Blowhole at the waterfront of Xcaret Park near Playa del Carmen, Mexico.
Where are Kevin and Ruth now? Playa del Carmen, Mexico.

Where are Kevin and Ruth going next? Toluca on December 24th!

Saturday, December 11, 2010

Valle de Bravo (day 5)

We relaxed until 10:00am or so, and then left here to take the bus into the town of Valle de Bravo. We just wanted to walk around on our own for a while and then maybe buy some groceries.

So we did…the collectivo into town cost 8 pesos (68 cents) each. This was actually a taxi that does a set route all day long, so it’s actually a little cheaper than a taxi normally would be. We had been waiting with another lady and we had asked her to make sure we were getting into the correct vehicle.

We got out near “el centro” and walked to the centre square where we just sat on a park bench for a few minutes and watched the world go by.


Then we walked around town for a few hours, stopping into an archeological museum (which was free, as museums should be!) and exploring some of the shops. I was also watching the road that we have to take to leave Valle de Bravo next Tuesday or so, because it is a bit of a congested town and I wanted to be familiar with the route out of here!

We bought quite a few groceries in the market, but also found a fairly large local grocery store (nothing like the grocery stores back home, or the Bodega’s or Sorinanna’s in Mexico) to do some shopping. As we were preparing to order some sliced sandwich meat, a shop girl in the store came up to us and introduced herself in English asking of she could help us. We stand out as Americans, but we are quick to introduce ourselves as Canadians. This girl had grown up in Phoenix, Arizona and her English was perfect. She helped us buy some cheese and sandwhich meat. Oh, and a dozen eggs which were handed to us in a bag. The dozen eggs cost us 10.2 pesos (85 cents).

We made our way to a tortierra (sp?) where we bought a kg of corn tortillas for 10 pesos (82 cents).

This guy didn't look too enthused at watching the world go by!

By this point we were carrying a few groceries so we flagged a taxi and he brought us back to Sherman for 20 pesos ($1.64) each. This was obviously a little more expensive than it cost us to get into town, but it was taxi rate, not collectivo rate. Still, very cheap by Canadian standards.

Christmas decorations in the square.

When we arrived back at Santiago’s place, he came around and knocked on our door. He had ordered an internet package through TelMex and was having problems getting it set up wondering if we could help. They also had some friends visiting from the nearby city of Toluca who spoke some English and we got along with them quite well. They enjoyed practicing their English, and us our Spanish. We came to the conclusion that the internet problem was in the line which was spliced together in typical Mexican fashion. They will have to get TelMex to come and fix the problem.

Next thing we know, Santiago is inviting us for food. His wife had a bunch of barbeque chicken and tacos and salsa and their friends from Toluca were joining us as well. We enjoyed dinner with them, and afterwards Ruth showed the women some of our pictures while me and the men talked about work and travel.


Turns out that this big Guadaloupe celebration starts at like 5:00am in the morning, and Santiago is coming to wake us up then so that we can join them for music and fireworks at that early hour. When in Mexico, do as the Mexicans do…

8 comments:

  1. Wow, what a great little town, very pretty. Your header picture today is very nice. I like how the eye is drawn to the colorful flowers, yet there is so much more to look at including the stone roadway.

    Also, have been wondering about the name of the town/area. Are we correct in the translation "Valley of the Brave"? If so, do you know the history?

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  2. The town is beautiful and the flowers are gorgeous.

    Yes, you are correct, John. The town has had a number of different names throughtout the years and at one time the county was known as "El Valle" (The Valley), "de Bravo" was added later to honor Nicolás Bravo who fought at the Castle of Chapultepec during the Mexican-American War.

    This is actually a Mexican tourist town for the well too-do Mexicans that come from Mexico City on the weekends and durning the summer and on holidays. We are about 5km (3mi) outside of town in a small Mexican community.

    Kevin and Ruth

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  3. Great day for sure!!!

    Looks so pretty and peaceful there.

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  4. Not too peaceful first thing this morning! Lots of fireworks popping and they are loud. Started around 4am, but we take it in stride, part of the experience.

    Kevin and Ruth

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  5. Could you guys tone it down a bit? Too much fun makes some readers envious.

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  6. Chris...Sorry, but not sure how to stop, you will just have to come and join in the fun.

    Kevin and Ruth

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  7. Hi,
    I came across your blog about your stay in Valle de Bravo (day 5), in particular the picture showing a road with a bougainvillea and a view of the reservoir. It happens that I am the owner of the property on the left hand side of the picture. I am rather confused because your blog dates this picture Saturday, 11 December 2010. The fact is that I installed the iron fence this year, more precisely September 2011.
    Regards.

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  8. Well that is interesting Isabel. That picture was definitely taken last December, 2010. So it's a mystery!

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