Pueblos Magicos Fall Tour 2025

Dispatch 3

I have always enjoyed the heat while having a strong distaste for being cold. This no doubt

explains why I have arranged my life to avoid spending a winter in the northlands for over

twenty years. And I have spent numerous winters in Southeast Asia, warm and humid without a

problem - at least as long as I could stay cool enough at night in order to sleep.

The day before leaving Catemaco, I checked the weather forecast for Villahermosa, the

sprawling capital city of the next state south of Veracruz . In big red letters it warned of

excessive heat. Well, I have easily handled plenty of heat in the past, so …….. I was poised to

visit the three Pueblos Mágicos in Tabasco, continuing to the three in neighboring Campeche,

but it seemed like I was wandering into a real heat wave (I wonder if we should still be calling

them that as they continue to be the norm rather than the exception).

I have been stoked to visit this region which has never been on any standard Mexican tourist

itineraries. Villahermosa has few charms that I have ever heard of, and is mostly known as a

jumping off place for the hippie mecca Palenque, covered in my book. Campeche is a pleasant

and historical old city, a fortress against piracy. I have visited and enjoyed it. And per normal in

many prominent Mexican cities, I saw no other foreigners there.

One steamy evening in Villa (municipality names are so lengthy throughout Mexico that even

the natives tend to shorten them), and the following afternoon in my first stop of Teapa were

enough to tell me that I might have met my match. It was hot. Really hot. I am first and foremost

a walker, but walking in the direct sun was no fun at all. Periodic cloud cover helped a bit and a

breeze that wasn’t blowing would have helped even more. Getting from place to place, I tended

to the shady side of the street if possible, hardly my regular custom.

I checked into the more than pleasant Hotel Quintero just off Teapa’s main plaza. It was cool

inside, and the two ladies who greeted me were friendly and welcoming. One of my first

questions was about other foreign visitors. “Very few” the woman who checked me in replied.

The last one she recalled was a Russian bicycle rider who had passed through about two

months earlier.

I had seen YouTube videos of all the towns. They were pretty, green with a lot of history. My

suspicion had been that they would also be free of any hint of foreign tourism. Four days in

Teapa and its nearby cousin Tapijulapa would confirm that suspicion. As usual my presence

was almost invisible. Hardly anyone paid me any mind unless I initiated contact. Bustling Teapa

is indeed a picturesque place alongside a river. There is a scenic cave and grotto not far out of

town, also a weekend bathing resorts with sulfurous waters, no doubt worth a visit. But getting

to them required much more energy than I could muster. Any serious walking was out of the

question between 10AM and 4PM. I took long scenic walks on the two early mornings I spent

there, but that was about it.

I met some extremely friendly people. I wandered into an inviting looking restaurant run by an

educated and modern young couple with a baby. We had a long and stimulating conversation.

Jose was originally from Orizaba, one of my top ten Magic Towns. The fellow in the municipal

market who squeezed out my favorite jugo verde (green juice) had family in Miami, and we had

a good chat. For dinner I ate in the fanciest looking place on the square, which is not saying a

lot. Fish was on the menu, but they were out of it to my disappointment. PA gang of older men

who hung around there every evening welcomed me into the conversation as a curiosity. As I

have emphasized, they don’t see a lot of strangers in these parts. But the Mariners were getting

depressingly toasted on the television screen, and I decided to call it a night.

Teapa, one of the newer Magic Towns added in the major drop of 2023, has a pleasant aspect

and a fine ambience. But as a Magic Town, it is middling at best. I don’t know how I would have

felt if the weather had been bearable.

On the third morning I took a share taxi to the regional hub of Tacotalpa. The name has

nothing to do with food, it is a Nahuatl word for some kind of weed. I checked. From there it was

a collective van to Tapijulapa. I was pleased to see that the countryside was becoming more

forested and that we were traveling uphill. The town is very small and has the aspect of a fairy

tale village, cutesy and pretty. It was still hot there, but this time within my comfort level. Thus

weather was not a limiting factor for the two days I spent there. I wonder if this is one of these

weekend escapes that are so popular in Mexico for the affluent set. All I can say is that this was

not a weekend, and the town felt dead, dead, dead.

