A Little Out of the Ordinary: Orizaba, Mexico

We weren’t originally planning on heading to the pueblo magico of Orizaba, in western Veracruz state, but thanks to a bit of buzz on the backpacker trail, we had become quite intrigued. And, it was exactly the dose of green and fresh air we were needing at that moment. In fact, we could have unpacked our bags for much longer than a week.

This town of just over 100k is tucked into emerald mountains at the foot of Pico de Orizaba, which is the third biggest peak in North America. Orizaba is probably one of the most surprising places we’ve encountered in Mexico so far…packed to the brim with natural opportunities, as well as providing a little fantasyland for any budget-conscious family. Plus, we loved the fact that this pueblo magico is still mostly undiscovered on the tourist trail.

The Animal & Art River Walk

One of the many unique features it offers is a 6.3 mile (10.1k) long river walk (obviously free) complete with unique bridges through the center of town. Half of this walk is a riverside zoo, and the other offers colorful and captivating art as you stroll along the river. As you can see, you can walk on either side of the river.

Mandy plays Short Round on the rope bridge.

This little green bug sits amongst a scene which looks play-ready.

The water level was quite low the whole time we were there. But alas, rainy season is definitely approaching. We were threatened with grey, stormy looking skies most days but rarely any drops from the sky.

We love what pride Orizaba seems to have. There are signs that say “Sonrie, estas in Orizaba!” everywhere. (Smile! You are in Orizaba.) And, there’s indeed a lot to smile about here. It was wonderful to see so many families out walking on the river. What a great way to engage your kids!

Mandy didn’t actually read ahead about there being a zoo on the river, so when she walked down and encountered the first animals…ostriches…she was a little bit freaked saying, “what the hell is that thing doing in Mexico??” Not a bird she’s a fan of ? Speaking of, while we appreciated the idea of an interactive river walk, we were not fans of the cages. Even though these animals have never been in the wild, the cages were far too small.

Especially for larger animals like the tigers!! There were THREE of them in the cage. EEEK!

We couldn’t believe the range of animals they had from monkeys, coyotes, jaguars and a bear to small ones like rabbits, chickens and ducks (a little less disturbing.) Fortunately it seemed as though the camel and hippo had been removed.

More fun bridges.

Another option on the river walk? Grab your harness and carabiner and clip into this free zip line. Only in Mexico.

A historic water wheel

And in case you’re not into bridges, you can leapfrog it! Of course, expect that you might have an audience.

For some reason, this section reminded us of parts of the Balkans.

We definitely preferred the Art walk to animal walk…

Loved the way the doors of this train were created! And of course, lots of indigenous culture was included.

Tired? Why not just hang out for awhile?

Alright. Who’s open? We’re ready for lunch!

At every turn, something new jumped out at your! The Puente del Torro. This bull wants OUT! Another guys sits and ponders why.

So colorful! How many thousands of times have we said this about Mexico?!

And because it apparently wouldn’t be a Art river walk in Mexico without an Eiffel Tower.

An earth made entirely of bottle lids. Umm…yes, this is a better place for them than on the ground.

Cerro del Borrego

Another feature we loved about Orizaba was the Cerro del Borrego, which literally soared right above our Airbnb. We were so close to the start of the walking path that we were able to do it more than once, and just treat it as an exercise routine. The entire path is stairs. About half are modern, while the others are much more rugged. And we weren’t the only ones! We loved seeing so many people on the 1.4K stepped trail to the top! Once you summited, you got rewarded with views of the entire valley, a museum, an ecopark, a peek of the peak of Pico de Orizaba (North America’s third biggest mountain) and the opportunity to take the cable car back down, which of course we had to do on one occasion!

It takes no time to start witnessing phenomenal views and sweeping vistas.

We walked up three times and this was the clearest day we encountered.

A tiny chapel at the top. Also, once you get to the top, there is an opportunity to zip line for only $100 pesos ($5). No attendant was stationed at the platform, however, so like on the river, we figured we shouldn’t wing it.

The snow-capped inactive stratovolcano in the background is El Citlaltépetl, or Pico de Orizaba, which is the third highest mountain in North America 5,636 metres (18,491 ft) after Denali and Mt Logan. This is the only day we were able to see it! Next time we return to Orizaba, (because there will be a next time!), we will definitely venture to see it up close and personal. It is the second most prominent volcanic peak in the world after Africa’s Mount Kilimanjaro.

In order to see it from the peak of the mountain, we still had to climb up a very tall tower.

Mandy regretted wearing long sleeves that day. Even though Orizaba wasn’t too hot, it was quite humid. At right, the view down the other side of the valley.

These ruins on the top of Cerro del Borrego Mountain don’t look too exciting, but they actually witnessed a very historical event on June 14, 1862, during the French Intervention. The plaque read, “Around 1:30 AM, the Mexican Army, which was guarding the mountain, was surprised by the French Army which had been warned about their presence by a betrayer of the Mexican battalion. Taking advantage of the night’s darkness and that the army of General Jesús González Ortega was sleeping, the French Army started the bloodbath. Despite this surprise attack and the fear aroused, the Mexican Army tried to fight but the actions taken by General Ignacio de la Llave – who was also there guarding the place – didn’t work. By 5 AM, people from Orizaba already knew about the massacre, where more than 2000 men were defeated.”

Taking the Teleférico (cable car) down was $50 pesos ($2.40) was a fantastic way to get a bird’s eye view of the city and surrounding mountains. As other cars passed by, we thought it was interesting there were only three cars in each direction and they were all clustered together in one little blob.

