Monterrey Memoirs – Week 1

“Serendipity”- That’s how I can say my Mexico trip got planned.

A mail from a colleague to request a training I had conducted previously, another mail to a trainer to check on a similar training being done as part of CoE and the trainer looking for someone to conduct the very same training requirement in a different country. All the mails exchanged within hours on a day, that started quite routine and ended in a hope to travel abroad for work.

I had mentioned to hubby about my wish to once again travel for work outside India. Little did I know, it was going to come true and that too due to my very own action.The processes to travel to Mexico could not have been tougher. Every time we took one step ahead to progress on the travel and training content, something would happen and we ended up taking two steps back. The time frame set for our travel was around the time “Dyaneshwar and Tukaram Mauli Palkhis arrive in Pune” and we felt that our Mexico trip was similar to going on a “Pandharichi Wari”, slowly but surely towards the final destination with lot of learning and inner peace throughout the journey.

As luck would have it, I ended up having pre-travel anxiety syndrome and ended up with an upset tummy :). By now, I have learnt to ignore all the symptoms as they mysteriously disappear the day I set my foot on the destination country.

A 32-hour flight, Pune->Delhi->Amsterdam->Mexico City->Monterrey later, we arrived by mid-night to the hotel.  Our airport to hotel ride was pleasant with warm conversation by Pablo (The first and the last guy we met in Monterrey). Pablo is an amazing, warm person who knows more of my homeland than me and is passionate about politics and driving per rules. We owe some really cool evening drives through downtown to him filled with life long memories about Monterrey.

 

Delhi Airport

 

Monterrey View 1

 

Monterrey View 2

 

Monterrey View 3

 

Monterrey View 4

 

Monterrey View 5

 

Monterrey View 6

 

Monterrey View 7

 

Monterrey View 8. Notice the Camel hump mountain

The first day to office was filled with a lot of anxiety as it was the first time I was going to meet an international audience for training. But the anxiety ended the moment I stepped in our office. The setup was similar to any office of my company and it felt that I had just come to another building in my Pune office campus.  The view from office reminded me of home. Monterrey (just like my home) is surrounded on all sides by hills. It has decent infrastructure but lots of cars and similar traffic jams :).  It felt like I was at a home, away from home. I was too much excited by now to meet my colleagues especially Pramod and Brenda. We had interacted multiple times on call for the training program and attaching a face to the name was the only thing left to do.  After pleasantries we started with the initial set of training. The day went away in a jiffy and before I knew it, my day 1 in Monterrey had come to an end. Unfortunately, due to a heavy jet-lag, I ended up being awake watching TV for most of the night and working on a presentation. A good workout the next day morning, sumptuous Mexican meals and loads of work ensured I slept like a baby on the second night ending my jet-lag.

A routine we followed for all the days we worked, was, to take multiple snaps of us while waiting for our transport in the morning. Clicking some really cool snaps, we forgot about work for those 10 min and became models giving different poses. Am sure had we been in same campus in Pune, we would have probably done that for the rest of the year. Girls!!!

The first weekend we, Brenda and Memo decided to visit “Cola De Caballo”. A small waterfall tucked away in one of the hilly areas. The place had some colorful parrots, a girl wearing python round her neck (I ended up only touching the python though I so wanted to hold it in my hands). A trail walk, lined by barbecue corners (you can go here with your family/friends and have a nice barbecue in open) and a small climb to Cola De Caballo. We took a picture of ourselves against the backdrop of the waterfall and started our walk back.  At spur of moment, we entered the icy water flowing along the trail and sat on one of the rocks. Me and Deepali sang few Marathi and Hindi songs while Memo and Brenda sang a Mexican song. Once again, I was convinced, music has no language boundaries, and it connects souls and refreshes minds. 

Parrots -1

 

Parrots -2

 

Walk to Cola De Caballo

 

Cola De Caballo

We had a very delicious small snack called Tamale at the place. It is a traditional Mesoamerican dish made of masa (A starchy dough, usually corn based) which is steamed in corn husk or banana leaf. The one we had was filled with cheese and beans, with side dish of spicy salsa. Other fillings can be meats, fruits, vegetables, chilies etc. For a drink, I ordered a Pina Colada. I was in for a surprise as I one I got was 1 liter and full of creamy coconut milk, pineapple chunks and ice. The drink lasted me for the rest of the afternoon and probably I won’t have another one for the rest of the year. I had my fill of Pina Colada 🙂

 

Tamale -1

Tamale Packet Opened

For lunch, we went for something light in nature, an Avocado salsa and Nachos. I also had some Chicken in Mole sauce.

