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I arrived in Zacatecas after a 9 hour bus ride which was supposed to take only 5 hours (I guess I better get used to Mexican time!). I arrived at about 9 PM and it was pouring rain once again while I was looking for somewhere to stay. After about an hour of looking for a place, I stumbled upon Hostel Villa Cononial, which would become my home for the next three nights. The hostel was an amazing bargain about 9 bucks per night with a rooftop patio that had a view of the city like NO OTHER and was located right in the city center!! I hung out for a bit talking to some Anthropology students about their experiences living with and studying the indigineous tribes and languages of the Chichimec Indians before going to bed for the night.
The next day I awoke and ate some street food that included tamales, plums, watermelon with hot pepper and lime (yes fruit with hot pepper!!) for about 2 bucks- what a bargain!!! After breakfast I decided to go check out the teliferico (or cablecar) to the mountains surrounding the city to take in the breathtaking overlook
with my roomate Kazuma (Japan). At the top of the mountain was a museum dedicated to the battle of 1914 here in Zacatecas where Pancho Villa defeated 12,000 soldiers during the Mexican Revolution. So we took in the museum for a bit and then made it over to the silver mines for a tour inside an old mine that is still in operation and also functions as a museum. Zacatecas was the silver mining hub of mexico and at one point was the world´s largest producer of silver before the Spanish came and slaughtered most the indigena population.
Next we hit up some street food with mi amigo Mario that was muy ricisimo- gorditas de lengua (cow tongue)!! It was great to see the locals cook up the food all fresh right there for us. We hit the streets afterwards and ran into some kids who just got back from the lucha libre Mexican pro wrestling event. I was surprised to learn how big pro wrestling is here- for you wrestling buffs Rey Misterio was in town and it was pretty common to see kids wearing his mask out parading on the streets. So I decided to try out
a few of my own wrestling moves on the kids before ¨wrestling up an appeptite¨and hitting up another taco stand- this one was basically a family kitchen where we could smell the food from the streets. We hung out there and shot the breeze for a bit with the family before finally calling it a night (check out the pictures).
The next day I killed 4 hours in the Museo Pedro Coronel (a famous Zacatecan artist) and checked out some of Picasso, Chagall, Miro and Francisco Goya masterpieces with my friends Natelie and Jorge. After that Jorge insisted on cooking for us in his new apartment and crafted up some excellent pescado con aguacate and we joked around as we marveled at Jorges kitchen skills. It was interesting to see Jorges very modest apartment where he seems so happy and full of life! This is one of the things I admire most about the latin culture-their ability to be so happy regardless of material things or the meager conditions they must endure!! Truly an inspiration and fine way to end my short stay in Zacatecas!!
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Uyoung
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Hey Horhay!!
I'm so excited for you that you are having such a great time! Keep exploring and posting your pics and stories!! Take it all in for us, and be safe! Uyoung