Magical Xico

After visiting the botanical gardens in Jalapa on Sunday morning, Irma's nephew Javier then drove us to the town of Xico about ten miles to the south of Jalapa.  In 2011 Xico was designated as a "Pueblo Mágico" (Magic Town), a designation given to towns of unique picturesqueness and cultural importance by the federal government.

Javier parked the car along one of the streets and we walked to the center of town.  Under the arcade facing the main plaza, there were vendors selling local handicrafts.

The specialty of the area seems to be carved wood.  I bought a wooden yo-yo for Alejandro's nephew from this fellow.

These wall plaques of fruits and flowers carved from wood were beautiful.  They were very tempting, but I have already bought too many handicrafts.  I did, however, buy a little wooden magnet for the refrigerator.

This gentleman was selling candies similar to marzipan made from peanuts.

The town's principal church is dedicated to Mary Magdalene.

July 22nd, the Feast Day of Mary Magdalene, marks Xico's main fiesta, and many of the decorations from the festival were still in place.  At the entrance to the church there was still a large decoration covering the central façade made from agave leaves.

  
The interior of the church is quite beautiful, but was even more fanciful with the fiesta decorations still in place.

These metal sculptures with the name of the town have became very popular throughout the country, and have become a popular spot for visitors to take photos.

(photo taken by a friendly tourist)

Women from Chiapas were selling embroidered blouses on the plaza.

From the church we headed down the town's principal street.

Many of the buildings still had decorations from last month's fiesta.

We went to a traditional restaurant called "El Mesón Xiqueño" for our afternoon dinner.  It is located in an old house with a central patio filled with lush vegetation.  

At first we thought that these beautiful flowers in the patio were orchids, but they are a vining plant called "flor de verano" (summer flower).

This macaw has been a resident of the patio for decades.

Not only was the setting lovely, but the food was delicious.  I ordered chicken in "mole xiqueño", one of the specialties of the town.  Three of our group ordered a meat plate that was advertised as serving two or three.  In fact, there was plenty for four or five, and Javier and I also got to sample it.

After dinner it was time to move on to another "magic town" located outside of Jalapa... Coatepec, the center of the coffee industry in the state of Veracruz.