There were no listings on booking.com. Other internet research netted a few names, so I was

not concerned about finding lodging. And as I wandered around the tiny streets in the center,

there were indeed numerous hotels. The only problem was that they were almost all locked up

with no signs of life. Monday Monday. My phone would make a suggestion, but one after

another there was nobody around. A friendly man was watching my fruitless efforts. Here with

my backpack I definitely stood out. He asked if I were looking for a hotel, then led me to a place

a few steps down the street from the town square. A woman came to her front door. Yes she

had a room next to hers, also fronting on the street. There was a small sign which read Hotel

Portales. She said that she was going out of town for two days, but I was welcome to stay. She

took a bit over sixty dollars in pesos from me and gave me a key. I asked if she wanted

identification. She did not, which I am pretty sure is illegal in Mexico. The room was bare, but

sufficient, including a television with twelve local channels, useless to me. The internet signal

was decent, which is always important in my spoiled world. The bathroom was clean. There was

no hot water, as there hadn’t been in Teapa. In this climate this was of no matter. I never saw

her again by the time I left very early on my last morning.

A dearth of available lodging was matched by a lack of restaurants. Besides the usual snack

places and hole-in-the-walls, there were only two that qualified as such. And one was closed

with me arriving on a a Monday, another sign that this was strictly a weekend place. Per force I

ate in the other and had a decent, ordinary but clearly overpriced meal. I guess if there is no

competition, you can charge what you wish.

On the first afternoon I surveyed Tapijulapa’s central attractions, mainly an attractive church on

top of a hill and a miniature street called Callejon del Beso, alley of the kiss. There was another

place down a few blocks called the Casa de la Sardina Ciega, the house of the blind sardine.

Google said that it was some kind of aquarium, but of course it was closed. I did enjoy walking

around in the quiet with hardly any traffic. Everything was pretty, if a bit lifeless.

The next day I hiked four miles out on a country lane to a complex with a fairly impressive

waterfall, a typical Mexican bathing resort, and some kind of forgettable small museum. The

scenery was exuberant, the falls spectacular enough to warrant the walk even after skipping the

swimming hole and the museum. Anyway a good time was had by all, meaning yours truly.

Mostly I wondered if Tapijulapa was a place that had seen better days, or if it had always been

like this. It was after all one of the earlier Magic Towns.

In the very early dawn I took a colectivo back to Tacotalpa, ready to continue to Villahermosa.

Early, as I had a long day ahead of me. No matter how crowded the extended van got, it would

always stop for anyone soliciting a ride along the mountain road. Drivers are intent of squeezing

the last peso of profit out of every tank of gas. Safety and comfort are not part of the equation.

Near the end I counted twenty-five of us packed in more or less. There were nine seats and a

bench in the back designed for four. At least I had started in town and had a seat.

Despite the lack of excitement, I was happy to have visited these towns. Anyone who wishes

to experience authentic Mexican life in pleasant and pretty surroundings will have there

expectations more than met. Particularly in a cooler season.

A Change of Plans

My next stop in Tabasco would have been Frontera on an estuary just off of the Gulf Coast.

The forecast was anything but promising, even hotter temperatures than I had already

experienced, and I wanted no part of it. I had come on this trip in my normal fashion with an

itinerary of places to visit, but no schedule or bookings. Being alone and traveling light, I can

stop and make command decisions on a dime. This dime told me that it was time to get out of

Dodge. The cool and beautiful mountain haven of San Cristobal de las Casas, only a five hour

bus ride from Villahermosa, beckoned. Arriving back in that unlovable place, I walked from the

second class terminal to the first class one, and was soon crossing this narrow part of Mexico

heading west and then up into higher altitudes. I have constructed a new itinerary, which you will

all learn about in time. Meanwhile, I will perhaps return someday in the future and visit the

remaining unsung Pueblos Mágicos of Tabasco and Campeche states. In the winter.