We checked out of our hotel on February 10th and got on the road to Puebla. This drive was a bit longer and took 5.5 hours. It was smooth until we got to Mexico City area and then we got stuck in a ton of traffic at a toll. It wasn’t the worst though and we still made it to Puebla by 4 PM. We made some food and took it easy for the night.

The next day we tried to explore a little, but everything in Puebla was closed due to COVID.  So we masked up, walked around the city, checked out the Fort of Loreto from the outside and drove around a bit to get a feel for the area. Puebla is another high elevation city in the Eastern part of Central Mexico, that sits at 2,135 meters/ 7,005 feet. The one thing we really wanted to do in Puebla was hike/camp at Popocatepetl Volcano (Popo for short), unfortunately the site was closed. Popo is the second tallest mountain in Mexico at 5,426 meters/17,801 feet and one of the most active volcanoes. I’m not sure if it was closed because of COVID or because the volcano was on high alert. Either way we were still able to see Popo from different parts of Puebla so that was cool. Popo also has a sister volcano called Iztaccihuatl that you can see from Puebla. 

Afterwards we went to a little organic/vegan/gluten-free restaurant called Cafeteria Tam Bien. It was a little hard to find as it was tucked away on the same property as a hotel off a busy street, but when we found it we were thrilled to find there was also a little organic produce stand on the property. Keith ordered a veggie burger with potatoes and I got vegan mole enchiladas stuffed with “cheese” made from sunflower seeds. Puebla is known for its mole poblano as it was originated there. It was so good. The restaurant was in a lush little garden property and all the seating was outdoors. It was really cute and the woman who ran the restaurant was so sweet.

To be honest this was the extent of our adventuring in Puebla. After being on the road for almost two weeks we were starting to get really tired and sick of moving around every day, so we took it easy. The Airbnb we stayed at was a little guesthouse on an older couple’s property and was pretty cozy, so we mostly hung out there. Keith worked on his course and I cooked/spent time mapping out the next few days of our journey. This entire trip has been planned out as we go, so it was definitely time to figure out our next steps. The trip we’re on is long and sometimes the amount of things to do and see can be overwhelming so if you’re starting to feel a little run down I think it’s better to just take it easy and let your body rest. There’s no way you could possibly see everything around you anyway and sometimes you need a little normalcy being away from home for extended periods of time. 

Our time in Puebla wasn’t the most exciting, but it was time well spent. We were both productive and we mapped out the next week of our travels so that was a relief! We hope to return one day and be able to explore the city more in depth when it’s safer! One last fun fact about Puebla is that it’s home to the tallest Ferris wheel in Latin America. Imagine the views of Popo from there!

Miles Driven: 2,846 | Days On The Road: 13 – 15