Guanajuato

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As you can see from the amount of photos (and I only included 1/4 of them) on this entry, we had a fabulous time in Guanajauto. We would suggest this city to anyone traveling in Mexico. It has a little something for everyone!!!

We started our day in the early afternoon from Chipancingo and traveled to Mexico City, approx. 4 hours, where we transferred buses, after a few hour wait, of course. We then traveled, approx. 5, hours, to the cobbled streets of Guanajuato. We arrived around 12:30 a.m., so besides the view from our roof top, we didn't see much else, but little did we know what Guanajuato had in store for us for the next couple of days.

Gorgeous Guanajuato is crammed onto the steep slopes of a ravine, with narrow streets twisting around the hillsides and finally disappearing into a series of tunnels. Guanajuato was settled in 1559 after silver and gold was found, which was among the world's richest. Guanajuato was inscribed as a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1988.

Guanajuato's center is quite compact, with a few major streets and lots of tiny callejones (small walkways/alleyways). The Jardin de la Union is surrounded by restaurants and shaded by trees. It is the heart of the city and where we spent most of our time drinking and eating. There is always live music in the center of the garden as well as clowns putting on shows and other street music. You can get lost people watching as well.

We did take a 5 hour tour of Guanajuato, which included a history lesson within the tour. On the tour we were guided to the Mina and Templo La Valenciana, which is where we toured the the mine and the Museo de las Momias, where mummies are on display. The first remains were discovered in 1865 and what the authorities uncovered were not skeletons, but flesh mummified with grotesque forms and facial expressions. We chose to leave those photos out, but for those that are interested or have some odd obsession, we can always send you an an email with a couple of the photos.

We stopped off at a local candy store during the tour as well. As I have mentioned before every region in Mexico is known for a specific type of food, but Guanajuanto is known for it's Mexican candies.

We would recommend the tour because it takes more time touring on the local bus and you don't get the full explanation of the rich history of Guanajuato. Afterwards you can spend your time enjoying the center, which we did after our next experience.

As the photos shows, 2 of the best hours we have had traveling were with the callejoneadas. On Friday, Saturday and Sunday evenings around 9:00 p.m. callejoneadas depart from the Jardin de la Union. The callejoneada tradition came from Spain. They are a group of professional singers and musicians, dressed in traditional costumes that sing, play and walk with the streets and ancient alleyways with an entire group of spectators. Stories and jokes are told during the "performance" as well. It is really hard to describe it much more, but we can tell you some of the locals are on their balconies listening as we walk by while others slam their doors. It was a Sunday night between 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m. We can also add this...try to imagine driving a moped through these small hilly streets while delivering pizzas and all of a sudden you encounter a group of 40 people. Well, it actually happened twice and he had no where to go. Eventually we parted down the middle and he made his way through, but I am sure he was late for his delivery. The funny part is the second time it happened, it was the same guy. You think he would have learned the first time.

We ended at the Callejon del Beso, which you can read about in the caption of the photo. Afterwards, we found ourselves back at the Jardin de la Union, where we finished the night drinking Victorias and listening to live music at one of the restaurants. We woke the next morning and enjoyed our morning at an outdoor cafe in the Plaza de la Paz with an amazing view of the basilica. Our breakfast consisted of nothing less than the best Mexican tradition, Chilaquiles, which are fried tortillas cooked with a red or green chili sauce and with either chicken or eggs and cheese and cream on top. We choice eggs for this morning. We read our paper and just enjoyed the rest of the day...refreshed from being in such a unique and magical town.

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