The Long and Winding Road

First thing this morning, we went to the Turtle Sanctuary on the beach. It is run by a man who started it up twenty-five years ago, when the turtles here were headed toward extinction. He finds and protects the eggs from predators, and fosters many young turtles for about a month, then they're old enough to be released into the wild to fend for themselves. He also takes care of injured or lame turtles. He's currently fostering a two year old Green Sea Turtle who was born with a deformed lung and as a result swims on his side. When he is ready, he will be donated to the aquarium in Veracruz, as he could not possibly fend for himself in the wild. David held this beautiful 25 lb turtle. Over the last 25 years, over 75,000 turtles have been released. One man really can make a difference!

We went to La Mangla for breakfast yesterday, dinner last night, and breakfast today. It is the best restaurant in Tecolutla, and I ordered the very same breakfast two days in a row because it was so good! This is where David, the owner and chef (a fellow Canadian married to a lovely Mexican girl named Miriam), will cook a meal exactly tailored to suit your tastes. It is also where nobody looks at me strangely for asking for veggie-fare!

After breakfast we left Tecolutla for Xalapa (pronounced 'ha-lap-a'), a colonial city in the mountains. We did not know that Mexico was so mountainous, nearly Swiss Alps-like .The road was the most scenic we have ever seen - truly breathtaking and majestic. We took several pictures and would have taken more, but I needed both hands to take pictures in the car, and my right hand was often clenched onto the H.S. handles! (To Mom: you would've hated it; To Tim: you would've loved it!) Yes, it was an exciting drive, with more curves than a crazy pretzel. I have to admit though, that the scenery was well worth it.

The climate in Xalapa is quite cool and we have had to put the heat on in the beautiful hotel room we have for the night here at the Hotel Xalapa. Such upscale digs wouldn't have been our preference, but when it gets late in the day, after 5pm or so, we don't want to keep driving around a town we aren't yet familiar with - we just want to get settled for the night. (Who am I trying to kid - I think I can handle the fancy room for one night!)

Love,

April and David

p.s. We hope everyone is well - please feel free to drop us a line here or via e-mail.

Chloe's Note: I'm glad we left the cheap seats in Tecolutla. Our ground level, exterior door room kept me on pins and needles all night, because the local dogs camped outside our door....just because I'm the new kid on the block. I could hear the flea-bitten mongrels scratching themselves all night. And they even staged a few fights for my benefit. Skinny buggers!!