Taking downtime in Puebla

04 Feb Taking downtime in Puebla

Cycling in thin Air, riding to Puebla

It is a two day ride from Teotihuacan to Puebla, Mexico. Once there, we plan on spending a down day to visit the city. After riding along one of the smaller roads, we eventually end back up on the 15D toll road.

There are plenty more rollers to cycle along the way. Being that mountains are all around us, makes it hard to believe that we are continually cycling between 8000ft and 9000ft elevation.

The air is thin and we feel like we are running out of breath as we ascend some of the climbs. At least the scenery is nice and we get to see our first active volcano in the distance — Popocatepetl.

The peak is shrouted in clouds. Yet, we can see a puff of smoke escaping the top of the mountain. Although, we are already at high elevation, the volcano seems to tower over the landscape. No wonder, at 17,802 ft (5,426m) height, Popocatepetl is the second highest peak in Mexico

Along the way to Puebla, we find a small town to stay the night. As we enquire about a room, three guys come buy to shake our hands and to have pictures taken with us.
Although it is a very welcoming gesture, it always feels a little strange to have our picture taken with strangers.

The hotel must have the narrowest entrance, we have ever encountered. To bring our bikes to the back, where our room is located, we have to take all of our bags off. Then we finagle the bikes through a very narrow gap between the house wall and the stairs……but we manage.

Cycling into the City

As our toll road and the Libre 15 merge outside of Puebla, we encounter a significant increase in traffic. Luckily for us, we soon find a bike-lane, leading toward the center of town.
Having a bike lane is already a treat, when entering a foreign big city. Yet, as we continue on further into the depth of the city, we are welcomed by an even bigger surprise.

Puebla definitely outdoes itself by adding a bike-path and propping it up high in the sky, about one or two stories over the car traffick. Not only do we get to enjoy stress-free riding, we also get a great view!

Visiting Puebla and The great Pyramid of Cholula

We find a nice room in the center of town and lug all of our bags up to the second floor. It feels strange, that climbing the few stairs causes us to be out of breath so much quicker than cycling over rolling hills all day.
After all of our belonging are secure, we head out in search for food and spend the evening and following day sightseeing in town.

The following day, we decide to hire an Uber to Cholula, to see the Great Pyramid of Cholula. Although, this is supposed to be the largest pyramid in the New World and by volume the largest pyramid known to exist in the world, period, we are nothing short of disappointed by the site.

For one: because of COVID restrictions, the museum and the archeological sites, such as the underground tunnels are closed. And two: most of the pyramid is not excavated. Only a couple steps at the base are visible. Otherwise, the whole pyramid just looks like a big hill with a church propped up on top of it.

Nonetheless, we still have a good time, climbing up to the church to take in the views of the surrounding area. Of course, we also hike around the various parks near the pyramid and savor a delicious cup of coffe at the central plaza.

Throughout the day, I start having a slight headache. I figured, it’s a hot day and I probably did not consume as much water as I should have. However, the headache becomes increasingly worse. Once we are back at the room, I’m starting to have chills, my hips and legs are aching and my skin hurts with every move…..looks like we get to spend a couple more days in Puebla. We could have been stuck at worse places, so we feel pretty lucky. At least it gives us a chance to work on another video.

After another day of rest, it is time to continue on

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