PICTURE YOURSELF LIVING IN ORIZABA:

Imagine yourself enjoying a warm breeze on a January morning. The scent of exotic flowers taints the air. Although it?s quite warm by mid-day, the evenings are cool with refreshing breezes that cut the sting of the humid air. Hold that thought as we continue. Listen now to sounds of tropical birds flitting through the palm trees lining grassy park where you lazily recline on a soft wood bench. A vendor strolls by with chilled mango, papaya, pineapple or oranges dripping with fresh, natural juices. It?s sweet and bursting with flavor like you?ve never known back home. Delicious, isn?t it? The price? ? mere pennies! Now add in the friendly people ? unique with their shimmering, straight black hair, tanned, smooth skin and slightly almond-shaped eyes. Everyone smiles at you. Some wink or say ?Hello? pleasantly.

?Shine??, a passing shoeshine boy asks. He?s not a boy though, and when he finishes you swear you can just see your reflection in those snazzy kicks you?re now sporting. He takes the 60 cents from you smiling broadly. After all you?ve been nice enough to add in a 20-cent tip for his quarter of an hour?s work!

Where are you? Heaven? Paradise? Why, the Parque del Castillo, of course! Tranquil and serene, yet full of activity at times, shopping, food, music, or almost whatever else you might like is mere steps away from this downtown oasis in Orizaba. Tourists are sometimes plentiful, but foreign residents are not. You?ll be accepted and appreciated as much as a friend as a neighbor.

If you?re a movie buff, I have great news for you. The movie theater, Cine-magic Aries, on Oriente 6 between Sur 5 and Sur 7, is a first-run theater with movies in English (with Spanish subtitles) and costs only 25 pesos per person EXCEPT Wednesdays when it?s 25 pesos for TWO people! (would you like to guess what day of the week my wife and I go?) Seating and film quality are excellent, (I saw the movie ?Vertical Limit? there) and the concession stand sells the usual plus freshly popped popcorn with ? can you believe it ? chili peppers on it! Really, Mexicans will eat almost anything with chili on it!

A TREK YOU SHOULDN?T MISS: ?La Cascada?

The best hotel in Orizaba is reputedly the Hotel Fiesta Cascada , and only a score of feet beyond the hotel to the west begins a trail through the forest that descends into a stunning canyon that runs beside the hotel. Once near the floor of the canyon, the trail branches off with one path following the river while the other crosses the footbridge to the power station before turning into a rugged, strenuous climb through forest and field then up into the mountains. The name ?cascada? means ?waterfall? in Spanish. Starting the trek , a beautiful falls greets you as it bursts from virgin forest before plunging into the depths of the canyon before your very eyes ? unbelievable! This is definitely NOT to be missed!

For English language teaching leads see the companion articles, ?Teaching English in Mexico: Orizaba Language Institutes? and ?Teaching English in Mexico: Orizaba Jobs. Additional aspects of living and working in Orizabab can be found in the series, ?Traveling in Mexico: The City of Orizaba?, ?Traveling in Mexico: Hotels in Orizaba?, and ?Traveling in Mexico: The Food in Orizaba?.