Blogs from Querétaro, Mexico, North America

We just spent our last evening in Queretaro with the Ocana family. We just sat around the table talking and laughing. Thank you so much Eloy, Rocio, Christian, Ethan, Alessi and Ellie! You made our time here fly by. We'll hit the road by 6am US time and hopefully cross the border 8-10 hours later depending on traffic. The next time you hear from us we'll be north of the Rio Grande.... read more

Yesterday we started our trip pretty early in the morning. It was dark when we started packing up the van but light out by the time we left. The entire drive was nice but the section from Cordoba through the mountain range by Orizaba was great. Jill was the lucky one who got to drive through the mountains and she did a great job...as you can see from the photos it's a pretty scary drive. When we drove through Puebla and to the Arco Norte we saw the volcano Popocatépetl and it was still smoking so we drove a little faster through there :) Our drive on the Arco Norte was pretty uneventful as was the rest of the drive to Queretaro. We met Eloy and Rocio on the edge of town and they took us ... read more

Mijn plannen veranderen soms net zo snel als het weer in Nederland. Waar ik mijn vorige post nog eindigde met het voornemen om op zaterdagavond een nachtbus richting Puebla te nemen heb ik in werkelijkheid besloten om een hostel te zoeken in Querétaro, omdat het zo'n leuke plaats is. Echter laat mijn geluk me daar weer in de steek want het hostel dat ik gevonden had was, zoals niet voor het eerst deze reis, leeg. Bij nader onderzoek, ik heb de eigenaar onderworpen aan een kruisverhoor bij gebrek aan andere gesprekspartners, bleek het hostel een heuse drie weken oud. Het gevolg was dus dat ik letterlijk de eerste gast was, maar alles was wel nog netjes en schoon. Mijn nieuwe plan was dus om de nacht te slapen in Querétaro en dan in de ochtend vroeg ... read more

This album continues my Queretaro series from my 2 month stay in the city during winter 2014. This one features some colorful sights & sounds in the historic center.... read more

The city of Querétaro is divided in two by the river & joined by the Puente (bridge) de San Sebastián. At one time, the area north of the river, often called La Otra Banda (the other side), was outside city limits. Most of the residents in this area were poor. Barrio San Sebastian was one of those neighborhoods. Casa del Faldon, located at Primavera 45 Ote. I didn’t catch it in a photo but have included a couple links for photos here. The elegant Casa del Faldón (coattail), with its attractive lookout tower, was built in the mid 17th century. Legend has it that during a religious procession, a Spanish Councilman was offended that the indigenous Mayor had a higher rank in the procession. He therefore yanked at the mounted Mayor’s dresscoat, ripping it at the ... read more