Last days in Guanajuato

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I'm nearing the end of what lots of my friends have called the trip of a lifetime (I hope to have many more trips like this in my lifetime).

The last week of my journey will be spent in a four star luxury resort in Cabo San Lucas with the parents. We're trying to make it across to the Baja Peninsula by ferry but having a really tough time getting information. We're planning on bussing it up to Mazatlan for Sunday, taking an overnight so we can be there for Monday. If anyone has up to date info on schedule, rates or even phone numbers (I can't get the ones on their website to work) please let me know in the comments section.

What a change that last week will be from the past 2 months of dirty backpacking. Can't wait to impress the fam with my new spanish skills.

Until then, we've decided just to stay put in Guanajuato. This city is so beautiful, albeit a little expensive. Very geared towards tourists. Usually that kind of thing bugs me a lot, but somehow I don't seem to mind so much here. You just have to escape from the area called the "Centro Historico" to find where the locals hang out.

So what's this city like? Frankly, it's almost like a Disney set. There are so many movies filmed here (Once Upon a Time in Mexico is a good one) and you can really see why. It is the most picture perfect little colonial mountain town with the colorful houses, beautiful churches, narrow cobblestone alleys and even old theatres.

The architecture is beautiful. Everywhere you look there's something more ornate, or quaint or something else worthy of a photo. I'm gushing, I know.

I still haven't quite figured my way around this place either. The streets don't work on any kind of grid like in most cities. Everything is curvy, winding and one park with a fountain looks just like another one. There are places that I've been trying to find again since we got here.

There is a ton of stuff to see. Museums and churches galore. The Teatro Juarez, an old theatre that's still operational and the weirdest, a mummy museum.
Turns out that the soil that these 240 people were buried in had some makeup that mummified them all. The museum is fascinating in a kind of morbid way. Not creepy. Just kind of makes you feel weird looking at dead bodies that are still intact. Even some of their body hair and clothing has been preserved. If you're in Guanajuato, make it a stop just to say you've done it.

If haven't done it yet, but apparently the little cities outside the Cento district are really nice as well. You can get there by bus. Planning on maybe trying tomorrow.

There are a million places to eat and drink. Cheap places to stay are a little more limited but they exist. We're shacked up at a place called the Casa Mexicana just next to the Theatro Cervantes. Nice place and they give you access to their kitchen. Kind of important if you feel like eating anything cheap and not Mexican.

The market is great with lots of cheap eats there. Pozole and BBQ, a great fruit stand and sea food places too. Another good place I can recommend is called Midi's. Run by a French woman, the food is buffet and you pay by the gram. Really fresh and the price is actually quite reasonable. Mostly vegetarian too. Don't ask me where it is though. She's got a few ads up on billboards, but she doesn't open before 1 and takes her sign in if she's closed.

Best coffee place is just around the corner from the Casa Mexicana, a place called Cafe Tal and the bar right next to our hostal called Bar Fly is great too.

This city is apparently a big place for Spanish schools as well and they have a huge university that does international exchanges. I'm actually thinking of doing part of my Master's here. I could totally deal with living in this town for a semester.

There isn't a whole lot of super active stuff to do around here. But if you need a few days to catch up on reading, writing, people watching (my favorite sport) and sightseeing you will be in heaven.

Oh, last thing to see. The Museum of Cervantine Iconography. It will make you want to read the book if you haven't already (I'm about to start).

Much love.

Vanessa

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