think the FDA would approve.) My Dad had to use the restroom and when Adrian asked, the young woman graciously allowed him to use theirs. In the store/living room, there are some really old pinball-type game machines that entertained Molli for a few minutes. The young son demonstrated how to play. (5 years old?)

We got lost again on the way out of town and eventually got back to Xalapa. The holiday was winding down and the streets were crowded. We left Ray and Mudge at the house and drove out again to get our turkey. Molli and Adrian don't buy meat at the local grocery store. We drove a long way through traffice to get to the carniceria, but it was closed, probably because of the holiday. Then we drove some more to get to a different supermarket, which was full of many wondrous products from the US, as well as Mexico. We bought a frozen Honeysuckle turkey, canned cranberry jelly and other things we were looking for.