Avocado salsa normally is made up of diced tomatoes, pineapple, corn, sweet onions, chopped fresh cilantro, diced avocado, and dash of lime, vinegar, red pepper flakes, garlic salt, and black pepper. It is normally served with lime Tortilla chips.

Avocado Salsa

 

Mole sauce combines mulato, ancho and pasilla chiles with warm spices to create a velvety smooth sauce which can be spooned over cooked chicken. To this mixture chocolate and sugar are added to give a spicy sweet chocolate sauce. The chicken was cooked perfectly and the mole sauce yummy. It’s probably the best chicken I have had so far.

Next, we headed to buy chocolates for our friends, colleagues and family back home. I am not a big fan of chocolates. For some reason, I have given up eating them since last 2 years. But my family loves them, so I got variety of it. Got a combination of pomegranates, fig, nuts, dark chocolate (Turin), Hershey milk chocs, goat milk variety etc. Leaving without a Tequila and Sangrita and a cocktail recipe was assumed.

On our way back home, we witnessed Quinceanera. In Latin America, a girl’s fifteenth birthday is celebrated differently from her other birthdays as it marks the transition from childhood to womanhood. The custom has changed over the years. Now a days after attending a mass in church, the girl along with her friends goes around the city celebrating in a limo. It was fun to watch the little kiddos having fun and celebrating their new-found freedom. One can say they are similar to the debutante balls in UK or certain traditional celebrations in India too (especially south side of India).The next day we went to Grutas de Garcia (Garcia Caves). They are located 9 km outside the small town of Garcia, Nuevo Leon. The 30 km drive from Monterrey was scenic filled with beautiful mountains on both sides.  The caves are inside the mountain El Fraile and can be reached by taking the five-minute cable car ride or a small hike on the steps up to the caves. The caves are thought to have been formed 50 and 60 million years ago. They were submerged in sea water and have marine fossils like sea shells and snail shells on the cave walls. The caves are chilly inside, look like a rocky landscape and have impressive rock formations. There are multi colored lights focused on the rock formations making them all the more beautiful. I was eager to see the stalagmites and stalactites (as a kid I had heard about them a lot from my mother – a geologist).  One can see La Octava Maravilla (the eight wonder) where a stalactite and a stalagmite are connected to form a column. There are multiple natural formations like a Gorilla, a human hand, a donkey head, a coffin, a Christmas tree, a theater etc. inside. The place is well kept with multiple stairs to be climbed up and down to see all the 11 chambers. The stairs are a bit slippery so be cautious while climbing down. Clumsy girl that I am, I ended up falling down one of the stairs but thankfully wasn’t hurt 🙂

Turin, Dark Thins (Nuts), Pomegranate, Fig and Good Ol’ Hershey

Enroute To Grutas De Garcia -1

 

Enroute To Grutas De Garcia -2

 

Enroute To Grutas De Garcia -3

 

At entrance of Grutas De Garcia

 

Inside Grutas De Garcia

 

Cable car ride to Grutas De Garcia

 

Mining trolleys

View from top of Grutas De Garcia

 

Cable Car

 

Stone Collection – 1

 

Stone Collection – 2

 

Inside the caves -1

 

Inside the caves -2

 

Stalagtite and Stalagmite joined together

The day ended with us having lunch outside the caves of simple Cheese Quesadillas , Churros and Jamaica to drink.

Churos – Mexican Jalebi 🙂

We visited Xenpal Zoo near the caves later in noon. Finally, I got the chance to see few animals I had always seen on Idiot Box and fed them too :). Fear factor gone !!!

Kangaroo

Dear Deers

Zebra

Giraffes

After a refreshing weekend, I was now all set and ready to take a week long training and was looking forward to share my knowledge and learn something new from each of the participant.