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Published: December 26th 2014
Wow again . Tomorrow will be my last full day in M.C. and I think that is okay . For some reason I found the traffic really loud and busy today . I mentioned that to Luis at the desk and he said it WAS loud and heavy today . Holidays have started and the shopping is said to be cheaper in this area than in the suburbs...go figure . It means lots of people and lots of traffic . The beach will be nice.!
I think I left off on my 2nd walking day in town . I alternated city / excursions and that was a good pattern . My second tour was to Cuernavaca to visit the city and to see the Franciscan church that was built there in the 1500´s . It was bunker! Thick fortified walls , a few high windows and very little decoration . An outdoor chapel area was a neccesity of that time as the early converts did not trust praying indoors in an enclosed space . I liked it . The latter churches are all baroque and FILLED inside and out with ornamentation .Cortes built his Palocio here in 1522 and later the Emperor resided in it . The town is quite pleasant , colonial , built on the hills and I would guess used as an escape from M.C. by those who can afford that life style.
Taxco was wonderful . What a pleasant place. It is built in the hills/mountains , white colonial homes line the hillsides , the streets are cobbled and VERY narrow . People seem to move quite slow but that is probably a neccesity . Watching cars ( mostly VW Beetles) manouver was funny . Really ! 2 coming to the same curved corner ( and they are all curved corners ) have to back up , move forward a bit , back up some more doing this dance , BOTH of them ... Patience is not just a virtue in that town it is an absolute necessity . I saw the Casa I had planned to stay in and it was lovely . I do think it would be nice to stay there for a few days sometime when a schedule was more free flowing . Incidentally it is a silver town and there was evidence of that everywhere.
Returning to the city was long , more that 3 hours which would have made me nervous if I had a flight to catch .
Sunday was another walking day . I have spent time in the more notable museums and enjoyed that very much . I also really just enjoy the walking . There are pedways here in the Centro Historico and it isn´t unusual to hear music and see crowds around musicians . There are complete bands doing covers , combos , solo sax players and the inevitable organ grinders who most people seem to just avoid. Never a dull walk . The buildings all seem to have character and class . There are amazing churches , a surprising amount of trees and miniparks in courtyards . I am sure the air quality is helped by those trees...and it does need help . l never really suffered from the smog but it was hazy in the morning and the evenings . One could see blue sky during the day so things weren't terrrible.
Monday was another tour day . First to a place called the Plaza de las Tres Cultures .Initially an Aztec commercial trading center destroyed by the Spanish who built the church of Santiago which is also Franciscan and much like the church in Cuernavaca . From there we headed to the Villa de Guadalupe .There were , and are , more people there than any other site in the city . The Antiqua Basilica is/was a victim of the marshy land it was built on . Together with earthquakes walking within made me feel like I had had to much to drink . The floor tilts in several directions and a portion of the chuch has actually separated from the main . It was built in 1709 and I think it is amazing that it is still standing . It was closed for many years as they worked to preserve it and reopened in 2000. The new Basilica was consecrated in 1976 and it is here that the cloak with the image of the Virgin is displayed. One stands on a moving sidewalk that passes below the image . The church is HUGE . I believe the guide said it can hold 9000 people !
and then to the pyramids known as Teotihuacan ...and I must say I was impressed . Built of small rocks fitted together meticulously they ( there are many ) may not equal those in Egypt but they are to be viewed with awe . It is actually a city founded @100BC and lasted until 650 A.D. It had a population of @200,000 .They have dug an impressive number of structures from living areas to temples .I am proud to say I climbed to the highest level of the Temple to the Moon but did not tackle the Temple to the Sun . My legs are just now recouperating ! It is amazing to me the flashes I had of AnchorWat , Egypt and the Temples of Bagan and Maruk in Burma . It makes me smile.
Enough for this entry . Hope all is well with you and yours and that you are enjoying Christmas and the Holiday season.
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Roger & Carole
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Glad you are enjoying our adopted country.
Your latest travel info brings back pictures to me. It is interesting how old it all is. Compared to western CA, WOW!! It is 5 am, Dec. 26. I got my days & nights mixed up. See you later. love