Puebla

Long distance bus prices in Mexico are high, so I was expecting a top-notch bus for our overnight trip from Palenque to Puebla. It turned out to be just a fairly ordinary affair without the service of Argentinian buses (dinner, sparkling wine and bingo!), or the only-three-seats-across-each-row buses of Brazil, but I'm well used to long bus journeys now, so it was a grand journey in the end and I managed a fair bit of sleep.

We arrived at Puebla in the early morning, at the huge, very clean and modern bus terminal. We hopped on a local bus towards the centre, and luckily had a couple of friendly locals telling us where to get off. Apparently the city has major traffic problems, so buses don't go into the very centre of the city, meaning I had to stroll a bit to get my bearings. Then it was a bit more strolling to the recommended hostels, with Sarah doing her usual door-to-door price checking.

The Hotel Cathedral was the best option, again not mentioned in the guidebook, but right beside places that are. We got a room with very high ceilings and fantastic cornicing but only partition walls, and after a couple of hours sleep (any more would just screw up our mental 24-hour clocks), it was time to explore a bit.

The city really is beautiful, with the usual main plaza surrounded by porticoed cafes and shops, and of course the obligatory huge cathedral. The following day was proper exploration, taking in a few of the museums and churches (one having a cool, undecomposed body of a monk that was pretty stunning really), although Sarah had a dicky tummy and went back to the hostel early.

Seeing as how we'd managed to travel all the way up through Central America so easily and quickly we had a full day spare in Puebla before flying up to Tijuana, so early the next morning we decided to hop on a bus for the 2 hour bus trip to Mexico City.