Battle of the bands (and the beggars)

So, here’s where the R and R comes in I was talking about! Five of us decided to take a trip to the largest port in Mexico, traveling all the way down South to a beautiful and charming little beach city, se llama Veracruz. I’m going to let most of the pictures do the talking (writing), for this entry, but basically, Veracruz is a very friendly town brimming with Cuban influence --- everything to the accent, the music and even the look of the people is infused with some Cubano flair! During the trip it was raining A LOT, and we were all bogged down with an insane amount of reading in preparation for the Latin America regional business environment (RBE) class commencing Monday, but I did manage to do some of sight seeing! I supposed the 15-mile boardwalk I hiked (in the rain) had a little something to do with it….


Vivaerobus!! Seriously.. viva.. aerobus. Long live cheap airline tickets...



Looking out over Veracruz...


Here's where the blog title comes into play (no pun intended). We were having dinner in downtown Veracruz (Plaza de Malecon), and there are literally 15 bands vying for people's attention, along with 1500 beggars selling everything from hammocks to cologne, to roses to cigars. You are contstantly being interupted by aggressive beggars, eager mariachis, and even the occasionaly suicidal pigeon! But, it was all a good time!

Plaza de Malecon

Me, downtown Veracruz... can we say "tan lines?!!!"

They were totally filming a movie in the harbor!

Just a beautiful building in Veracruz...

Ok, so my Mexican friends will back me up on this one... but honestly this is THE BEST breakfast EVER!!! Chilaquiles... it's eggs, tortilla stips and red chile... SOOOOOO good. Que rico!

One of the beaches by our hotel...

I was told (from a not so reliable taxi driver source), that this boardwalk is the longest in the world...

Taking random shots along my boardwalk stroll...

The Pope, and a lighthouse in the background...

Thaz me! And that's it for Veracruz.

Our flight departed from Veracruz early this morning, so we got into Monterrey with plenty of time for me to FINALLY climb Cerro de La Silla!!! I've been lamenting over NOT being able to hike this mountain for a couple weeks now....