Couch Crash Carnival in Veracruz

In Veracruz at the Gulf of Mexico one of the most important carnivals of Mexico takes place. Next to the carnivals of Río de Janeiro, Venice or Cologne it is one of the biggest festivals in the world. On the occasion of this event the local Couchsurfer community of Veracruz organized a Couch Crash, an event where Couchsurfers from all over the world come together. I arrived a few days before the official start of the carnival week and stayed for a total of ten days with three amazing hosts, not only for the carnival but also to explore the centre of the state of Veracruz.

My first host in Veracruz was David who was offering me a perfect place to stay right in the middle of the city centre of the Puerto de Veracruz. I already knew some parts of the city as I went there twice during my internship in 2014/15 but this time I got to know many more aspects of Veracruz. I started my day with a Filete de Pescado a la Veracruzana, a fish fillet that brings together the flavors of prehispanic Mexico and Spain. David was occupied working during these days so I explored the city on my own but actually I was never alone as there were a lot of Couchsurfers in the city during these days. I had pleasant conversations with David while having some fruits in his home and he told me many facts about the history of Veracruz, of Mexico as a whole and stories about the Virgin of Guadalupe.

The Puerto de Veracruz is today the most important Atlantic port of Mexico at the Gulf of Mexico. The city goes back to the oldest Spanish settlement on the American mainland: Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz, founded by Hernán Cortés on 22 April 1519 (a Good Friday, "True Cross Day"). The first "Veracruz" was situated 75 km north of the current city of Veracruz. Hernán Cortés went ashore on the site of today's Veracruz, as this was the only place where ships could anchor safely. After he had found a better place for a settlement up north the Villa Rica de la Vera Cruz was founded there. Because of the strong north winds at this place the settlement was moved south in 1525 and the new village La Antigua was founded, the so-called second Veracruz. In 1585, construction began on San Juan de Ulúa, the fortress that is now opposite the port of Veracruz. The third Veracruz was built around this fortress.

One day before the Couchcrash of the carnival started I organized a day trip with Juan from Xalapa and César from Mexico City to some dreamlike and culturally interesting travel destinations north of the Puerto de Veracruz. Our first stop was at Zempoala, founded around 1200 AD and once one of the largest Mesoamerican cities in the region. The name means "place of the twenty waters". Today the city is abandoned and an archaeological site. Zempoala was the capital of the kingdom of Totonacapan until it was defeated and subjugated by the Aztecs. From then on they were tributary. This was one reason why they became the first allies of Hernán Cortés when the Spanish arrived in 1519. In 1520, the battle between Hernán Cortés and Pánfilo de Narváez took place in Zempoala, who had arrived with the order to arrest Cortés. Cortés won despite his numerical inferiority. After the victory, he took command of his opponent's soldiers, which greatly improved his military chances of conquering the Aztec Empire.

Second stop was at Quiahuiztlán, a small ruin site located on a flat terrain shelf approximately one third of the height of a volcanic vent, the Cerro de los Metates. It belongs to the post-classical epoch (from 900 AD) and existed until the conquest by the Spanish conquistadors. Characteristics of this place, which is only intended for ritual purposes, are peculiar grave constructions, which only occur here and in a few places in the immediate vicinity. After visiting the archaeolocial site I climbed the Cerro de los Metates until there was no further moving forward. I reached a point which offered scenic views over the ruins as well as the sea and the whole region. Furthermore I saw an iguana sunbathing and running around in the archaeological zone.

Third stop: Villa Rica - the place where the Spanish settlement was founded on the North American mainland. The village nowadays doesn't offer much, the original buildings of the first Spaniards do not exist any more. We didn't spend much time in the village but went to the beach instead. We walked along the numerous restaurants that line the beach, passed some dunes while we tried not to get caught by the waves. The sand was trickling downwards as wind and waves (and our footsteps) deformed the dunes. After a while we reached "La Quebrada", a headland with some beautiful rock formations. The sea around the peninsula had a Caribbean turquoise colour while it turned dark blue at a distance of a few hundred metres. Right next to Villa Rica and La Quebrada there is the only nuclear power plant of Mexico (Laguna Verde). This zone is considered as pretty safe in comparison to many other regions of the country when it comes to forces of nature such as earthquakes or hurricanes. Nevertheless the beaches around the power plant are not promoted as touristic destinations due to the existing risk of an accident. On the headland I observed some birds and another iguana. Back at the beach with the restaurants we enjoyed a fresh coconut before heading on to our next destination.

