Veracruz reminds me a lot of some of America's mid-sized cities. It's about the same size, has a fascinating history behind it, and it can be a dynamite getaway destination for anyone who can get past the sometimes negative comments you hear from naysayers. Spending time in Veracruz reminds me of long weekends I've spent in Pittsburgh, Richmond, Cleveland, and especially like my former hometown of Baltimore.

Veracruz is not unlike Baltimore in that it has a down-to-earth industrial side to it with a heavy emphasis on the shipping port. Like Baltimore, Veracruz has great local cuisine with a decided emphasis on fresh seafood. And like Baltimore, there is plenty to do -- from historical sites, to museums, to outdoor recreation -- if you just look around and see it. Unlike Baltimore, the weather is almost always sunny and mild in Veracruz, though late summer months can be as unbearably hot as Houston (and not every car and building in Veracruz has air conditioning).

I've only been to Vercruz once, but it was a memorable experience that left me with an enormous respect for this historical city which is very much a living, working, modern port city.

Veracruz is very much one of those places that rewards the traveler who comes to the place with not just an open mind, but with open eyes, open ears, a hearty appetite and endless curiosity. It's a place where the memories aren't just of things or places, or even people, but of distinctive local flavors, endless sounds and music, and even an omnipresent scent that will forever remind you of good times in Veracruz...but let's start off talking about the places and sights that make Veracruz what it is.


Man About Town!
What's Worth Seeing in Downtown Veracruz...
I've always been fascinated by cities and I love the feeling of most traditional downtown areas in quite a lot of Mexico's cities, each of which have their own particular flavor and feel to them.

In some ways, strolling through downtown Veracruz reminds me of strolling through downtown New Orleans, except that Veracruz is generally a safer city, so I don't always feel like I need to be on guard against pickpockets and I don't worry as much about wandering off the beaten tourist path. What Veracruz has in common with New Orleans is an easy-going feeling of gentility and understated grace that can erupt into a lively party at any time. The downtown area feels very alive with music everywhere, tons of restaurants and cafes serving up delicious local specialties (I'll get into the food scene in a few moments), and people everywhere.

I think you could see most of the "attractions" of downtown Veracruz within a day or two, but that it might take a lifetime to become a true Veracruzano.

With its spectacular coastal setting with a naturally protected harbor and the majestic peaks of the Sierra Madres rising up just a few miles inland of the coast, Veracruz is a setting that was just made to be photographed, and indeed it has been, but in an odd quirk of fate, millions of people who have seen pictures of Veracruz didn't even know it! The reason is simple -- the magic of Hollywood. While several movies have been filmed in and around Veracruz, the movies were actually about very different places. Ever see Romancing the Stone? Many of those scenes that were supposedly the majestic jungle mountains of Columbia and the beautiful historic port city of Cartagena, were actually shot in Veracruz. Cartegena does have colonial era fortifications near its harbor, but those old fort scenes you saw in the movie were actually shot at one of Veracruz's most well-known historic sites -- the Castillo San Juan de Ulua.

Castillo San Juan de Ulua
Simply known as "the fort," one of the most impressive and historically significant structures of the city is the huge imposing stone fort built on a small island at the entrance to the inner harbor. Spanish conquistadors built the fort in the 1500s, it was used to protect the port against marauding pirates, and it was used in the 19th century as a prison.

Walk out on the ramparts. Go down into the prison cell area and visit the dungeons. Can you imagine what it must have been a prisoner there -- stuck behind bars as the tide washed in each day, forcing you to stand for hours just to keep breathing.

After a tour of the old fort, I'm sure not in the mood for anything heavy. But a nice quiet walk on the malecon is a good way to forget the horrors of the fort...

Malecon
Lots of Mexican seaside cities have malecons -- which we would probably call a promenade or a boardwalk in English -- but I don't believe I've ever seen a city with quite as extensive a malecon as the one in Veracruz. Early evening is the best to time for a leisurely stroll. People are out enjoying the sea breezes as they walk beneath the towering palms, doing nothing more important than walking, sitting, and sipping coffee as they watch the boats chugging back and forth across the harbor.

One of the biggest and newest attractions on the malecon is the enormous modern aquarium, which also houses Mexico's largest oceanographic research center.

