Exactly four years ago, we retired, celebrated our 40^th wedding anniversary, and launched ourselves into our nomadic lifestyle. But after two years of travel, we found ourselves quarantined in Argentina as the Coronavirus pandemic swept the world.

After two months of confinement in our Argentinian apartment, we flew back to the U.S. on an American Embassy-sponsored flight and our South American travel abruptly stopped. We landed in Minneapolis, then went to Chicago for a year to live close to our two sons. We spent our time in Chicago exploring the city and its neighborhoods and cultures. More importantly, we lived only two blocks from our new grandson and spent time with him almost every day.

In January of 2022, we moved to Nokomis, Florida with our son, daughter-in-law, and grandson. Because our son works remotely, he could work in warm, sunny Florida. So, we got rid of all our stuff in Chicago and moved to Florida to help take care of our grandson. Kathy’s mother lives in nearby Sarasota, so we had the opportunity to help take care of her.

Finally, after two years in the U.S., we planned our first post-pandemic adventure. In the past, we would travel from one country to the next as we made our way south from Mexico to Argentina. Now because we don’t want to be away for two years and miss these years with our grandson, our adventures will originate from the U.S., and we will return to the U.S. after each adventure. Our plan is to split our time between caring for our grandson and traveling.

The purpose of this blog post is to keep our friends posted on our travels and to make a record of our trips so that we can remember all the details.

Puebla, Mexico

We wanted to go someplace easy to get to which has a climate that would give us relief from the Florida heat and Puebla fit the bill. Founded in 1532, the city lies 7,093 feet above sea level, eighty miles southeast of Mexico City, and is the fourth largest city in Mexico with over three million people. It lies in the Sierra Madre foothills next to an active volcano.

Puebla has been an important military site in Mexico because of its strategic position on the route between Mexico City and the port of Veracruz to the east on the Gulf of Mexico. During the Battle of Puebla (May 5, 1862), a much smaller Mexican force pushed back invading French troops. This memorable battle has become a Mexican national holiday known as Cinco de Mayo.

Puebla is not as popular with U.S. tourists as other Mexican cities, but we found it to be a great destination with warm and friendly residents. The people are known as poblanos (yes, like the pepper that originated in this area). The city is both modern and colonial and it celebrates its heritage.

It is easy to get to Puebla from the Mexico City airport where we hopped on a bus for the 2-hour ride into Puebla. We choose to stay in the historic area of the city near the zocalo (historic square).

The Food of Puebla

Of course, Mexico is a foody destination. Every state and city is proud of its local dishes and Puebla is no exception. We enjoyed trying the local dishes here.

Taco Arabe – The Arab Taco

The most well-known dish is Taco Arabe created in 1933 by a Lebanese family who migrated from Lebanon to Puebla. Mr. Galeana opened a Middle Eastern restaurant called La Oriental and using a mix of Mexican and Lebanese ingredients, he created Middle Eastern classics like Kebabs and Shawarma. He substituted pork for lamb since the locals preferred pork marinated in lime juice and Mexican spices. The pork was then stacked in layers and roasted on a spit, like Chicken Shawarma and Gyros. These Tacos Arabe were served with chipotle sauce and wrapped in pita bread or flatbread instead of tortillas.

Over time, Tacos Arabe became Taco al Pastor incorporating traditional Mexican ingredients like fruit juices, chilies, and spices such as oregano, achiote, cumin, and more.

Mole, Mole, and More Mole

Puebla is known for mole poblano, the most internationally recognized mole. Mole poblano is a dark red-brown sauce made with ancho chiles (dried poblano peppers) and chocolate. There are other varieties of mole served in Puebla restaurants.

There are many legends surrounding the invention of moles. One is that a convent in Puebla created the dish in a panic from the few ingredients they had before the impending visit of an archbishop. Other tales suggest that several spices accidentally got mixed up, and thus mole was born. Either way, the origin will remain a mystery, given that the first written recipes for mole only came into existence after the War of Independence in 1810.

Making mole is a long and tedious process. We took a cooking class taught by a chef at her restaurant and went through each step. After the class, we sat down to enjoy our Pipián mole enchiladas and rice. Pipián, also known as a green mole, is a sauce made with pureed greens and thickened with ground pumpkin seeds. The greens used to make the sauce include tomatillos, poblano, serrano, and jalapeno peppers. The sauce was part of ancient Aztec and Mayan cuisines

Chalupas – Not your Taco Bell Tortilla

Chalupa which means boat or canoe is another popular dish in Puebla. The masa shells are shaped to resemble the hulls of the ships that act as a ‘vessel’ for salsa and other toppings. However, most Chalupas served in restaurants are flat shells or tortillas. Chalupas are topped with Queso Fresco, cilantro, shredded chicken, or pork, and topped with various mole sauces.

Cemitas – A sandwich not found at Subway

Cemita is a sandwich originating in Puebla and served everywhere- in restaurants, open-air markets, and streets.

There are many variations of the cemita sandwich. The ingredients include avocado, cheese, onions, jalapeños, papalo, and meat layered on top of the cemita bread roll. In Puebla, staple ingredients in cemitas include chipotle peppers and Oaxaca cheese.

Although Puebla is not considered a food destination spot like Mexico City, the food in this region has a lot to offer. We have eaten at first-class restaurants, local restaurants, small market stalls, and street vendors. Every taco, cemita, mole, and dish we tried was always Muy Rico.

After we recover from our food coma, we plan to write about the Cholula pyramid, Spanish colonial sites, and 16th-century cathedrals all around us. For now, we are sitting at a sidewalk café enjoying the street scene which is lively with music, couples enjoying the beautiful weather, and families rushing about buying school uniforms and supplies.

Hasta luego!