Puebla -Part 1

It started with a bowl of soup.

We’d been told great many things about the colonial city of Puebla –that it was flanked by volcanoes on all four sides, that there were no less than 60 churches within the city limits alone, that it was one of the only two places on the world where the adorable VW Beetle is made and so on. But what really clinched our decision to make a weekend trip to the city was...a bowl of soup –a bowl of rich, creamy delicious Crema Poblana, which had Prathyooshan smitten and salivating for more. A quick research told us that ‘Poblana’ literally translated to ‘from the city of Puebla’ and there, off we were, to Puebla, in search of authentic Crema Poblana!!!

It didn’t take us long to realise that Puebla was everything that it had promised to be, and much more. Even though the bus dropped us at the outskirts of the city which was more or less filled with run down match-box apartments, leaving us to wonder where all the lovely buildings and churches were hidden, the first turn our cab took towards the city centre had us gaping in wonder...Straight ahead was a cobbled road going down with absolutely gorgeous colonial mansions lined up on either side. It was as if we had suddenly apparated into an 18^th century European township.

Wonder gave way to amazement as we got out of the taxi and stepped into our hotel. The Holiday Inn where we had booked a room in turned out to be an old Spanish hacienda re-modelled into hotel, complete with carved doors, stained glass windows &roof, and exquisitely furnished with opulent chandeliers, paintings and antique furniture. Not wanting to waste another minute, we quickly dumped our bags in the room, loaded my freshly-recharged batteries into my camera, and set forth to explore the city.

Like you might have realised by now, I’m a shutterbug in the truest sense of the word. I have an obsessive compulsive point-and-shoot disorder. And to be fair to him, Prathyooshan has borne this trait of mine with admirable panache, feigning ignorance when I sudden go prostrate in the sidewalk to get a good shot of a skyscraper, patiently pulling me out of the way when I stop in the dead centre of the road to get a picture the setting sun through the silhouettes of buildings, and even valiantly coming to the rescue when I’ve got into scrapes for clicking away at all the wrong things at the wrong time! (Oh yeah! I’ve been to terrible scrapes, but more on that later... that calls for a separate blog entry altogether!) But it seems like Prathyooshan was as overwhelmed as I were by the sheer beauty of the place. For the first couple of minutes, we just stood and stared all around us, him taking in the magnificence of the place totally ignorant of the fact that I already had my eye glued to the camera viewfinder, clicking away from every angle possible!

One of the oldest cities in Mexico, Puebla was the first city in Mexico to be planned entirely by the Spanish (as opposed to other places like Mexico City, which was built on the ruins of pre-Hispanic settlements). The cobbled roads run straight as arrows and cut each other at right angles, with beautifully turned out churches at almost every junction.

We first made our way to the main cathedral, a majestic structure that overlooked the city square (zocalo).

Much to our delight, a marriage was being solemnised at the church, the very moment we stepped inside. With the entire cathedral decked up with flowers, and the ornate gold-covered interiors glowing in the light of the chandeliers, the effect was decidedly awe-inspiring. We walked around the church in reverent silence, taking in the splendour of all the 14 chapels housed inside the church, as well as the church organ, which is said to be the largest in Mexico. Prathyooshan (who considers himself to be quite an authority on churches because he’s been to the Vatican (hmph!)) fervently pronounced that this was the best church he’d ever been to in his life.

We walked around drinking in the sights and sound of the city...The buildings itself were a treat to the eyes, the quaint charm only made complete by tiny boards in front of each of them giving a brief history of the building or an anecdote about the owner of the building. One in particular caught our fancy- the master of that particular house brought a Hindu slave named Mira from Manila, who was later found to have mystic powers and was considered holy by the time she died. Doesn’t this story bear uncanny similarity to our own Indian Mira, who was believed to have powers to converse with Lord Krishna?

The sun set and night fell.... And it was time for dinner! The primary reason of this trip being food itself, we’d done extensive research as to the best places to wine and dine in Puebla. We headed straight to Fonda de Santa Clara, one of the oldest establishments in Puebla, said to serve authentic Poblana cuisine. Puebla is said to be the birthplace of some of the most delicious delights of Mexican cusine –

One, of course, the soup, Crema Poblana. A thick creamy soup with corn kernels and Poblano cheese. A treat fit for the gods!

Then, the Mole (pronounced mo-ley). A sauce made of more than twenty different ingredients (including different kinds of chillies, nuts, seeds, spices and Mexican chocolate), it is said that it can go awfully wrong if not prepared properly. And there is no Mole like the Mole Poblano! But because we wanted to have everything at once, we ordered for a plate of enchiladas topped with Red Sauce, Green Sauce and the Mole. Slurrrp!

I’d saved the best for the last- the Chiles en Nogada! Poblano chillies (rather like a bigger version of our shimla mirch, less spicy though) are hollowed out and stuffed with sweet mincemeat filling and served bathed in walnut sauce and garnished with blood-red pomegranate. Imagine the pungent taste of the chilli, offset with the sweetness of the mincemeat inside, all rounded off with the lovely nutty flavour of the walnut sauce...Hmmm!!! Manna from heaven!

Happily fed and watered, we trudged our way back to the hotel and passed out the minute we hit the sack. It had been one perfect day.