I visited Veracruz, home to one of the oldest and largest ports in Mexico, in 2022 when I backpacked all the countries in Central America and was going home to Mexico City after four months away. Veracruz was my last stop.
Veracruz, or to give it its full name, Heroica Veracruz, is in the State of Veracruz but is not the state capital. That honour goes to Xalapa, the full name of which is Xalapa-Enríquez, which I finally visited in 2026.
Veracruz was founded as Villa Rica (after the gold that was found here) de la Vera Cruz (True Cross because they landed on Good Friday) on April 2, 1519 by Hernán Cortés, a Spanish conquistador, military commander, explorer, captain and writer who is ultimately responsible for the fall of the Aztec Empire and the reason why Mexico City is sinking at a rate of about 1 ft per year, because the city was built on a lake bed. Not forgetting to say that they also brought religion and disease to the continent.
I took a 15-hour night bus from Bacalar to Acayucan with Turismo Acosta.
The bus left at 8.30 pm and arrived at 11.30 am, and I jumped straight on an ADO bus to Veracruz.
I took a room at the Hotel el Paraiso Express, a no-frills dump, but at 220 pesos (2022) a night, it was a real low-budget traveller’s gem and just 500 metres from the bus terminal.
Despite the crap state of the room, I slept well. I headed out early to get a coffee at McDonald’s and then see what Veracruz had to offer.
Walking the Malecón in Veracruz:
Miss CDMX had suggested I try the Chilpachole de Jaiba, a rather spicy crab soup, good for hangovers, apparently.
Then it was time to continue exploring Veracruz:
Cargo vessel arriving in Veracruz and the El Faro Ex Muro de Pescadores:
Sembradores de vía de la Escollera, Veracruz, México:
Testigos Del Futuro:
El Esfuerzo:
Buzo:
Statue of Baron Alexander von Humboldt:
Centinela de La Patria:
Letras de Veracruz:
Faro Venustiano Carranza, named after the 44th President of Mexico from 1 May 1917 – 21 May 1920:
Faro Benito Juárez, named after the 26th President of Mexico from 15 January 1858 – 18 July 1872, who rests at the Museo Panteon de San Fernando in Mexico City:
The Correos (Post Office):
Veracruz used to be the terminus of the railway line from Mexico City. The old station, the Antigua Estación de FFCC in pretty good shape.
The Interoceanic Railway of Mexico was one of the first pre-nationalisation railways of Mexico. They built a 3 ft Narrow Gauge mainline from Mexico City to Veracruz, which was completed in 1891. The line finished at Buenavista. The station La Villa, in Mexico City, is the location of the Museo de los Ferrocarrileros and is the only original building remaining.
From Google Maps, it seems that this old locomotive is no longer there:
