Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

This is the entrance to the small museum in Cholula.  The museum is nothing special, really, however, the model of the pyramid that is under the hill is really something else.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Isn't that amazing what they have figured out (by way of digging tunnels), what is UNDER that church, UNDER that hill!?!  This model depicts it so well, you hardly have to use your imagination to put the pieces together.  Very, very cool!

If you are on our Archeological Tour, follow this link to Cacaxtla...
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Walking back to the RV Park from downtown Cholula we came across this cemetery.  We walked around inside and saw something we have not seen before.  A number of the graves had numerous grave markers on ONE grave.  We figure, but we don't know, that it may be families that cannot afford more than one grave site, so they bury their family one on top of the other??  Does anyone know if this is correct?  We would love to know, maybe one of our Mexican friends could help us out here.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

These mausoleums were like small houses they were so large.  Some had doors, windows and patio areas.  They really were something else.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

This is what they look like inside.  In this one, each side could hold up to four caskets, with the crosses and flowers down in the middle.  We believe the wealthy would buy and build these for their whole family.  You can see that the lower 'slots' are already occupied...
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Inside of this huge walled area there were three very old churches and a library.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

This shows one of the churches and the library off to the right side...  The Templo de San Gabriel wa founded in 1530 on the site of a pyramid.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

What a beautiful entrance, look at the stone work, the size of the massive wooden doors, with smaller doors in them, and the beautiful round stained glass above the door.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

The wooden benches and side wooden panels on the smaller chapels inside this church just gleamed, the wood was so beautifully rich and dark.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

This other church, within the same walled-in area, is the Arabic style Capilla Real dating from 1540.  It has 49 domes of which almost half of them were damaged in a big earthquake in '99...  We didn't get to go inside this one, it was closed at the time.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

An number of the churches bury their priests right at the cathedrals.  This shows graves right along the wall of the church.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

This is the wonderful Zocalo or square in Cholula.  We spent a fair amount of time sitting, relaxing and people watching in this square. 
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

More of the Zocalo...
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Right off of the square there was this trendy restaurant area.  It looked like a popular spot for locals having lunch as well as for tourists.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Ok, we were sitting on a bench in the square when this lady came up to us.  She could not have stood more than 4.5 ft tall.  We normally do not buy much from vendors, but she was so engaging and wanted us to taste what she had, for free...(great sales lady).  How could we say 'No', and how could we not buy something afterward.  We bought some spiced peanuts and chic peas.  Then she wanted us to try the roasted and spiced crickets and grasshoppers.  Cindy...no way!  Barry...sure what the heck :)  Barry said they tasted very light, flakey and crunchy.  Nothing ooey or gooey about them at all :)  Cindy said she would take his word for it.
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Yummmmmmy!!  Our mouths are watering just looking at this picture!  We mentioned earlier that we were introduced to something 'new to us'... arabes!  Well, this is what they are.  In the morning, they put layer upon layer upon layer of meat, onions and spices on a large skewer.  Then, they stand up the whole thing, attach it to a rotating mechanism and cook it with the heat of the fire.  Actually, the fire is on several levels, in this setup there are three levels and one more up above.  It slowly turns and as the meat cooks, they shave off the cooked portions.  That meat is then served, with hot sauce, on an Arabe, a sort of  tortilla that is thicker than a regular tortilla.  They are absolutely delicious.  At this place we could by 3 of them for $12 pesos!  That's US$1.20 !!  They were so delicious.  We decided to buy a whole kilo of the meat to take home. 
 

Cholula, Puebla, Mexico

Let's dig in!
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Rather than ride the scooters into Puebla, we decided to take the bus.  The forty minute ride cost $4 pesos each, about 40 cents...

This is what we saw when we got off the bus.  Isn't that the cutest little Coca-Cola truck you ever did see? 

We thought Puebla was incredibly beautiful, and we really enjoy visiting there.  We certainly would go back there again sometime.  But something strange happened here... we were stared at, no really really STARED at.  We get stares all the time, we are North Americans, we dress funny, we are both so tall, and on and on.  But this time it was so strange...  They stared and stared to the point of being rude.  We really had to stop saying "Hola" and just keep to ourselves, then it was not so bad.  We heard from numerous Mexican's that a lot of Pueblans think they are superior to everyone else, because...??

 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

We got off the bus and there were people all over the place, their market spilled right out on to the street it was so huge.  Look at the massive basket of buns!  And does anyone all of the sudden have a craving for ice cream?
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

When you're shopping for meat do you ever get the feeling you are being watched? "Pick me, pick me!!"
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Notice all of the beautiful buildings in Puebla, pictures can only begin to show just how incredible they were.
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Some streets were permanently closed off to traffic.  This area reminded us of Victoria, BC, Canada where we lived before starting our travels.
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Look at that building!
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Barry has a soft spot for the very elderly ladies...
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

The building you see here is covered in tiles.  The design is so beautiful!!
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

We have saved the church pictures for our next travel log, the church was like NO other we had ever seen.  We won't get into it now, watch for the Puebla Cathedral in our next update. 

This is the back side of the church and this shot was used on the $500 peso note.  See below...
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

We were playing around with the camera and took a few black and white shots...
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Another striking building, inside and out was the Palacio Municipal.  Look at architectural detail on this building.
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

The next set of pictures are taken inside the Palacio Municipal, what a beautiful building!
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Look at that ceiling and stained glass...
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Another shot of the stained glass on the ceiling, with different lighting.
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

We were taking a picture of this open air mall, when this police lady pulled her policeman husband into the picture and gave us a big smile.  They hugged and kissed before they went back to work (that's how we figured out they were a couple).  Aren't they cute?
 

Puebla, Puebla, Mexico

This was the beautiful, huge fountain in the square outside of the church...very pretty.
 

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