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Last Day in Xalapa

This is my last day in Xalapa. I’ll be getting on the ADO bus around noon to head back to Veracruz, as my plane for Mexico City leaves midmorning tomorrow.

Miscellaneous Observations

I don’t think anyone has ever exaggerated about the climate in el puerto de Veracruz. Veracruz can be uncomfortably warm and humid at times, and this is still winter! However, it does have nice breezes and did cool off nicely in the evenings, although I did need to turn on the AC in my room for comfortable sleeping after a couple of days. Didn’t get any bug bites while I was there, but Eric confirmed it was partly because of the time of year. It’s got lots to see and do and is close to a number of interesting little towns to visit. It’s flat, so I was able to do a lot of walking without problems. In the warm weather, I seemed to have fewer aches and pains.

Xalapa wasn’t too hot and had a much more comfortable level of humidity. Pat got quite a few bug bites. She wore capri pants sometimes; I always had long pants and shoes with socks. I only got a few near my elbows and a couple on my hands. I’m assuming these must be the no-see-ums. The bite is pretty small, very red and leaves a tiny blister. Hers itched quite a bit, but mine didn’t. They’re taking a long time to heal and go away.

I liked Xalapa very much, especially the people, who are wonderfully kind and friendly. What I didn’t like so much are the hills. Coupled with the altitude, it may be a big issue for me ten years from now when I retire. The city is very charming, with lots going on. Coatepec is even more charming, and much flatter, but Dennis told me there isn’t much going on in the way of cultural activities or nightlife.

I’ve really enjoyed my first taste of Mexico and am now looking forward to exploring other areas on my next trip, whenever that may be. There are a couple of trips to Europe I want to make first, and I ought to do them while I still live on the East Coast. But I will be back!

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A Rainy Day in Xalapa

Today it’s cool, breezy and rainy. Weather Underground showed Xalapa at 49 degrees F at around 8:00 this morning, but it seemed colder.

Steve and Pat went to Coatepec today with Dennis and Ellen, but I stayed behind, feeling a little under the weather.  In Mexico it’s not unusual for smaller pharmacies to have a doctor available for consulations, so I went off to find one.  The first one didn’t have one, at the second he hadn’t arrived yet, but the third time was a charm.

The pharmacy doctor was a nice young man who didn’t speak English. With my limited Spanish I was able to describe my symptoms. He took my blood pressure, checked my pulse, listened to my lungs. He asked me a number of questions, about half of which I understood right away. A couple of times we didn’t understand each other at all, but we managed. I wrote down a couple of things in English, like bronchitis, and he looked them up on his computer.

I think he told me that there are things in this environment that irritate the throat and lungs, which accounted for my cough, and that I might have a bladder infection, which accounted for the need for way too many trips to el bano the last couple of days.

What I thought he was telling me at one point was that to help the cough go away faster, I should stop taking lactose. I told him in Spanish that I don’t drink milk, and he looked at me funny, so I said “hay lactose en leche, no?” (There’s lactose in milk, isn’t there?) Turns out the Spanish word for the noun “cough” is “la tos.”

Total cost for my visit to the pharmacy doctor, including two prescriptions, was about $18.  No wonder retirees love it here.

Walked around for a bit after that but started to get tired fairly quickly, so I headed back to la casita to take my meds and rest up. I suppose if I have to be sick, it’s better to have it happen at the end of my trip. It’s much better than the time I spent nearly three days in bed with a pretty good case of bronchitis on my first trip to Paris.

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