Today is Teachers Day in Mexico, so teachers at all levels had the day off, and the schools were closed.

One of my colleagues at the Centro de Idiomas, Gregorio, offered to take me to see Zempoala and the beach nearby about an hour and 15 minutes away from Xalapa. As it turned out, we went in another teacher’s—Bertha’s—car, which has air conditioning while Gregorio’s doesn’t. Ana Lilia and Jose Miguel, two other English teachers, went with us as well.

We left Xalapa at 10 this morning and stopped first at Zempoala [pronounced Sem-poh-AH-lah] to see the pyramids there. Gregorio was an excellent guide and gave me the history behind this Totonacan site, which Hernán Cortez and his men came to and conquered in 1519. (In the picture above, you can see the Gladators' Stadium behind Bertha, Gregorio, me, and Ana Lilia.)

From the ruins at Zempoala, we drove to Quiahuitzlan [Key-ah-WHEATS-lan] to the place where the Totanacos built a city about mid way up a mountain that juts above the surrounding coastal area, renowned for its Totanac tombs and the gorgeous view of the beach below.

On the way there, we made several stops at small stores to buy ice and beer. The beer wasn't hard to come by, but the ice was. Finally, we found a place that had some. As we headed back to the car, I caught José Miguel using a tree to scratch his back, bear-like, and couldn't resist taking a picture.

After we’d wandered around the ruins of Quiahuitzlan, we drove down to the beach of Villa Rica and headed straight for the water to cool off. I hadn’t brought my bathing suit, but I went in in my clothes. I loved being in the water, sometimes standing up to the waves and at other times bobbing with them. Here's a photo of Gregorio hamming it up.

Finally, we went to a little restaurant, Los Cuates, in a little town nearby and had mojarra, a fish found in this area of Veracruz. It arrived, head, tail, and all, accompanied by pico de gallo, guacamole, and fresh corn tortillas. Deliciosa!

It was evening when we headed back to Xalapa. We were all tired from the sun and sea, and it was good to get home. But we all agreed it had been a great way to spend El Dia de Maestros.

I’m heading out tomorrow for Puebla to meet my fellow Fulbright teachers Cece and Brenda. They’re leaving Mexico next month, so this will be our last hurrah together here. Lucky me—I’ll be here until the end of July.