Travel Mexico

A Joshua Files Trip: Part 1 – Veracruz

If reading ‘The Joshua Files’ has made you curious about Mexico and its rich diversity of attractions; ancient ruins in the jungle, old colonial towns, turquoise beaches, then here’s the perfect trip for you, exclusively researched by MG Harris, Mexican-born author of “The Joshua Files”.

Josh Garcia’s Mexico

Trip 1 – Veracruz State: Port of Veracruz, Tlacotalpan, Catemaco

Tlacotalpan on the Rio Papaloapan

It was here that Cortes and the Spanish Conquistadors first arrived in 1519.

As a native of central Mexico – the capital, Mexico City, I hadn’t visited Veracruz until 2001. During the summer of that year, urged by my late aunt Josefina, I took the family to see this unique part of the republic.

It was the state’s Caribbean heritage that my aunt thought would attract me. She was right. El Puerto de Veracruz (Port of Veracruz) has a strong hint of Cuba’s capital, Havana, although on a less grandiose scale. Tropical rhythms mingle in the main city square, dancers and singers rub shoulders with street vendors. It’s not unlike the Havana you’ll see in the opening section of the 1958 film of Graham Greene’s novel, “Our Man in Havana”.

“You must also visit the witches of Catemaco,” my aunt insisted. “And Tlacotalpan! It’s like going into the past.”

Mystic witches, watery towns that seem to be locked in a forgotten past, plus some of the most spectacular scenery you’ll see anywhere in the world – snow-capped volcanos, impossibly green terrain ripe with coffee, vanilla and banana plantations, the vertiginous surroundings of the Orizaba mountain range, spectacular ancient ruins: Veracruz is one of the most rewarding and unspoilt regions in the republic of Mexico.

Where to start: Port of Veracruz

Forget the flashy boutique designer resorts like Los Cabos or Playa del Carmen – Veracruz is a touch of real Mexico and caters mainly to national tourism. The hotels are cheaper but also less chic than in the main tourist zones, but Mexican hospitality will ensure that you’ll always be well-taken care of.

Within Mexico, Veracruz is celebrated as the birthplace of some of the country’s best musicians and dancers. Visitors can enjoy the classic colonial architecture, historical locations, and catch street performances of traditional music and dancing.

Getting there: Flights from Mexico City via AeroMexico or Mexicana available from $65 USD per person one-way (plus taxes).

A deluxe bus service also operates from Mexico City to Veracruz, taking about 5-6 hours.

Alternatively you could hire a car. There’s a good toll route (Highways 150 &152), with plenty of service stations. Check for Mexico toll charges and advice first.

Stops en route include the colonial city of Puebla, home of Mexico’s traditional Aztec cuisine including the chocolate-chilli mole sauce and chiles en nogada national dish.

Watch out for the four stunning volcanoes on the way, three of them snow-capped year-round: Popocateptl, Iztazihuatl, La Malinche in Puebla state and El Pico de Orizaba in Veracruz state. El Pico de Orizaba is the location for the climactic ice-and-snow bound drama of ‘Ice Shock’.

Where to stay in Veracruz: For a taste of 1930s dilapidated splendour you could try the Hotel Mocambo,  once the top resort in the days when Veracruz was a fashionable destination. It’s close to the beach and filled with flower-filled walkways. The pool’s curly slide was a great hit with our 10-year old child. When we visited there was a spectacular omelette menu for breakfast, and generally very tasty food.

Notable Joshua Files location: The Gran Café del Portal where Josh meets with friends in ‘Ice Shock’. Famous old coffee house serving snacks and delicious local coffee made with hot milk, frothed by being poured at height from silver jugs. Across from the shady main zocalo or plaza where couples dance the danzon and musicians perform folkloric dances like the jarocho.

Useful Website:  New York Times travel guide to Veracruz

Down the coast to: Tlacotalpan

As you drive south past fields of sugar cane and wooden farmhouses with old-fashioned front porches, beware of frogs in the road. This riverside town was once a thriving hub, a port where Old World goods were brought in via Cuba. Now it’s a dinky little town with a quaint yet desolate feel.

Getting there: By bus from Veracruz. Buy your tickets for the second class bus in the first class bus station. Or drive along the coastal road, south, and turn to Tlacotalpan after the town of Alvarado.

Where to stay in Tlacotalpan: This small town, a UNESCO World Heritage site, has few hotels, but Fodor’s travel guide recommends the Posada Dona Lala. When we arrived in Tlacotalpan the hotel’s owners were playing milongas to an empty lobby. It felt as if we’d been transported fifty years into the past.

Notable Joshua Files locations: Be sure to take in the sights of Josh’s encounter with his nemesis in ‘Ice Shock’. Enjoy a river boat ride along the wide Rio Papaloapan, scene of Josh’s escape. Wander into the town and admire the pastel-painted Caribbean-colonial style houses.  Take time to drop into the ‘mini-zoo museum’ – a private collection of wild animals owned by the delightfully eccentric Don Pio Barran.

Useful website: A Sunday Trip to Tlacotalpan by John Todd Jr.

Further south to los brujos of Catemaco

Visitors descend on Catemaco, a small town on the banks of a misty crater lake, seeking mystical cures from the local brujos – witches who claim to have powers of white magic. There are those who say it’s not just natural magic that’s practised by some brujos, but an old version of some ancient Olmec rituals. And there are those who say that it’s a village full of wily charlatans.

Getting to Catemaco: By bus from Veracruz – about 3.5 hours.

Where to stay in Catemaco: Where else but La Finca the hotel in which Josh himself stays during his visit to Catemaco in ‘Invisible City’?

Notable Joshua Files locations:  Watch the sunset as you stroll along the malecon – the lakeside road. Try some local seafood dishes or fish tacos, listen to the local jarocho musicians play ‘La Bamba’. Take a boat trip and look out for Isla Agaltepec – a small island in the lagoon where Josh was chased by crocodiles across ancient ruins in ‘Invisible City’.

Useful website:  http://www.catemaco.info/

Also in Veracruz state: In the north of the state near the vanilla-growing town of Papantla is the incredible ruined city of El Tajin, home to the Totonac civilisation. There’s the leafy state caital, Jalapa, with its impressive museum of anthropology specialising in the Totonacs. The charming, colourful town of Coatepec, in the centre of the coffee-growing region. But check your map carefully if driving – don’t cross the Orizaba mountain range – the weather can turn and you could find yourself driving in the mist along twisty roads with terrifying drops. Personally, I wouldn’t take a bus across Orizaba either.

Coming soon: A Joshua Files Trip Part 2 – Lake Bacalar, Becan, Chicanna and Calakmul