Fourth halt: Playa Muñecos - the beach of the dolls. César and Juan called it jokingly the nuclear beach but I nicknamed it the beach of the giant turtle as there was a rock formation which looked like a giant turtle. We spent some time at this beach swimming, running around and relaxing.

Fifth and last stop: La Antigua, "the second Veracruz". We passed the antique house of Hernán Cortéz in which, however, according to all accounts, he has never lived. Probably it served as a warehouse for the valuables of his soldiers. The house is largely made from mussels as there were no easily minable rocks but a lot of shells from the sea. Nowadays it is overgrown by large trees and accessible as a museum during the day. In a small street next to the museum we found a lot of pretty mural paintings. Heading towards the river which demarcates the city to the south we stopped at a large tree which is alleged to have had Cortéz's ships lashed to it. Before returning to Veracruz we had dinner in a seafood restaurant right next to the river. I decided for a banana filled with different kind of seafood.

Back in Veracruz from our day trip we headed towards the Malecón where the carnival was officially opened with "la Quema del Mal Humor" (the burning of the bad mood). Every year the bad mood is represented by a different creature, person or illness. This year it was represented by the cancer infantil (childhood cancer). After the figure of the cancer had been burned a large show with some musicians and a famous clown and cabaret artist started.

As I had to change my place of accomodation the day after the party the two surfers Edgar and Jonathan helped me out with storing my backpack during the day. After having a very late breakfast or rather lunch we made a little excursion to the lagoon Mandinga, a few kilometres south of Veracruz. In a small boat we did a small round trip, passing lots of jellyfish and mangrove forests. On one island which consisted mainly of seashells we made a stop.

On Saturday I went with my new host Alan and more than 50 other Couchsurfers to the first large parade which lasted for hours and stretched across half the boulevard of Veracruz and Boca del Rio (approx. seven kilometres). Dozens of decorated wagons and thousands of dancers passed by. The atmosphere was great, the event was secured not only by the police but also by the marine police. This parade was only the first one of many which followed the next days on the Boulevard. Unfortunately, I was a little careless with my food intake that day. Since volovanes, filled puff pastry pockets and a speciality of Veracruz, were the easiest food to get in the crouds I ate two of them. The filling was probably not quite as fresh, though. It resulted in a day at the Red Cross were I got an infusion and one week of antibiotics, electrolyte drinks and very poor food. I had better stayed hungry that night.

I was lucky that both Alan and Dina, my third host in Veracruz, provided me with the best possible care, so that I quickly regained my strength. This made it possible for me to make a day trip to Tlacotalpan with Dina, Juan, Mitchel and Leon. Tlacotalpan is a small town with less than 10,000 inhabitants on the banks of the Papaloapan River. Tlacotalpan is exceptionally not a Pueblo Mágico, but a UNESCO World Heritage Site because its urban layout and architecture show a blend of Spanish and Caribbean traditions in a particularly important way. Tlacotalpan is most known for its extensive celebration of the Día de la Calendaria around the second of February on which the river is filled with boats, flowers and candles. We visited the theater Netzahualcóyotl and explored the city centre.

Veracruz together with Boca del Río and Medellín forms a greater urban area, especially Boca del Río is full of modern shopping malls, hotels and new residential areas. One afternoon I spent with Juan in the centre of Boca del Río. The name which translated means "mouth of a river" derives from the river Jamapa which flows into the Gulf of Mexico here.

Every day during the carnival week there were free concerts at the Malecón right next to the harbour. Very well known artists and bands like e.g. Los Ángeles Azules, a famous Mexican group of the genre Cumbia Sonidera, a fusion of Cumbia sounds with those of electronic music. The Colombian Reggaeton and Latin-Pop artist J. Balvin was invited to the final concert of this year's carnival. As such a strong north wind swept over the port of Veracruz on Shrove Tuesday, the final concert was cancelled for the time being. But the artist was flown in from Miami with a little delay the following day, so that I could still attend the concert before I started my onward journey the next day. Here I want to say "Thank You" to the whole Couchsurfing team that participated in the carnival of Veracruz, it was a great time! :-)