Dia Cinco: December 28, 2025: Puebla

Given the issues with our room last night, and the fact that it was past 1;00 am when we were finally settled, we got a bit of a late start on breakfast, which we had at the hotel. Then we set out for the day, with a fairly long list of places we hoped to reach. First we went to the church we were able to see from our original room at the hotel: Convent Church of San Francisco, because we could tell it had lots of Talavera on the outside (and frankly I assumed it would have some inside as well), Anyway, we strolled over to see it. It’s tower is about 210 ft tall and while the building is (yet again) baroque, it has beautiful tile work on the facade. It’s eclectic and the tiles make it ereally special.

Then we walked to what is calledthe Artist Quarter, fairly close to Parian Market. It a few block long street with “artist” (again of very varying quality) painting on the street and in studios, and street performers and cafes.

We were then headed to the market, but got sidetracked when we saw a street full of murals. And off we went– to a neighborhood whose name I cannot recall… and walked to see a host of murals. To be honest, I could visit these neighborhoods and see the different approaches to the murals — abstract design, politics, famous Mexicans, history, and more… This was a really modest neighborhood with a small makeshift market and streets lined with murals, many of which were now old and fading. We also passed a huge mural on the front of the department of social services.

After strolling and even speaking simply with one or two residents of the neighborhood, we walked to a bigger street and hopped in a taxi to go to the Amparo Museum. We didn’t know much about it and were hesitant to use our last hours there, so we figured we’d take a look and probably just stay briefly and then head to another part of town. But we were quite surprised and impressed.

The museum is located within the historical center, close to the Zocalo. It was founded in 1991 to preserve and exhibit pre-Hispanic, as well as modern and contemporary art from Mexico (and beyond) and to host temporary exhibitions. Structurally it’s comprised of several historic buildings whose facades were retained and restored, but as you step inside you are in a totally modern, glass and steel structure that is totally transparent (in the public spaces, not in the exhibition areas) so you see layers as you walk through the spaces. The interior was intended to be “avant garde” and designed to accomodate new technologies as well as people with disabilities. Beyond this on the top floor there is a cafe and outdoor section where you can see a good deal of the historic center—contrasting this glass/steel deck with the centuries old buildings of the center. The building was well worth seeing and I spent my time in the galleries with the temporary exhibitions which were big, bold, and powerful.

We walked back to the hotel to pack and get ready for dinner. When we arrived back at the hotel there was a wedding taking place that occupied much of the lobby. We watched the doings for a while. they had a few interesting customs. The bride stands up on a “pedestal” and the groom holds up her very very long veil/train and the guests walk under the veil… to loud music. Then they sort of snake around the room and around the bride and go back under the veil backwards. I’m sure there’s some sympolism there but I fail to pick it up.

We had dinner at CasaReyna which is just a five-minute walk from the hotel. It’s an old family run restaurant that caters to locals and families. Some magazine from Sweden said it had the very best mole in Mexico. We shared two courses: a beef filet (they called it “soft”… maybe they meant tender) that came with guacamole and black beans. We followed this with a dish called “Grandma’s Mole” which was very tender chicken smothered in black mole (rich and delicious) with rice and peas. We drank Chilean wine and then they arrived with the dessert menu which is the size of a person. I guess that’s their gimmick. We had cheese cake.

A final note… Mike went to the rest room and came back saying that capitalism has found a new place to advertise. On the top of the urinals there are videos playing, advertising some product (cannot imagine what!) .. Good thinking – a captive audience. He provided the following two photos.

And with that, I say good night. Onward to Tehuacan in the morning.

Fern