Alameda Park

As we’ve mentioned, family fun is abundant in Orizaba. (Or, for just a couple of adult kids in our case). This includes a regular trip to…the public park. Alameda Park in the case. We’ve never been to a public park quite like this one. It is an homage to Cri Cri, which seems reminiscent to a Mexican Mickey Mouse (?) and features an entire ecopark obstacle course, exercise and massage equipment, a dog circus park, loads of sugar laden food stalls, spinny rides, child-induced traffic jams, quirky characters, and dynamic germ collectors (playgrounds)!

This was a legit need-to-harness-in obstacle course which weaved its way through the trees, allowing participants the chance to unveil their inner monkey. Unfortunately it was never open during our week in Orizaba. And we checked regularly! It looked like so much fun!

Not your ordinary dog park, probably best reserved for the more intelligent of the canines.

This Golden angel opened her box and gave us a fortune when we tipped her.

In addition to the plethora of standard park strength training equipment, this park had equipment for massage for multiple body parts. And, an inversion table which Greg demonstrates. Must be really nice to have access to such an awesome free gym!

The little carts you could rent!

After all the thinking about obstacling, it was time for a snack break. How about a $20 peso ($1) churro stuffed with chocolate?!

For $20 pesos you can also take a ride on the friendly Cri Cri train. Cri Cri is a fictional cricket character created by Francisco Gabilondo Soler in 1934 while broadcasting his own musical radio show.

The upper class kids cruise into the park with their own cars, the middle class kids get a car rental, and the lower class kids get to standby and sell bracelets and candy to help their parents pay the bills. The divide is deep in Mexico ?

This cute little abuela (obviously another character from Cri Cri) greets you on the way to the carousel. Also $20 pesos.

Tons of other kids, mostly the preteen giggly crowd, were strapping on rollers skates and circling on a concrete track perfect for the activity. The parents were sitting on the sidelines and enjoying each other’s company.

They even offered ceramic painting for, you guessed it, starting at $20 pesos!

And some really fun playground equipment. What a great way for families to spend a weekend night.

Around Orizaba

The Palacio de Hierro, or Iron Palace is an Art Nouveau masterpiece tucked in the mountains of western Veracruz and serves as the municipal government of the city. It’s the only metal Art Nouveau building in the world. So what is this French-resembling anomaly doing in Orizaba? In the last two decades of the 1800’s, Orizaba was considered the most cultured and educated city in the country mostly due to their high immigrant population from Western Europe. President Julio Velez decided to build a unique building that represented the modernity and economic strength of Orizaba, a palace that presented its internationalization to the world. To build it, he commissioned none other than Alexandre Gustave Eiffel, who yes, built the Eiffel Tower and the Statue of Liberty.

The master of these worldly wonders remarkably designed this pavilion, which was built in Paris and the disassembled it. Piece by piece it was shipped, then reassembled in Orizaba in 1892. Its cost was 71,000 pesos of silver ($3500.) The gorgeous second floor wrap-around balcony.

Being transported to Europe with a cup of coffee at the Gran Cafe at the Iron Palace.

A street scene in Orizaba. Most of the time we were there it was overcast and pleasantly warm, but not too hot. Humidity was more of an issue than we’d experienced any other time in Mexico.

Watching the cable car glide by constantly made it feel like you were in a theme park.

Or waiting for the bus…why sit on a boring bench when you can swing?!

The token city letters of another very bike-friendly city.

We see this kind of thing world-wide. People using their vehicles for commerce. It’s such a wonderful way to provide a service to the community. In this case, it was a mouth-watering panderia, bakery, in a highly desirable vanlife mobile. Every item was between $2-10 pesos ($.10-.50)

Another temptation we had to deal with in Orizaba was right in front of our face at our Airbnb. Although we’re normally very good about avoiding junk/processed foods, the owner had set up a trap. He literally offered a mini market right in our own kitchen. Not gonna lie…the junk food beat us down and we lost control a few times over Pringles, microwave popcorn and a Milky Way. ? To be honest, it wasn’t even satisfying. Ok. The popcorn was.

Orizaba was cheap. Even cheaper than some other places we have been. All this produce was $55 pesos ($2.70.) Makes up for the candy.

Continuing on, our first concrete art piano.

It was a wonderful place to walk around at night. Couldn’t feel safer. Although, as in many Mexican towns, the barking dogs were an endless issue.

Parroquia del Sagrario Catedral de San Miguel Arcángel dates back to 17th Century and the park nearby was a popular gathering place.

We were disappointed to not get to go in the Museo de Arte in Orizaba. This is about the third or fourth time we’ve missed seeing murals created by Diego Rivera. Interesting contrast with the bench eh?

Heading all the way east in Orizaba we found ourselves in yet another free family-friendly establishment (aka nightmare!) El Expo Parque de los Dinosaurios a theme park with life-size dinosaurs including the ever popular Tyrannosaurus rex and long-necked Brachiosaurus.

We really just came to check out Greg’s favorite…

Wow, look at that playground.

As typical, we cooked in quite a bit in Orizaba. But a couple favorites included Bambu, which offered absolutely delicious Asian-style bowls and salads for astounding prices. We had a bowl, a salad and two teas for $100 pesos ($5).

Another favorite was Cevichitto, obviously a cevicheria. Mandy had the best shrimp cocktail she’s had in Mexico, Greg devoured his ceviche tostadas and we both indulged in margaritas (surprisingly frozen!!). Believe it or not, we have had very few since we’ve been in Mexico, so it was a very well earned treat. Total cost with tip: $270 pesos ($13.30.) P.s. kindly disregard the illumination of Mandy’s face. The organic sunscreen we bought is crap.