Querétaro

Originally, the plan was to follow Juan from CDMX to Tampico and spend some time with him and his family. Unfortunately, there have been some major issues with the quality of water in Tampico, causing many people to get eye infections. Juan recommended not going to Tampico, but suggested going to Querétaro instead. So, we said our goodbyes and I headed off to Querétaro. And wow, am I glad I added that to my itinerary! Querétaro has been my absolute favorite city so far! Just driving in on the bus it looked and felt different. Instead of the bright mix of colored facades, the city looked like Malaga, with nothing but white houses scattered through the valley and hills. (Also, can I just add that Mexico has way more hills and mountains than I expected?!)

While on the road from Mexico City to Querétaro I connected with Ericca, a friend from Houston, who happened to be in Querétaro too! So, after getting settled in at my hotel (yes, I treated myself to something nice here 😇) I headed out to the meetup point for a free walking tour with Ericca. We had so much fun listening to all of the stories and legends about the city and were able to catch up over a nice dinner and tasty margaritas after the tour.

The next day I spent relaxing and wandering the streets, checking out the various vendors scattered throughout town, and checking out one of the restaurants suggested by the guide for a "light bight" aka Pozole Verde served with limes, avocado, spices, chicharron and tostadas. So, like, a full meal lol.

Cheese & Wine

Querétaro is pretty serious about their cheese, and is well known for their wine region as well. Obviously I had to take a cheese & wine tour!

First stop was La Mexicana Olé, a little cheese shop in Tequisquiapan. We got to taste 14 different cheeses and 2 wines. My favorite cheese was the Manchego with Jalapeño. The most interesting was the Manchego with coffee. Yeah! Oaxaceña, goat and sheep cheeses were in the mix as well. All of them so good! The wines were a little sweet for my taste but still interesting and the owner of the shop did an excellent job explaining the process and details of wine making.

After that we had some time to explore the beautiful town of Tequisquiapan. They have a ton of artisenal markets there that you could just spend hours upon hours in. But alas, we didn't have all day! I got a few small souvenirs, grabbed a quick bite at the mercado, and headed back to meet up with our group.

Stop number 2 was the Freixenet cellars. You're probably familiar with the Spanish sparkling wine brand. But did you know they also have a vinyard and production in Mexico?! Yeah, me neither! Anyway, we got to see the cellars and tour the facilities. I'm sure it was quite interesting. Unfortunately, for me it was a bit too complicaed to understand with my basic spanish.

The third stop was the magical town of Bernal. Bernal is known for its healing powers and powerful monolith towering over the town. More vendors, artists, and food! According to our guide, Pan de Queso was the thing to try. Of course I wasn't going to let that get away from me! I headed straight to the bakery and got a pan negro. Imagine a big, soft roll (completely black) filled with creamy cheese, but also a layer of coffee and chocolate cream. Very different, quite tasty, special indeed! I ended the trip with a rooftop drink at dusk. A magical ending to a wonderful day of adventuring!

Grutas de Talantogo

Another trip I got to take was to the Grutas de Talantogo. Now, I was wavering on this one because it was quite expensive. But after hearing from Lizzy that it was totally worth it, I knew it would be amazing. So, I booked the trip and wooooooooow!!! I am SO glad I did!! First of all, there were just two of us on the tour plus the two tour guides, which made for a super accommodating, and chill day. Plus, I mad a new friend (shoutout to Vanessa from Canada! :))

Our first stop was to grab breakfast tamales and atole at a roadside shop. Now when I say shop, that's a little generous... this was a woman selling her items out of the window of some other business. SO. GOOD. Perfect way to start the day!

After about another hour of driving we got to the Talantogo park. I thought it was "just" going to be this one portion of hot springs. But no. We started off at the viewpoint followed by a waterfall with a natural pool you can swim in and a cave you can walk through - all thermal waters! Next up was the thermal river. Super chill and relaxing. And a liter of michelada was a must ;) But the absolute best part of all were the hillside pools. Wow-oh-wow. So. freaking. amazing!!

To round off our day, we grabbed some roadside Pulque** and barbacoa tacos. A purely awesome day!

Other things to know about Querétaro

• La Bestia: this is the name of the train that many migrants take to make their way to the US border. And when I say take, I mean hop on or climb on top of. It's called La Bestia because...it's a beast. It's extremely dangerous to take. And it passes through Querétaro.

• Lelé dolls: There is a specific type of doll that originates in Querétaro called the Lelé doll. (Lelé is an idigenous word that means baby.) Specifics usually include 2 braids, a colorful headband, and a traditional dress. They're so much of a staple here, that the street signs in downtown Querétaro are depictions of Lelé dolls!

• Foods and drinks:

  • Atole: a warm drink made of corn starch, water, and flavor (usually vanilla, coconut, chocolate, or similar)

  • Chicharron: Fried pork skins

  • Micheladas: a mix of salsa, worchestershire sauce, salt, lime, etc. (depends on who makes it) and add your favorite beer. Sometimes sold by the liter :)

  • Pozole: A type of soup with a meat, hominy and garnished with radishes

  • Pulque: a fermented drink made out of a specific type of agave. Can be flavored with various fruits.

  • Tamales: a corn dough filled with meat (usually) and sauce, wrapped in a corn husk, then steamed.

    
    

That's all for now!

Hasta pronto :)

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