In El Tajin you might be lucky and watch the ceremony of the Voladores de Papantla "the fliers of Papantla", on another note be careful swiming in the Gulf there can be big waves with very strong rip tides, specially arround Nautla, there are beaches where the bottom is only waist deep at high tide and not even knee hight at low tide and you can walk out for a kilometer or more, there is just one problem there are some deeper holes and people swim past not noticing the shark in the hole at low tide, sice they can not swim away guess what they do, thay feel trapped and defenseless and they bite, best advice do not do that.
In the port of Veracruz on Sunday afternoons the local band plays on the balcony of the municipal palace and the balet folclorico might give a perfomance or just the locals having a good time dancing a fandango or zapateado.
You can not say that you have been to the port of Veracruz unless you have been to the "Cafe de La Parroquia" parroquia is church, if you stand in front of the Palacio Municipal, facing the plaza, the church will be to your left and right acrost on the corner you will see the arches of the cafe.
What all Veracruzanos do is have "cafe con leche" coffee and milk, you ask the waiter (quiero un cafe con leche por favor), he will bring a tall thick glass, similar to the ones that they served ice cream or malts at the dinners, and a tall spoon, pretty soon another waiter will come by after you clink the glass to let him know that you are ready or the original waiter will do it if he sees that you are not a porteño to let the other waiter know to come to your table to pour coffee and milk from big very hot kettles from abuot 3 feet from the glass with out spiling a drop, it is worth seeing.
El Cafe de La Parroquia is a noisy place so when yuo need a refill, clink the glass with vigour with out braking it, they will come with the elixir, Veracruzanos normally have pan de duclce with the cafe con leche, this is a very good place to have breakfast, lunch or dinner, it is my favorito.
Another place that you want to visit is the big heads at La Venta, the Olmec heads, if you go swiming in the beaches South of the port, make sure you have pople surrounding you, try to be in the center of the croud not the fringes, it is not addverticed but there is one shark attack per month more or less on those beaches, and this has been a FACT since I was born, one of my uncles lived in the port of Veracruz for many years, we NEVER go further than knee high.
Engoy "la vida loca" señoras y señores
navegator