Acuario
It seems like every big city in the U.S. has managed to put up a huge new aquarium in their efforts to outdraw tourists from every other city. Latin America hasn't really jumped on that big ticket bandwagon, but the notable exception is Veracruz. Their sprawling modern aquarium is located in the Plaza Acuario on a pier that juts out into the Gulf on a point between two of the city's downtown beaches (next to the Hotel Emporio). The aquarium is built around a huge circular oceanic tank that reminds me of the big central tank in the National Aquarium in Baltimore, except that in Veracruz the emphasis is on species that live in the Gulf of Mexico. The gulf teems with salt water species, including quite a few kinds of sharks, rays, and even a few endangered species of sea turtles. Tunnels on either side of this central area lead into either a fresh water area or a salt water area. Each area contains dozens of smaller tanks with individual species exhibits. The aquarium also features a small theatre showing marine life videos, a museum of statically mounted exhibits, and a store with all the souvenirs and knick-knacks that you expect to find in a modern, tourist-oriented aquarium. I highly recommend a visit to the Veracruz Aquarium -- especially if you have kids!

Plaza de Armas
The city's central downtown square is a nice place to either start or end a walk through downtown Veracruz. It's where you'll find the city hall (Palacio Municipal) and the towering cathedral, which are beautiful examples of colonial spanish architecture, but it's also a lively place with lots of nearby sidewalk cafes, small shops, and plenty of music everywhere -- from marimba players softly tapping a gentle tropical beat, to mariachis serenading the couples, and even a few accordian players singing to the cumbia beat that you might expect to find only in more northern cities.

By the way, there is a tourist info office near the plaza, and another one near the aquarium -- both can help you out with any special interests you may have, they have free maps and brochures, plus discount coupons for some local restaurants and attractions. The most useful freebie I got in Veracruz was a small foldout map published by American Express -- it was well designed and very useful, the only caveat being that all the restaurants they listed were ones that (naturally) accepted AmEx cards -- and those generally aren't cozy, family run places with great food at rock bottom prices...

Artesania
If you want to do some souvenir shopping, the market on Arista between Avenidas16 de Septiembre and 1 de Mayo has some good quality artisinal pieces, if you can navigate your way past all the vendors of T-shirts and tackier souvenirs. The city is traditionally known for good quality leather pieces, but you can find a lot of the same kind of ceramics and glassware here that you find in most larger Mexican markets.

I didn't really find anything spectacularly unique there, but there were some good pieces. I'll just have to wait until my next trip to Mexico City or Guadalajara to snag the real folk art masterpieces...(although I did stumble on an excellent shop in Monterrey recently, located on Hidalgo near the Ambassador Hotel -- over priced, but excellent quality nonetheless).


Get Outta Town!
What's Worth Seeing Within an Hour or So of Downtown...
Although it's been quite a while, I've written reviews of some of the ancient archaelogical sites in Mexico (I've always had a huge fascination for all things Mayan or Aztec). I love climbing thousand-year old pyramids and laying down on ancient sacrificial altars. I love poking around in the ruins of crumbling old temples, and I love admiring the intricate stone carvings filled with images of serpents, dragons, and a colorful mystical bird called the quetzal.

The ruins near Veracruz aren't quite in the majestic league of some of the archaelogical sites in the Yucatan or near Mexico City, but there are some wonderful places within easy day-trip distance of Veracruz that anyone who really digs ancient cultures so check out.

El Tajin
The most famous archaelogical site near Veracruz is called "El Tajin," which is a very large site famous for a pyramid called the "Pyramid of Niches". There are daily tour buses going to El Tajin from bigger downtown hotels, but I opted not to go since it is a long full-day tour (the site itself is easly 3 hours or more by bus from downtown). Next time...

Cempoala
I've heard that Cempoala is actually a very ancient city, dating back far earlier than the Aztecs, with some speculating that it was built by the Olmec people around 1,000 B.C.. History buffs with a bent toward colonial imperialism will want to visit this area because the Cempoala area is where Cortez first landed in the new world, burning his ships so that his men couldn't mutinee and demand to return to Spain. (Cortez must have been a real joy to serve under...) His first headquarters is preserved in the nearby town of Antigua.

Other Towns and Sights...
For the sake of completeness, I'll just mention that there are several towns and cities within easy day-trip distance of Veracruz (including Orizaba, the state capital, and the colonial town of Xalapa). Since I was only in town for a few days, and I had to spend some of that time testing hammocks on the beach as I drank fresh margaritas and cheap beer, I just didn't have the time for a trip to these places. I've also heard that a drive along the coastal highway can be interesting, if somewhat nervewracking. Perhaps next trip...


