Exploring Puebla and it's surroundings!

I must admit that I haven't really offered time to keep my blog updated. I've just been busy enjoying time with all the great people I have been lucky to meet here in Puebla! At the moment of writing this post I am having some relaxed time of my own on Cuba ;) Puebla is a great city with lots of things to do and see, and I have had some wonderful and helpful people spending time with me and showing me around! One of the first places to visit in Puebla is the zocalo which is a nice and relaxed park with a fountain in the center. The zocalo is right between the palacio, where the governor of Puebla works, and the cathedral.

I have been so lucky getting to know the Condado family! The are just amazing, and have been like a family to me :) They have really helped making my stay in Puebla unfogettable!

Manolo has taught many through his years in gymnastics, and we went to a nice restaurant owned by one of his former students. This was a restaurant famous for it's pozole, a soup with huge maize corns.

After having a tasty lunch we walked on to visit the famous market for arts and handcrafts, El Parian.

One of the things that I have gotten really used to in Mexico is the way they use chile with anything and everything ;)

After a nice day downtown Edgardo invited us to finish off the day with a ride on the worlds biggest transportable wheel. In the back you can se Volcán Popocatepelt.

Every Monday in the luchas arena they have luchas libres, the famous wrestling matches of Mexico. One Monday after classes at the gym we were a few who went to see the mathces. It was crazy!! They were dressed up in funny costumes, there was wild fighting, loud screaming (fighters and spectators) and some beautiful ladies announcing each round.

One day Edgardo had a meeting in Cholula with a principal of a school we would have a workshop with, so we both went for some sightseeing in the city before the meeting. Cholula is known to be the city with one church for each day of the year!

Also they have a church built by the Spanish when they conquered Mexico. They made a hill by burrying a pyramid from the indigonius, and built the church on top of the hill.

We were lucky and got to see the tradition of the voladeros. They are four people dancing upside down while hanging by ropes and swinging around. Normally there would also be a fifth person on top playing a tiny drum and a flute.

Again the Condado family was so kind to invite me out to experience more of the Mexican culture. This time they took me to Atlixco where there is a famous restaurants with a lake nearby where they fish their trouts they serve. There were two ladies making all the tortillas that were served, and I got to try to make my own tortilla ;)

This is the result, my Norwegian tortilla! I can assure you it tasted better than it looks ;)

I have also had a wonderful girl, Veronica, showing me around. She took me to the worlds smallest volcano (or if you want, the largest geyser), Cuexcomate, which only reaches 13m.

We also could climb into the crater ;)

Vero also invited me to Ex Hacienda de Chautla. This park used to be farmerland, but today it is a recreational and cultural center. The park is well known for El Castillo, it's castle overlooking the lake. Edgardo and another friend, Emmanuel, also joined us. Before we got to the park we bought some lunch so we could have a picnic in the park :) Tacos and tequila was a great combination!

A popular meal in Puebla is the cemita, and one of the most famous places to eat a cemita is in Mercado del Carmen. The Condado family invited me to have one of these cemitas, and we went there to see how they prepared them. It was amazing watching how fast they made hundreds of these huge cemitas!

I must admit I am a fan of Mexican food, and I got a great oportunity to learn how to make tamales from a great friend (Comadre) of the Condado family.

Some of the gymnasts from the club made an arrangement to go ice skating. To get there we drove this beauty. Manolo's original buggy from 1962!!

For some it was the first time trying to ice skate, but they did really well and there were no major accidents!

One of my last trips with friends from Puebla before travelling went to Teotihuacan, known for many of the most architecturally significant pyramids. To the right you can see the great Sun Pyramid, and straight ahead you can see the Moon Pyramid.

On the top of the Sun Pyramid there is a point where you can gain energy from the sun by holding your finger there for 30 seconds.

The pyramids had some great spots for doing gymnastics! I am glad to do some gymnastics with my friends. Here I am working with Amèrica :) We also met 4 guys from Taiwan who asked to take some pictures of us perfoming our art ;)

¡Gracias a todos! ¡Voy a extrañar Puebla y ustedes todos!