Quarantine is finished, so yesterday I decided to take a long walk. I live on a MAJOR bus line, and I think all of the Juarez buses go past my apartment (several at a time, in 5 minute increments). One of my to-do’s is to hop on them and see where I wind up. I haven’t done it yet because there has to be something to put off for a rainy day!
So, yesterday when I decided to take a long walk I thought it was the perfect opportunity to follow the buses. I logged about 15,000 steps for the day doing it too!
Set off from my apartment at the East end of Ángel Flores, down through the ciudad perdida, and made my way to Avenida Gabriel Leyva. Made a left and just kept walking. A lot of the route was slightly familiar as most of the cab drivers from the airport take me home this way. Much of the beginning was industrial/waterfront and not much to see or do, but then it made way to the Juarez area where there were lots of shops and restaurants. Very colorful and there were a lot of people out shopping. When I hit Insurgentes I turned and followed it until I arrived at the malecón. Two hours, and a couple of blisters later and I was ready to hop on the bus and make my way home.
Of course, since I love anything chicken and being on a diet, I noticed every chicken joint along my walk. There were many. MANY. And most of them had the same special – two rotisserie chickens for $150 pesos. Google maps did let me figure out just where I was, but I didn’t have the timing down so I passed up the offers not knowing how long I’d have chickens getting cold in my backpack. What I *did* do however, was jump off the Sabalo Centro bus at Zaragoza and walk over to El Pechugon (https://www.facebook.com/elpechugonmazatlan)! They have pretty tasty chicken – not two for $150 pesos, but the paqueta #1 is a full chicken, 4 of what I call taquitos and they call tacos, a bag of salsa, and a big bag of potatoes for $145 pesos. If you haven’t had El Pechugon’s potatoes you’re missing out. They cook them at the bottom of the rotisserie. All the chicken fat drips on them while everything is cooking. Keep in mind that the whole rotisserie is HOT, and the chicken fat has to be fairly hot to get to a dripping point. You’re not likely to get food poisoning because of the process! El Pechugon is also a chain, and if you visit Puerto Vallarta there’s one in old town too. I think they’re all take-out only, so don’t expect to find a place to sit and eat.
After two hours of walking I was past ready for lunch, and my daily nap! The nap went from my usual 15 minutes to 60, so now of course, it’s midnight and I’m wide awake! Today is definitely not going to be a day to go walking – my feet need to have their day of rest, but I absolutely do plan on hopping on one of the Juarez buses and doing the trip in style next time!
