Hey guys welcome back to Eat, Baila, Travel this is Jenny and Kevin
Today we're super excited to show you around Lake Catemaco in Veracruz.
Located in the southern half of the state, Catemaco is one of the most mysterious towns in Veracruz
The small city of less than 40,000 people sits on the edge of a freshwater lake of the same name.
And it's a popular vacation destination for Mexican nationals and mostly unknown to foreign tourists.
Catemaco is a beautiful weekend getaway if you're looking for some quiet time
with nature, with a side of spiritual cleansing
Catemaco in Mexico is known for its sorcerers and witchcraft
for centuries these sorcerers or brujos as they're known around here
have lived in the area and claim to keep ancient secrets
passed down by their ancestors to help people heal from evil spirits.
It's shamans and warlocks have attracted plenty of tourism for decades
Till this day, Catemaco attracts tourism for its mysterious magic but aside from
its sorcery it's a beautiful town surrounded by colorful birds, medicinal plants, and monkeys.
But before we start our boat tour we had to stop and try some Tegogolos
It's very rough squishy Tegogolo
It's kind of, what's it called? In english? "I have no idea" Its uhhh?
"We'll go to google translate and let you all know what this is we don't even know "
No but there's a name, Conch!
It's a conch that only comes out in the Lake of Catemaco
So it's a special staple to the city
It's really good, i mean if you like seafood you'll like it
Tegogolos are a lake snail that only sprout in the lake of C atemaco
The town advertises this as an aphrodisiac but we've noticed in many places that claim to sell
aphrodisiacs are perhaps just using this as a marketing strategy
Whatever! it works
It tastes like ceviche
Very salty
One of the main attractions here is a boat tour on Lake Catemaco
costing around 100 pesos per person.
The tour takes you to different parts of the lake for about five hours.
First stop, the rock where the town got its name
Legend goes: an indigenous man by the name of Catemaska
Claimed to have seen an appearance of la Virgen del Carmen on this rock in 1914.
Due to his discovery the town was named after him Catemaco
Second stop, the ecological reserve of Nanciyaga
Nanciyaga is an eco site that offers tourism by
respecting its natural resources and preserving its pre-hispanic culture.
The eco resort has seen famous visitors like hollywood actors and movie producers
They've filmed movies like Medicine man and Apocalypto.
This is a tribute to Tonantzin The mother of all gods and the prehispanic
figure that inspired the Virgin of Guadalupe the reason her mouth is painted black is symbolism
for the absorption of her children's sins.
You'll also see historical artifacts and replicas of the Olmeca culture.
This big head statue for example is one of the most iconic.
The jaguar is another major symbol of power in the Olmeca culture as the largest hunter in the
americas one of the olmec gods was a half jaguar-half man being.
So in the hut behind me you've
got a shaman who does a variety of spiritual cleanses using earthy minerals like copal
and herbs like basil for example or sage
and it costs around 150 pesos in here.
It's a pretty affordable way to cleanse your spirit and feel light and refreshed
This is the secret to the fountain of youth.
If you've ever had a mud mask facial you can thank the
Mesoamerican indigenous nations for that the powder is volcanic ash mixed with water that has
amazing cleansing benefits for your skin
After this i'm gonna look ten years younger, watch!
This is Kevin's secret to staying looking young.
You couldn't tell I am 40 years old huh?
This is refreshing my face feels very relaxed and refreshed
T hey say that this tree gives you a positive vibe so we're gonna hug it
Part of this tour includes going through the tunnel of love
And it is said that any couple who walks in with their hands held or just embracing each other
You've got to seal that love with the kiss at the end so we're gonna walk through and then
I have to kiss? Yeah? I can barely move my face. Alright we're gonna see how this works
Now that this Nanciyaga tour is coming to an end. I gotta wash his face off
Just watch how 10 years get clipped out of my age. Teenage face check that out!
so refreshing though
Last stop, the monkey island, in 1974 the University of Veracruz stocked one of the islands
in Laguna Catemaco with imported macaque monkeys from Thailand
to do a research study
Today we get the experience of seeing these little monkeys from our boat
little did we know we'd be robbed by one of them.
This little guy started monkeying around and hopped on one of our boats as we were getting
close to take pictures with them and then next thing I knew he was stealing my bakery pastries.
He snatched the paper bag from right beneath my legs and bit off the bread
to get at the chocolate inside the middle.
I guess these monkeys like cacao.
After we saw how happy the chocolate made him we
thought it'd be rude if we didn't share some of his friends too.
bye
If you plan to come to Catemaco there's a handful of hotels.
we stayed at a Hotel Playa Cristal.
And they were clean nice bathrooms don't expect brand new TVs but hey!
It's a great place to stay especially at an affordable price
We hope you guys enjoyed our adventure today Catemaco is definitely one of the hidden gems.
It's really nice to see all the families gather around here it feels like a nationals little town
to come experience and get away for the weekend.
Yeah, more of a local spot for people to come and have a nice little getaway.
So we're tired now it's been a long day um so we gotta go!
Se cuidan, se bañan, y nos vemos pa la proxima!