The fifth of January I went on a day trip together with Pau to the magical city Atlixco (Pueblo Magico) which is about an hour's drive from Puebla. Each of the more than 100 so-called pueblos magicos offers something special, whether it is particular architecture, natural wonders or great regional food. The program of the pueblos magicos was developed by the tourist board in order to promote the rich cultural heritage and history of Mexico through smaller, once overlooked towns.
Atlixco is known for its viveros (greenhouses). There is a street in the city, which is lined on both sides by kilometers of greenhouses. All kinds of flowers, small trees, cacti and also food crops are sold there. We entered one vivero, which was completely filled with all different kinds of nochebuenas (poinsettia, Christmas Stars).
After spending some hours in the viveros we took a bus ride back to the city center and spent some time in the Mercado Benito Juarez. As we went on a Sunday half the city had turned into a huge market. We had some cecina there, the most famous dish of Atlixco. It refers to very finely sliced pork meat, which is sautéed briefly. We bought 250g and furthermore a dozen tortillas and a plate with avocados, rajas, onion, lemon, panela cheese, tomatoes, radish and herbs.
After this refreshment we headed towards the Cerro de San Miguel Atlixco, a hill which is directly adjacent to the city center. As the sun was already approaching the horizon we didn't go up all the way. We stopped at the Parroquia de Santa María de La Asunción Acapetlahuacan to enjoy the sunset and the view over the city.
Heading down towards the city center we passed some sections of the Villa Illuminada. In some streets artfully illuminated figures are set up during Christmas which can be visited until
the 5th of January. As we approached the Zócalo of Atlixco we had to fight through more and more crowds. The reason for this was a parade on the occasion of the Three Wise Men, which would soon
pass through the streets. Thousands of people travelled to Atlixco for this. For us the move was a joyful surprise, which was on top of our successful day in the city. We enjoyed an ice cream in
the famous ice cream parlour La Rosita de Atlixco. Mine had the taste of Mezcal, a Mexican spirit with typically 40% alcohol by volume. Surprisingly, the ice cream also tasted
correspondingly strongly of alcohol, every licking felt like a shot. Mezcal is made from the flesh of various types of agaves. The parade ended with spectacular fireworks in the heart of
the city.
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Till Wolschina (Tuesday, 15 January 2019 07:37)
Awesome pictures and it sounds like a great city and an outrageous experience you've had. Keep enjoying!