Viva la revolution!

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We slept well and after a quick sprint to Oxxo for our morning coffee and chocolate doughnuts, we are off to visit the Museum of the Revolution.

Originally the house of General Francisco ‘Pancho’ Villa, the building was donated to the State by his widow in 1982 and contains many personal and military artefacts of the Revolutionary era 1913-1916.

Villa was just one of several leaders fighting the Federal Government in the period with varying degrees of success. One problem was that the leaders all had differing views of what they wanted, leading to division of effort and even in-fighting between factions. At one stage the US Government even offered a $5000 reward for Villa’s capture. Eventually Villa was paid to ‘retire’, although he was later assassinated in 1923.

This was a very large and interesting museum for the very small entrance fee of 10 pesos (50p!). There is a very large Mexican tour group occupying the first room so we decide to do the tour in the reverse direction. :-)

I am amused at the chapel - ordered to be built by Mrs Villa. Pancho is not amused and orders that it should not be completed. Mrs V is undeterred, telling Mr PV that she doesn’t care - she has managed by praying without a chapel to date and he has always returned alive and well. Mr V is put in his place and he cancels his previous order, telling the builders to proceed and to ensure it is the most beautiful chapel ever built. How’s that for a bit of feminine reverse psychology. :-)

Downstairs in the courtyard (the only place photos are permitted), we can admire a large bright mural. We also see the car in which Villa was finally assassinated.

We finish our visit in the courtyard and then make use of the facilities before leaving. This is an interesting experience for someone as tall as me...the doors are only about five foot high affording very little privacy. I find myself looking over the top of the door at a queue of ladies impatient for my cubicle! Needless to say, I don’t linger long!

Next we are off to Quinto Gameros - an art nouveau building owned by Chihuahua University.

Originally built for Signor Gameros, he had to flee the country to avoid the revolution before he could move in. It took another twelve years before it was restored to him.

We have our 60 pesos entrance fee ready but we are waved straight through - apparently it’s free entrance on Sundays! That would account for the number of folk here then? The ground floor has a number of rooms all set out with art nouveau furniture along with lovely stained glass windows. A sweeping dual staircase takes us up to a galleried landing with more room sets and an art gallery showcasing the students’ work.

Now we decide to walk back towards the cathedral and the city square which is buzzing. There is a church service in progress so we decide to leave the cathedral for tomorrow. We had not expected much from Chihuahua, but in fact it’s a very vibrant city.

We cross the square, taking care not to get soaked from a set of fountains which suddenly spout water when walked upon. Here, I am persuaded to have my shoes shined. I must admit, they are looking quite in need of a clean after our recent visit to Creel...and a very good job he makes of it too.

Next we set off to enjoy an amusing set of statues placed around the square. There is loud music and people dancing for the amusement of the crowds. I am tempted to join as as it does appear to be a free for all. The Mexicans certainly know how to enjoy their weekends. :-)

Back to our hotel, Ian points out that there appears to be a service uniform shop next door - although the nurse’s and maid’s uniforms appear more brief and lacy than normal - he is unsure where the handcuffs feature though. Hmmm, perhaps last night’s taxi driver was trying to tell us that we were staying in the red light district?

Now for our evening meal...where to go? There are so many choices up near the square but our experience tells us that it’s better to eat local. We have a good look round, dismissing all of the trendy places and choose a Mexican joint not far from our hotel which appears to be very popular with Mexican families. We have a vague idea only of what we are ordering! The usual complimentary basket of nachos with fiery dips turns up, followed by a bowl of thin soup which has a taste of mulligatawny about it. Our main courses both turn out to be fish of one kind or another. They are both tasty and massive! Our lemonade seems to be coloured pink with a weird froth floating on top. It tastes much the same as the lemonade we have had previously - fresh lemon squeezed into tonic water!

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