Retire Early Lifestyle
Retirement; like your parents, but way cooler

In 1991 Billy and Akaisha Kaderli retired at the age of 38. Now, into their 4th decade of this financially independent lifestyle, they invite you to take advantage of their wisdom and experience.

Puebla, Mexico

Billy and Akaisha Kaderli

Currency Exchange

We had heard of Puebla, Mexico for decades, but had never visited. Getting some itchy feet with our life in Chapala, we decided to take a three week trip with Puebla being the first leg of our 3-4 stops.

We planned on visiting Puebla, Cuernavaca, and Oaxaca, and if we still have gas left in our tanks, we wanted to go back to Puerto Escondido.

Our flight, Guadalajara to Puebla, Mexico

We took a taxi from Chapala for 400Pesos (currently about $19USD) to the airport, and flew from Guadalajara to Puebla on VivaAerobus for $50USD one way, per person. It's a little over an hour flight and the price was hard to resist.

New style of bar codes

We were able to purchase our airline tickets online, but for some reason, were not able to get our boarding passes, so we had to stand in line to check in.

Once at the counter, the airline employee says we must fill out this health form available by photographing the bar code shown above. After filling it out with our boarding information, we were allowed to go through security.

Life in the New World Order.

Our friend, who went through a travel agent to get his ticket, had a paper filled out for him ahead of time. He simply showed his paper and walked through.

Akaisha and Billy masked up, waiting in the airport

Masks, of course, are required everywhere in the airport and on the plane.

Since none of us had baggage, upon arrival at Puebla airport, we went straight out and to the taxi kiosk. We agreed to pay 350Pesos and gave a 50Peso tip to take us to Hotel Santiago which is located in the center of the Historical District. This was about a 30 minute drive.

Bright, colorful letters spell out Puebla

Puebla is the fourth-largest city in Mexico, and just a two-hour drive from Mexico City. So this town is often a day trip for those who live in Mexico's federal capitol.

Living in Mexico all these years, I have heard of Poblano peppers, but I found out on this trip that the people from Puebla are called Poblanos too!

Some of Mexico's most beloved foods have their origins in Puebla, most notably Mole Poblano. The spicy chocolate sauce was reportedly invented here by a woman who was trying to clean out everything in her pantry.

Who knows? But it makes for a good story.

Map of Centro Puebla, Mexico

We try to stay in very central locations when we travel and chose Hotel Santiago because it was located just opposite the plaza.

In this way, one only needs to leave the hotel room and walk a block or so, and the action is all there!

The Price list for rooms at Santiago Hotel

Even though the normal price was 660Pesos, we paid 429, currently just over $20USD.

Our hotel had TV, internet, a desk and a large bathroom.

Our Hotel bill

Hotels in Puebla were heavily discounted at this time, to encourage tourists to come.

The Puebla Cathedral

About a block from our hotel is this very large church.

In 1862, there was a huge battle here in front of this church called The Battle of Puebla. The French tried to establish themselves in this part of Mexico because Europe was interested in Mexico's silver mines. But Mexican forces under Ignacio Zaragoza defeated the French army. This battle took place on May 5, which became the "Cinco de Mayo" reference we in the States hear about.

In 1987, the historic centre of Puebla was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.

The Puebla main plaza and fountain with the Cathedral in the background

The Cathedral is an excellent example of New Spanish Baroque - considered in its time - to be the "eighth wonder of the world". There are 14 separate chapels in this Cathedral, with the main altar being octagonal.

Akaisha clowning around

Here I am at one of the many open-air restaurants on the plaza in Puebla.

Billy just bought me these gorgeous roses from a young girl who was selling them. They cost 10Pesos (about 50 cents) for all four!

Mescal has never been my drink, but in this area of Mexico, it is famous. Here I am given chile salt and lime to counter the smokiness of the mescal.

Mescal packs a punch and I much prefer tequila, which is softer. We have gone to many fincas in our adopted state of Jalisco. See our Sophisticated Guide to Drinking Tequila here.

More Puebla specialties are chalupas, Guava-and-cheese souffles, and chiles en nogada.

Directional signs on the street in Puebla

It's very convenient to have these directional signs located on the streets in Puebla. One knows just where they are in respect to something worth seeing.

The pork section of the marketplace

Puebla's market place is quite large and lively!

We have seen so many of these markets around the world, in Asia, Central and South America, Europe and Mexico. It is common and absolutely ordinary to see pigs heads and feet, whole chickens with their heads and feet still on, and of course all sorts of (to us) unidentifiable body parts.

Seeing these styles of markets brings me back to my childhood, when my Mother would drive my Grandmothers to the local butcher. There in the open would be beef tongue, pig's feet, a snout or two and some innards.

Coming from Europe, my Grandmothers knew what to do with these less-favored animal parts. I remember distinctly going to my Grandmother's home where she was making chicken stock, and chicken feet were sticking way out of the pot... to me this was ordinary life.

So, marrying a French Chef just seemed logical!

Lucky me.

Cafe Rentoy

Walking around town, we discovered this plazita. Apparently it's been there for a hundred years or so and we had a meal there, sitting outside in the shade of the umbrella.

Mom and daughter having a treat

Family is important to Mexicans and it's typical to see a mother and daughter enjoying time together. Here you see a Mom and daughter enjoying a treat in the shade after doing some shopping.

Sandwiches for sale

Puebla is known for their sandwiches too. Here they are called cemitas, and the filling comes on a sesame seed bun. They can have a pulled pork filling, beef leg, pounded and fried chicken breast or ham.

These cemitas are running less than $2USD. It makes for a very affordable lunch

View of the Cathedral at night from Frenchies Café

Our hotel is about a block away. Right across the street from this Church is a restaurant called Frenchies Cafe which had specials every evening. We ate delicious bar-b-qued ribs, tasty pasta, sandwiches, wings and more.

For more photos and stories on Mexico, CLICK HERE

VIDEOS, VIDEOS, VIDEOS! See Mexico for yourself! Beaches, Bars, Babes, Great Food, Live Music.

Retire Early Lifestyle appeals to a different kind of person – the person who prizes their independence, values their time, and who doesn’t want to mindlessly follow the crowd.

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