12/29, Wednesday. My AU bus arrived at its terminal in Orizaba ~12:30pm. It's a 20 minute walk to my AirBnb. A pleasant walk: over a river (I was surprised to see some Orstrich here. More about it later.), 
then into the proper downtown, passing Palacio de Hierro (Iron Palace, a Gustave Eiffel marvel). I arrived a couple of minutes before my scrum meeting at 11am PST. The check-in is from 1pm. So I was late a little bit. The girl, Kia who received me, sprayed some disinfecting mist over me, my bags and my shoes.
Later this afternoon I heard talking. An older Irish gentleman checked in, and talked a lot with Kia. When I was done cooking dinner, he came to the kitchen with some takeout. He heated his take-outin the microwave, and we ate together. My first meal with anyone since I arrived. He said he really liked Tehuacan. I made a note to visit it, because it's quite close. He's traveling around Mexico looking for a place to live in winter. Like me, coming from a rainy chilly place, he doesn't like heat, so didn't even go to Yucatan Peninsular.
12/30, Thursday. Up at 5am, in order to watch sunrise on top of the funicular (on Cerro del Borrego). I budgeted 30 minutes to walk to the southern trailhead (Pte 5 + Sur 18), and 1 hour to get up (~960'). Sunrise was at ~7am. It turns out, it's a sub-20 minute walk and a 30 min hike. There was light at the trailhead. It has proper signs and benches to sit. There are lamps. I brought headlamps. There was a girl ahead of me, with no lights at all. All stairs the first 2/5, wide and easy. About 1/3 is a mix of root+rock+concrete. Headlamp is useful here, because not all lights were on. The very top is again paved, not steep. Overall, about a mile. I could reach this Orizaba sign in 27-28 minutes. 
A good work-out, good sweat. At the viewpoint, I asked the people there (about 4-5) about climbing Pico de Orizaba. One lady gave me a name and phone number to call.
After the sun rose, I walked down. Now I was able to see resting pullouts along the way, a small prayer statue, and actually see the trailhead. There and then, I decided to stay put in Orizaba, and hike here every day.
I took a different route coming back. First I visited the city hall (Palacio Municipal). I was surprised that I was let in at 7:40am. Very stately. Nice and big courtyard. You can see the viewpoint at the top of the funicular in this photo, marked by a red circle.
The museums on the 2nd floor of the Iron Palace open at 9am everyday. They are very small, just a room or two. All free. I was doused with some antibacterial spray, and then was let upstairs. One on history, one on beer (Cervecería Cuauhtémoc Moctezuma was founded in Orizaba), one on soccer, one on science. The lower level is stores and cafes. Nice garden outside.
The next door of the Iron Palace is the city market (a city block), but mostly selling souvenirs. Very disappointing. The cathedral is also next door. The park (Parque Castillo) south of the cathedral was lined with ~20 shoeshine booths. Not sure why so many.
I contacted the owner of the Airbnb to reserve the following week. Also contacted two persons regarding to climbing Pico de Orizaba.
12/31, Friday. Headed out early to Ojo de Agua, a water park about 2 miles to the east.
On the way, stopped first at La Concordia, a church with a nice facade. 
The art museum is next door, but too early (~7:30am). Then the Pantheon (municiple cemetary, completely walled off), another one with pretty facade. In the cool morning, the walk was pleasant enough (not on my way back). Can see the snowcap of Pico de Orizaba here and there. 
The park is quite nice. No doors, so open 24/7. Benches, swings, bathroom, food vendors. There were a few swimmers. I couldn't see where the water came from. It's quite clean. I didn't bring swimsuit, as it was a bit chilly in the morning. Afternoon is a better time to visit here. But I don't have afternoons available.
500 Estalones is my next destination (I should have reversed my visit of these two). About 1.5 mile south. Depending on where you start/end the counting, I counted 279 or 286 steps.
At the bottom, you can walk over the dam bridge to the other side of river Manzinga. There's a gravel road along the river. I returned the same way.
The last this morning is Poliforum Mier y Pesado. I really like this place. Large groomed lawns, fountain, view of Pico de Orizaba, handsome building with stately room and long archways. 
It was free to walk around. Downstairs are cafes, upstairs have exhibitions, and maybe meeting rooms. 
Today I saw traditional dresses, miniature buildings, large paper bugs.