Au Natural!
What a Green-Minded Adventure Traveller Might Like...
Veracruz is a fabulously scenic state with towering mountains, deep forests, rugged whitewater rivers, and miles of Gulf Coast beach for anyone who loves the surf, sun, and sand. Here's a couple of ideas for folks who want to get away from it all...

Beach Combing...
Veracruz boasts mile after mile of sandy Gulf coast beaches, but I truthfully don't find most of them to be all that great (and they pale in comparison to the soft, creamy white sands of Cancun or Playa del Carmen).

Playa Norte is probably the longest beach in Veracruz, but it's dirty to look at and I was warned about staying away from the water in the area because it's polluted by industrial waste and sewage. Yeech!

On the flip side of the Aquarium are a couple of beaches that are a bit nicer, but they're really the kind of scenic area where you walk along the malecon and enjoy the sea breeze rather than really sun bathing...

For honest to goodness lying on the beach pleasure, you need to go to the southeast side of town, near the Boca del Rio. From the Fiesta Americana southward, the beaches are good with wide expanses of fairly clean sand, lots of towering palms to provide respite from the blazing sun, and plenty of beachside cabanas for scarfing on cheap beers and giant margaritas.

We spent quite a bit of our beach time in the area just past the Hotel Mocambo -- mostly because the beach is still nice, but there's fewer people so we could sprawl out a bit more. Although we didn't stay in the Mocambo, we paid about a dollar to be able to use their bathrooms and showers and to lay out by their pool -- not a bad deal, and it sure beats having to hike across town with sand in your shorts...

Scuba Diving the Gulf...
Mexico certainly does have some of the world's premier dive sites, and if that's what you're really looking for, you should be checking reviews for Cozumel and the resorts along the Quintana Roo coast. Veracruz isn't quite in that class, but if you're a diver and if you're in Veracruz, you've still got some interesting sites to dive, including some old shipwrecked Spanish galleons and some 29 smaller reefs.

I'm not a diver myself, and I've never seen the dive sites near Veracruz, but my impression from reading about them is that they are probably not worth traveling long distances to see. According to the Australian Institute of Marine Science, most of the reefs near Veracruz have been damaged by human activities such as agricultural fertilization and the construction of the Veracruz harbor, and that populations of reef fish are severely depleted, not to mention that the waters of the Gulf of Mexico are generally murkier than the Caribbean.

Yeah, Veracruz has dive sites, and they have several dive shops, but diving is probably not a good reason to spend a vacation in Veracruz -- you'd undoubtedly see better reefs off Cozumel and the Quintana Roo coast.

I was going to list some phone numbers of Veracruz dive shops here, but when I searched the scubawizard.com web site, I find only a single shop (and it's not one of the ones I remember seeing...):
Scubaver
Hernandez y Hernandez 563
Col. Faros
Veracruz, Ver. 91709
Phone: (52) 29-383994
Email: grul-com@infosel.net.mx

If you're a scuba diver, you may be better off skipping the internet directories and looking around locally for more dive shops. I know that there are at least three of them along Blvd. Avila Camacho as you head from downtown toward the Boca del Rio area. The most popular seem to be Tridente and Dorado Divers, both of which advertise several different types of trips for certified divers and which also offer certification courses or one-day "discovery dives" for newcomers to the sport (maybe I'll try this some day, but I think I'll try it in the Caribbean).

Rafting the Wild Waters...
Quite a few of Mexico's major coastal cities lie virtually at the base of the Sierra Madre mountain range. Veracruz is no exception. As you drive the highway into Veracruz, the elevations will start dropping dramatically for the last half hour to an hour of your trip. As you probably guessed, that means white water as the local rivers also drop thousands of feet over the course of a few dozen miles.

Outfitters run rafting trips down several of these rivers, and the "right" trip for you will depend on how wild you want your ride. There are easy runs down smaller rivers, and there are very challenging long runs through rapids as difficult as Class V. Like all rivers, the level of difficulty depends a lot on recent weather, so you need to talk to a local guide to figure out what's right for you. There are dozens of river guides on Veracruz, and you can also arrange trips through outfitters in Mexico City, and even some in the United States.

When I was in Veracruz, I picked up a copy of a local "whats happening for tourists" type magazine called Adonde en Veracruz (look for it in cafes, hotel lobbies, etc.). There is an ad in there for an outfitter called Ecco Sports that was running white water river trips starting in Xalapa. I mention Ecco Sports because they have an email address to which you can write for more info: info@eccosports.com.mx

If you want to see some cool pictures of whitewater rivers in Veracruz, visit the Agua Azul web site: www.aguaazul.com/wsb/vcrivers.html


End of the Day...
Where the Good Hotel Values are in Veracruz...

