Tuxpan

I stayed just for one day in Tuxpan, a little city in the northeast of Veracruz, as the harbour town was located on my route to my next destination Tampico and I already knew the two Couchsurfers Carlos and Eva who were currently staying in Tuxpan visiting Carlos’ family. I stayed for one night with Marisol who was an excellent host.

With Carlos I visited the Museo de la Amistad México-Cuba (Museum of the Friendship Mexico-Cuba) which is dedicated to the movements of the Cuban revolution. 82 armed fighters of the Cuban "Movement of 26 July" led by Fidel Castro transferred from Tuxpan to Cuba on 25 November 1956 to overthrow the Batista regime. Among these was also the Argentinian Ernesto "Che" Guevara. With the landing of the Granma on Cuba, the guerrilla actions of the Cuban Revolution began.

In addition we went to the beach and the estatuary of the river Tuxpan and we made an excursion to the city centre. The three main attractions there were:

1. Callejón del niño perdido (small street of the missing child)
   A small street with many stairs, dedicated to the lost Child Jesus. Nowadays, the street serves as a place of romance for many couples. The Day of the Lost Child is a Christmas tradition celebrated on December 7 in Tuxpan. This celebration dates back to the childhood of Jesus Christ. The 12-year-old Jesus travels with his parents to Jerusalem for the Passover feasts, but they lose sight of him. In the eighteenth century, the friar Junípero de Serra was in full evangelization work in the north of Veracruz. As a way of uniting the inhabitants and transmitting a religious message, he used this story to create a beautiful tradition. Thus, since then, every December 7 at 7 o'clock in the afternoon a whistle is heard in Tuxpan announcing the beginning of the rite. From that moment on, the streets of the city are lit with candlelight installed by the parishioners to help the Child Jesus find its way home.
2. Mural painting of the history of Tuxpan
   This painting can be found on the municipal palace and shows the timeline from the first prehispanic cultures living in the region of Tuxpan cultivating corn and vegetables until its importance as a harbour nowadays.
3. Pavilion which tells the history of the rabbits
   Tuxpan means translated "place of rabbits", as there were once many rabbits which populated the region. It is said that Quetzalcóatl, considered as the main god of the pre-Hispanic pantheon, was once starving and didn‘t find anything to eat until he met a little rabbit. The bunny offered itself to the God as a sacrifice, as it was just a rabbit in comparison to the god. As Quetzalcóatl heard this, he praised the little rabbit and lifted it up to heaven and created the moon.

I furthermore tried a Timbakey, a special drink which you can only find in Tuxpan, containing crushed banana and gooseberry. It is in the way of preparing gooseberry, where the secret to make a good Timbakey lies. The recipe is simple and the drink is even prepared in front of the consumer, 1/2 glass of condensed milk, 1/2 banana, 5 ml of gooseberry, 1 teaspoon of sugar and 1/2 glass of ice chopped or shaved. But it is said that only those who have been preparing it for years achieve it.