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Published: September 4th 2010
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South Bus Terminal
we have lunch while waiting for the 5 o'clock bus, tickets to Taxco $12.00 or 140 pesos The school situation is improving, less meetings, more teaching and getting to know the kids. They really are bright children and they love to help me with my Spanish...they don't even laugh at my feeble attempts. On Thursday the 26th we had meet the teacher/parent night. Wow, I've never kissed so many men that I didn't know...all in suits and good looking. Their wives were all gorgeous and were simply delightful in their 3 or 4 inch stiletos.
The kissing on the cheek is kinda weird but obviously an accepted custom. Friday was a day for ....you guessed it......meetings, no kids that day. My students went to various places like Acapulco, Veracruz and other exotic places for the week-end.
Finally, 2:30 Friday afternoon, and I (Maurice) go to ASF school and meet Linda. We join up with 3 other teachers and we are off to Taxco, Guerrero, Mexico, about 2 and a half hours south of Mexico City. We take the Metro to the south end of the city... miss traffic that way. Coach buses leaves every hour or two, so we buy tickets and have lunch while waiting. We load up, then the bus pulls out, stops at
Taxco
built on the side of a mountain, there are no flat areas anywhere the exit where there is a booth, driver needs 10 pesos to get the gate up, so he asks the passenger in the front seat for the dinero because he doesn't have change and she hands it over and the gate goes up. Only in Mexico! Nice air conditioned coach with movies playing, big deep reclining seats, Linda was asleep before we got out the gate. We arrived in Taxco just before dark, about 7:30 and checked into our quaint old hotel in the Zocalo....the center of the town/city.
Taxco is a city of 50,000 or so built in the mid-17th century on the side of a steep mountain. Because of its long history of silver mining, it is the silver capital of Mexico and even hosts one of several world silversmith competitions.
In hilly terrain, some 6,000 feet above sea level, Taxco is the industry's biggest silver producer in the world. Silver has always played an important role in Taxco's history, as far back as the early 1500's. The silver mines have been worked since the time of Cortes, four centuries ago. The Mexican government has declared Taxco a national monument and has made great efforts to preserve
The views
Incredible, the white buildings with red roofs the colonial atmosphere of the city. A steady stream of foreign visitors pound Taxco's narrow, twisting cobblestone streets gazing at the red tiled colonial homes. The streets are really something, as you can see in the pictures. Hundreds of little white VW beetle cabs grunt their way up and down the tiny streets amid the tourists, there are no sidewalks.
The cathedral in the center of town was started in 1757 and built in only 7 years. It is huge and magnificent, the wood is all original and it was all built only with rock, mortar and wood. No nails or metal. Most of the restaurants are on the roofs because of the views. You walk in at ground level, go up a flight or 3 of narrow stairs. Usually 3 or 4 flights of stairs, and because it is so steep, you're still on the ground floor. Wow, great for the legs. The views were phenominal, unfortunately, pictures can't capture the lights and the music and the warm breeze. Saturday, we shopped and shopped, had a few beers, and then in the afternoon, we took the cable car up to the top of the mountain opposite most of
Hotel Agua Escondida
checking in with Megan and Fran the town. More shopping there, and we found a new luxury hotel with a good bar, and a local painter where we bought pictures for the walls at home. We will bring them to Sullivan Market on Sunday where we will get them framed on location while we wait for about $20-30 each.
Sunday morning, we enjoy a delicious buffet breakfast in our hotel and head out at 9 a.m. for a tour to the Grutas de Cacahuamilpa, which is a National Protected Park about an hours drive out of Taxco. We are a group of about a dozen, too many for the van, so we get our very own chauffer-driven car which is great because now we have a guide who can answer most of our questions on the drive. The cave is unbelievable. We can either walk 800 meters to the mouth, or zipline over. Which do you think Linda wanted to do? Once inside the mouth of the cave, it opens up like a cathedral. It has a height of maybe a 100 feet or so and is about 200 feet wide through most of the 2 kilometers we walked into it. They have a nice
Our room
old, quaint and clean. Yes, that is a TV remote in Linda's hand cement walkway built, and lights strategically placed to emphasize images in the stalagmites. Of course, the guide spoke only in Spanish, so all we could do was follow the path of the big flashlight beam and guess at what he was saying. There was water dripping, so it was damp, but not cold, maybe about 75 degrees F or so. 2 kilometers is as far as the walkway went, but they said it went on for a few more kilometers.
Unfortunatley, pictures can not begin to capture the size, scope and immensity of the cave.
We were back in Taxco by 2:30, time to catch a cool one on a terrace, and catch the 5 o'clock bus back to Mexico City and home by 8 p.m. What a memorable week-end. We saw a lot of countryside, learnt a lot and enjoyed very good company.
Monday, back to the routine and school, and first thing you know, it is Friday again. Things are settling down in school and Linda actually came home 2 nights with out homework. She must be making use of the 80 minutes to 2 hours of prep she gets per day.
We are off
Supper on the terrace
mostof the restaurants are on the roofs because of the views to Xochimilco in the south part of the city in the morning.....we need plants for the apartment.
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Mallory and Warren
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Wow
Sounds like you had a great weekend in Taxco!! What an incredible place. Pictures are excellent! Looking forward to the next blog.