Veracruz is one of those cities that a guy who calls himself The World's Cheapest Traveler(tm) just has to love! You can pay US$100 or more per night for your hotel, but I don't know why anyone would do that: there are good hotels -- and I mean really nice hotels -- for half that. A frugal traveller doesn't have to look very far to find 4- and 5-star hotels for $70 a night, 3-star hotels for $40, and clean but servicable 2-star hotels for $30. True budget travellers can find quite a few smaller, family run hotels for even less -- particularly in outlying areas.

The most modern hotels tend to cluster along the beach on the southeast side of town, between Punta Mocambo and Boca del Rio -- an area that locals refer to as "Costa de Oro". Some of these hotels are a bit on the higher side of the price range, but most are very modern with a good range of amenities, yet they are still convenient to downtown.

On the very tip of Punta Mocambo is the big Fiesta Americana hotel. This is a big, full-service hotel (with a large outdoor pool overlooking the gulf) and rates here are almost always on the expensive side. I mention this hotel because it caters to the upscale business side of the marketplace, and travelers who demand a predictable level of amenities will find that the Fiesta Americana stacks up well against U.S. chains like Sheraton or Hilton (they also charge similar rates). I've heard good things about the Best Western Paraiso Macambo -- and it looks very upscale from the outside -- but I didn't stay here because they wanted US$100 a night for a room, and I felt I could do better...

The Hotel Novo Mar is another place that looks modern and clean from the outside, but again, I've never been inside. I know rooms can sometimes be had here for $50, and at that rate, it is probably an excellent value (I plan to look for rooms here next time I'm in Veracruz), but I was unable to score a deal here on the days I was in town. Continental Plaza is probably the biggest hotel in Veracruz, but I didn't really like its location on the opposite side of the street from the beaches.

Enough about places that I just walked by, let me recommend the place I actually ended up staying at: the Holiday Inn Centro. Now, I know that I've been recommending a lot of Holiday Inns lately, and I hate to sound like a broken record, but those guys are really working hard to give travelers who value good value a heck of a bang for the buck (or for the peso, as the case may be), and I thought this location was a heck of a good deal.

The Holiday Inn Veracruz Centro is unlike most of the chain's locations. This is no cookie-cutter corporate hotel! This Holiday Inn actually manages to capture some of the ambience and tradition that you normally would find only in locally run B&B inns. The hotel was originally built in 1640 as a Franciscan monastery. The monks are long gone, but the historic look and feel is still there.

Holiday Inn Veracruz Centro also has some of the same kind of cozy ambience that you usually find only in B&Bs. In fact, I don't believe I've ever before stayed in a Holiday Inn that was this small -- only 40 rooms. Yet they still have a full-service restaurant and a business center with PCs, internet connection, copiers, etc. My room was very comfortable and modern (the hotel was recently renovated). This isn't a Holiday Inn review though, so I'll save the rest of the details for when I get around to reviewing this hotel itself. I will mention though that I paid 490 pesos per night (just under $50) -- at that kind of price, this hotel represents an excellent value.

Just my 2 cents...


Que Rico!
Where and What to Eat in Veracruz...

There are a heck of a lot of good restaurants in Veracruz, and I could probably spend weeks just exploring the various eateries around town. Just walk along the malecon, or around the cathedral. Stroll along the avenues between the Zocalo and the beach and you can't help but bump into dozens of sidewalk cafes.

Veracruz is famous for its coffee, and no visit to Veracruz is complete without at least one visit to either of the city's two landmark coffee houses -- those veritable monuments to the roasted bean. Some people seem to prefer Gran Cafe el Portal, others prefer Gran Cafe de la Parroquia. I think I could chill out for hours at Gran Cafe el Portal, with its wonderfully central location near the Plaza de Armas and the constant buzz of a marimba player...

The most memorable dinner I had in Veracruz was at a smaller restaurant called Albatros, located at the corner of 16 Septiembre and Azueta. Like probably 95 percent of the restaurants in Veracruz, the house specialty is seafood, but unlike the others Albatros does some outstanding innovative dishes that aren't commonly available. It might not sound tempting, but the pescado con sal (fish crusted in salt) is actually a very tasty dish with lots of succulent tender white meat beneath a layer of coarse sea salt. Chase it down with a slightly malty beer, like Indio, and you are talking seriously good eating!

