At AU station, I filled my Ahorrobus card with another 100 peso, to break a 500 note. ~9:30am. 104 to Tehuacan. 44 miles. I took the last seat on the bus. Because I had to put my suitcase in the luggage bin, so I was the last person to board. As the bus drove out of the city, more people got off. I was able to sit in 2 seats on the right side (so I can watch the luggage bin). At Mendoza, the bus filled again. ADO station has "direct" service, costs about 165, 2:20, but only 5-6 schedules per day. Reservable online.
The greenery gave away to grass and cactus, even before we got to the state border. 10:40, ticket control. Then the driver got off the bus at Aculzingo for awhile, not sure why. I got off at Tehuacan downtown, before the terminal at 11:47, sooner than I thought. It's hot and dry.
I arrived at the hotel at 12:01. They knew I'd arrive between noon and 1pm, because I had communicated with them last night. I rang the bell, knocked on the door, nothing. 10 minutes later, I called the phone number posted on the door. The guy who answered told me to ring the bell. Then he said he'll be here in 10 minutes. Well, 25 minutes later, he arrived. I asked him about how to get to the botanic garden Helia Bravo Hollis. He told me to catch the bus in front of the Mega Cable store south of town. That's spot on. However, it's rather hot, so I stayed in, recharged the phone, finally finished one blog. Ate, drank my last can of beer, still cold. Went to buy some bread, but couldn't find the the bakery shows on Google map.
At 3pm, I headed out with a hat and umbrella. Went to terminal Zapotitlan on C. Josefa Ortiz de Dominguez, off the green Paseo Hildago. Walked through town center. 
The main plaza (Parque Juarez) was surrounded all 4 sides by vending tables under white canvas. So, impossible to take a good photo. My favorite building in town is the city hall by the plaza. The facade is painted all over at the ground floor, under the eave, side of the arches. Upper levels were coated with ceramic. Very pretty. The cathedral has nice ceiling.
When I arrived at the MegaCable store, I saw a bus with a few passengers inside. No sign on the bus or on the street. Once confirmed that this is my bus, I boarded. At 3:38, the driver came, and we drove off. I asked the driver to drop me off at the junction to the botanic garden. 10 minutes out of the town, you already see all the cacti. Tehuacán-Cuicatlán Valley is UNESCO listed.
The most noticeable is the pole like "baboso" - Columnar cacti. There are many other cactus species, many are endemic. There's a display for Lemaireocereus Hollianus. A truly unique landscape. Along the way, there's a dynasaur site. At the town of Zapotitlan, there'll be a salt mine to visit. I'm only interested in these cacti. I got off right at the gate of Jadin Botanico Helia Bravo Hollis, named after the Mexican botanist Hollis. The driver told me 17 pesos. I forgot to ask about the return schedule. The garden has no one at the gate. Wide open. So I walked in. There are paved trails for wheelchair, and stairs to get up a small hill. Educational displays. More dirt trail, or you can just wander around. It's really amazing. All these pipe like cacti covering all the hill sides, for as far as eyes can see.
Back at the highway, I waited by the bus stop. However, no bus to be seen for at least 20 minutes. I went take a photo of the Zapotitlan sign. A truck stopped in front of me, and I climbed on, thinking this a colectivo. The driver asked me to wait, because the passengers wanted to take photos at the sign of Zapotitlan. Two ladies bought 2 small pots of cactus, instead of taking photos. It turns out this is a private truck. A mattress in the truck floor, no benches, so ~6 of us sat on the mattress. I took my sandals off. I became their tourist attraction of the day. They asked me many questions, how old I was, how many children, where I came from, how much my flight costs. Some I don't understand, which made them laugh. Well, this return trip seemed much faster among the banter. I gave the boy driver 20 pesos, when they dropped me off. He was pleasantly surprised. I walked to Chedaui to buy some food before going home.
In the evening, I went to the main plaza to see the lights. An orchestra played classic waltz in the central pavillion draped in blue lights. Temperature dropped significantly.
1/10 Monday. Visited Iglesia Del Carmen near the Airbnb in the morning, and the park north of it. A few nice looking buildings. Not sure why the Irish liked this town so much that he stayed here for a whole week. I arrived at ADO station at 9:20 just as the announcement for my 9:30am bus to Puebla. Free wifi. Luggage ticket. Left 10 min late. Almost full. A guy with a transparent school backpack held a kitten inside. He was forced to leave the poor kitten in a luggage bin. 10:40, at Santa Cruz Okotlan, the bus stopped at a concrete one level building in the middle of nowhere. Some transit authority? No passengers here.
