(Post 20 of 189. Thanks again to those who participated in the Fundrazr!)

The drive from Arrazola to Cuilapan de Guerreo felt long as it was very twisty and bumpy. I was glad to see what the state looks like outside of the capital city. We finally pulled into a restaurant near our next stop.

There, we were greeted with a shot of mezcal, my first! I found it quite good — more to my taste than is tequila. The restaurant was open air, but with a roof, with dozens of tables to accommodate several tour groups. I sat with two ladies from my group. There were plenty of servers and we were quickly served our beverages. I really wanted a beer but knew it would put me to sleep, so I went with a horchata.

Lunch was awesome! It was a buffet with dozens of choices and everything from beets (!!!) to all manner of stews. Everything had just been brought out, with all the hot dishes on burners and the cold dishes on ice. I had no idea what anything was, so I loaded up on a bit of several dishes, not coming close to sampling everything. I tried a variety of stews, some with chicken and some with pork, with the sauce colours in ranges of yellows, reds, greens, and browns. I was so glad that I’m not a picky eater and was able to let my tastebuds go on an adventure. By the way, lunch was only $150, and I paid an additional $40 for my horchata and a bottle of water. Incredibly reasonable for the quality and quantity of food offered!

Unfortunately, I only got a blurry picture of my first course, so you’ll have to take my word for it that everything looked — and was — very yummy!

I went back for a few more things, and came to the conclusion that I’m not a fan of tamales. I find them dry and pretty tasteless, but am willing to have that opinion challenged if someone’s Mexican abuela is reading this and is feeling offended. 🙂

I missed that there was dessert, but one of my tablemates had me try a piece of her gelatine and maize-based dessert, basically atole in Jello-form. I was not a fan. But somehow, I got wind that there were green mangos in vinegar and that piqued my curiosity, so I went in search of them. A lady at the table tried to discourage me, making a face and saying that they are super bitter. I like bitter things (hello, fan of black coffee and grapefruit juice — together!), so I was not daunted.

I did not find the mango bitter (or sour) at all. In fact, it barely had any non-mangoey flavour. It just wasn’t sweet as the mango wasn’t ripe before going through the “pickling” process. The texture was unusual, too. I really enjoyed my mango and it was the perfect end to a great lunch.

We continued on to the Dominican monastery ruins, which date to the mid-1500s. Who needs to go to Europe, huh?! By the way, some say Cuilapan, some say Cuilapam…

This was a centre of evangelisation in the area. The architectural style is really interesting, combining Roman arches with Greek Corinthian columns and Moorish towers!

Today, the site is used as offices for the INAH (National institute for anthropology and history), where it does research and holds workshops.

I picked up a shawl from a vendor outside the convent, for $150. I think it’s probably mass-produced, but it’s soft and the colours are pretty. I have a blanket in those colours on one sofa, so when I don’t need to wear this shawl, I can display it on the other sofa

Unbelievably, we had one stop left to make!