Cantona, Puebla

One day, while looking for interesting places for us to visit, in or nearby the city of Puebla, I came across a fascinating looking place named Cantona. As it turns out, Cantona was an important trading hub between Mexico City and Veracruz. Though what struck me most about Cantona, was its size. The surface area of Cantona is about 4.6 miles² (12 km²). To give you a better idea, it's about 2,240 football fields. Speaking about sports, Cantona also has 24 ball game courts that have been discovered (more than any other mesoamerican site).
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The online pictures looked promising. So I told my husband about it. "It's about a 1.5 hour car ride using the toll road, according to Google..." (in Mexico, take Google map times/directions with a grain of salt). "... And it looks really interesting..." Plus all of those informative Wikipedia facts. I was met with skepticism: "If this place is so great, then why haven't we heard about it?" He was right you know. Marco is a very well read man and knows a lot about archeological sites, especially near Mexico City, since that's where he's from. So we kind of left it at that. (In the end, we chalked it up to a lack of promotion by the tourism board)

Anyhow, a few weeks later, planning a weekend trip, some plans fell through. And I brought up Cantona. And it stuck. And we went. And we were pleasantly surprised. (And I promise not to use AND as often from this point forward).

So we started our trek, which was quite fast thanks to the toll roads. (If you are looking for more adventure, speed bumps, longer travel time, and other surprises, the free option is available too -- but there is a saying in Mexico -- Lo barato sale caro (that which comes cheap, in the end, often ends up costing more). Anyhow, once we took the exit from the toll road, we went down another road (a narrow two-way road, in good condition, but narrow) and there were a bunch of men and boys on horses, trotting by. We went around them (took pictures) and continued.

Cantona is about 4.5 miles away from the toll road exit. We arrived to the site, parked, and were met by well cared for grounds, modern looking buildings and clean bathrooms. Plus, there was a small museum.

All I can say is, it's worth the drive. If you are visiting Mexico City or Puebla, just go. Since Cantona is rather low-key and doesn't have the fame of say, Teotihaucan or Chichén Itzá, it isn't crammed with vendors or tourists. The terrain reminds me of the southern California high desert, but prettier and more undisturbed (except for the ruins of course.)







Our take away from the visit:

• Be prepared to walk. Like I said, the site is 4.6 square miles. And you are literally walking on the ruins the whole time, so it's bumpy.
• Once you finish your tour and it is time to return, take the same route back. Don't take the "exit" route. It's rather rustic to say the least. Especially if you are visiting with small children or elderly folks. (Or maybe we took the wrong route back, lol).
• Take plenty of water, hats, sunscreen, and snacks, as you will need them to continue enjoying this place.
• Please don't litter. Carry trash in your bags until you find a trash can.

In regards to food, we were hungry once we were ready to leave and there were no restaurants in sight. I would recommend packing a picnic. (I'd be careful of eating street food as you don't know the cleanliness factor.) Or just drive back to Puebla and eat there. Or if you have a day or so more, keep taking the 140D to Xalapa, Veracruz (pronounced halapa), which is only an hour away.

Don't miss out on Cantona. Take lots of pictures! Selfies allowed.

1. wikipedia.org ~ Cantona Mesoamerican site