Bought some food from Chedraui next door before going back for my day of work. Found Kia, and paid my weekly fare for the following week. Got a message from Ricardo Blanco about climbing. He has a group of 4 people going 1/1-3. Summit day is 1/3 (slightly windy, and some percipitation in the afternoon). US$390, including everything (not clear what this everything is). They would be going from the north (via glacier, a little easier). 1 guide per 2 clients. I would be the 5th person if I went. For some reason, maybe I questioned why not summitting on Sunday (perfect weather), he didn't send me the final info.
After dinner, I went out for New Year's Eve. Firecrackers exploded here and there, but I didn't see fireworks. Nice lights, but not overly festical. My Irish neighbor was checking out the next morning. I packed for my weekend outing, leaving my carry-on suitcase behind. After some research, I decided to go towards the mountain, and see if I can find a way to the north trailhead of Pico de Orizaba, or the small village of Nuevo Jacal.
2022/1/1-2. Overnight trip to Coscomatepec.
1/3, Monday. It's still a day-off. Day trip to Nogales.
1/4, Tuesday. Hiked up Cerro Borrego 8:55-9:22am. Now in day light, I found more structures on the hill. A very nice 2-story cabin with tables and chairs. 
Framed historical photos of the city and the trail. Here's a photo of a motorcycle race in 1960s.
There's a watch tower (torre) with circular 53 steps. Totally worthwhile to get up, for a good view to the west and Pico de Orizaba. I continued the trail northward. Did a half traverse and came down at Pte 24. No stairs here. Met only 2 hikers and a couple of dogs. A bit slippery due to the drizzle of yesterday, and I was in sandals (yes, not smart). Need better shoes here.
Walked to the tigers and hippos along River Orizaba. Then to the market of San Juan de los Cerritos. Outside, a long line of people waiting for the vaccine. This is a real market with many fruit and vegetable vendors. I bought broccoli, papaya, potatoes, tomatoes, parsley, spinach, cactus. Very content. On my way home, bought some tamales from a street vendor. They are sweet. Not sure what's the filling.
1/5, Wednesday.
Woke up late. Visited museums of the legends and religion. Spent more time in the former, because I was trying to read some of the legends with the aide of the dictionary on my phone. Visited 2 travel agencies.
Hiked up Cerro Borrego for sunset today. Walked up the tower for photos. More people waited for sunset at the zipline station (I never saw the zipline running).
1/6, Thursday.
Woke up a little too late for sunrise. Hiked up to Cerro Borrego 7:52-8:17am. Afterwards, walked to AU terminal inquiring bus to Tehuacán. Then visited wild pigs and ostrich along the river.
Municipal Library is a plain modern building. Pretty small. Almost no readers here. One room houses "museum of books". The employee has to open the door to let me in. Not really worth coming here.
Visited Art Museum. 2 rooms of contemporary paintings. 3 rooms closed. Last room is dedicated to Diego Rivera's paintings. A guard opened and closed the door of each room. Nice building.
Museum of hospitality. Small but cute.
Walked by the Adelas terminal, took a photo of the schedule for my weekend. Went to a Chinese buffet near Chedraui for dinner. Saw this Christmas tree of beer.
Bought an ADO ticket from Tehuacan to Puebla, and reserved hotels for Tehuacan and Puebla. My next state is Puebla.
1/7, Friday. Up Cerro Borrego for sunrise: 6:29-7am. No view. Overcast.
Visited municipal archive, to check out another small museum on Orizaba history. They let me in a couple of minutes before the official openning at 8am. A lady escorted me through all the rooms explaining everything. I prefer to read the notes which I can use my dictionary. At the end of her tour, I was allowed to wonder around. One thing seems odd to me: she said the city boomed with fabric manufacturing using cotton. I don't see any cotton fields, ever. This place has a nice courtyard, with the view of the dome of Rectoría de Nuestra Señora del Carmen.
On the way back, saw a parking lot adertising rate at 12/hr, 700/month.
1/8, Saturday. Day trip to Zongolica in the mountains.
Packing. Heading to the state of Puebla tomorrow.
A little confession to make: prior to this trip, I had never heard of the town of Orizaba. What lured me here, is the possibility of climbing Pico de Orizaba. 
At 5,636 m (18,491 ft), this peak is the highest in Mexico, and 3rd highest in N. America. It's not techinically difficult. Now Orizaba has become my favorite town in Mexico. At elevation 1200m (~4200'), the climate is pleasant (still a bit too warm for me). It's also a bit wetter and greener than other major Mexican towns. I stayed here for 1.5 weeks.
This also concludes my visit in the state of Veracruz, and here's the map of my journey in the state.
