Irapuato

Irapuato is famously known as "Ciudad de Las Fresas" for its main agricultural product is strawberries.  I like to call it Irapitsburg or the "snuggly city".  I doubt the people who live here actually appreciate its charm and beauty like I do.  Every city in Mexico has a central square downtown that has a main church much like this one.  The downtown square of Irapuato has a lovely garden area trimmed to perfection and you will see many couples snuggling on the benches under the trees, people getting their shoes shined, children playing and people scurrying around in the markets. 

What I noticed about Irapuato is that the people are extremely warm, hospitable and welcoming, and you can usually bargain with them in the markets.  People are just so genuinely happy here and they like to open doors for you, always giving you the right of way.

How to Get Here:

40 min. car ride from Leon airport, taxis will charge $440 pesos from airport to Irapuato, unfortunately there are no buses.  Taxis will charge between 35-40 pesos to get you anywhere around town.

Where to Stay:  I have never had to stay in a hotel as my friends always take me in, but this one would be my choice if I had to choose:

San Francisco Hotel - located right in the heart of downtown.

What to Do:
Enjoy the many tianguis and street markets (there are different ones each day), eat lots of tacos and tamales, have a coffee in this little side street downtown at the Cafe Valakia:

"Escogele, escogele señora, todo a 20 pesos!"

Mercado Hidalgo

Every day is market day!

Where to Eat:

So let's start with the tacos...I really believe there is no greater place in Mexico for tacos than Irapitsburg.  I have asked other taquerias to grill the cheese and they won't do it, that is what makes these tacos so unique!

Los Catrines - Calle Isabel 2113, Colonia La Hacienda

Hours: 5:30pm to 12:30am 

*Closed on Tuesdays

Volcanes ~ they grill the cheese onto a mini tostada, top it with beans, bistek or chorizo, onion, cilantro and green salsa.

Risueña ("smiley one") is the name of the red salsa, because it means you will be smiling on the toilet the next day with diarrea!  Roger, the owner, is a funny character who will ask you which one you want, always ask for the green as it's milder!  And he will offer you a cigarette for dessert!

Los Pinguinos - located at the stadium

Tacos/quesadillas de pastor where they grill the cheese onto a flour tortilla, stuff it with flamed pastor meat and top it with lime juice and green avocado salsa.

El Prieto ~ Located on Calle Torres Landa

The best carne asada in Irapuato and the best bang for your buck

*Closed on Mondays

$139 for all this: guava juice, half order of arrachera, chorizo, mini grilled onions, beans, salsa "machacada" and 2 homemade corn quesadillas

El Sitio - Located in Vips Plaza

Tacos de Jicama is one of their signature dishes, very unique ~ they take very finely sliced jicamas and stuff them with avocado, panela cheese, carrots and crab meat, drizzled with soya sauce and sesame seeds - $75 pesos

Lorno ~ Located in Vips Plaza

I love their BBQ Chicken pizza, instead of tomato sauce they use BBQ sauce, topped with grilled chicken, purple onions, cilantro and served with chimichurri sauce for dipping - $120 pesos

The Street is Your Thrift Store

What I love about Mexico is that whatever old thing you want to get rid of, you just put on the curb and within half an hour someone will show up with a big smile on their face grateful to take it home!  My good friend MO used to throw her old clothes over the wall of her house, I'd drive by sometimes and see bras and panties being hurled over the wall into the street, within minutes someone would come along on a bicycle cart and pick them up.  One person's garbage is another one's treasure!

MO used to have this dog who lived in her courtyard but the owners didn't really take care of him, and it would bite the heels of anyone who came to visit her (this was a good thing for those creepy doctors who would come to her house to check her blood pressure!).  She had such a sense of humor, she would give her old clothes to him to drag around the yard and tear up. One day she decided that it needed to live in the country, so her and a friend took it out and left it on a country farm.  I fully expected a Seinfeld episode to emerge, where the dog keeps a part of her ripped pajamas and returns the next day!

She used to bake me her famous pumpkin cake, she would tell me that she doesn't know the temperature, she just cooks it til she smells it, because in Mexico we don't have temperatures on the ovens.  Life is so simple here!

Hidden Gems of Mexico - Part 3

Do you know which secret beach they shoot all the Corona beer commercials?

The Mayan ancestors named this secluded beach Xpu Ha meaning "morning dew" for its great beauty, luscious and spectacular vegetation. For me it means "going to heaven with Corona".

Al Cielo is a boutique hotel with only 8 villas/suites, which I have not had the pleasure of staying in, but I frequently visit the restaurant.  What a lot of people do not know is that you can enjoy the restaurant, rent a palapa for the day and feel like you are actually in a Corona commercial (and you might even get lucky and see them filming like I did recently!).  Here you will enjoy the very calm and pristine water and long walks on the private beach uninterrupted by vendors.

The clear azure waters of the Mexican Caribbean, the white sand beaches, the coconut palms and the thatch roof palapas have been combined to make Al Cielo Hotel a privileged and unique place for its natural beauty.

How to Get Here:
Take a Colectivo ($20 pesos) from Playa del Carmen, it is a 5min. walk on a little road into heaven.  Located 20min. from Playa.

What to Eat:
Catch of the Day - Fish fillet with thyme and lemon - $245 pesos

Peach melba dessert - $110 pesos

Contact:
For reservations, call 984-840-9012

E-mail: info@alcielohotel.com

www.alcielohotel.com