Not everyone appreciates good food, I understand. If you are one of the teeming millions who likes corporate chain restaurants, then I guess I should let you know that there is yet another cookie-cutter Carlos N Charlies restaurant over near Boca del Rio. Don't worry, nobody ever complained about anything at Carlos N Charlies being "too spicy". But enough of that...let's get on to talking about what local restaurants do right...

Moreso than just about any other place in Mexico, Veracruz is a city known for its seafood dishes. Anywhere you go in Mexico, you are almost sure to find seafood restaurants featuring dishes prepared "Veracruzano" -- in the style of Veracruz.

Veracruz style is a magical blending of vegetables to create a chunky salsa that you use either to mix with seafood -- like shrimp or scallops -- but more often to use as a topping for a freshly grilled fish fillet, especially red snapper (known in spanish as "huachinango"), which is by far the local favorite.

The city doesn't seem to be content with just doing seafood better than everyone else. They evidently also have a need to do it bigger! Veracruz chefs hold some of more, uhhh, "unusual" world records, including "Biggest stuffed fish filet" and "Biggest shrimp cocktail" (at 2 tons!) That's a little too much of a good thing for my tastes...

I'm the kind of guy who likes to let my tongue be my guide when I travel, and I love eating local specialties. Fortunately, even though I can't always hop a plane down to Veracruz whenever I get a hankering for their local seafood, I can do a pretty mean rendition of it at home, gracias a mi suegra. Now, my mother-in-law is really from Guadalajara, not Veracruz, but she's a great cook in her own right and she makes a wonderful salsa veracruzana that I think stacks up against anything the best local seafood houses can dish out! Here's how she does it...

Huachinango Veracruzano

3 cups diced ripe tomatoes (about 2 large or 3 medium tomatoes)
1 diced red onion (not too big)
1 diced bell pepper
3 diced jalapeno or serrano chilis (more or less, to taste)
1/3 cup chopped cilantro (more or less, to taste)
4 or 5 cloves minced garlic (more or less, to taste)
1/2 cup chopped ripe black olives
1 tbsp. olive oil
juice of 2 limes

fresh filets of red snapper
olive oil
lime juice
salt and pepper

1. Dice all the vegetables ahead of time.
2. Heat 1 tablespoon of olive oil (or more if desired) in a large saucepan.
3. Add onions and saute for about 5 minutes.
4. Add bell pepper, garlic, chilis and cook about 2 minutes.
5. Add the tomatoes, lime juice, and olives. Simmer 5 minutes (not too long or the vegetables become too limp).
6. Remove from heat and add fresh cilantro. Mix well.
7. Prepare the red snapper as you wish. You can grill it, broil it, or pan fry it. I recommend it broiling it. The way I do it is to brush the fish with a light coating of olive oil and then squeeze a slice of lime over it and salt and pepper to taste before broiling. You could do it the same way on a grill, or you could lightly coat the fish in flour and pan fry in olive oil over a medium flame.
8. Place the snapper on a plate and top with the sauce. I would serve a dish like this with a good quality pale pilsner beer, such as Bohemia, though a margarita sure would do it justice!
Proveche!

Those of you who read my reviews regularly know that I'm big on beer, and that's another reason I like Veracruz. This is very much a beer town and its very much a town that favors beers like Dos Equis, Indio, Bohemia, and Nochebuena. It helps that the Cerveceria Cuahtemoc Moctezuma has a large, modern brewery nearby (located in the town of Orizaba, just off the highway going towards Mexico City).


Vamonos!
The Bottom Line on an Underrated Destination...
I really like Veracruz. It's a comfortable, friendly city that's long been a favorite vacation spot for hispanic travelers, though it doesn't see much traffic from gringo tourists. That's a good thing. It means that Veracruz is not, and never has been an Americanized resort town filled with chain hotels and fast food burger joints (yes, I am talking about Cancun).

Veracruz is one of several mid-size cities in Mexico that are still "hidden gems" to most Americans. They are places where you can find warm people, warm sand, succulent food, zesty music, fascinating attractions with historical and natural significance, and best of all -- rock bottom prices!

Mexicans have a saying that if you want to be sure you come back to a place, you leave your shoes behind. Somewhere in Veracruz are my tattered old Nikes...




Recommended: Yes

Best Suited For: Friends
Best Time to Travel Here: Dec - Feb